He awoke with a start and grabbed his sword. The filthy room in Gongaga was unchanged, yet he'd sensed another presence towering next to him. A figure, reaching for his throat. Pressing down.
Denzel breathed out. It was nothing—just bad dreams—and he had a job to do.
The sky was a serene whitish blue of early morning. He had to stake out a good place to observe the house they'd planted the mako in last night and wait for Godo's troops to arrive. After picking up some breakfast, he settled on the roof of a market across from the house and planted himself near the ledge before mid-morning.
Then he waited.
And waited.
And waited.
His muscles ached and his mind wandered. Weren't the troops supposed to have arrived by now? The sun burned hot overhead, crossing into afternoon. The day waned.
Finally, two men in dark uniforms pulled up in a rental car outside the commander's house. He couldn't quite make out the blue patch on the arms, but he knew they must be Godo's inspection team. They approached the house then disappeared inside. Thirty minutes later, they were back, speaking amongst themselves.
Denzel had to get closer to hear their conversation. He climbed down and crossed a block away then doubled back to approach unseen from the opposite direction. He lingered within earshot of the pair. One of them held something small in his hand.
"Can't believe this," one said. "It's our lucky day."
"Yeah," the other agreed. "Let's split it now."
Other pedestrians ignore them. They were just two men having a quiet conversation on the sidewalk. One doled out a portion of whatever he'd been holding to his companion.
It was the pills. Denzel fumed. They were stealing the mako for themselves and ruining Cloud's plan! If they didn't report the mako found to Godo, then all of this was for nothing. He had to come up with a way to stop them, to fix this.
"I gotta take a piss before we head back," one of the troopers said, pocketing his supply. "Maybe grab some lunch, too."
"Sure, take your time. Last airship ain't for another few hours."
One trooper headed towards the market. Denzel watched. He had to make a move, but what? He followed, keeping a respectable distance. The man entered the market and asked a clerk where the restroom was located. The clerk told him it was for paying customers only, and the trooper didn't like this one bit. Instead of shelling out a few gil for a stick of gum, the trooper glowered and cursed at the clerk, calling him callous and his store a shithole. Then he stormed off.
Denzel ducked behind an aisle and watched the man leave. Then he followed again, still unsure of his plan.
Outside, the trooper muttered obscenities and rounded the corner, entering the alleyway along the side of the market. Denzel crept along, extra cautious now that the safety of the street crowds was gone. The trooper reached the dead end of the alley and unzipped his pants, relieving himself in a stream all over the side of the building.
Denzel paused, disgusted, but this was the perfect opportunity. He had to stop this man, who was now completely unguarded and unawares. He drew his sword. His muscles tensed. Cloud was counting on him.
His last two paces were quick, but the trooper heard him, turning with one hand shifting to his holster, the other tucking himself into his pants. The gun was out just as Denzel stabbed forward, driving the sword directly through the trooper's sternum.
The blade sliced through the armored jacket with surprising ease. Denzel felt every layer of fabric, skin, flesh, and bone. The man howled in pain. Blood oozed down his chest. The gun went off, but its aim missed as the trooper fell.
It had all happened so fast. The sword gleamed red, and Denzel found himself stepping backwards, oddly horrified by what he'd just done. The man reached out, crumpling onto the ground, blood bubbling over his lips. The gun clattered to the concrete.
"Y-You…" the man gurgled, "you're one of them...?"
He was fading quick, reaching for Denzel with curled fingers like claws.
Denzel couldn't move. He was watching someone die. Someone he had killed.
The man's skin turned a sweaty yellowish color. Then he went limp, staring up at Denzel, frozen in a final moment of pain and confusion.
Blood stretched across the dirt towards Denzel like fingers. He nudged a toe at the corpse. No movement. Exhaling, he cleaned off his blade and sheathed the weapon. He went through the man's pockets, finding the mako pills. Bingo. There was also a wallet filled with gil, and after a moment's consideration he took that as well, thinking it would be better if this looked like a robbery gone wrong.
He exited the alleyway, making sure nobody was watching as he casually strolled into the street. Queasiness settled into his stomach. He'd just killed a man for mako. But his brain was too excited to let that sink in quite yet. He needed the next part of his plan.
To get to Wutai, he formulated. To plant this mako somewhere that Godo would definitely find it. Cloud was also in Wutai, and he'd know what to do.
He headed to the airship station, head down. He tried to calm his pounding heart as he examined the flight schedule inside the station. The airship to Wutai would not arrive for another two hours, and the dead trooper's partner could potentially be on that flight.
"One-way to… the Gold Saucer please," he requested at the ticket booth.
It was the very next flight out of town. He boarded, keen to leave Gongaga as fast as possible. He sat mid-ship and tried to keep a low profile. Warm beige sands of vast desert stretched ahead as the airship climbed. The trip didn't take long, or perhaps it just went by quick because he kept getting lost in his thoughts. Soon they were descending, and the other passengers were excitedly preparing for a night at the amusement park.
Denzel wrestled with a weird nausea. The sensation of that sightless stare from the dead trooper crawled across his skin like worms.
"Final stop," the pilot announced. "Enjoy your stay at the Gold Saucer."
A kaleidoscope of colors and cheery music greeted Denzel as he disembarked with a slew of happy partiers. A man wearing a chocobo mascot costume flapped a brightly colored wing at him. He scanned the information booth at the airship docking port.
The next flight to Wutai wasn't until morning. He frowned. He was stuck here tonight.
He turned towards the mascot, dancing and shaking its fluffy feathers to the music booming out of loudspeakers above.
"Well… how bad could it be to just… enjoy a night?" Denzel wondered aloud.
His muscles were shaking and his stomach was a knot. He could use something to take his mind off the blood on his hands.
And he did have something, didn't he? He felt the mako in his pocket.
This would definitely calm his nerves. This wasn't LS, from what he could tell, and Cloud would never know. He would plant the rest of the mako in Wutai where Godo would definitely find it, so at this point there was no downside to slipping himself a pill and enjoying a night out. He was at the Gold Saucer, after all. Everyone else was ready for games and rides and races and fun. Morning would come soon enough and he'd be back on task, but tonight he would just let go, play some arcade games, and experience mindless fun.
He popped a pill in his mouth and approached the ticket stand. He bought his ticket with gil from the dead man's wallet, exchanged a bunch more gil for GP, and entered the Gold Saucer.
He'd been here plenty of times with Marlene and already knew exactly where he wanted to start his evening.
The Speed Square, of course.
The Saucer was packed, and he had to wait in line for his turn on the coaster. A pervasive anxiety held his chest tight. He kept thinking of the dead trooper. That vacant stare, those curled fingers.
"Next in line, first row please."
It was finally his turn and, yes, he actually got the front row! This rarely happened, and he took it as a good sign. Luck was on his side.
As he positioned the plastic gun attached to the front of his seat, the mako kicked in. A delicate, smooth relief settled over his nerves. His muscles relaxed and a wave of tension released. That afternoon went dark, forgotten, passed off as unimportant. Instead, his focus was squarely on the present, on the toy gun in his hands, the fireworks exploding overhead, the joyous atmosphere, the voice of the announcer overhead instructing newcomers on how to play.
"While your ride's going ZOOM, you're going BANG BANG…"
Yes, that's how the day had felt, all right. He settled into the haze of serenity. It was glorious. He'd forgotten the allure of mako, how easy it was to just feel good. In fact, he felt great.
The coaster was intensely enjoyable, and he left the Square feeling unbeatable. It was like taking a deep breath after suffocating for so long.
He headed to the Battle Square next. The mako kept his adrenaline balanced even as he cut through wave after wave of giant insects. He didn't make it that far, but he had fun. The mythril blade seemed to perform remarkably better when his hands were actually steady.
Next was the Chocobo Square. He placed a few bets on the liveliest chocobos, beautiful shades of blue and darkest grey. Music blared as chocobos flew past, their riders pressing forward. His riders lost, but that was okay. He still cheered and roared, sipping a watered-down fruit punch in an oversized chocobo-shaped plastic cup.
Fireworks continued to burst overhead, and the moon rose high.
He went to the Wonder Square, by far the one he and Marlene had spent the most time at. There were new games stationed right by the entrance with long queues of kids. The air smelled of popcorn and the floor was sticky. He spent the next few hours going through a lot of gil. Time went by fast. There were no clocks in the Gold Saucer so it was easy to lose track.
At some point, he headed towards the concession stand for a bite, and he distinctly heard a voice speak to him above the crowds.
"Take a peek into your future, young man?"
He peered around, feeling eyes on him. A shrouded figure stood near a table adorned with a smoke-filled globe.
"Yes, you," the voice emanated from the figure. "Your future is surrounded by shadows. Care to learn more?"
Denzel strode over, skeptically looking at the cloudy sphere swirling black.
"I don't believe in that sorta stuff," Denzel proclaimed.
"Your fortune foretells a dark path ahead. Yes, you will kill again again. But it will cost you dearly."
A chill went down Denzel's spine.
"I-I haven't killed anyone," he lied, his cheeks growing hot.
The figure grinned. "The stars are never wrong. I can tell you more for ten gil. Don't you want to know how your next kill will go?"
Denzel backed away. The man's gaze was unsettling, and a whirlwind of emotions had been stirred, disturbing his pleasant buzz. He retreated into the crowds, putting as much distance between himself and the fortune-teller as he could. He thought he could hear the man laughing behind him.
It was just a silly game. He shook off the cold feeling. It was getting late anyways, and he'd need to catch the earliest flight to Wutai if he hoped to make any progress on his mission.
He grabbed food to-go and headed towards the ghost hotel, with its faux graveyard and perpetual moonlit atmosphere. Was that a wolf howling in the distance? It majorly gave him the creeps, though Marlene was positively obsessed with the illusion of ghosts playing chess in the lobby. Even the air around the exterior of the old manor felt chilly and lonesome. Nobody hung around this Square for long. Somehow even the perpetual fireworks could not be heard.
Denzel paid for one night, sliding the last of his GP across to the pale attendant, and then he ascended the stairwell buffeted by the cold stares of demonic statues. The ghosts playing chess were not visible tonight.
His room was small with a cracked window periodically lit by engineered lightning. A mini-bar fashioned after an Iron Maiden sat in the corner.
"Ugh, eerie," he remarked, creaking open the black coffin-like torture device.
He tipped a Gold Saucer branded elixir out, examining the translucent blue liquid in the crystal vial. He'd never tried one of these before. Better not. He replaced the vial. No telling how he would react, and he wasn't interested in any wonderland experiences. Tomorrow it was back to work.
He sighed and eased down on the bed. Exhaustion caught up to him.
When he awoke, he'd felt as if he hadn't slept at all even though it was already morning. Lazily, he stretched and gathered his belongings.
The mako had worn off, and the heavy doubt of reality set in. He didn't have a clear plan of how he would convince Godo that his most trusted subordinates were mako junkies. Cloud was also in Wutai, so maybe it would be easy to find him and report what had gone down in Gongaga. Except he wanted to leave out the part where he slid this sword through a man's lungs and stole back the mako supply. Maybe it was best he didn't tell Cloud anything yet.
The morning brought a totally different atmosphere to the Saucer. The loud music was gone. The chocobo mascot advertisements were replaced with peaceful images of rolling oceans. The thrilling rides and games were closed. The races were quiet. The corridors were clean and desolate.
Denzel got the next flight to Wutai. He'd enjoyed his night, but now it was time to focus on the impending issue. Cool morning air gave way to the heat of the desert as the sun rose and the airship traveled over the sea. He played with the capsule of remaining mako pills between his fingers.
He did have one idea. It wasn't a very good one, but it was a place to start. Maybe luck would stay with him, and he'd prove he could handle anything.