First, however, she had brewed herself a cup of hot chocolate. She needed something to settle her nerves, and a straight up dose of caffeine that tea or coffee would provide would be too much for her system. She sank three marshmallows in there before taking a seat in front of her father's large date book that he kept in a holder on the kitchen counter. She flipped the pages carefully, making sure not a thing was out of place.

Normally, Barret had been the one to call his friends and would holler to Marlene, asking if she wished to talk to them. She rarely would dial out on her own, unless he'd asked her to. Even then, he would rattle off the number to her; there was never a need to paw through his big book.

She looked at the list. First thing's first…

"MOOOOOOMMMMMYYYYY!!!!"

Tifa's brunette head popped out from under the couch, eyes darting from side to side looking for the source of the shriek. "You better not be hitting your sister!"

"Which one?"

"Any of them!"

"Who are you talking to?"

"All of you!"

Everything went silent….and Tifa immediately knew something was up. She allowed herself an eye roll and a deep breath. She'd investigate in a moment. But…first thing's first… she made one last effort to slither under the couch with a flashlight in order to retrieve the TV remote control.

There it was! Right next to a ball and…. "Who's been eating candy in the living room?"

"Aeriiith."

"Have not!"

"Have too!"

"Have not!"

"Liar!"

"You're a bigger liar, Zangan!"

Ring ring….

Oh NO.

Ring ring…

"PHONE!!!!"

"My turn to get it!"

"Nuh uh!"

The stampede nearly ran over Tifa as she extricated herself from under the sofa and made a desperate dive for the telephone. "All of you! Back away from the phone!"

Tifa, the great martial artist, the heroine of the planet, the ferocious bar maid, towered over her foes, who froze at the very sight of her near the phone.

"All right, Mom….but next time?" asked the small blonde boy.

"We'll see. Shoo, now." Tifa waited for her children to skedaddle out of the room.

Ring --- "Hello, Strife residence."

"Hi, Tifa."

Tifa blinked, puzzled. Who --? "Oh, my God, Marlene! I didn't recognize you for a moment there – I'm not used to hearing your voice over the phone." Tifa carefully picked a piece of paper out of her hair and ran her fingers through the rest of her mane to check for anything else that may have gotten caught when she had been under the couch.

"I know. Tifa…" Marlene gripped her mug. "C-can you come see me?"

Despite herself, Tifa allowed a sigh to slip. "I'm sorry, Marlene. Life's been crazy lately. I have to ferry the kids from ballet to basketball to hockey and to flute lessons, and Cloud's delivery service has really picked up since we moved out here – there are so many elderly folks that need a helping hand…you understand why we can't—"

Marlene's brain abruptly switched gears as Tifa continued. But she needed them…weren't they supposed to come if she needed them? She heard herself saying, "Tifa, my daddy's dead."

She heard Tifa's gasp and her "I'm so sorry, Marlene. He called us before and said—" She heard her yelling for Cloud to come downstairs and offer her some reassurances as well. Most of it just went in and out of her head in the same moment. "Oh, Marlene, if we'd known how bad it was we would have come sooner, really."

Tifa started asking her about a funeral…oh, her father's. Barret had been considerate enough to plan his own rather than leave it to her – as capable as she was, he knew that immediately after his death, she'd be a little too upset to deal with thickheads at the funeral parlour. Marlene robotically read off the information Barret had also left in his black book, pinned next to the list of contact numbers of their friends….he'd already known that his death would likely be their next gathering.

Before Marlene realized it, the line was dead, and Tifa had given her a heartfelt goodbye, stating that she had to pack up the kids to get out to Corel in time for the funeral and that she'd call Reeve for her – he'd moved his clan to a cooler climate some time ago...

Next number on the list was Cid and Shera. Marlene briefly considered whether to call the house or the workshop…she decided on the workshop being as she'd never gotten to know Shera as well as the others. Shera was simply Mrs. Highwind to her. Baked cookies and gave her tea – that was the extent of her relationship with her. She'd never really needed another mommy after Tifa and Elmyra.

It took seven rings, but eventually the pilot picked up. "Highwind's Garage – this better be fucking good!"

Marlene allowed herself to smile a bit in relief; Cid hadn't been changed too much by parenthood, unlike Cloud and Tifa. Cloud had just sat himself down and put his mind at being a father. He passed his bike keys off to Cid for safe keeping, so he wouldn't roam. Tifa had kept her spirit, but her edge had been dulled over time…both a good and a bad thing. While she was no long as childishly overjoyed at certain things, she also was no longer afflicted by the darkness and anger that broiled up inside of her. No more tight-lipped nights between her and Cloud either, and if their parents ever fought, the Strife children would be completely unawares.

On the other hand, while Shera had toughened up, the roles and character (she supposed) had stayed the same. "Hello, Cid…"

"MARLENE! Fuckin' A – ah damn, shouldn't curse in front of you….ah hell you're twenty something now or whatever – old enough. Anyway, how the hell are you?" Before she could answer, he ploughed onward. "Me and Shera and the kid are doing good. Little guy has his hands into everything, just like his old man did…well, not girls yet, but you don't wanna hear about that shit. Anyway, I've been thinking about hauling the two of them up to you and your dad sometime soon – one last blast you know, but I know how the old man is about planning stuff in advance, but hey, what's he got to worry about in the long run, huh…."

Cid continued to ramble, and Marlene was dizzied by his rapid-fire delivery and the fact that he was making plans with her father while he was upstairs and…. "Anywho, we've been thinking about it for awhile but puttin' it off since it was awkward as fuck to say, 'Hi, we're coming up to say goodbye to your dad, hope you don't mind' but shit, hearing you and all makes me want to see ya, munchkin…."

"Cid, Daddy's dead."

The other end of the line went silent. "He….Fuck!" She heard Cid's other fist slam into a table or some other solid object. "Fuck….I'm sorry, Marlene, shoulda gotten my ass in gear faster. We'll be right up there right now. Leave the door unlocked. SHERA!!!" she heard Cid bellow as he hung up.

…..

They were coming. Thank God. Late. But thank God.

Two more names on the list. Just two.

Two more names on the list. Just two. She… wanted to leave the second one for last. So there it was, the logical next choice: Yuffie. The Empress. Whatever she was called these days. Marlene's hand hesitantly dialled the number. She wasn't sure what sort of reception she'd get. Yuffie had always resented being classified as a "kid" with Marlene…though she certainly was not an adult at the time.

"Who is this?" was the gruff male response on the second ring.

Marlene was startled, but then remembered that Yuffie had body guards. "Th-this is Marlene. Barret Walace's daught…I need to speak to Yu—Empress Godo." Suddenly, her voice sounded very insecure indeed. Marlene thought, perhaps, she had been spoiled by her father's fame – nobody ever had to ask who was who or what was what around her.

She heard the man repeat her request to Yuffie, who apparently was in the same room. Distantly she heard, "Oh, gawd, what does the kid want now? I don't have time to play with dolls." Despite the distance, Marlene's cheeks went up in flames. What had she ever done to her!? Other than exist?

"What is the nature of your business?" came the cold tone across the wire.

Her… business?? "It's in regard to my father…." she replied shakily. She didn't want to hear what Yuffie said; she wasn't in a good mood, and when Yuffie wasn't in a good mood, things came out that really shouldn't and they hurt and --

Abruptly, she was cut off as he relayed this information to the Empress. "Phooey. I don't care. I have an empire to run, not worry about when, possibly, some guy is gonna drop off." Marlene felt that feeling of being sick all over the floor rise up inside her again. …how could someone do this to another person? She knew how loud she was being…

"But—" Surely if she'd listen, she'd…

"I'm sorry, Miss Wallace. The Empress doesn't wish to be disturbed at the moment. Important business…"

Vaguely, she heard the lady in question ask, "Where is the manicurist – my puppies aren't gonna wait all day for her."

Marlene's vision went white. Pure white. Rage. Rage – the all-powerful trump card. Sometimes it managed to enable people to lift cars, resist icy waters to get a hold of someone, ignore searing pain, or to fight a far more powerful foe. She felt the harsh little seed of it wrap its tendrils around her spine, sneaking up slowly from her abdomen to her chest and throat. Oh, if she was a good little girl, she'd keep it in check.

If she was a good little girl, she would just tell the guard quietly and hang up.

If she was a good little girl, she'd move on or go back to another person on the list to help her break the news to Yuffie.

If she was a good little girl, there wouldn't be this rage inside of her.

To hell with being a good little girl

"HE'S DEAD! DEAD!" she screamed as she hurled the phone across the counter, watching it bounce down and only avoid the floor by virtue of its cord. It bobbed, once, then twice, and then swung back and forth gently. She found herself sobbing, her sides heaving with effort and torrents raining down from her eyes.

She heard a scramble on the other end of the line, and a female voice pierced through. "I offer Wutai's condolences for your lost. Please call again at approximately 4:30 pm to give my secretary the details…" Marlene felt her heart lurching all over the place as the voice softened. "I'm sorry for being such a bitch. I really hate this job. It's really screwed up my humanity….I hate it. I'm sorry, Marlene."

The phone spun in the air some more as Marlene starred at it. So even all the power in the kingdom did not make for a happy person. For some reason, this revelation simply increased her own sorrow. Then her eyes fell to her list, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Oh God. One more person on this list….one more mountain to climb. Marlene let her inner emotions win this time. She simply put her head down on the counter, pillowed by her arms, and cried. Cried hard. And this… this would be the hardest of all. Especially if he…Oh, what was he going to say?