Title: Cries in the Night
Rating: K+
Genre: General
Summary:
Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII and its related characters are © Square Enix. I am not, have not, and will not make money off of this story, nor am I in any way associated with Square Enix. This work is for entertainment purposes only.
A/n: A bit of affection implied between Marlene and Reeve (the uncle-niece kind of affection,) but that's about it. Takes place just before Dirge of Cerberus.
-
"Denzel!"
Startled by the sudden cry, the boy rolled out of bed, let out a groan after he hit the floor, and then looked up quickly across the room. "Marlene?" he asked confusedly as his eyes adjusted to the darkness.
"Denzel, it won't stop," Marlene whimpered.
Denzel finally found Marlene crouched, tucked between the end of his bed and the dresser and her hands clasped tightly over her ears as small tremors coursed through her body. "Marlene?" He pushed himself off of the floor and approached her with an uneasy expression. "Marlene, what's wrong?"
"Why won't anybody stop it?" she cried while shaking her head. "Cloud! Tifa! Papa!"
"Marlene, stop what?" Denzel asked with confusion while kneeling in front of her, his concern becoming greater as he grew more awake. "What is it?"
"It won't stop," Marlene sobbed softly as her hands contracted into fists over her ears. "There are hundreds... They're all crying... They're all screaming..."
Denzel's expression changed into one of surprise. "Crying? Marlene, who's crying?"
"Don't you hear them?" she cried while looking up to the boy, tears running down her face. "They're so loud... What's being done to them, Denzel? Why won't it stop?"
"Marlene, I..." Denzel trailed off, unable to think of an appropriate response.
"I want to see Cloud and Tifa."
Denzel looked at her sadly. "Marlene, they aren't here. Remember?"
"Then Papa," she cried.
"Marlene... He's in Corel. Remember?"
Marlene looked at her best friend with glassy eyes, and then lunged forward and held onto him tightly, crying. "Denzel, everybody won't stop crying."
Denzel stared silently down at the mass of soft hair resting just below his chin, and then slowly wrapped his arms around Marlene while nuzzling his head against hers. "Okay, Marlene," he whispered, and then closed his eyes. He never heard the cries and screams that she spoke of, but he could only believe what she told him. These days Marlene seemed to act strangely, as though she were sad about something. Perhaps she sensed something he was unable to feel after suffering through geostigma.
"Denzel..."
The older of the two children nodded lightly to show he had heard her. "Yeah?"
"We... We need to call Mister Reeve," she murmured softly as her shaking died down. "Mister Reeve will know what to do."
He hesitated for a minute, and then with a nod Denzel slowly stood up. "I'll get the phone. Stay here." He looked down with a faint blush when she grasped his hand, and then reluctantly pulled away and walked briskly towards the office of Seventh Heaven. Finding the phone was a simple task, but as he turned, a flash of a glowing turquoise caught the corner of his eye, causing him to whip around to stare out the window.
Rain struck the glass at a gloomy pace as he stared out the window, his chest tight as deja vu washed over him. Almost two minutes passed as the boy stared out the window, his breath held back until finally a flash of bluish lightning lit up the sky. He exhaled harshly in relief while relaxing, and then slowly he looked down to the phone book on the desk.
-
"There was a mass disappearance in Edge, too," Reeve explained to the morbid man that sat across from him in the WRO truck. "And there have been reports of strange sounds coming from New Midgar." He gave himself an uncomfortable smirk of defeat. "The wind, some say." Slowly he lifted his gaze. "But does the wind sound like a thousand wails?"
Vincent Valentine's glowing crimson eyes narrowed, considering what he was told, and wondering why the reports made Reeve seem so much weaker than he truly was.