Chapter 11 - Communication

Denzel had completely gotten over his distaste at going back to school. In fact, he wished he could go to school every day. It had everything to do with one raven-haired, green-eyed beauty. He hadn't seen her since the memorial ceremony, but he'd thought (and dreamed) about her a lot.

He approached her hesitantly at her locker on Monday morning. He wasn't feeling nearly as brave anymore, and he nearly turned around several times. She was smiling and talking to another girl with the locker next to hers. He could see that one dimple that he loved so much. Her dark hair shimmered and swayed as she moved. Gods, she was pretty.

He finally took those last few steps to her locker. "Hey," he said shyly.

Alicia looked over. The dimple disappeared. "Oh, Denzel. Hi," she said blandly.

"Do you…umm…can I walk you to class?"

"I guess so," she said. Alicia closed her locker and said good bye to her friend, then fell into step with Denzel. She held her books protectively to her chest with both arms and stared straight ahead.

Denzel searched his brain for something to say. "So how was your vacation?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wished he could snatch them back. It wasn't a vacation, you idiot! It was disaster recovery. Plus, her dad died! Could you possibly say anything dumber? "I mean, it wasn't really a vacation," he rushed on. "But you know, time off from school."

Alicia finally turned to look at him. "Why didn't you call, Denzel? I thought we were…" She trailed off and shrugged.

Denzel's heart leapt. "We were! I mean, we are, if you still want to. It's just that I gave Marlene the paper with your phone number so she could tell you when I had to leave town. And then when I got back, I asked for the paper, but she said she lost it." He stopped and took a breath, realizing he was rambling. "But I wanted to. I…I thought about you a lot," he said shyly.

"Really?" She smiled and the dimple reappeared. "I was thinking about you, too," she said softly.

Denzel felt giddy. He knew he was grinning like an idiot as they reached her classroom. "So are we like…" he rubbed the back of his neck timidly, "going out?"

Her pretty green eyes looked up to his. "I don't know. Are you asking?"

He shifted between his feet. "Yeah, I guess."

Her smile widened. "Sure."

Denzel resisted the urge to jump up and down like an idiot. He casted around for something appropriate to say. "Okay then. I'll see you at lunch?"

She nodded and lowered her lashes. "Bye, Denzel." Then she turned and walked into the classroom.

He loved the way his name sounded on her lips. He started walking, paying no attention to where he was going. His heart was racing and he felt like screaming. I have a girlfriend! He grinned to himself. I have a girlfriend and it's Alicia! The conversation played over and over in his head. 'I was thinking about you, too.'

Five minutes later, he was pulled out of his daydream by the late bell ringing. He was nowhere near his classroom. The secretary in the office must have thought he was crazy when he asked for a tardy slip with that goofy smile on his face, but he didn't care. I have a girlfriend and it's Alicia!

Denzel's useless left arm hadn't come up during the memorial ceremony, but it was bound to come out eventually. Especially since his new girlfriend wanted to hold his hand.

He carried everything with his right hand, so naturally when Alicia decided to make a bold move, she tried to slide her fingers in his left. He felt it, of course. He wanted to hold hers too, but he couldn't make his fingers move the right way. After holding his limp hand for several seconds, she dropped it, using both arms to hug her books to her chest again. She looked embarrassed and dejected.

"I can't…uh…there's something wrong with that hand." He lifted his arm so she could see the crooked set of his forearm. "But I would…I mean, I want to hold your hand."

She reached out and held his wrist, rotating his arm to see the distorted angles. He didn't want to look at her face. He was afraid of what he would see. Would she be disgusted? What if she didn't think he was strong anymore?

"Does it hurt?" she asked hesitantly.

"No! Not at all. It's healed, just kind of put back together wrong."

He dared a look at her face, but he only saw curiosity. "So…your other hand is ok?"

"Yeah!" he said, a little too enthusiastically. "When I'm not carrying anything, I can..."

She plucked the books from his hand, adding them to the pile in her arms, and then circled to his other side. She linked the fingers of her left hand in his right. "Problem solved," she said cheerfully.

Denzel smiled shyly and squeezed her fingers.

The week started off great. Marlene was happy to be back in school. Despite Tifa's concerns, never once did she faint or get too tired to finish the school day. Denzel was floating on air. Niko was around, making polite conversation and keeping a wary eye on Denzel. However, it was inevitable that they would eventually meet alone in such close quarters.

It happened during a late night bathroom break on Wednesday night. Denzel had been in bed, but he woke up with a full bladder a few hours after falling into a blissful slumber. The bar was open, so Cloud and Tifa were downstairs working. Niko sometimes helped out, but weeknights were relatively slow, so that night he was hanging out in Cloud's office.

Denzel didn't even see it coming. He flipped off the light as he left the bathroom, still half asleep. As he slogged into the hallway, he suddenly found the floor rushing at his face. His good arm was twisted behind his back, and his bad arm was too uncoordinated to break his fall. He let out a quiet grunt when his head banged the floor, but then a hand snaked over his mouth and a knee pressed in the center of his back, just below his wrenched arm. He whimpered, confused and disoriented. Hot breath warmed his ear.

"What's the matter, hotshot? You aren't trained in hand-to-hand?"

Denzel shook his head. It was the only thing he could do. Even if his left arm wasn't completely useless, he couldn't reach Niko back there. He couldn't even say anything with the hand still covering his mouth.

"How do you like it? How does it feel when someone else has your life in their hands? Do you feel powerful? Brave? Strong? Safe?"

Denzel felt like he was hyperventilating. He was breathing hard through his nose, trying to find an opening, but he really didn't know anything about hand-to-hand, and Niko was bigger and stronger.

"Do you know how hard it is to sleep next door to someone who tried to kill you? Even after that, even though Cloud saw what you did, they think you're harmless. You get a pass because, what, because you're younger? You're sure got them fooled, kid." The anger in Niko's voice was growing. "I oughta just take care of you for them. Do them a favor, because clearly they can't see that they've got a psychopath under their roof."

Denzel swallowed hard and whimpered again.

Niko leaned closer, putting his lips right up to Denzel's ear. His weight pressed harder against Denzel's back. "Lucky for you, I'm not crazy. I just wanted you to know how this feels."

The pressure against Denzel's arm was released. The weight lifted from his back. Denzel crawled away as fast as he could, putting distance between them, his heart hammering and his breathing harsh. He glanced over his shoulder as soon as he dared, but Niko just sat there, leaning against the wall next to the office door. Once he was out of his reach, Denzel sat up against the opposite wall. He stared at Niko, even more confused.

Niko slouched down further, and Denzel was suddenly struck by how young he looked. How vulnerable. He was really only a few years older than Denzel.

"Man, you don't have a clue how lucky you are," Niko said dryly. "Most of us orphans didn't get plucked off the street by a living legend. We didn't get a warm bed or a Tifa to cook for us every day. Do you even appreciate it, or do you think the universe just owes that to you?"

Denzel's heart was still pounding. He couldn't seem to comprehend the switch in Niko's attitude.

"You know," Niko said contemplatively, "it didn't feel as good as I thought it would. Ruining my career."

Denzel blinked and finally found his voice. "What?"

Niko finally looked over at Denzel. "Well, as soon as you tell Cloud and Tifa what I did, I'm done for. I mean, I'd dreamed about doing that, but I never actually planned to. It was really a spur-of-the-moment thing. And it doesn't feel that good." Niko laughed humorlessly. "Guess I'll pack my stuff now. I'm not sure if I'll get a chance later." He pushed himself to his feet.

"Wait," Denzel said. "I won't tell them."

Niko stopped. "You're joking, right?"

Denzel shook his head slowly. "I won't. Because…I deserved that. I was out of control that day. It wasn't ok."

Niko slid back down to the ground, looking stunned.

"And I do know how lucky I am, Niko. I didn't deserve to be rescued by Cloud any more than any other orphan in Midgar." Denzel traced his fingers against the rough wooden floor. "I wish I hadn't been," he said morosely.

"What? Why would you say that?" Niko asked incredulously.

"It's my fault that things in Edge are like this," Denzel blurted. "It's my fault Cloud was out of town that day, and it's my fault that we didn't come back sooner, and it's even my fault that we crashed Fenrir because of the chip in the materia slot and—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, kid. Slow down a second. I'm pretty sure you didn't bring those monsters into town on a leash. I don't know about the rest of it, but that sounds like a pretty heavy load for a kid to carry." Niko crossed his arms and contemplated him. "Have you talked to Cloud about all this?"

Denzel sighed and shook his head. "No. I can't stand to disappoint him any more than I already do."

Niko laughed out loud. "Are you serious? Man, you should hear the way he talks about you. Like you're some kind of prodigy. Like…like you're his own flesh and blood and he's just so damn proud." Niko shook his head and looked down. "I guess I was jealous, you know? That's why we came here that day. I wanted that. I asked him to teach me how to use a sword, because I wanted to see his eyes light up like that when he talked about me."

Denzel looked up. "He…he talks about me?"

Niko snorted. "Gods, all the time. You know that day in the kitchen, when you came at me with a knife? At first I didn't know it was you, but after Tifa busted in and broke it up, all I could think was, 'he's just a kid. He just looks like a regular kid.' I guess I had this image in my head of some glowing golden boy."

Denzel scratched his head. "I didn't realize Cloud was so disconnected from reality."

Niko laughed, then stood and held his hand out to Denzel. "Truce?"

Denzel stared up at him in amazement. "You're just…over it? You're not mad or scared or anything?"

Niko gave a lopsided smile. "Nah. I can see you're just a scared kid, in over your head. I had moments like that as a soldier. When you're stressed like that, sometimes your body doesn't consult your brain."

Denzel nodded emphatically. "Yeah! I just felt so out of control. I'm really not like that, I swear."

"So are you gonna accept my truce or make me stand her like an idiot with my hand out all night?"

Denzel seemed to notice his hand for the first time. A grin broke across his face as he accepted the gesture. "Truce."

"Denzel! What happened to your head?" Tifa fussed the next morning over breakfast.

He chewed his sausage thoughtfully before answering. "I woke up last night to go to the bathroom and…I hit my head."

Tifa reached over and pushed his bangs to the side to get a better look. "That looks pretty sore. I can cure it for you after breakfast."

Denzel shook his head, letting his hair slide back over the goose egg on his forehead. "That's ok, Tifa. It doesn't even hurt."

She frowned and went back to her eggs. "I keep telling you to turn on the lights when you get up at night. You never know what you might stumble over in the dark."

Denzel shoved more sausage in his mouth to cover the laugh that wanted to come out. "You're right, Tifa. I'll try to remember," he mumbled around the sausage.

She made a face. "Try to remember not to talk with your mouth full too, would ya?

By Friday, Denzel realized that for the first time, he wasn't looking forward to the weekend. He leaned against the locker next to Alicia's after third period. She was complaining about Mr. Johnson and how hard it was to stay awake for his History lectures.

Over her shoulder, he saw the familiar bob of Marlene's hair in the ninth grade hallway. She stood out like a sore thumb in that hall, nearly a head shorter than everyone else. Something about her posture seemed off, though. Acting on instinct, Denzel started toward her.

"Denzel?" Alicia questioned as he passed her.

He didn't stop to respond. He walked fast, reaching the hallway just in time to hear Lexi.

"Do I need to make it clearer? I can't stand you. I just felt sorry for you, but I can't even fake it anymore. You're disgusting."

Denzel couldn't believe it. He had never heard Lexi speak to Marlene that way. He pushed his way through the swarm of ninth graders. Marlene ducked her head and slipped away between them. He made a beeline for Lexi and grabbed her arm.

Lexi looked over, startled. For just a second, her eyes looked different. He couldn't pinpoint exactly why or what was different, but in the next second the illusion was gone, and she was the same old Lexi. She blinked and looked back in the direction Marlene had escaped.

"Marlene, wait!" she called.

She tried to follow, but Denzel yanked her back. "Leave her alone, Lexi!" He couldn't believe he had been so wrong about her. "I thought you were her friend! How could you say those things to her?" he said angrily.

Lexi looked distraught. "You don't understand. I need to find her! I have to fix her!"

"I think you've said enough," Denzel growled, his grip unrelenting.

"Denzel? What's going on?" Alicia appeared at his shoulder, distracting him just enough for Lexi to slip away.

He watched her fighting against the traffic of ninth graders, but let her go. He looked back to Alicia.

"I have to find Marlene," he said. "I'm sorry, I'll explain later."

He walked away quickly, but she caught up.

"I'll help you," Alicia said stoutly.

Denzel felt a wash of affection as he watched her hurrying to keep up. "It's not your problem, Alicia. You'll be late for class."

"I don't care," she said. "Is something going on with your sister?"

"Yeah," he said grimly. "I think she just got her feelings hurt, but I still kinda worry about her. She's still pretty fragile and she can be really impulsive sometimes." Denzel sighed and stopped walking. The hallways had almost cleared by then. He scanned in every direction, but her familiar shape was nowhere to be seen. "Where would she have gone?"

"If it were me, I'd probably hide out in the girls' bathroom," Alicia said matter-of-factly. Denzel stared at her. "That's why you need my help."

A small smile broke through his worried expression. "Ok, can you check them? I'm going to look in some other places."

Alicia gave one quick nod and headed off to the nearest bathroom. Denzel checked every janitor's closet, every empty classroom, even the office. He felt like he'd checked every nook and cranny where she could possibly hide out. No Marlene. He sprinted back to the hallway where he'd separated from Alicia, ignoring the teacher in the hallway who called "No running!" as he dashed by.

Alicia was back already, looking worried. "You didn't find her?"

Denzel shook his head. "No, and I don't know where else to look. Maybe she—" Just then, he noticed a thick plastic sheet down the hall. "The construction area!"

Alicia followed his line of sight. "Students aren't supposed to go back there."

"I know," he said, "but Marlene might have."

She bit her lip and nodded. "Then let's go look." She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the restricted area.

But Denzel resisted. "No. Not you." She looked back, hurt written all over her face. He gestured to her open-toed platform sandals and the bare legs below her knee-length skirt. "It will be messy and dangerous. You can't go back there like that."

"I'll be fine," she said irritably.

"Please, Alicia. I'll move faster if I don't have to worry about you. Just…go to class. I'll call you later, ok?"

Alicia pouted, but only for a second. "Promise?"

"I promise," he said, giving her hand one last squeeze. He watched her walking toward the office before taking off at a trot and ducking underneath the plastic.

It was like a different world on the other side of that sheet. The side of the building had been completely torn apart, making one giant room. Beams and supports were in place, but a few more steps in, a tarp became the temporary ceiling. Tools were strewn everywhere. Piles of planks dotted the ground below scaffoldings and on top of sawhorses. Denzel ducked and weaved around the various debris, wondering where all the workers could be.

"Marlene?" he called softly. His voice echoed eerily. The patter of rain on the tarp started, softly at first, but quickly turning into a downpour. "Marlene!" he said louder. He made his way across the room, thankful for the wide open space that left little room for hiding. The rain was getting loud, making it hard to hear his own voice.

Denzel made it to the far side of the construction area and ducked through an opening in the tarp. He was instantly drenched, but he didn't care. About 50 feet from the entrance was a large tent shelter. He could see shadows moving within it, so he sprinted across the small area and ducked inside.

A dozen men and women in working clothes were sitting around tables, laughing and eating lunch. They all looked up at the teenage boy who had just stormed in looking like a drowned rat.

Denzel quickly scanned the faces. "Cloud? Where's Cloud?" he asked frantically.

The workers looked stunned, but a middle aged woman in the corner finally responded. "He went to meet his little girl."

She must mean Marlene. Did that mean she had called him? "Where?" he asked.

"I think they meet over by the east door," another worker drawled.

Denzel nodded his thanks and took off, sprinting through the downpour toward the east door. He slammed open the heavy metal door and came face to face with a startled-looking Cloud, who was leaning calmly against the wall in the entryway.

"Cloud!" Denzel blurted. "Have you seen Marlene?"

Cloud stared at him blankly. "No, not yet. She hasn't shown up yet."

"We have to find her!" Denzel said frantically. "I think she left the school. Lexi said something mean and she took off."

"Lexi?" Cloud looked confused. "Are you sure?" He picked up a thermos and slid it back into the cooler by his side, but he was moving far too slowly for Denzel.

"Yes! Cloud, come on!"

"Denzel, are you sure she's not here? Maybe we should check—"

"Cloud, I looked everywhere! She's not here!"

Finally, Cloud nodded. "Let's go."

They ran across the parking lot in the downpour, their footsteps splashing in the water. Cloud popped open one of the compartments to grab the helmet and handed it to Denzel. They both jumped on, and Fenrir kicked up mud as they sped out of the lot.

Denzel was feeling pretty useless, trying to look for Marlene in the downpour. At least Cloud had his goggles and his super laser eyes, so he should be able to spot her if she was out there. But by the time they pulled up to Seventh Heaven, they hadn't seen a trace. Cloud stopped in the parking lot and they both raced inside.

"Marlene!" Cloud yelled. "Are you in here?"

"Marlene!" Denzel echoed, tracking mud through the bar and up the stairs. He opened every door and poked his head in, calling her name over and over. She wasn't upstairs. He clomped back down the stairs. Cloud was just returning from checking the kitchen and training room and garage, also empty-handed.

"Are you sure that's the route she usually walks to school?" Cloud asked.

"I—I think so. I don't know! I know she does sometimes."

"Where else would she go?" Cloud prodded.

"I have no idea, Cloud!"

Cloud sighed and pushed his sodden hair out of his eyes. For once, Denzel appreciated the helmet he made them wear. "Alright, I'm gonna drive around and look for her. You stay here and call me if she shows up." He eyed the path of muddy destruction from Denzel's trail. "And maybe clean up while you wait." Without waiting for a response, he headed back out in the rain.

Marlene couldn't remember the last time she'd cried so long and hard. She had been hurt and embarrassed when the three girls had tricked her in the Wasteland. She had been in pain when she had a knife stabbed into her thigh. But this? This was a whole new level of hurt. She had completely opened herself up to Lexi, making it all the more painful when she stabbed her in the back.

She had her arms wrapped around her knees and her face buried in her arms, as if she could ward off the hurt if she made herself as small as possible. It wasn't working, but it probably kept her from freezing in the chill rain.

"I thought I might find you here."

Marlene lifted her head at the soft voice that she barely heard over the driving rain. Her face crumbled all over again. "Go away, Lexi. I got your point, ok? I understand."

"No, Marlene, you don't," Lexi said, making her way across the rocky ground. She wrapped her arms around the younger girl and started to sing.

"What? What are you doing? Don't touch me!" Marlene thrashed and struggled, but she was weakened in so many ways and couldn't escape Lexi's grip. "Lexi stop! Leave me alone!"

Lexi ignored her and continued singing, and as hard as she tried to hang on to it, the anger slid between Marlene's fingers. The pain faded away. The tears stopped. Soon she stopped struggling and just let Lexi hold her.

When Lexi finished her song, Marlene sat up. "I—I'm so confused." Looking at Lexi properly, soaked to the skin just like her, she could tell now that she had been crying as well.

Lexi took both of her hands. "I'm so sorry, Mars. I had to hurt you and I had to make it real."

Marlene shook her head. "What are you talking about? Why would you ever have to hurt someone?" But she still didn't feel the anger. There was only curiosity behind her words.

"Remember that day when we talked about experimenting with my ability? I was starting to see a pattern. The people I helped the most where the ones that were the most vulnerable. It's almost like the soul is raw and exposed when someone is really hurt or upset, and that's when I feel the strongest urge to fix someone. That's also when I saw the biggest improvement."

Marlene nodded slowly. "And I said I would let you experiment on me."

"Yes," Lexi said, squeezing her hands. "I didn't want it to be you, though! You've been hurt so much already. I fought it for so long, Mars! I tried it with strangers, or people I didn't know well, but I never seemed to hurt them that much. And I realized…the people you hurt the most are the ones who love you the most." She looked down at the muddy ground. "I knew I could cut you deep, but I could never bring myself to do it…until today."

She released Marlene's hands and sat back, looking ashamed. "Once I started, the anger just flowed like a current. I told myself I would catch you right away, it would only hurt for a minute, and then I could make you better. But…you got away from me. Denzel stopped me and then I got caught up in the traffic in the hallway."

"Denzel?" Marlene asked.

"Yes," Lexi said solemnly. "He was really angry at me." She seemed incredibly troubled by that fact. Marlene didn't think they even knew each other outside of the times they'd interacted when she was visiting her at Seventh Heaven.

Lexi tried to brush the mud from her knees before she stood, but only succeeded in spreading it further. She wiped a hand on her shirt and held it out to Marlene, looking unsure of herself for the first time since Marlene had met her. "The school day is pretty much over, so we should probably take you home."

Marlene wasn't unsure. She wasn't even upset. She grabbed Lexi's hand and let her pull her to her feet. As they emerged from the tree graveyard, the rain slowed and then stopped. A faint rainbow stretched across the sky, leading them home.

"Lex?"

"Yeah?"

"Did it work?"

Lexi was still crying a bit, but she looked over at Marlene with a wobbly smile. "You'll have to wait and see for yourself."

Denzel did clean up his mess. It was only partially for Tifa's sake, though. He was going to go crazy if he didn't have something to keep him busy. He considered cleaning and polishing Skoll, but all weapons were still under lock and key.

He paced up and down the floor of the bar, imagining all the horrible things that could have happened to Marlene. He saw her getting hit by a car. He saw her trip and fall in a well. He saw her getting attacked by wild animals in a ditch. He saw her getting kidnapped my masked hoodlums in a windowless van. His mental images were getting more ridiculous and graphic with every passing minute.

At the first click of the door, Denzel was there, pulling it open from the inside. Before she could even register him, Marlene was pulled into a tight hug. After all of those violent images, he almost wasn't expecting to see her alive.

He didn't immediately release her. She felt different. Sturdier. Slowly, he stepped back, keeping his hands on her arms. His mouth went dry as he looked her over. "Mar? What…what happened to you?"

"What do you mean?" she asked innocently. Every trace of sadness and hurt was gone from her voice.

That was when Denzel noticed Lexi standing behind her in the doorway, looking abashed. His hands tightened on Marlene's shoulders. "What is she doing here?"

Marlene pulled herself from his grasp and grabbed one of Lexi's hands, pulling her inside the bar. "It was just a misunderstanding, Denzel."

Denzel scowled. "I heard what she said, Mar. Trust me, you didn't misunderstand her."

"Heel, guard doggie," Marlene said playfully, turning back to him. "I'll explain it all, just as soon as I see what you're freaking about. Sit down," she ordered, pointing at one of the tables. Then she took off at a run and pounded up the stairs.

Denzel was still staring at Lexi distrustfully. "I never knew you could be so mean, Lexi." He leaned closer and lowered his voice so Marlene wouldn't overhear. "Do you know how hard it is for her to make friends? You were her best friend. If you didn't want to hang out with her, you didn't have to say it like that."

Lexi looked like she was holding back tears. "I—I know, Denzel. I didn't want to hurt her." She looked down and shuffled her feet.

He might have torn into her further if Marlene hadn't come gliding back into the bar at that moment. She had pushed her wet hair back with the headband that she hadn't needed to wear for months. She was practically glowing.

"It worked, Lexi!" she sang. "I can't believe it! You fixed me!"

A scowl settled over Denzel's face. "What do you mean, she fixed you? What did she do?"

Marlene pulled Lexi over to the table and coaxed her into sitting next to Denzel. Then she parked in a third chair. "She had to break me to fix me. It's amazing, Denz. I don't know how it happened, but Lexi has some kind of power to…well, to soothe the soul. Or maybe a special part of my brain. I don't know, but whatever was broken in me, that's what she can fix! But she needed to hurt me to get me to open up. That's why she was so mean. So, see? It was all just to help me!"

Denzel stared at her in silence. That whole rambling explanation took some time to absorb. Finally, he shifted his view to Lexi. "Do you have a moogle doll?"

Marlene silently flipped through the sketchpad. Denzel had retrieved it from upstairs before remembering that he hadn't told Cloud that she was home yet. So while Denzel made his phone call, Lexi and Marlene admired his artwork.

It seemed to be a hodgepodge of random things and people. There were pictures of Cloud fighting, which were really cool. There were also a couple of him holding fire in his hands, which was just silly. There was a drawing of an angry Jameson which was startlingly accurate. She paused when she came across the picture with the three girls she had once seen him sketching. It was Heather, Juliette, and Annile. They were whispering and pointing at her. Did that mean that Denzel had figured out who her bullies had been? They hadn't really bothered her since school started back up this week. She wondered if Denzel had said something to them. He hoped he didn't do something stupid, like threaten a bunch of younger girls.

Denzel finished on the phone and came to sit back down with them. "Cloud and Tifa are both coming home. They're gonna want an explanation about what happened to you, Marlene."

"Ok," she said. "Denzel, you didn't say anything to these girls, did you?" she asked, showing him the picture.

"Say anything?" Denzel looked puzzled. "What would I say to them? I don't even know them."

Marlene looked back down at the drawing. "Why did you draw this?"

"I don't really know," Denzel said with a sigh. "I didn't know why I drew this one, either," he said, flipping to the picture of Marlene with the moogle doll. "But you looked so much better that I knew the moogle must have something to do with it."

"What?" Marlene shook her head. "Denzel, you're not making any sense."

"I know. It doesn't make sense," he said with a frown. "But I've been getting these pictures in my head and I have to draw them. And then sometimes, they come true."

Marlene was starting to get excited. "You have a special power just like Lexi!" Then she sobered. "How come I didn't get one?"

Just then, Cloud and Tifa rushed in through the front door of the bar. The three kids looked up calmly, wondering what the adults were so worked up over. They both froze in their tracks and stared at Marlene. Tifa walked slowly forward like she was afraid to spook the little girl. She ran a thumb gently over one full cheek and gingerly picked up one no-longer-bony wrist.

Then they had to start all over. Marlene was delighted to explain how Lexi had broken and fixed her again. She was back to her previous animated self. She hadn't even realized that she'd lacked the energy to do it for so long. When she was finished, Tifa's eyes caught on Denzel's open sketchpad. She reached over and pulled it across the table. "Denzel, did you know Lexi could do this?" she asked.

Marlene studied Tifa's expression. She seemed to already know about Denzel's drawings. It seemed Cloud did, too, as neither of them looked surprised that he had drawn it. She couldn't help feeling a little put out that she hadn't been privy to every secret in this house.

Denzel shook his head. "Not before today. I didn't know it was Lexi's doll."

Tifa looked back at the drawing and traced her finger over the dark smudges all over the doll. "What does it have all over it?" she asked.

"Oh," Lexi said, her face dropping, "that was from Geostigma."

Cloud's eyes snapped to her. "You had the Stigma?"

Lexi nodded. "My brother and me both had it."

Cloud's eyes drifted somewhere far away. He was putting something together in his head, but in typical Cloud fashion, he wasn't going to tell them anything.

Marlene would have pestered him for information, which likely would have been fruitless anyway, but the door opened just then and Niko entered. She hadn't seen him for days, but he looked much more relaxed than he had been the last few times he'd been there.

"Hey Niko," Denzel said casually.

"Hey Denzel," Niko said with a grin.

Marlene scowled. It seemed that she was losing her touch. There were multiple things going on here that she didn't know about.

A soft tapping on Denzel's door pulled him from the light sleep he had just slipped into. "Come in," he said groggily.

Marlene poked her head into the dark room. "Denzel, are you awake?"

"No," he muttered without opening his eyes.

"I need to talk to you!" she whispered loudly.

"And I need to sleep. Talk to me in the morning," he grumbled.

Marlene flipped on the light.

"Argh!" Denzel threw his arm over his eyes to hide from the glaring brightness.

Marlene plopped down on the end of his bed. It seemed that she was going to enjoy the return of her vitality to the fullest.

He could see that she wasn't going to give up, so he grudgingly sat up in bed. "Is this really something that can't wait until tomorrow?"

"I can't sleep because I'm thinking about it, and I can't stop thinking about it until I talk about it. So no, it can't."

Denzel let out a long, dramatic sigh. "Fine. Talk."

"Ok," Marlene said, sitting up on her knees and gearing herself up for lecture mode. "You said something earlier tonight about Lexi's eyes."

"Yeah," he said, rubbing at his own eyes.

"What was weird about them? What looked different?"

Denzel groaned. "I don't know, Mar, they just looked funny."

"Like what?" Marlene pressed. "Was the color different?"

"No."

"Were her pupils different?"

"N—wait," he said, sitting up. "Yeah, that was it," he said, getting excited. "They were longer or something. And skinnier! Yeah! They looked like a cat's eyes."

Marlene sat back on her heels, looking satisfied. "I saw a whole group of kids with cat's eyes once," she said solemnly.

Denzel scratched his head. "Really? I don't remember that. Where was I?"

"Right in the middle of the group," she said. "In the lake in the Forgotten City. You were listening to some girly-looking dude in skin tight leather instead of the great and wise Marlene, who was telling you not to drink the freaking water!"

"Oh. Oh! All our eyes looked like that?"

"Yeah. It was creepy." Marlene shuddered. "You're probably lucky you don't remember everything that happened after that. I mean, how did you not notice something was off about those three?"

Denzel shrugged. "They were a little weird, but I was desperate. Everyone said there was no cure, but then that girl with the moogle doll…" he trailed off. The girl with the moogle doll… Realizations were hitting him hard and fast. "Marlene! That girl was Lexi! I can't believe I didn't recognize her before! Remember? She was there at the church with us, too. I think she even held your hand on the way."

Marlene's eyes lit up. "That's right! It was Lexi! How could we forget that?"

"She looked different back then." He paused, trying to remember some of the other faces from the back of that truck, but he couldn't picture anyone. He could only pull up flickers of stocking caps and sneakers and legions of black-stained bandages. "I wonder if we know any of those other kids now."

Marlene shrugged. "I wasn't really looking at them."

"Me neither."

Denzel chewed his lip. "So how is that related?"

Marlene slouched. "I don't know. That's why I need to talk through it with you so I can figure it out! Lexi said once that she felt something weird on her neck and arm when she used her ability, right where her Geostigma used to be. Do you have anything like that?"

Denzel touched his forehead. "Yeah. Yes! That's right where it gets all itchy inside!"

"So that has to be it!" she said. "Your powers came from your Geostigma!"

Denzel was impressed. "Nice detective work, Mar. So do you have any idea why Cloud took away my sword and materia?"

Marlene frowned. "No. Probably because you looked like you were gonna kill a guy."

"Cloud told you about that?!" He couldn't believe he would talk to Marlene about something like that.

"Not…exactly." Marlene said. "He told Tifa and I just overheard."

"Overheard," Denzel snorted. "Right."

Marlene fidgeted with her hands. "Denzel?" she asked softly. "Were you really gonna do it?"

Denzel didn't answer for a long time. He remembered the way he felt, that burning current of anger flowing through him. He remembered the way he had eyed Niko's neck, watching his pulse throbbing against his glistening skin, thinking how easy it would be. He remembered his muscles tensing, getting ready to move. He closed his eyes and sighed. "If Cloud wasn't there…I might have."

"Why, Denzel?! Why would you even think of something like that?"

"I don't know," Denzel said, pounding the bed with his fist in frustration. "I've never felt like that before."

"Why are you so angry and mean and quick tempered lately?" she pressed. "Why are you acting like someone else? I don't like this version of you!"

"Shut up, Marlene," he growled in warning.

"No! I don't even think I should fix your arm," she said stubbornly, her eyes narrowing. "You deserve to have it messed up for the rest of your life. I don't know why that girl likes you, but once I tell her—"

"SHUT UP!" he roared, jumping up from the bed.

Marlene backed up fast, her eyes wide. Denzel took a step toward her and then the door slammed open on its hinges, punching a hole in the drywall. Tifa pulled Marlene behind her and Cloud grabbed Denzel's shoulders before he could get any closer.

No one said anything for a long time. They all stared at each other, wondering who was going to make the next move.

It was Denzel. He sat down on the bed and buried his face in his hands.

"Go to your room, Marlene," Tifa finally said.

"No," Marlene said stubbornly. "I wanted to see if his eyes would change if I made him mad and they did! He got really mad and he got those cat eyes!"

"We know," Cloud said quietly. "Go to your room."

"No!" Marlene stomped her foot. "If you know, why don't you tell us anything? If you would tell us what's going on, I wouldn't have to try to figure it all out on my own! If you would have just told Denzel why you were taking him on that camping trip in the first place, he wouldn't have been such a jerk to Cloud and almost gotten killed! If you would have let me try healing once I was recovered, I wouldn't have had to try cutting myself up! If you think Denzel's too dangerous to have his sword, maybe you should tell him why! And maybe you should tell me not to provoke him if you know that he might go psycho on me!"

She ended her rant, red faced and breathing heavily. The other three stared in shock. Denzel was the first to break the uncomfortable silence. "Wow, Mar. Maybe you shouldn't hold everything in like that."

Cloud and Tifa looked at each other for several minutes, passing those silent messages. Denzel watched their faces closely. He could actually see when they came to some kind of agreement. It was kind of fascinating when he wasn't all irritated about it.

"Ok," Cloud finally said. "Let's go talk."

They all herded down the stairs and into the little living area off the kitchen. Marlene sat down at one end of the big red leather couch, and Tifa sat down next to her, putting a protective arm around her shoulder. Cloud sat on the stained brown loveseat. Denzel sat in the lone armchair.

Cloud leaned back and tapped his fingers on his legs. "I'm not sure where to start," he confessed.

"How about explaining why Denzel's eyes change like that when he gets mad." She crossed her arms and a scowl locked on her face. She still seemed pretty irritated about the secrets.

"Well…I have a theory," Cloud said slowly. "But I'm not sure if it's right, because we should have heard something about it by now."

He trailed off and Marlene got impatient again. "Just tell us the theory, Cloud!"

Cloud began to crack his knuckles – a nervous habit that she hadn't seen in quite some time. "I think that…when he gets angry, Jenova has some kind of influence over him. It somehow gives her an opening."

"But…but…the Stigma is gone. I thought the flower girl fixed it." Marlene cast a nervous glance at Tifa at the mention of the other woman, but she didn't seem to react.

"Yeah." His eyes flickered around thoughtfully. "But what exactly did she do? Did it wash the cells right out of our bodies?"

The kids looked lost, so he continued.

"According to Vincent, the symptoms of Geostigma were caused by the body overcompensating for alien matter in the bloodstream. With Aerith's healing rain, the symptoms went away, right? But what if it only stopped the body's immune response? What if the cells are still in there, in our bodies, causing slow mutations?"

"But what about you, Cloud?" Marlene questioned. "Is it affecting you, too?"

Cloud frowned. "I don't think so. But I don't expect that I would react like most people."

"Oh." The wheels were turning in her head. "Do you think there are others that are getting weird abilities too? We already figured out that the abilities are related to the stigma."

The adults looked surprised. "Yes, we think so," Tifa answered. "There's been a lot of strange stuff in the news in Edge."

"But nowhere else," Cloud added.

"Wasn't the stigma everywhere?" Denzel asked. "I thought it was just worst around the Midgar area, but that it was everywhere."

"Yeah," Cloud acknowledged. "There were reactors all over the planet. That's why I'm not so sure about that theory. It should be happening everywhere, not just here."

Marlene's face was scrunched up, a sign that there were lightbulbs going off in her head. "Why were the three gray guys here?" she wondered. "Why not somewhere else?"

Cloud smothered a grin at 'the three gray guys.' "I think probably because I'm here and Shinra's here. They were looking for both of us."

"Hm," Marlene said. "Well that's something that makes Midgar different than all the other places."

"Cloud and Shinra being here? How does that make a difference?" Tifa asked.

"No, the three gray guys being here. They took Denzel and those other kids out to the Forbidden Forest and got them to drink that water."

Cloud looked alarmed. He sat forward in his seat. "What water? What are you talking about?"

"There was some kind of pond out there and Kadaj did something to make it all black and then got the kids to drink it."

Cloud's eyes narrowed as he looked back to Denzel. "Did you drink it?"

"Um…yeah," Denzel said, looking properly embarrassed this time.

Cloud fell back against the loveseat. "What happened when they drank it?" he asked, directing the question back to Marlene.

"Their eyes all turned into those cat eyes and then they decided it would be fun to be Kadaj's human shield," Marlene said, displaying the flair for drama that had been missing of late.

"You didn't drink any, did you, sweetie?" Tifa asked Marlene.

Marlene snorted. "Of course not!"

"Lexi did it, too," Denzel said defensively.

Cloud was staring off into space again, working through something in his mind. "You gonna tells us what you're figuring out, Cloud?" Marlene sassed, crossing her arms.

He looked a little embarrassed, so he probably hadn't been about to tell them. "Oh. I was just thinking," he said. "Did they try to get you to drink it, Mar?"

Marlene shook her head. "Nope. I think I was just bait for you."

Cloud nodded. "It sounds like maybe the water activated the cells somehow. Maybe the reunion instinct, if they were trying to find Jenova."

Denzel had been mostly a silent observer to this whole discussion. Something else was weighing on his mind. After Marlene had announced that she was going back to bed and Tifa left for a bathroom break, the two guys were left sitting there alone.

"You should get to bed, too, Denzel. It's late," Cloud said.

Denzel nodded, but didn't move. He wanted to ask, but at the same time, he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"Something else bothering you?" Cloud asked gently.

Denzel finally looked up. "Do you think Aerith is going to do something to fix it again?"

Cloud shook his head slowly. "I don't think we should count on it."

Denzel squirmed uncomfortably. "I don't like this feeling," he admitted quietly. "I don't like being controlled by someone else."

That seemed to hit Cloud hard. His fingers flexed on his thighs. "I—I know," he said finally.

"Can you fix it?" His voice pleaded, taking on the tone of the helpless little boy he used to be. Back then, he had thought Cloud could make anything better. Cloud was invincible. He was going to find the cure for Geostigma any day. And when he disappeared from their lives, he never stopped believing that Cloud would come back.

But now, Cloud just looked crushed. He didn't look invincible at all. "No, buddy. I don't think I can."

Denzel was starting to get nervous. Was it really necessary for everyone to be there for this? Cloud insisted that it was.

Marlene sat in front of him, gently palpating his forearm. She had her eyes closed and a look of intense focus on her face. Cloud sat to Denzel's left, next to the damaged arm. He seemed to think that Denzel would need to be held down. Lexi sat at the other side side, whether for him or Marlene he didn't know, but apparently her skills were going to make this process easier. Tifa stood behind Denzel with her hands on his shoulders, ready to provide comfort or strength as needed.

Marlene pulled in a deep breath through her nose and let it out through her mouth. "Ok, guys. I'm ready."

Cloud wrapped one hand around Denzel's wrist and grabbed his upper arm with the other. It felt like a steel vice.

"Is this really necessary, guys?" Denzel complained. "I'm not going to—AGH!" Holy mother of GAIA, that hurt! "Jeez Marlene, what are you—GAAAAAAH!" he screamed again.

Each moment of intense agony was followed by a soothing coolness that dulled the pain from unbearable to just severe. Denzel wasn't sure if that made it better or worse, because there was always the unbearable pain to look forward to in the next moment. He knew it was coming after each reprieve. At first, he really did try to hold still, but after the third stab of pain, he was trying desperately to pull his arm out of Cloud's iron grip. When that proved fruitless, he tried to move the rest of his body, to use his body weight to pull himself away from the part of him that was screaming for every ounce of his attention.

Tifa wrapped her arms around his upper body, immobilizing that half of him to the chair. Cloud used his legs to trap Denzel's legs between then, his last ditch effort at pushing away Marlene's chair to stop her. "Please stop! Marlene! I need a break! STOP!"

Marlene released her focus just long enough to say. "Can't right now." Then she went back into it while Denzel's every muscle strained against Cloud and Tifa.

He felt a cool hand at the back of his neck. He was confused at the disembodied touch at first, but then a low croon slipped through his consciousness. Lexi's voice slithered through him like a silken sheath, releasing the tension in his muscles. It was a strange sensation. He could still feel the pain radiating from his arm, but it was like he was disconnected from it. He felt it, but didn't really seem bothered by it.

The pain broke through that curious barrier only once, when Marlene started working on his nerves, but Lexi doubled down, putting her arms all the way around him and singing louder to be heard over his uncontrollable yelling.

After what felt like an eternity, the pain dulled and then began to fade, replaced by that cool, soothing sensation. He let out a sigh of relief as Marlene released his hand. Lexi let him go and stepped back, looking shy. Cloud and Tifa held on for a minute longer, until they were sure he wasn't going to lash out at Marlene.

Denzel held up his arm, examining it in awe. He wiggled his fingers and then curled them into a fist. He let out a laugh of pure exhiliaration, moving his arm around and bending every joint in every way possible. He lunged at Marlene. She cringed as he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a loud, sloppy kiss on the cheek. Cloud laughed out loud and Tifa smothered a giggle.

"Ugh! Denzel! Gross!" Marlene shrieked.

Denzel released her, leaving wet marks everywhere he had touched her. He looked down at himself, suddenly realizing that he was soaked with sweat. That just made it so much funnier. He grinned like a madman. "You're the best, Marlene. I take back every mean thing I ever said about you in my whole life."

Marlene looked embarrassed and tried to act like she was still upset about his sweaty hug, but he could see she was pleased by his gushing. He laughed in amazement once more and then ran up the stairs, wondering how he was ever going to repay her.

He was thoroughly enjoying showering with two hands when he remembered that he probably should have thanked Lexi, too. He was fairly certain that he would have lost his sanity halfway through that without her.

Once he finished his shower, Denzel got out and wrapped a towel around his waist. He felt like he was on the moon, and he wasn't sure when he was going to come back down. He hurried down the hall to Marlene's room and knocked on the door. As he had hoped, both girls were in there.

"Lexi," he sang, practically skipping into the room. "Thank you so much for getting me through that. You were amazing, too." He wrapped her in a big hug, wet but at least not sweaty. Her face burned red when he released her, and she was having trouble looking at him.

"Not that we aren't enjoying this happy, appreciative Denzel and everything," Marlene said dryly, "but do you think you could put some clothes on now?"