Meeting the Family [Marlene/Closed]

[Zack Fair]

::...The Puppy...::

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Your gonna be my…Living Legacy.

Zack walked down the street, deep in thought and wondering what exactly was going to happen in the days to come. Though Cloud hadn’t told him himself, he knew what was going to happen, what the future could hold. He was a l’cie, that meant…his focus was to destroy the world of Gaia. He wasn’t sure what could be done, he had learned about the fal’cie and l’cie while in the lifestream with Aerith, but he didn’t know everything. How could Cloud destroy Gaia? That was what Sephiroth had been trying to do forever, Cloud had been fighting against him, trying to save Gaia, how could he try to destroy it? And yet he had to…he was a fal’cie slave at the moment, as much as he hated to admit it, there was no way of getting out of it.

What was he going to do? He couldn’t talk to Cloud about it because Aerith had told him Cloud didn’t want him to know. Why? He had felt hurt, but he knew what Cloud must be going through and didn’t anymore. He knew how hard he must be taking it, so meantime he was going to help him out anyway he could while trying to adjust to living again. He must admit it was quite different…even Gaia was completely different, some people were still the same though, like Reno for instance, he hadn’t changed a bit.

He realized he was close to the bar, looking at his cell phone he saw it was in the afternoon. Where had the day gone? He had been making plans with Reno for his new weapons shop, so now he was on his way back to the bar. Cloud and Tifa were letting him stay with them, but so far he hadn’t seen the children that lived there with them, although he had been gone for most of the time. So opening the bar door he walked in and yawned a bit before walking over and getting himself a glass of water. Glancing around he didn’t see Cloud or Tifa, probably out doing things. Shrugging he picked up a newspaper and started reading it, although his mind was on something different, What exactly was he going to do anyway?? Cloud needed his help more then ever and he didn’t even know what to do for him…or even what he could do…

He had a thoughtful look on his face, deep in thought he was staring at the lettering without really reading anything. He sat down on the sofa and just wondered about the future, would Gaia even be around after Cloud destroyed it? and would everyone die? Cloud wouldn't let Tifa die would he? Would his own second chance with Aerith be wiped out because they would both die again? He wished he knew the answers to everything...

[Marlene Wallace]

Where did everyone keep going? It seemed like everytime she closed her eyes for a few minutes, everyone decided that it was okay to leave her behind while they went off to have some sort of adventure. Even Denzel was gone. Marlene was tempted to just leave the bar to go out and look for them, but she couldn't do that. She wouldn't stop feeling guilty about leaving the bar unsupervised. It wasn't open today, but she was still afraid someone would just march in here and steal something, even if they knew this bar belonged to Tifa, and no one wanted to mess with Tifa. So, instead, she went about her day at the bar, cleaning this table and that table, waiting for someone to walk through the door so that she could give them a stern talking to for leaving her behind. She knew she was little, but that wasn't an excuse for them to leave her behind.

If anything, it was a warning to them. Why would they leave her behind when they knew that, in their enemies' eyes, she was a prime target since she couldn't exactly defend herself. Not like Marlene liked to fight, much. She hated when Cloud got into a fight, even if it was just an argument with Tifa. She liked it a lot better when they were all hanging around the bar, not getting into trouble. Then again, it was Cloud she was thinking about. Cloud always got in trouble, or had some sort of problem he had to fix. Marlene's eyes widened a fraction.

What if they had found out about Yazoo? Would they be angry at her for not telling them as soon as she found out, or had Yazoo not said anything? Was he in trouble of being found out? Was Cloud going to attack him again? She bit down on her lip, hoping that wouldn't be the case. Her former kidnapper had become her friend, and she didn't want anything to happen to him, especially if the thing that happened to him was getting into a fight with Cloud. She shook her head several times, wishing the thoughts out of it whenever she heard the door to the bar open. Her eyes, which had been wide with worry not five seconds ago, narrowed as she peeked downstairs, curious who had arrived. It was an older man. He walked around the bar with ease, almost as if he had been there several times. But, Marlene couldn't remember seeing him around. Then again, she had been out recently, talking to Yazoo and wondering around with, some, of the freedom she hadn't had a year ago.

But, just in case he was a customer, Marlene put on a bright smile as she made her way over to him. She stood in front of him for a while, waiting to see if he would notice her. That was when she noticed the look on his face. It was almost like he had something that was worrying him. Her smile faultered a little. It seemed like, lately, everyone had problems that were on there minds. The bad guys---for now---were gone and didn't need to be dealt with, right? So how come everyone had such worried and sad looks on their faces. "Are you okay? You look like something's bothering you."

[Zack Fair]

::...The Puppy...::

[/color][/u]

Your gonna be my…Living Legacy.

Zack just sat there, feeling the heat of being outside on such a hot day leave him as he relaxed, or at least physically he relaxed. Thinking about his future today had just left him wondering even more so about how everything would work out in the end. Would everything be as it was now? Or would the world be completely destroyed and they all be killed? He wished he knew all the answers, but as of this moment he did not have any. He had been so happy to have a future with Aerith again…would that be taken away? How cruel to get to experience life and know it might be taken away from you again in only a short period of time.

He was frustrated too, was it selfish to not want the world destroyed? But he let that leave his brain, he was here to ensure that Cloud had support, he would be there for his friend right up to the end, but why was it so difficult? Why had it had to be Cloud that had been turned into a l’cie? Why couldn’t it be someone else…but he knew the answer to that. Who else could stand up and do what Cloud had to do? No one that he knew of, it was the hardest thing Cloud had ever been faced with.

Sitting there so deep in thought he hadn’t noticed the small footsteps tiptoeing down the steps, and he hadn’t seen the little girl move into the room either. Closing his eyes he leaned his head back and rubbed the back of his neck, what he did when he was thinking to much or something was bothering him. Taking in a deep breath he wished Aerith was there to talk to, she would know what was going to happen, tonight he would talk to her about it.

Suddenly a small voice spoke out, he jumped, the newspaper falling out of his hands and his eyes flashed open to settle on who had made the noise. "Woah!" A small girl of maybe 6 or 7 stood in front of him, a bright smile on her face. He should have known who she was, or what her name was at least, but she didn’t. Noting her question he leaned forward to pick up the newspaper and looked at her. She reminded him of Aerith strangely enough, especially with the pink bow she had tied into her brown hair. “I guess I’m alright, just thinking about stuff that’s better left alone…” Cocking his head he was impressed that she had known something was bothering him. “Thanks for asking miss…?” He said, the bright smile returning to his face. He had always liked kids, and she seemed bright and sweet. “Something is bothering me, but if I don’t think about it, it won’t bother me, so I suppose I should stop thinking about it hmm?”

[Marlene Wallace]

She rocked back and forward, her arms now behind her back. The man in front of her hand't noticed her at first, something that she was used to. She was small, and she didn't make much noise. It was easy for her to sneak up on people. Unless that person was Tifa. She could never sneak up on Tifa. Marlene let out a giggle once the man did notie her. The newspaper which looked like he had been gripping to the point where it was going to rip fell out of his hands, and his eyes popped open. It was almost comical. If he hadn't been so serious before, she would have thought that he was always like that. But, now that his eyes were open and he was looking down on her, she saw something that she did like.

Marlene didn't really believe him when he said that he was alright, but she knew it wasn't any of her business to ask what was wrong. Sometimes, she had to remind herself that she was still a little kid, and that she couldn't do everything for everyone. Just because she was currently helping Yazoo out she liked to think that she could help everyone. Maybe she could help him, too. However, first, she had to figure out what was causing him to worry so much, and she didn't think it would be too polite if she just blurted it out. Admitedly, that would be the easy thing to do. But, she didn't want to do things the easy way. If she did, that wouldn't be fair. She couldn't always do things the easy way, even if she had grown accustomed to doing them like that. She had been taught that life wasn't fair, and that it wasn't easy. If things were easy, then, more than likely, they ended up being some sort of trap. At least, that's what she liked to think. Marlene shook her head, outwardly, snapping herself back to attention. She hadn't realized that she had zoned out and had gotten lost in her own mind. She came to right as she heard him speak, so she considered herself lucky for that. "Marlene." She beamed, sticking her small hand out. "Marlene Wallace."

If there was one thing she liked, it was when people smiled at her. It made her feel as if everything was going to be okay. Even if the person that smiled at her was about to go off to a war they weren't sure they were going to make it back from, just seeing the smile that was on their faces reassured her enough to believe that they were going to make it back. So, to see him have a bright smile on his face-one that mirrored her bright smile, but was about twice the size-it made her feel good. "What's your name?" She asked, tilting her head to the side with mild curiosity. She realized that she probably should have been talking to a stranger, even if it was what she did to take care of the bar. Mingle with everybody. Besides, if they introduced themselves, they wouldn't be strangers anymore, right? She hoped that was what Tifa would think. When the for-now-stranger went on to ask her the question, her smile fell a little, and she shook her head. "No!" She answered, very seriously. "If something's bothering you, you should try to fix it until it can't bother you! You're not supposed to try to forget about it. Then, when you think about it, you'll only feel worse for forgetting!"

[Zack Fair]

::...The Puppy...::

[/color][/u]

Your gonna be my…Living Legacy.

He smiled happily when the girl giggled. He loved kids, so he knelt down by her and cocked his head, laughing a bit with her. “I must have looked pretty crazy huh?” He said with a wink before shaking his head and patting her on the head, “I didn’t see you, your awfully quiet.” He glanced at her, still thinking she looked an awful lot like Aerith did. So still crouching down he glanced around, “Are you running the place while everybody’s gone?” He was impressed, she seemed to be an intelligent girl, more mature then most kids her age were. He was impressed that she had sneaked up on him.

When she said her name it clicked in his head. This was the girl that was living with Tifa and Cloud, along with a boy named Denzel. He smiled, they must be happy to have her with them. He was nice and liked people, so he came off nice to everyone, including this girl. He had never had any nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers or sisters so he himself wanted to have a big family. Looking at the small hand that was held out he stretched his hand out and grasped hers, shaking hands with her in a very mature fashion. “Nice to meet you Marlene, my name is Zack, Zack Fair. I’m a friend of Cloud and Tifa’s.

When she exclaimed no he cocked his head and raised an eyebrow, “No?” He smiled but hid it because she was being so serious. For a girl so young she sure had it figured out. Listening to her he decided she was right, but that didn’t make it any easier to actually do. “You know what Marlene? Your right, but sometimes fixing the problem is easier said then done.” He had never seen a child so young hold wisdom quite like that. Most would have shrugged it off, but she actually had advice that made sense. “I would try to fix it but what if I can’t fix it?” He mused out loud. That’s what made him hesitate, what if he couldn’t do anything about it and Cloud had to go through with his focus? What if they all died? What if…but every time he had to remind himself that whatever happened. He was prepared to die if he had to again so that Cloud wouldn’t have to go through with it, but that didn’t seem likely.

Even if Cloud would let him help he wasn’t sure that he could do anything. He didn’t like not being able to do something, it made him edgy…just waiting for something to happen killed him. He always thought better while moving, fighting or doing something with his hands. All in all mostly it didn’t bother him, but every once in awhile he wondered about what would happen and feared the outcome. He didn’t want life to be taken away from him, but neither did he want the life of his best friend taken. Damn the Fal’cie! He thought to himself.