Tifa was present in Marlene's earliest memory. Little more than a sliver now. Sometime at night. Or had it been during the day? Midgar always confused times. She had a balloon; why and where it had come from was unclear. It was yellow and full of helium. A gift for her birthday?
Dad had gone somewhere else and she was standing with Tifa at her food cart. And for whatever reason, Marlene let go of the string.
The balloon sped upwards out of her reach. Marlene cried out, her hand closing on nothing. Too late. The balloon surged upwards and Marlene could do nothing but cry. "Hey," a kindly voice said. "What's wrong?"
"Balloon!" was the only response Marlene could manage.
Did the balloon pop when it reached the upper plate? Where in Sector Seven had they been? Was there a chance the balloon floated up between the gap in the plate and continued upwards? Could it have made it out into space? The memory gave no indication; she lost sight of her balloon and the warmth of Tifa's hug surrounded her. The comfort of her arms helped to diminish the sorrow of losing the balloon.
Biggs, Wedge and Jessie were not a constant in her life. Never guardians like Tifa. In among the fragments involving them was what must have been someone's apartment.
Some discussion that bored her – something only years later did she realize must have related to the series of baths set up in the apartment. Or more specifically, the contents of those bathtubs; home-brew alcohol. The group that would one day become Avalanche was trying to grow Tifa's business. Nothing of interest to Marlene at the time. The tubs stank, the adults were boring, there was nothing to do and everything was taking far too long.
At some point, Jessie broke away from the discussion and asked if Marlene wanted to help her. Marlene was lead to a crowded workbench where Jessie helped her clumsily type on a battered computer.
Tifa's Bar was a flimsy wooden structure resembling a beach bar, not unlike those found in Costa del Sol. No risk of bad weather deep in Sector Seven, so it worked for their purposes. A portable heater would keep them warm in the colder months, but they abandoned it long before it became necessary.
Not a lot of room behind the counter; the open bar on one side, jury-rigged pumps duct-taped in place. Opposite were hobs, grills and the fryer. Dad and Tifa and Jessie and Biggs and Wedge and a number of customers made clear she needed to steer clear of the latter. The forbidden aspect only served to make her curious, but nothing came of it. Marlene had at least some sense of the device's dangers; the flare of heat when it was active, the wreaths of steam as Tifa shook food onto plates.
Dad was with Biggs and Wedge for security. Jessie helped out behind the bar, fiddling with a keyboard or sifting through electronics. Marlene helped. She held plates for Tifa, broke large gil-notes for Jessie with coins from a tiny lock-box under the counter. The narrow, rectangular space was always busy, Marlene good at rushing back and forth, winding her way between the adults.
Biggs proposed they call the new building 'Tifa's Bar 2: Electric Boogaloo'. Jessie and Tifa flatly rejected the suggestion.
The final name took a while to settle, an ongoing discussion during the interior clean-up. Marlene never caught what the building was previously used for, nor how much it had cost to buy. But the place was now Tifa's. She and Jessie fussing with floorplans; Biggs and Wedge hauling trash bags and detritus out the front door.
Dad was somewhere below in the surprisingly spacious basement and sifting through yet more junk. He warned Marlene to avoid hole leading down, but she wanted to explore with him. The single room encompassing the ground floor of the bar had lost any sense of mystery after her patrols along the length and breadth of it. Downstairs was something new and exciting.
Wedge caught her when she peered over the edge for a third time, smiled and moved her back. Marlene scowled at him and he produced a lollipop. Well, if sweets were on offer she could resist the basement. For now. Impossible not to glance at the aperture and the mystery within. Wedge made a shooing gesture and she hurried away. He smiled and told the room they needed some way to cover the hole.
The opening of the Seventh Heaven was disappointing but the adults all seemed happy. Some visitors peered in cautiously, others settled into seats like they were regulars. Surely all Tifa's old customers would come here? And the rest of the Sector, heck, the rest of Midgar? This was Tifa's bar; run by the nicest person in the world. Next to Dad of course.
But Tifa was smiling and talking about how well it was going. Dad stayed close to the door when Marlene was awake, but periodically ventured further in to take a drink or slice of the pizza Biggs bought for dinner. Tifa tutted at him for wasting money – she could have made something for the group. Biggs insisted he wanted to give her a break from working - if only for a few minutes.
Marlene got dozy after the pizza, but she struggled when Dad picked her up, insisting she was not tired. Everyone had not yet come to visit. But her eyelids fluttered no matter what she said, Dad's voice shifting in coherence and he carried her to the basement and her bed.
Dad tried to teach her to use materia once. He started with a healing spell – something for emergency use only. His directions were hard to follow, Dad asking her to focus while she clutched the glowing green sphere. But no new thought, no spell entered her head. She squeezed tighter, focused harder. Nothing. The effort grew tiresome and Marlene wanted to sit down, or run around; anything but this. Afterward, Tifa chided Dad and insisted she was too young.
There was a stranger in the bar. Well. There were always strangers in the bar. Some were nice and friendly; some made her uneasy. Dad knew this stranger somehow but did not like him. Biggs and Wedge asked him to join them at a table. Jessie smiled at him. And Tifa-
Tifa seemed pleased to see him. Sort of. She smiled and sounded happy. But she had also spent so much of the evening frowning. The man in question – Cloud - seemed a little unsure of everything, a single flower clutched in his right hand. Where had he gotten a flower? Dad had pointed out pictures of similar objects in books and magazines, but they were a world removed from this.
Marlene hid when Cloud noticed her, but put on a brave face. He held the flower out to her. A glance up at Dad; he nodded. She held her hand out and Cloud gave her the flower. She retreated back to safety behind Tifa. So different to the plastic replicas Dad gifted her from time to time. A protest when Dad took the flower, but he shushed her and tucked it into her hair. Marlene brushed the petals with inquisitive fingers and went in search of a mirror.
Something was wrong. First Cloud had not come back, Dad and Tifa unhappy come morning. Tifa left sometime after Dad talked to a nervous looking stranger hanging around the Seventh Heaven. Life in Sector Seven continued as normal. Until the shouting. Dad left first to investigate, burst back into the bar and demanded everyone leave. He and Biggs and Wedge and Jessie rushed out; they told Marlene to stay where she was and be a good girl.
A worrying suspicion something more was wrong, but Marlene would be good and helpful. Taking a low stool, she wrung a cloth out and wiped down the bar the same way Tifa did each evening. It would save time for her later.
A knock on the door distracted her. Outside a woman dressed in pink kept glancing back down the street. She knocked again, shifting her weight. "Marlene?" she called. Marlene approached the door with small steps; the woman smiled. "Hi."
"Not supposed to talk to strangers," Marlene muttered.
The woman bit her lip and muttered something. "I'm a friend of Tifa's," she added. Dad said this would be a ploy too. "She asked me to take you somewhere safe."
"Safe?" Prickle of alarm down her back and she missed Dad and Tifa and Biggs and Wedge and Jessie. Was the Seventh Heaven not safe now? "Is Tifa okay?"
"Yes, she is. You'll see her soon." The woman blinked. "Oh. Oh." She grinned. "You have my flower."
"Flower?" Marlene's fingers found the petals again. "This is yours?" An idea. "Who gave it to me then?"
"Cloud." She toyed with a lock of hair. "His name is Cloud Strife and he's my friend too."
About the best guarantee Marlene was going to get. She unlocked the door and the woman – Aeris, so she would no longer be a stranger – took a step inside. "Can't we stay here?"
"Not right now sorry." Aeris glanced around. "We just need to go somewhere else for a little while." She held out her hand, and with the promise of another flower, Marlene took it. Aeris hurried, Marlene always on the verge of tripping over. Something loud was happening in Sector Seven. Rhythmic cracks of harsh sound, flashing lights, people screaming. Aeris weaved around people and obstacles, insisting Marlene keep her attention focused ahead.
Together they passed out the gate and into Sector Six – a destination strictly forbidden by Dad. But Aeris kept on moving, not looking around at the unfamiliar place, never sparing a backward glance. Instead she asked Marlene question after question, answering most asked in turn. Questions about Tifa, Jessie, Biggs and Dad were for later. Wedge provoked an odd reaction. Aeris was happier to talk about Cloud.
Aeris's pace did not falter; they skirted and clambered over the twisting paths and debris. They only slowed once they reached Sector Five, Aeris now glancing back at- What? Distant lights flickering around the pillar in Sector Seven. Odd. No time to focus; Aeris kept them moving.
A twisting path down between two buildings delivered Marlene to what Aeris promised; a whole garden of flowers. And what she had not foreseen: a Turk. Aeris recognized him immediately. The rapid, curt conversation did not make much sense to Marlene – try as she might to follow it. But the Turk said something and Aeris sagged, asking for a moment. She introduced Marlene to her mother, Elmyra, and Aeris promised everything would be okay. Elmyra tried to promise her the same while the Turk hurried Aeris away from the house.
Dad left again after promising to be back soon; Elmyra ventured into the room somtime later. She was sure Aeris would be fine if she wanted to stay in her room. But if Marlene wanted to, she could come help her downstairs while they waited for Cloud or Tifa or Barret or Aeris.
Aeris's room was fascinating. Fresh flowers in a vase on the window sill, pressed flowers on the night-stand. A floral print bedspread. Cuttings from magazines, leaflets, newspapers, seemingly anything Aeris could get her hands on. The sea, the mountains, rolling grass plains. A sunset, snow. Battered paperbacks crammed into a small shelf under the window of the cramped room alongside water-stained atlases and picture books. A lot here, though she would feel lonely on her own.
They made their way downstairs and made dinner. Elmyra was happy with Marlene's help and kept telling her what a good job she was doing. Marlene smiled. When Elmyra served up dinner she made a third plate up for Aeris – and at Marlene's request another for Dad. Cloud and Tifa would need to sort their own food out Elmyra said with a roll of her eyes. Marlene giggled. The food was delicious; Aeris and Dad would love it when they got back. Cloud and Tifa would not know what they were missing out on.
Life in Elmyra's house had settled into a routine. Marlene lived in Aeris's room and took care of the house while Elmyra was out at work. She was to stay hidden if anyone else came by. Every-day was a wait for a phone-call – like the one three days after Dad left. He and the others had reached Kalm. Aeris was okay. Cloud and Tifa were okay. And they had a new friend called Nanaki. Dad could not be sure when he or Aeris would come back; Elmyra's fist clenched when she talked on the phone.
Weekends were the best here. Elmyra had no work and with no Seventh Heaven to run, she had time to spend with Marlene. Elmyra always made excuses if Marlene asked to visit her old home. It wasn't far, not understanding as she did now why it was such a problem. A continued concern, but there were other distractions. Like the huge table downstairs where Marlene could scrawl with crayons across vast sheets of paper. The yard had its impossible grass and more impossible flowers. All of which paled next to the church, the real source of Aeris's flowers; a wonderland of colour and scents not found anywhere else in the city.
Marlene missed Dad and Tifa and Biggs and Wedge and Jessie. Were the last three with Dad? They had to be; otherwise one of them could have taken care of her. Wouldn't they? Elmyra's warning about the door always seemed odd; rare for visitors to ever come.
In the end Elmyra's warning did no good; when Shinra came for her, they did not bother knocking. A girl Turk strode up the stairs and grabbed her from the bed; downstairs blue-suited troopers waited, helmets hiding their faces. No one came to Marlene's rescue as she struggled and cried out for Dad, for Tifa, for Elmyra, for Jessie, for Biggs, for Wedge, for Aeris, and even, for Cloud.
Reeve didn't seem funny at first; serious and scary when the Turk pushed her into his office. He asked Marlene about her trip and with a weary sigh, he told the Turk to leave. Hard not to fear the situation now.
But once the door closed, Reeve slouched back in his chair and asked if she wanted any sweets. He was another stranger but she was already surrounded with strangers, adrift and taken from her home. Might as well get everything she could from it. She nodded and Reeve opened a drawer. Inside was a lollipop of enormous proportions, bigger than her head. He presented it with a theatrical flourish and Marlene laughed.
There was comfortable sofa in the office and Reeve invited her to sit there while he worked. A collection of plushies, comics and a TV all for her. He apologized for the circumstances of their meeting and her comfort until he could take her to a new home. If nothing else, Reeve never talked down to her, never made her feel small. He talked plainly and did an amazing job of voicing the plushies. He became increasingly distracted from his work, loosened his tie and shared more sweets from the drawer.
Marlene's new home in Midgar allowed her to see beyond the edge of the city for the first time. Reeve was still fun, but had lines he would not cross. He kept apologising, kept insisting he never wanted this, but she could not go back to Elmyra – nor could she tell anyone her situation. She protested this restriction until he told her Dad might get in trouble. A lie she would learn later, but effective enough.
Reeve spent most of time working in his apartment after Marlene came to live there. A strange piece of equipment sat in one corner; Reeve tended to wear it for most of the day and say odd phrases that never entirely made sense. He said Cloud once – but could have been talking about the weather for all she knew. For some reason he seemed to want someone to call him Cait Sith.
Marlene tried to keep occupied until Dad returned. More paper, more crayons. A mountain of plush cats. She was never bored, but Reeve was nothing like living with Elmyra. Perpetually exhausted and rather than cook he ordered take-out food or brought home microwaveable meals. They ate together, this new normal soon passing without comment.
Reeve beckoned her over one evening. He had spent some time hunched over in his strange machine, his frantic, panicked looking movements slowing. He pulled the mask from his eyes and placed it over her head. She blinked. A cavernous hall, filled with wondrous flashing lights and the distant sounds of a crowd. Staring down at her, with stern expressions, were Aeris and Cloud. "Hey it's the flower lady," were all she managed before Reeve took the mask away from her again.
He talked for longer, Marlene hovering nearby, hoping for another look through the mask. Shame Cloud and Aeris had not seemed happy. Nor that Marlene had not been able to mention where she was. Watching Reeve got boring fast and Marlene retreated to her toys. Something was different after; Reeve did not like meeting her gaze when he removed his headset.
Reeve shook Marlene awake. She stirred slowly, lazily, confused. He kept swiping at his reddened eyes and said she was going back to Sector Five. Marlene dithered; did Reeve need a hug? What had upset him so much? Despite taking her from Elmyra's house, Reeve had never been bad to her. It frustrated she couldn't go anywhere, but he was never mean or angry with her. Never been sad like this.
Reeve dressed smartly and they took the train down below the plate. A shame she would not see the sky anymore and she would miss all of Reeve's voices. But good to see Elmyra, to have one of her meals again. So good to be able to return to the garden and the church- Reeve rubbed his eyes again when they reached Elmyra's house. What was wrong?
Elmyra hugged Marlene and scowled at Reeve. He asked to talk to her on her own; Elmyra crouched beside Marlene and asked her if she would like a lie-down upstairs. Exhaustion was overcoming her, and she agreed, the house warm and wonderfully familiar. She fell asleep the instant her head hit the pillow.
Elmyra was crying the next day; Marlene hugged her and tried to make her feel better. Aeris was gone; the flower lady was dead. Dead? But Marlene had seen her only a few days before? Elmyra pulled Marlene onto her lap and hugged her. Marlene put up with the hug for long minutes and wriggled free. Elmyra wiped her eyes and asked what Marlene wanted to do.
They left Midgar soon after, taking only what they could carry. A shame to leave all the flowers – here and at the church. But they could not stay in the city any longer. Where would they go?
Outside was enormous. Huge, vast, massive beyond all imagining. Elmyra kept reminding her to keep up; Marlene regularly stopped to stare. Even the barren black sand was fascinatingly different. Grass and flowers and trees- Kalm was a whole other town with no plate. People could live their lives and wander out in the open all the time. A new home for her and Elmyra.
They settled into new lives. Marlene ran errands, crossing the town to buy food for dinner. More kids here; other people to play with. Still some restrictions in place. No one was to approach or cross the blackened ring marking the border of Kalm, but few kids adhered to the intention. Some older children delighted in flouting the directive while others were content with venturing up to the limits no matter how many scare stories about what lurked outside the town.
Life did not get a chance to become normal in Kalm. All too soon the ground shook and did not seem about to stop. Some kids burst into tears, others raced frantically around as the Planet seemed determined to pull out from under their feet. Marlene helped up the smaller children, straining against the juddering to get them home. Elmyra arrived and they worked as a team until the shaking stopped.
Eerie silence, wisps of sounds came back in fits and starts; the rasp of Elmyra's breathing, the sniffs and sobs from nearby children. Distant sounds and exclamations. The faint rush of wind as it tossed leaves along the street. A red glint out the corner of her eye.
Odd. Nothing to her side, or at least no red light. No. Not to the side, it was up. But what was up- High up something red loomed, a curling trail of fire rising up higher still. Marlene sought Elmyra's hand.
Meteor was something soon part of the background. Shinra continued their attempts to blame Avalanche left Marlene frustrated and Elmyra tended to keep the TV switched off. But this time, she called Marlene to watch; Shinra were going to try and destroy Meteor with an old rocket.
There was some disruption at the launch sight, but the rocket at last managed to rise up as promised. Elmyra clutched Marlene's hand tight as the rocket passed out of sight. A burst of light high in the sky and- Marlene did not wait for the TV to show her; she raced outside. Above a thick cloud enveloped the spot. Blue or red? The smoke dissipated slowly, blue now visible behind it. A wall of red was soon revealed, Meteor still there; damaged but not destroyed.
Something about the air was odd. Dad had visited out of the blue a mere two days earlier delighting Marlene. Dad said everything was fine and he would be back soon. But he also kept on looking at nothing, and Elmyra was not so happy. Dad asked Marlene to be brave and left again with a promise to come back for good next time.
Hopefully Elmyra would be home soon for dinner. She fidgeted, unable to get comfortable or concentrate on anything. Her concentration slid from the TV, the radio, books, magazines. She was hungry but could not eat a thing. Thirsty but water tasted weird. The room was warm, but she shivered. The heat got to her first; when it came close to unbearable despite the chill outside at this time of year, she ran to the window and threw back the shutters.
Cold rushed in accompanied by a deep, oppressive red glow. Meteor hung lower than ever before. And Marlene could hardly move, hardly breathe. A distant, but increasingly loud roar of destruction built.
A glint of white was the only warning of a reaction. A sheet of white swept across the land between Meteor and Midgar. Whatever it was, it did not work; Meteor pressed through the whiteness, the pure light stained a sickly red. Rumors swirled for so long about what would happen if and when Meteor fell. None of them good. But none of them like this.
Something glinted green in the distance. A wavering thread pushing up from the ground, a tendril growing in thickness as it moved through the air, headed towards Meteor. Another erupted. And another. Soon a thousand, a million green tendrils swooped overhead, moving over the landscape, the red supplanted with soft green. As each tendril reached Meteor, the white grew brighter, the red glow more and more washed out.
The final flicker of white light left a pulsing, purple afterimage in her vision. Marlene's vision returned gradually, but the house remained dark. So did Kalm. Meteor, the white light, the green tendrils; all gone. But the stars still shone. The lights in Kalm did not return for a long time.
Almost a week passed before Dad came back to Kalm. In the interim, the residents of Kalm were adjusting to the new world. The Mako Reactor was inert and silent no matter how many repairs. A steady stream of former Midgar denizens stumbled into the town begging for help, some panicked or ravaged by the monsters. Elmyra helped out – and where she went, so did Marlene. She tried again to use the materia from Dad, but still could not. Marlene resorted to ferrying bandages and other supplies around. Candles were the only available light when night descended.
People debated what they had seen when Meteor vanished, no one account truly agreeing with another. Marlene never related what she had seen.
When Dad and Cloud and Tifa reached Kalm, all they wanted to do was sleep. A disappointing start to their return, but Elmyra was quick to ask her to give Dad some time. Had he somehow helped save the world? Some time before he gave a straight answer.
Like Elmyra, Dad, Cloud and Tifa went to help the people of Midgar and Marlene went with them. Everyone was different now. Tifa was wonderful as ever, but now she stayed closer to Cloud. And Cloud seemed less scary somehow.
Some time later…
Time wore on, the Planet moved on, the people moved on. Despite the hope of some, the Mako reactors never worked again – not for want of trying. Previously humanity followed a path to self-destruction – regardless of Sephiroth's influence when he sought the world's end. But nine people – and a whole litany of others who helping in tiny and not so tiny ways thwarted his plan and changed the world's direction. Others stepped forward to help humanity continue. Marlene perched high on the vine-wrapped top of the Shinra building and smiled at the glorious view.