Marlene was trying to be brave. She was trying very, very hard. She was trying to be brave for Tifa, and Denzel, and Aerith, and Cloud, and her Daddy. But Marlene was having a hard time being brave. Because she was scared. More scared than she had ever been in her life.
"Cloud will come to get me." Marlene protested, sounding timid even to herself, even though she has tried to project some confidence into her voice. "He's going to come get me and Denzel and all the other kids that are here! And when he does, you are going to be big trouble!" The idea that maybe she should run occured to Marlene, but she quickly dismissed that idea as completely stupid. The one with the shortest hair, Loz, had already proven that he was much stronger and faster than any human back in the church. Even Tifa, strong as she was, had been no match for the silver haired Rement.
The one with the longest hair, Yazoo, dismissed Marlene with a look of bored annoyance, before turning away from her. Loz said nothing, merely glanced over at his youngest brother to see what Kadaj's re-action would be.
"Cloud isn't coming for you." Marlene shivered, both at those words and at the voice that spoke them. The youngest brother, Kadaj, had a the voice of of a child. But no child had a voice that was that cold, and as laced with cruelty as Kadaj's was. "You think he is so strong." Marlene could hear the smirk in Kadaj's voice, even though he was turned away from her. "He's your hero after all. But deep down, he's just a coward. You should know that by now."
"Y-You're lying!" Marlene protested, trying not to cry. "You don't know anything about Cloud! He will come for me! I know he will!" She clenched her tiny hands into fists, doe eyes shimmering with tears.
Kadaj turned around, his cool cat eyes landing on Marlene. She flinched, but met those eyes boldly. "Will he really? Will Cloud really come for you? Or are you just staying that to assure yourself?" Marlene had no reply for that, and Kadaj's child-like mouth twisted into another smirk.
He knelt down in front of her, so that the tormented child and the innocent one were face to face. Marlene forced herself not to pull away, and swallowed her fear. All was quiet as blue-green cat eyes met brown doe eyes. "You should learn to fight for yourself." This time, there was an almost gentle tone to Kadaj's voice. If she hadn't seen his mouth move, Marlene wouldn't have believed that it was Kadaj speaking. "You can't always depend on other peolple to save you." An unreadable emotion flickered in the youngest Rement's eyes before he raised a hand, and slapped Marlene across the cheek. Marlene cried out, and Loz shifted his weight slightly, but Yazoo shook his head.
"Next time, keep your options to yourself." Came the cold reply as Kadaj turned away. Marlene knelt on the cold ground, and gingerly felt her cheek. He hadn't hit her hard enough to leave a bruise, but that didn't mean her cheek stung any less. She didn't want to cry. Not in front of them. Biting her lip, Marlene looked up at the sky to keep the tears from sliding down her cheeks. "Cloud will come." She whispered softly. "I know he will."
And Cloud did come. That time, Cloud did come, just in time to save the world. But even after everything was over, even after the Rements were gone, even after Cloud came back home to Tifa and Denzel and herself; Marlene couldn't stop thinking about Kadaj's words. And slowly, grudgingly, Marlene admitted to herself that he had been telling her the truth. Cloud wouldn't always be around to protect. Neither would her father. Neither would Tifa. And neither would Vincent.
That was when Marlene realized that she was going to have to learn to fight for herself. Because there wasn't always going to be someone around to save her. Because she was the only person could depend on all the time. Because Marlene knew that it was time to stop acting like a child. Because it was time to grow up.
Several days after Marlene came to this conclusion, Cloud brought her home a kitten. "I found him outside in the alley, going through the trash. He was probably looking for something to eat." Cloud explained as he handed her the grimy, rain sodden budle of fur. Marlene accepted the cat, and thanked Cloud absentminedly. She has always wanted a kitten. To her, a kitten was the embodiment of all things sweet and innocent.
It was only after Marlene had cleaned and fed the kitten that she understood the truth. Without thinking, she reached for the kitten, wanting to pick him up and cuddle him close, as if the kittyen was a doll. But much to her surprise, the kitten hissed as her and scratched her hand before running to crouch under Marlene's bed.
Marlene stood still as a statue for several minutes before she burst out laughing. She had forgotten the obvious. That a kitten had claws. That a kitten had fangs. That a kitten could see in the dark. And that every kitten, no matter how cute, could still be dangerous. "Kadaj, don't worry, I will fight for myself. I will protect myself." She said between giggles, sitting down on her bed and tucking her legs up underneath her skirt. "Next time, I will be able to fight for myself."
Marlene had always longed to be like Aerith; to be a peace-keeper. But Marlene saw that this was not her path. Everyone had a destiny, a fate, a path they were supposed to follow. And oddly enough, Marlene fate had been shown to her by an enemy, by someone who wanted to destroy the world. Her fate had been shown to her.
"Kadaj, I will be a fighter, a lioness, a killer. I will fight to protect myself and the ones I love." Marlene spoke aloud to the darkening room. "But first, I will start off as a kitten."
And in the depths of the Lifestream, a silver haired child laughed.