A/N: Hey everybody! Sorry that it's been so long! School and marching band/band in general have been real hammers! Now its winter break and its Christmas Eve so I thought that I might give you guys a holiday present! Enjoy! This may be a little confusing, but its kind of a journal entry from Denzel's point of view with inserts of others thoughts.
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or anything of the characters except for the ones that I create and the plot line.
P.S. while reading this chapter these songs might make a good soundtrack. I listened to them while I was writing this chapter.
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Chapter 3
Denzel's
December 22,
Well, I can say stranger and possibly more dangerous things have happened to me, but today really was pushing the limits on that phrase. I don't think that my past has ever come back to haunt me this much.
Early in the morning I asked Tifa if I could later in the afternoon go and do some last minute Christmas shopping. I could see in her eyes that she was worried for me; it kind of shows that I haven't been getting much sleep lately. There are dark bags underneath my eyes and my eyes are dull and glassy. I also twitch at loud and unexpected noises and shake slightly. Any way, she finally agreed to let me go shopping, and I kind of did that. I decided to go visit my parents. I normally would go on Christmas Eve, but seeing as Tifa and Yuffie are hosting their Christmas party on that day; it would really be hard to sneak out to go see them. I also felt that I should spend as much time with them as I can, considering what has been going these past few years. The last time I saw them was when I was eight. That was five years ago.
So there I was, walking along the streets headed to visit my parents after stopping at a small glass store to get some small figurines for everybody , when I got a very strong ominous/déjà feeling. It kind of felt like someone was following me. The entire way to the graveyard I kept turning around to see if any one was following me, but it didn't look like any body was. I spent the entire afternoon talking to mom and dad. I guess that I spent longer than I thought because the next thing I know the sun was setting. I said my goodbyes to mom and dad and started the long trek back to Seventh Heaven. I looked at a clock inside a store and realized that it was later that I thought so I stopped at a pay phone and called Seventh Heaven. Marlene picked up after a long wait, and by that time, the déjà feeling returned, but this time, it was even stronger…
"Hey, Marlene, it's Denzel,"
"Oh! Where have you been? Tifa was starting to think that the old Cloud was rubbing off on you!"
"No! He's not rubbing off on me! I was just out shopping and lost track of time! Anyway, tell Tifa that I am on my way home…Hey, Marlene? I've got to go, there is somebody waiting to use the phone."
"O.K., I'll tell her. Hey, you sound funny, kind of like you're depressed and scared, anything wrong?"
"No, nothing is wrong, I…just have a lot on my mind is all. See you in a little bit."
"Bye."
With that I hung up and walked out of the booth. I told the man waiting for the phone that it was all his, and kept walking. Suddenly I felt a hand coming to rest on my shoulder. I froze and turned around slowly, keeping in mind the self defense moves everyone thought that Marlene and I should know. What I saw next was a face that I thought I never would see again.
"Hey kid! I been hearin' all about you on the news."
Fred's rough and oily voice crashed upon me as I looked into his demented face. He had stubble on his face that looked like he hadn't showered in many days; while his teeth were yellow and his eyes had the look of a drunken and lost man. I confess, I felt totally scared out of my wits, but what was I to do? I remembered all too strongly what had happened to me the last time that I called for help.
When the hand grabbed me and swung me into the darkened alley I knew that I was in for it. It was like my mind had frozen, I couldn't even process what was happening! Suddenly, I felt the stinging slap rage across my face. More followed while I still made no noise. I could hear Fred cussing and then everything stopped. I could feel that I had at least one black eye, the other I couldn't see out of; I also knew that I had multiple cuts and bruises and was bleeding heavily.
I thought that maybe Fred was gone and it was all over…then I heard the worst possible sound; more voices. I let my self just lie there and waited for the right chance to stand up and either fight my way out or make a run for it. While I lay there, I heard the voices of Cloud, Tifa, Yuffie, Vincent, Barrett, Cid, Nanaki, Rufus, Tseng, Elena, Rude, Reno…and two voices that I had heard before, but I had never met the owners; Zack and Aerith. All of the voices circled around me, all telling me the same thing; get out or fight for your honor.
Cloud's
I was a little bit worried as to where Denzel had gotten to. It was already a quarter past six and Marlene said that he had called over an hour ago saying that he was on his way home. I asked if he had said anything else, but she just said that there was somebody waiting to use the phone so he had to go. I looked over at Barrett, Vincent, Cid, Tseng, Rude, Reno, Rufus and Nanaki while she said this. They might have kidnapped him or something. After all, being looked after and knowing all the members of Avalanche and Shinra Corp. can make you pretty popular with some unwanted people. After looking at everyone's faces, I knew that it was time to go look for him. I made the announcement that I was going to go look for Denzel, and immediately everyone else stood up to follow. Tifa and Elena volunteered to stay at the bar with Marlene just in case Denzel came home. Everyone else got their weapons and mentally prepared themselves for the worst.
Denzel's
I heard many voices, and they weren't the kind of voices that meant that I had done something good.
"Is this the damn kid?"
"Yeah, that's him."
"Doesn't look like much. Are you sure that he was taken in by those big guys in Avalanche and Shinra and the WRO?"
"Oh yeah. And now he's going to pay for the things that Kelley and I had to go through. You hear that boy? After your friends in Avalanche and Shinra and the WRO messed up the world we used to live in, Kelley and I got it bad. I ended up losing an arm and a leg in a building collapse and Kelley lost her life. This was of course after we spent time in the slammer because of you rattin' on us. Well, you're going to receive exactly what I got, and there isn't much you can do about it."
I heard laughter from all around me. I struggled to stand up, and when I finally did, nothing I did could mask the anger I felt.
"Shut up!" I shouted as loudly as I could.
"Whats that boy? Couldn't hear you!"
"I think that he said "Shut Up!"
Again I could hear laughter coming from all around me. I took in my surroundings and noticed that I was backed up against an old fire escape. I felt around behind me and grasped the first metal thing that my hand touched. Turned out to be a sharp, slightly rusted metal stake; perfect for attacking and defending ones' body. I mentally and physically prepared my self for what I was about to do.
"I said to 'Shut Up!' You can say whatever you want about me, but don't ever, ever say anything bad about Avalanche or the WRO or the new Shinra! They are better people than you'll ever be!"
After my little tirade, it was so silent; you could hear a pin drop. I then felt the gang advancing in on me. I knew from experience and from what little I could see that Fred was in the front.
"What did you say boy?" It was a low and menacing growl that came out of his mouth. I restated that I told them to shut up and to never say anything bad about Avalanche and Shinra and the WRO. I could feel them getting closer and closer, so I knew that I had to act now. I tensed the muscles in my legs and waited. 3…2…1…NOW!
I jumped and yelled as loud as I could and just started using the martial arts the Yuffie, Tifa, and Elena had taught me. I could hear the yelps of anger and surprise that filled the dark alley as I launched my attack. I knew that the odds were not good, but I thought that I was still holding my own. I must have spoken to soon…
Cloud's
We decided to split and cover the area around the telephone that we knew Denzel had used. Vincent and I were walking around asking people if they had seen Denzel. The longer we searched the more frantic and worried I became. If anything had happened to him, I don't know what I would do. He didn't know this yet, but I was thinking of adopting him. After we came so close to loosing him and our family during the Geostigma crisis, I realized how precious he is to me. Finally, after thirty minutes of searching, one woman finally said that she had seen a young boy come out after using the telephone booth. We asked her where he went and she said there was a man waiting outside the booth. She assumed that he was the boy's father, and had watched the man lead the boy a few blocks away. We thanked her and radioed the others to meet us back at the telephone booth. When we had all reassembled Vincent told everyone the woman's news. Faces became harder and tempers started to get out of control. They only calmed down once I started in the direction the woman had pointed us in. It became silent as we moved as one down the street. The closer we got to the end of the block; we started to hear sounds of laughter, fighting…and the worst possible sound ever…screaming.
Denzel's
I lay once again on the ground, only this time I was more exhausted and I was tied up. It was an awkward position that they tied me in; one arm and leg tied to a separate pole and the others tied to my body. I was more beat up than I had ever been. I had the injuries to my face from earlier, and now I added broken ribs, bruises and deep cuts all over my body. Suddenly, I heard the sound of swords being drawn. In my pain filled stupor, I realized that when Fred said that he meant me to fell everything that he and Kelley felt, he wasn't lying. I remembered that Fred had said he had lost an arm and a leg in a building collapse.
A huge coldness washed over me as I realized what was going to happen; I was going to loose and arm and a leg; just like Fred did. I shuddered and prayed as hard as I could that someone would get to me in time. But, I knew deep down that would not happen. I let my self be lost in my pain, hoping that if I let my self go, the pain would dull.
I heard the swish and suddenly fire spread throughout my arm and leg. I didn't care who heard me, I just let loose scream after scream. I cringed at my self at how horrible my cries were. Then, through all of the laughter and cheers, I heard growls and angry shouts, one in particular that I never thought that I would hear again.
"GET AWAY FROM MY SON!"
That was the last thing I heard before I passed into the welcoming darkness.
Cloud's
When we heard the sound of screams and fighting, everyone started to sprint. The fighting sounds didn't bother me, it was that screaming. It was the most horrible thing that I had ever heard. I could hear the child's voice underneath it and laced into it all the pain and suffering. Emotional, physical pain that went back ages and ages. It hurt me to listen and I sprinted even harder. We finally pulled up to the alley and what we found made me sick to my stomach. Lying on the ground, covered in bruises, cuts, and blood, was my Denzel. Seeing him laying there was the worst thing I had ever seen. At least, I thought that until I saw that one man held an arm and a leg that looked like they belonged to a child. I glanced again at Denzel and noticed that he was missing an arm and a leg. I heard the others start to growl and yell anger and pain filled cries. I could barely see from the tears that filled up my eyes and I didn't care about the tear racked and wrought sob/yell that worked its way out of my chest and throat.
"GET AWAY FROM MY SON!"
Well, there you have it. Chapter 3. I'm sorry if that was a little confusing. It started out as a journal entry, and then went into a flashback/point of view thing. This is by far the longest chapter that I have ever written, so enjoy and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!