Phoenix down; Names revealed; Refusal of dinner invitations, rudeness thereof;
Poor role models; Importance of brain over brawn
Was he floating…? No, more like drifting. Drifting in the darkness… Where was he? What were those voices…? They sounded familiar.
"Denzel? Denzel, wake up."
That was… Cloud's voice. He sounded worried. Struggling to follow Cloud's voice, he somehow managed to drag himself out of the dark. He slowly peeled his eyes open. The whole world was too bright fuzzy shapes and colors. There was a blur of gold above a pair of vivid blue dots… Cloud!
"C...Cloud?" he slurred.
"Shh… I'm here." Somebody touched Denzel's shoulder. With some effort, he tried to push himself up.
"Whoa, Denzel! There's no rush, take it easy." Yuffie's voice shrilled in his ears. He shook his head and blinked several times, attempting to clear his vision. Cloud was kneeling at his right, Yuffie looking over his shoulder. Tifa crouched to Denzel's left. A smaller Cloud was standing nervously a few paces back… Wait, a smaller Cloud? He blinked a few times at the boy, willing his thoughts to coalesce. That's right. Spike, Cloud's younger self. Standing the furthest away was Vincent, the quiet gunman's back turned to the group and a revolver still in his hand. Keeping watch. There was no sign of any monsters, though.
"What happened, where's the dragon?" he rasped. His throat felt like sandpaper.
"It's gone. Drink this." A canteen was held up to his lips. Denzel grabbed it, but whenever he tried gulping it down, Cloud pulled it away again, forcing him to take smaller sips. As the cool liquid soothed his ragged throat, he could take stock of the rest of his aches and pains. He was surprised to find there weren't any, really. He was just kind of numb. After taking such a big hit from a Nibel Dragon, shouldn't he feel a lot worse? As Cloud put the canteen away, he asked again about what had happened. His foster father didn't answer, just looked away uncomfortably.
"Denzel," Tifa said softly, taking his hand. "When you hit the cliff… you died."
Denzel's jaw dropped. He'd died!? He looked down at himself - he looked no worse than he had half an hour ago. Better, actually. His clothes were still filthy, but he'd had scrapes on his hands from slipping on the slick rock, and those had vanished.
"I didn't think…" Cloud started, then broke off. Guilt stained his voice. "I'm sorry. I should have told you to stay back. I…." He trailed off.
Tifa squeezed Denzel's hand. "We used a phoenix down to bring you back," she explained.
"Yeah, and the first time you get brought back is always the roughest. So, how you feeling?" Yuffie inquired.
How was he feeling?! He'd just learned that he'd died! How was he supposed to feel?!
"Now that he is awake, I recommend that we move on." Vincent's smooth voice pulled him from his incredulity.
"Right. It's getting dark, and more monsters will be out soon. Denzel, can you stand?" Tifa asked.
"I... I think so."
With Cloud and Tifa's help he got up on shaky legs. After a few steps, he was able to walk without assistance. Once it was clear that he'd be fine walking on his own, Vincent led them down the trail. Tifa and Cloud stayed next to him, with Spike next and Yuffie bringing up the rear. In silence, they soon reached the old bridge. Half-way back, he told himself. He felt shakier than he wanted to admit.
It wasn't much longer after that when Yuffie piped up. "Urhgg, this silence is killing me! Doesn't anyone have something to talk about?"
There was further silence as everyone rolled their eyes at the preteen ninja. The quiet was broken by a small, curious voice. "Um, your name's also Cloud?" The smaller Cloud was staring fixedly at the the bigger one, who tensed. Denzel wondered who'd slipped up - Oh right, he'd called Cloud by his name when he'd woken up.
"…Yeah." Cloud's shoulders hunched. A scowl spread across Spike's face and he stopped dead.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?! An' you still haven't told me your names, either." He pointed accusingly at Tifa and Vincent.
"Well, it would get confusing if we called him by his name with you here," Yuffie dismissed.
"Is that why you've been callin' me Spike?" The boy glared at the little ninja.
Unaffected by the look, Yuffie said cheerfully, "Yep!"
"An'? What about their names?" Again, the young boy pointed at the two in question.
"Tiff and Vinny," she beamed. Denzel swore that 'Vinny' was trying to kill the girl with his glare alone, a glare ten times more powerful than the one she'd just received for breaking the silence. It had the same amount of effect, too. None.
"My name is Vincent," the gunman said solemnly.
"An' you're Tiff?" Spike crossed his arms as he glowered stubbornly at Tifa.
Sighing, she gave in. "Tifa."
The little boy took a step back, startled. "T-Tifa?" he stammered.
"Come on. We're losing the light," Cloud broke in before any more questions could be asked.
They hiked about six minutes more before Spike spoke up again. "Do you want to come over for dinner?" Beside Denzel, Cloud almost missed a step, and Tifa stopped short, turning to look behind her.
"Dinner?" she inquired. Her mouth hung open a little, and her head tilted in astonishment.
"Yeah. Ma said I should invite my friends over for dinner some time, but I don't really have any. So would you come over?" he asked.
Dinner at Cloud's childhood home? Denzel wanted to shout "Yes!", but he knew the decision would be up to Cloud and Tifa. It would mean meeting Mrs. Strife. How would they handle that? Wouldn't she also get curious about Cloud and Tifa? Was that why Spike invited them, so they wouldn't be able to get out of the questions he was obviously holding back? If they did go, Denzel thought, it would be like meeting his grandmother… who wouldn't know she was his adoptive grandmother because her son was still just a kid and this was confusing.
"Sorry, but we should probably head out once we pick up our chocobos," Tifa declined, shaking her head. Nobody wanted to spend another night in the manor.
"You're cruel!" Yuffie cried unexpectedly. "Turning down a little boy's heartfelt invitation to a home-made meal cooked by his mom!" She slung an arm around the little boy's shoulder for emphasis.
"Yuffie," Cloud warned.
"Humph, fine." She pulled her arm back and folded them across her chest. "Guess we'll just have to come back later, 'cuz I sooo want to taste Cloud's mom's cooking." They were nearly back to the village - Denzel could tell because the trees were getting taller - when they were interrupted yet again.
A young woman came round a bend and, spotting them, shouted, "Cloud!"
"Ma?! What're you doing here?" Spike stopped and dug his feet into the dirt path, clearly bracing himself for a scolding.
"What am I doing up here!? What are you doing up here, young man, that's what I'd like to know. You know you're not allowed up on the mountain." She marched right through the group and grabbed her son's shoulder. In the cooling twilight air, her face was pale and scared. Despite her fierce tone, Denzel thought she seemed relieved. "It's not safe! I heard a dragon not too long ago!"
Spike scuffled his feet. "Sorry, Ma, I just... um... made some new friends today." He peered up, clearly fishing for forgiveness.
"Really." The woman eyed the group skeptically. Turning on the only (apparent) adult with them, she inquired, "What reason did you have to take a bunch of kids hikin' up Mount Nibel, Mr…?"
"Valentine. As for why, that is a private matter," Vincent replied.
The woman, whose relationship to her son was clear in her spiky blond bangs and bright blue eyes, retorted, "Not if you involved my son, it isn't."
"Ma, it's okay, I'm fine. See?" Spike spun around on one foot to give her the full view.
"Really? Nothing happened?" Mrs. Strife eyed her son.
"Yeah. Yuffie, Denzel an' me all played tag together." He gestured to the two he'd mentioned.
"That was nice of them. But who are these two…" Her voice grew fainter as she got a good look at Tifa and Cloud, who both shifted uneasily. Tifa tugged nervously at her hair before standing up straight and squaring her shoulders. Cloud didn't seem to be able to look his mother in the face at all.
"Oh, well, this is, ah, Tifa an', um... Cloud," Spike introduced.
"But how…?" She shook her head. "Sorry, you look just like my Cloud, and Tifa, you resemble the mayor's daughter."
Yuffie stepped forward, nodding. "Weird, huh? Y'know, on the hike I was thinking about that, and remembered I once heard something about doppëlgangers. That somewhere out there, there's someone who looks almost exactly like you. Guess that's what these guys are. Freaky, but okay, whatever." Denzel was starting to be amazed at the ninja's ability to head off questions and lead people in the wrong direction.
Mrs. Strife still seemed hesitant. "But… they have the same names."
"Guess you and their parents had similar taste when it came to picking names." She shrugged, as though dismissing the subject as unworthy of further consideration. "Anyway, Spike said we could stay for dinner, and let me tell you, I'm really sick and tired of protein bars."
After that, they began the last part of the descent, and Mrs. Strife got to hear all about the problems of food in bar shape. To Yuffie's gratification, the woman took her entirely seriously and insisted that they all come back home with her for a properly cooked hot meal. (She also lectured Vincent on the sort of food that growing children needed, which he took stoically.) As they neared the Shinra mansion, Spike ran ahead, beckoning to her. "Look, Ma, chocobos! I told you!" He pulled a handful of wilted greens out of a pocket and waved them through the wrought iron gate. With a curious wark?, one of the birds came cautiously closer, head cocked. It pulled out a leaf, swallowed it quickly, then plucked the whole bunch.
Mrs. Strife was apparently leery of going too near the manor - she came close enough to see the birds, but didn't approach the gate. "You've been stayin' here?" she asked, nose crinkling. "Mr. Valentine, I thought my opinion of your child-care skills couldn't get lower." Denzel glanced up at the gunman, whose poker face was still firmly in place. Tifa and Cloud shuffled awkwardly. With Vincent seemingly determined to remain quiet, his foster parents unusually abashed, and Yuffie occupied telling Spike the chocobos' names, Denzel found it was up to him to take charge.
"We had an errand here," he said firmly. "We've finished now, so we'll leave after dinner."
"Leave?!" she looked startled. "You're not goin' down the mountain at night, no sir! You'll stay with us tonight."
Cloud grimaced, and looked as though he was about to refuse. Denzel, heart in mouth, seized the initiative. "That'd be great. Thank you!" He couldn't look at Cloud' or Tifa's faces. He knew they'd be unhappy, but he was exhausted. He'd hiked miles up and down a mountain. He'd actually, literally, died. And another night chocobo-back, or in the creepy, dusty manor, especially now that its basement had been burned out - how could they tell whether Ifrit had left the place structurally sound? - sounded ghastly.
While approaching the steps of the manor to gather their stuff, Denzel felt a light grip on his elbow. He glanced over and was met by a stern look from Tifa. "Let the others get the packs, we need to talk." Denzel let her lead him over to the side of the courtyard, to stand beneath a withered pine. The brief excitement over the invitation to Cloud's childhood home faded, to be replaced with unease and guilt.
"Tifa," he stuttered, unable to look for more than a second at her pale, drawn face, "I'm sorry, I just…. I'm tired and-"
"Denzel." Tifa cut his apology off. "I know you're tired, we all are. But Cloud and I had already said no. We may look younger than you right now, but we are still adults, and in charge. This is going to be very awkward for Cloud and I. And in the future, with what we're doing, if you go against what was already said, it could have very bad consequences. I need you to understand that."
He did understand. He writhed inwardly with apologetic embarrassment, but also a spark of resentment. This wasn't a dangerous situation, and it was a good chance for Cloud to see his mom again. He knew that however much he loved Cloud and Tifa, if he got an opportunity to see his parents alive again, he would leap at it. Even if they didn't know who he was. He didn't say that aloud though, just muttered, "I understand".
Tifa kept looking at him, eyes searching his face. Denzel forced himself to meet her gaze and hold it. A line between her eyebrows eased and she nodded, letting loose of his elbow and going back over to the others, busy fastening the packs to the chocobo's saddles. The knots they made weren't very tight, since they would be taking everything back off the birds in a few minutes. When Cloud wheeled Fenrir through the wrought iron gates, Mrs. Strife's eyebrows shot up. She seemed impressed by the vehicle, but once it was made clear that Cloud, not Vincent, rode it, she wasn't convinced that a boy Cloud's age could actually handle it. Cloud had to give a quick demonstration of skill, and answer a brief quiz on road laws before she let up on her concern. In contrast, Spike was practically drooling.
"You get to ride it all the time?" he asked with boyish enthusiasm.
Seeming uncomfortable with the attention, Cloud muttered "…Yeah."
"Did your parents buy it for you?"
Denzel couldn't help wincing at that. Cloud didn't seem to react much better, if the way his expression closed off was any indication.
"Um, hey, Spike," Denzel called, distracting him. The little boy turned to look at him, and Cloud hastily moved on ahead.
Hurriedly trying to think of something to say, Denzel blurted the first question that came to mind. "Uhh… well, you already know how to track, so have you ever fought any of the monsters 'round here?"
"Not really, nothing like you guys earlier. I've chased off a few lone wolves, when I've been on lookout for the local flocks," the younger boy shrugged.
Chasing off a even a lone Nibel wolf didn't seem like something to shrug off to Denzel. He wanted to ask how he'd done it, but he felt too self-conscious. Even years younger than him, and probably with less training, Cloud was tougher than he was. Instead he asked, "Flocks? I thought Nibelheim didn't have any chocobos."
Spike shook his head. "Nope, goats. They say that along with the tusked boars they're the only type of animal you can raise up here."
"Don't monsters go after them all the time?"
"Sometimes, but the adults shoot any monster that gets too close to the pastures. And the goats are pretty mean, they have four horns. And you don't mess with the boars."
Denzel had earlier formed his opinion that anything Shinra in Nibelheim equaled creepy, and now he had a new equation to add. If it was local to Nibelheim, it was badass. Talking with Spike made the walk into town quick. Soon they were putting their chocobos in the Strife's fenced back yard. Mrs. Strife hurriedly staked some tarps over her vegetable garden, placing bushel baskets over the taller plants. Yuffie's mount, Nijoror, tugged hungrily at a tarp, but it was staked down well. Entering the small house with peeling paint, Denzel looked around with eager eyes. The wooden flooring was scuffed, and none of the furniture looked new, but even in its worn state the whole place felt homey and welcoming. Yuffie was also peering around curiously. Tifa seemed somewhat resigned to her fate, and Cloud, behind her, was wary. Who knew how Vincent felt.
"Please make yourselves at home. Bedrooms are upstairs. Girls, you can have the guest room. Boys, you don't mind sharin' with Cloud, do you?" After Mrs. Strife got confirmation that it wouldn't be a problem, she turned to Vincent. Her tone became notably cooler. "And, you, Mr. Valentine, you can have the couch. I'll go get the table set. Cloud, can you show them to their rooms?"
"Yes, Ma."
"Good. Dinner will be ready in a moment."
As he turned to them, Spike's face was the picture of pure joy. "Come on this way!" They trooped upstairs, to a small narrow hallway with four doors, two to the left, two to the right. Pointing, Spike explained, "That one's Ma's an' this one is mine, yours is that one." He pointed to one of the rooms on the left. "The last room's where Ma keeps her loom."
After setting their packs in the bedrooms, they all went back downstairs into the small dinning room where Mrs. Strife had finished setting the table and was currently setting out dinner. The meal consisted of veal schnitzel with peppers and mushrooms, white bean soup, potato dumplings, and sausages and onions that had been boiled in vinegar, all accompanied by some homemade rye bread. Denzel's mouth watered at the sight.
"I wasn't expecting any guests, so I had to bring out some leftovers. I hope you kids don't mind," she apologized, putting a stone crock of butter down by the bread .
Mind? Not at all, Denzel thought. He liked Nibel food. On occasion back home, when she could get the ingredients, Tifa would make dishes from her childhood. He and Marlene always loved those nights. Now, they all found a spot at the table, with Spike sitting between him and Yuffie. Tifa was in-between Cloud and Vincent and Mrs. Strife sat at the head of the table. At first, they ate mostly in silence, just enjoying the food. Even Yuffie was too preoccupied to spend much time on tall-tale telling.
Denzel was just using a slice of bread to mop up the last of his soup when their hostess turned to Vincent. Her pale brows were drawn sharply down, and her tone was frosty as she inquired, "Mr. Valentine, what would possess you to take a group of kids up Mt. Nibel? Even if you're not from around here, you have to have realized how dangerous the mountain can be?"
"It's not Vincent's fault," Tifa cut in. Apparently, she'd mastered her nerves. "We asked him to come with us, and if he hadn't come, we would have simply gone up on our own."
Mr's. Strife's brow creased further. "What up there could be so important," she stressed, "that you would risk your lives? I've told Cloud dozens of times, the mountain isn't a playground."
Spike was quick to jump in and defend them. "Ma, they were saving lives. There was something bad up there and they got rid of it."
Mrs. Strife hardly blinked. "They should," she gave them a stern glare, "have left it to the professionals, like SOLDIER, to deal with."
"But it was Shinra's, a virus they'd been using to hurt people with," the boy pled. (Cloud and Tifa both shifted in their seats to glare at Yuffie, who didn't look abashed at all. She simply crossed her arms and ignored them.) Mrs. Strife, however, looked floored.
"You got my ten-year-old son involved in a conspiracy plot?!" Her gaze whipped from one guest to the next, her shock and fury obvious.
Denzel reflected that, over the years, Cloud had been involved in a lot of conspiracy plots, from stealing submarines to blowing up reactors. Spike, on the other hand, had just been an innocent bystander. He tried to relay this fact to their hostess. All Spike had done was hike up a mountain and play a game of tag. This new information mollified her slightly.
"Alright, that explains why you went up, but not how you knew about the virus." There was an awkward silence while the group thought about the best way to answer that, but mercifully, she relented. "No, you know what, don't tell me. I don't want to be involved with this any more than I am. That goes for Cloud, too." The boy started to protest but she talked right over him. "I'm grateful to you for keeping my son safe on the mountain and for playin' with him, an' you're still welcome to spend the night, but if you could leave early in the morning I'd appreciate it. I don't mean to be rude, but I mean to keep my family safe."
Spike tried protesting again, but was cut off once more, this time by Cloud.
"No, you're right. When Shinra finds out what we've done, they'll come after us. It's not safe for you to be associated with us."
It was bad enough, Denzel realized, that they looked alike. Shinra had already seen Cloud. If they found Spike they would definitely notice the resemblance. And if that happened, what would Shinra do to Spike and Mrs. Strife?
"Is that why?" Spike's voice made Denzel refocus his attention. "Is that why you didn't want me to go with you? Not because you're mean, or didn't like me, but because you wanted to keep me safe?" The boy was staring, wide-eyed, at Cloud.
The older blonde looked uncomfortable. "Yeah."
Spike's blue eyes widened further. "You're like a hero." Cloud flinched at the title, but Spike didn't seem to notice. "Protecting people, destroying that virus, and saving Denzel from the dragon."
Denzel flinched too, now. He could still recall the pain from the dragon's tail hurling him into the rocky cliffside.
"You encountered a dragon?!" Mrs. Strife asked, alarmed.
Spike turned to her, eyes shining. Tifa made an abortive shushing movement, then bit her lip and folded her hands back under the table as the kid spoke. "Yeah! It was so cool, Ma, you should've seen it! It came out of nowhere, then, bam, Cloud had his sword out, charging it. He was so fast. Then Yuffie jumped in and there were gunshots." He gestured at Vincent. "Then Tifa jumped off the cliff and broke its wing, and it came down like wham! Then Denzel got hit, an' I don't really know what happened after that, 'cuz it was over so fast, then everyone was checking on Denzel to make sure he was ok an' all."
He was glad that Spike had left the part where he'd died, but there was still a bitter taste in his mouth, ruining the taste of the good food. After a few more tasteless mouthfuls, Denzel excused himself. He stepped outside, and shivered at the cool mountain air. Was death like that, cold…? He couldn't remember. A soft "kweh" caught his attention. Peering through the dim night - the nearly full moon hadn't risen yet - he could just barely make out the feathery mass where the chocobos had settled. Making his way across the yard, trying not to trip over the tarps, he sat down next to Freyr. He absent-mindedly stroked the bird's soft feathers, frowning and lost in thought.
He had died today. His parents had died, Mrs. Ruvie had died... but no one had been there to save them. Cloud had been there for him every time. When he passed out in front of the church, sick with geostigma, with no inner reserves left and nothing external to live for. When he'd been lured away by Kadaj, when the shadow creepers were closing in, and this afternoon with the dragon, Cloud was always there. Even with things as small as school work. Sometimes, in the evenings, Cloud would sit down with him and go over the route he would take in the morning for his delivery service, or have him help work out receipts. He told him about the strengths and weaknesses of monsters, he taught him how to fight. Cloud was his hero, the world's hero. And he was just some little kid that needed the help, because he was too weak to do those things on his own. He was so stupid to let himself die in one hit, so pathetic. He needed to get stronger if he was ever going to help Cloud.
He was so caught up in his self-loathing that he missed when Yuffie came out and sat next to him. He only realized that she was there when the little girl started to speak. "You know, that fight only lasted seven hits," she remarked, her head tilted up to the stars.
"Really?" That didn't make him feel better.
"Yeah, Cloud got a couple in, and Vincent and me. And Tifa did her thing. It ended when Cloud cut off its head. Honestly, he did more damage than that. Severed its head, shoulder and wing. Whatever was in his way of getting to you. Seeing you hit like that really scared him."
Denzel winced, his hand clenching in Freyr's feathers. He never wanted to make Cloud scared or worried about him again. Right at the start, he'd promised to not get in the way, and it only took one fight to prove he couldn't keep that promise. "I should have been better. I need to get better, so Cloud won't have to worry about me."
"Uh, newsflash, Denzel. Cloud always worries. About everybody. That's why he likes to make everything his burden and his alone. Don't stress over him. And if you're feeling bad about being hit once and dying, well duh, that's all it would take for something twenty-five levels higher than you. I get that it's hard to stand back, but next time, check if you can handle it before rushing in. Back when we were all your level, we had to run from more than one fight. Your life's more important than your pride." As the ninja finished, she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, everybody's going to bed. Let's leave the fretting to our spiky-haired friend."
Denzel smiled and stood. He knew it was good advice, and as he followed Yuffie inside, he vowed to not only become a stronger fighter but a smarter one. He'd paid attention to all those lessons Cloud had taught him back in Banora about tactics, strategy and survival, but then he'd let his fear of seeming weak control his actions. From now on, he would remember those lessons and put them to good use. He wouldn't be a burden.
*Notes
Another chapter from Denzel's perspective. This and the last chapter where originally one long piece but we decided to cut it in half.
After the next chapter we'll have posted the first third of the story. Set up will be complete and all players on the board will have been mentioned.
