Authors Note: I do not own any Final Fantasy VII, or remake, characters, nor do I WANT to own them. Nomura most likely worked his ass off coming up with the character concepts. Anyway! Summary cap of this lovely little fanfic… Marlene turns twenty-one and joins SOLDIER. Imagine away~
It was rather quiet in the Seventh Heaven that morning. Even though it was nearing around seven AM, which seemed quite early to others, that was rather late of Tifa to be asleep. What was even stranger was how Cloud was asleep…under the same roof as everyone else. Cloud and Tifa now shared a room, which was located on the right after you reached the top of the stair case. Down the hall was a new extension to the attic above the bar. Denzel and Marlene had shared the room for quite some time. The young male and female never made a complaint, or ever bickered, on this setup. Cloud and Tifa found it strange…but never seemed to look into it.
The brown-headed boy stared at the calendar for an eternity. His focus was toward the rather vibrant red X that stuck out from the white background. The alarm several feet beside him flashed from 11:59 P to 12:00 A, and sent out a rather obnoxious beeping noise. Denzel jumped, falling off of the bed from surprise. He scrambled quickly back to his feet and slammed down his hand on a button on the clock, silencing the alarm for now. He thrust his hands into his pockets, digging out a crumbled up piece of paper with a note scribbled on it.
He stood in front of his bed for several minutes, reading the note to himself several times, contemplating on if he really wanted to do this or not…
Cloud, Tifa, and Marlene, too. I feel like I've given everyone here so much trouble. You always did say that once I reached 18, I could do as I pleased, so…I'm leaving. It'd probably make everyone's lives a little more peaceful. I'm not sure where I'll be going, but…"Goodbye."
He took in a deep, and held it for several seconds, pressing the note hard against his white T-shirt with a maroon stripe across the chest, smoothing out the crinkles in the paper. Slightly parting his lips, Denzel let out a long, silent sigh, and dropped the note on the bed, then turned toward the door. Without taking even a single step, he turned toward Marlene, who was sleeping rather soundly. "Marlene…"
"Marlene? Marlene…" President Rufus of ShinRa Incorporated delicately pressed his fingers on the end of the glass needle, pushing the end of it toward his body, suctioning up pure Mako energy from a reactor chamber built into the surgical room. Soon, the needled completely filled with a strange, sea-green glowing color that shifted to sea-blue, and back. Several feet away from the "Mako station", was Marlene Wallace Strife, registered as Marlene Walife. She was strapped down to an operating table with several rather bright lights blinded her vision.
Rufus strolled over to her from the station, and took a firm hold of the girls' arm and moved the glass needle toward Marlene's flesh rather slow. He pressed the pointed end of the needle against the artery slightly below the fold of the elbow, and gave a gentle push, allowing the needle to pierce through the skin and into the vein. As soon as Rufus felt the needle enter the blood vein, he continued to hold the needle still, and moved his thumb to the end of the needle, pushing gently, sending a burst of Mako energy to enter Marlene's blood stream.
Marlene winced it pain, with reflexes trying to send her into a jerk-around state, only to be held back by the restraints that covered her entire body. She took several deep breathes, and tightened her eyes shut, trying to focus herself away from the pain coursing through her body. Eventually, the pain caused from the Mako energy coursing through her body seemed to fade into numbing her body. The once fully brown eyes slowly opened, revealing brown eyes with a green glow around the pupil. The overhead light staring directly back at her continued to blind her vision, causing yellow and green dots to appear every now and again.
"The surgery is complete, Marlene. Your level one training begins tomorrow, bright and early. Go home, and rest for a while, and I'll come by to check up on you, okay?" Rufus pressed a button on the side of the surgical table, causing the straps to simultaneously snap released, and fly through the air to the other side, and reel back up into their cases before they appeared hidden, as normal. He placed his right hand on Marlene's back, and gently lifted her up. Her slightly tilted his head, and gave Marlene a slight smile, but stared at her with a questioning look. "…?"
Marlene was barely able to sit up as Rufus helped her up; the Mako energy had caused so much pain to her nerves, that she was barely able to move…for now. Wait a minute… She quickly looked up to stare at a Rufus staring at her, smiling. "Are you normally this kind to your SOLDIER patients, Rufus…sir?" She narrowed her eyes, glaring at the President for several seconds, then let her eyes drop shut from being tired. Taking in a deep breath, she let her head drop, then shook it, opening her eyes again. "Uagh, okay. I got it. I'll see you later then…thank you."
The dirty-blonde quirked an eyebrow at the young woman, gave another smile, and shook his head as well. "Whatever suits you, my dear. Until then, farewell." He walked toward the wall, and flashed his identification card toward a black screw that was much more noticeable from the rest of the wall color. The wall slid open, but only far enough and high enough from the man to walk though, and disappear up a staircase. The wall slammed shut with a loud scraping and thud against the metal floor.
The brunette looked up, noticing that Rufus seemed to have just…vanished. Her hair hand grown quite a bit, compared to when she was just seven years old. Now, her hair rested at her waist, when braided. At the top of her braid, as usual, was a pink ribbon. It swished and felt like silk, but kept its composure like it was made from cotton, or something more durable. Somehow she was able to find the same apparel she wore as a child—white sweater, white embroidered skirt, white tennis shoes, and pink socks. How she did it, no one knows. The simple fact, that Marlene told everyone, was every time the article of clothing became too tight, she would release a stitch or two, so she could still wear it as she become older. At least…that's what she always claimed.
The twenty-one year old hopped off the table, shocked at how she was able to stay standing. Just as soon as she landed the electronic door leading toward the room slide open, making a compressed air sound. She took in several deep breathes, staring at the ground, cursing at herself. Shit! I can't defend myself like this…I can barely defend myself with Cloud's… She narrowed her eyes, staring at the reflection on the ground. It looked blurry, and wavy, but she saw strands of yellow, spikes, and black. "Cloud…? Cloud!" Marlene quickly looked up, but jumped back at what she saw, wanting to reach for the Buster Sword she still had trouble using.
Cloud stood at the doorway, his blue eyes narrowed from age, and from being in a recent battle. His hair was still spiked and ruffled, but had an addition of grey strands of hair. His face still lacked a smile, but was joined by a wrinkle or two from age, as well. His clothes remained the same: black sweater, black military pants, strange skirt-like thing that wasn't needed…he was missing something, Marlene could tell. His shoulder guard! Cloud felt that he didn't need it anymore, not in everyday life. It had been kept in storage now for at least five years, only taken out to polish it up a bit. There was a strap wrapped around Cloud's chest though…the Buster Sword sheathe.
Cloud's hands didn't wield the normal leather gloves he wore, but instead, were plain. In his right hand, he held a ShinRa guard by the collar of his shirt, and in his left hand, he held a ShinRa guard by the collar of his shirt. He threw both guards up against the wall, staying silent, and listened to the noise of the guards smacking their body's and helmets against the wall, and sliding to the floor. Cloud's eyes followed his wavy reflecting in the freshly buffed floor, and then trailed along Marlene's reflection, until he was able to make contact with his claimed daughter.
"Marlene!" Spikey rushed forward, noticing the buckling in the girls' knees. No matter how angry Cloud was with the girl right now, he was still worried about her. Plus, a promise to Barrett was a promise to Barrett, no matter what. He swung his left arm back, and held out his right arm, allowing the girls stomach to fall over her wrist. He let out a sigh, placing his left hand on Marlene's back, and moved his right hand behind the girls' knees, swooping her up into the air. He didn't bother looking for the Buster Sword just yet…he had something more important on his mind: getting Marlene home.
Several of the guards Cloud had knocked out while intruding into the surgical ward of ShinRa Incorporated were starting to regain consciousness.
One waiting at the elevator leading down to where Cloud had parked the Fenrir was able to stand, and pointed a military issued rifle at Cloud, at aimed it at Cloud. "St…stop! Or I'll shoot! I mean it!" The guard pressed his back against the wall, sliding in front of the elevator, before Cloud gave a death-glare at the guard.
"Move aside! This SOLDIER is going home…" Cloud narrowed his eyes at the guard, letting out a low growl. It was obvious Cloud was referring to Marlene. Even after several more steps, the guard still didn't move, but instead, aimed the barrel of the gun at Cloud's head. It was obvious the guard was nervous from his shaking hands and fast-paced breathing.
Cloud let out a rather irritated sigh, and placed Marlene gently on the ground. He started to take a step toward the guard and stopped, letting out a mumble. Unstrapping the Buster Sword sheathe, he threw it over Marlene. That would at least slow down any bullets that were fired, if the guard was stupid enough to do so. Cloud stood several feet in front of the guard, and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Make your move, buddy." Cloud threatened toward the guard, glaring at him.
The guard cocked his gun, and pressed his finger against the trigger of the rifle, hesitating whether to shoot or not. "Oh, I see…I see!" Cloud rushed forward before the guard could react, and grabbed the barrel of the rifle, jamming it hard against the guards' chest, knocking the wind out of the man. As the guard heaved for a breath, Cloud placed his hand on the back of the guards' neck, and raised his own knee, slamming the guards' forehead down on it, knocking him out again. Cloud shook his head and returned to Marlene, grabbing the Buster Sword sheathe, and strapped it back around his chest before scooping Marlene back up.
Several moments later, Cloud emerged from the elevator, and strode over toward the Fenrir with a glare in his eyes. He almost didn't acknowledge Tifa waiting for him on his custom motorcycle as he swiped as leg over the hulking vehicle and drug Marlene in front of him. He placed his hands on the handles of the Fenrir, cranking the motor several times, waiting for Tifa to say something. Several seconds later, Tifa wrapped her arms around Cloud, and pressed her cheek against his back. Cloud started to look back at the rather busty brunette, but stopped himself. Instead, he revved the engine to the Fenrir several times before speeding off in the direction of the Seventh Heaven Bar in the slums.