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Published:
2024-09-03
Updated:
2024-11-16
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2,322
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2/?
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Detective Marlene and the Haunted Bar

Summary:

“Quiet! You're going to wake the kids up!”

“I’m not the one who can’t keep their voice down.”

There were some muffling noises before silence filled her home once again. Marlene blinked away her tears as she finally began to relax after another stressful night. She had learned more tonight then she had in the last couple of weeks combined.

Finally, like a light bulb had flashed in her mind, she knew what was going on. And cold ice filled her veins.

Ghosts were real and the bar was haunted!

000
Strange, late night noises are haunting the bar, keeping Marlene up at night...and she's is determined to get to the bottom of it!

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes.)

Chapter 1: The Mystery

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

She could hear it again. 

 

Just beyond the thin walls in her newly renovated room between Denzel’s and Tifa’s, the noise practically reverberated along the plaster and wood. The sounds that kept her awake long into the small hours of the night. An unfortunately recent event, now routine, that she didn’t know how to break. A waking nightmare ever since she moved into her new bedroom…

 

Creak, creak, Bump, bump. 

 

There it was again! 

 

Just like it has every night since the day Cloud finally came home and Denzel was healed. But for some reason, only she could hear it! It was like a curse had fallen upon the house and only she knew it. Even her brother said he didn't hear anything when she confronted him about it before school. Tifa wouldn’t even let her explain what was going on when she tried to tell her in the morning. Cloud seemed to just go deaf when she approached him about it. Even her dad laughed it off when they had their weekly calls.

 

Was she going insane!?

 

“Faster, go faster!”

 

At first, she thought it had been an intruder who had gotten into the bar. But even dragging her family around to search the place from top to bottom, they couldn’t find any signs of a break-in. Later she tried to investigate on her own when she had free time but for the life of her couldn’t figure out where the sounds were coming from! There just wasn’t anywhere to hide! On the second floor, it was Tifa and Cloud’s room down the hall, her’s in the middle, and Denzel’s after that. There wasn’t a spot anywhere for a person to sneak around without one of them seeing them. 

 

“Yeah, you like that? How about this!”

 

Marlene could swear the ominous noises almost sounded like they were words. She couldn’t quite make out what was being said but she had no doubt that it was a voice. Maybe more than one? Were the intruders having a conversation? Or an argument? The tone did sound very urgent, aggressive even. If only she could hear exactly what was being said!

 

The little girl strained her ears a little to hear over the constant creaking.

 

“Oh you bastard I’m never letting you go again. If you try…I’ll tie you to the damn bed if I have to!”

 

And oh gods, the moans that followed every sentence were terrifying! Why were the voices hurting each other like this? What could possibly have happened to make two people hate each other so much? Marlene only hoped that she never do anything to someone that would cause them to be so angry with her! 

 

But now wasn’t the time to be scared, she had to get to the bottom of this mystery and see if she could help.

 

“Quiet! You're going to wake the kids up!”

 

“I’m not the one who can’t keep their voice down.”

 

The voices were louder now, practically screaming! The little girl was just able to make out a few words from all the creaking and banging. She thought she heard the words “bastard” and “bed”. Maybe that's why the first voice was so angry? Because the second voice did something to their bed? It’d make sense if that was true, Tifa would sometimes scold her if she was caught jumping on the mattress. But who’s? As far as Marlene knew there were only three beds in the whole bar and they were all occupied. 

 

“Hey, not on my hair!”

 

There were some muffling noises before silence filled her home once again. Marlene blinked away her tears as she began to relax after another stressful night. She had learned more tonight than she had in the last couple of weeks combined. 

 

It was actually getting worse and worse!

 

She needed to do something…and fast. Rubbing her wet eyes, she resolved to get to the bottom of this mystery! Confront the problem head-on! She was a Wallace/Lockhart/Strife after all. Timidness was not in her blood.

 

Marlene had to think calmly and analyze the situation, go over the facts as Kyrie would say. Only she could hear the noises, that was an undeniable truth. They would appear every night but be gone in the morning. There were two voices and they were very angry with each other. And for some reason…nobody could see them. Okay, maybe that last part was just her guessing. But with all the evidence taken into account…

 

Finally, like a light bulb had flashed in her mind, she knew what was going on. And cold ice filled her veins.

 

Ghosts were real and the bar was haunted!

Notes:

Just a fun little fic as I'm brainstorming for other stories.

Fun fact: Kyrie became a detective after Meteorfall. From criminal to cop basically.

Chapter 2: Overwhelming Odds

Summary:

Marlene gets distracted from her ghost-hunting quests... but for good reason!

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

As the princess surveyed her surroundings –the park just behind the Seventh Heaven Bar– she knew with dreadful certainty… that this would be an uphill battle. 

 

The number of troops on each side was not evenly matched, three opponents for every one of hers, almost down to the man. On paper, that alone would mean a brutal dogfight. Unfortunately, that was where the similarities ended… and her troubles began. The tip of the “bad news” iceberg, as it were. Because the opposing side was mainly comprised of veterans from previous conflicts and skirmishes –hundreds at this point if she was math'in right– and no stranger to the carnage that entailed.

 

The former Sector 7 Scavengers, the Trainyard apartment complex residents, The New Leaf orphanage, and the Green Valley middle schoolers. Each one... a large organization, practically an army in its own right. Wrost, the enemy was – much to her dismay – hardened warriors of previous conflicts. 

 

It was a truly diabolical alliance she had to contend with this time.

 

And to add another cherry of bad luck to her misery ice cream, her side consisted almost entirely of greenhorns gathered together in haste to combat the encroaching enemies. Most of her staunchest allies, and other backup affiliations, were off on family trips that took them out of the city for the holidays. The others... forced to help out at their parent’s shops for the approaching tourism. Or worse, grounded this weekend for some perceived crime or other, only their spirits with her for moral support. 

 

And a cowardly few, who decided to opt out of the battle, citing they weren’t in the “mood”. Marlene could only glare at her treacherous brother –her formally loyal knight– as he lazily played on the swings without a care in the world.

 

“Craven.” She whispered under her breath.

 

Her army was gutted before the battle could even happen.

 

She only had what was left of her Food District neighbors, the Upper City preps, the outer Edge farmer kids, –and of course– the homeschoolers from the recently built Sunnyside suburbs. Oh gods the homeschoolers… they’ll be the first to be slaughtered. It was inevitable. They were a unit in name only, with no clear leader to command them due to how new they were to this conflict. 

 

Even now, they were bunched up to the left, their flank left wide open!

 

But Marlene just couldn’t spare the time to whip them into shape, her attention needed to direct the whole battlefield!

 

It was just one disaster after another.

 

“Last chance to give up Wallace!” Cried out Moogle Girl over the playground, her arch nemesis giving her a shit-eating grin for all to see. Her confidence, unfortunately, was very justified. “You got no chance!”

 

“I relish the challenge!” Marlene screamed back to that pig-tailed devil, her fist clenched in front of her, hoping her false bravado managed to put some steel in her allies' spines. Her daddy always said, in the face of overwhelming odds, you grit your teeth and show defiance!  But… judging from the way her group kept shuffling nervously, it didn’t seem to have the desired effect. Well… in for an inch, in for a mile. “Go home if you're scared Moogle Girl, it wouldn’t be the first time!”

 

“My name is not Moogle Girl! It’s Molly!” Moogle Girl yelled in frustration, fury in her eyes, before turning back to her troops. “Everyone, get ready to line up! We’ll bury Wallace and her ragtag group of rejects six feet under, and then get our hands on the goods!”

 

That got very loud cheers on the enemy’s side… and a few whimpers from behind the princess. 

 

You might wonder to yourself why this odd bunch of kids were about to duke it out in a park. 

 

And the answer was simple…

 

It was in an attempt to call dibs on the “Tifa Event”. For the–

 

“Hey! Quit stallin!” Molly yelled, her people already in formation.

 

“I ain’t stallin, I’m thinking! Try it sometime, Moogle Girl!”

 

For the uninitiated, it meant the privilege to be the first to enter the Seventh Heaven bar and get their grubby hands on the barmaid’s free samples of confections and foodstuff. It was a semi-monthly event where her caretaker tried experimenting with new food styles for the kid’s menu, inviting all the local children and other wretches to come try and give their opinions. 

 

And of course, being her children, she and Denzel got to try some samples in advance of The Event.

 

Bless that woman’s heart.

 

Unfortunately, the princess was barred from taking more than three of anything... repeatedly scolded to leave some for the other kids who might want to try. 

 

Which was the height of unfairness!

 

If Cloud could hog all the adult menu items when Tifa was experimenting... why couldn’t she!? Marlene was, after all, the favorite child… no matter how often Tifa may say she loved all her children equally. 

 

She knew how to read between the lines.

 

“You got five minutes, then I’m declaring us the winners!”

 

“Don’t you dare!”

 

However, being “samples”, there was a very limited supply of the goods. And with an already large population of kids in her district –growing bigger every day, as news spread from word to mouth of the Event– it meant not every kid was going to get a taste. 

 

Thus, necessitating a battle to cull the numbers, as it were. Winners take all.

 

And what brutal games of dodgeball it had been! More than one kid had to call time out because they got a black eye or split lip. A few parents even outright banned their children from participating after getting one look at the carnage.

 

The violence gave her life.

 

Marlene closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as prepared herself to fight tooth and nail for what was rightfully hers!

 

“So, we doing this?” The voice of the co-princess asked from behind her, voice steady as ever despite the overwhelming odds.

 

“Do you really have to ask Princess Betty?” Tifa’s favorite child asked rhetorically, turning to face her long-time friend and ally. Truly, someone she could trust unconditionally… unlike others. Her eyes flicked over to Denzel once again in disdain.  

 

The white-haired girl only chuckled, a mix of fondness and resignation, as they stood side by side. “I suppose not. Still… had to wonder if you had any second thoughts after seeing that…” She nodded to Moogle Girl’s collection of wretches and thieves. “Or that.” She tilted her head behind them, where their “army” stood, looking like a bunch of Cactuars meeting a lawn mower for the first time.

 

A pathetic lot… and as their leader, she was queen pathetic.

 

Stil…

 

“Surrender, never even crossed my mind.”

 

“Good,” Betty said, nodding approvingly. Holding her first out, she asked. “Once again… to hell and back?”

 

Marlene bumped it, adrenaline pumping through her veins. “To hell and back–”

 

“Tik-tok Wallace!” Moogle Girl yelled across the field once again in impatience, tapping a finger on an imaginary watch on her wrist. “Some of us can’t hang around the playground all day, like some park bum. I gotta go home for lunch in forty minutes!”

 

There was a rumble of murmured agreements.

 

“Fine, fine!” Marlene yelled back in agreement. Still, as she eyed the kids on the other side of the field, she had to make one last attempt of evening the odds. No matter how insignificant. She turned bodily to the jungle gym, spotting her brother and Bits –who had arrived during the hubbub– watching as they climbed some metal railing to get to the top slide. “Denzel, last chance! You in or out?”

 

“Hard pass.” He said, not even looking at her as he slid down the slide.

 

“Bits?”

 

“Sorry Marlene, but you know Evan doesn’t want me joining in your dodgeball fights.” The rotund boy said, sitting at the top of the slide for his turn as he waited for Denzel to get to the bottom. “Honestly, he said I shouldn't hang out with you anymore if I keep coming home with bruises.” He managed to say, as he went down the plastic tube.

 

“Nothing but excuses…” Marlene muttered, putting the traitors out of her mind. “Well, who needs them? Right, Betty?”

 

Silence met that question.

 

Turning her head to look at her friend, she noticed the white hair girl staring at the jungle gym with a dazed expression, both hands crossed over her chest.

 

“Betty?”

 

“Huh!?” 

 

“What’s wrong? You're just staring…”

 

“N-Nothing! Let’s do this!” The other girl said, body and eyes primed towards the center of the field with the red balls laid, even as she yelled over her shoulder to their group and held a hand up. “Everyone, on our signal!” 

 

Marlene could only narrow her eyes in suspicion, wondering what the heck had happened. But no time to think, because Moogle Girl heard the call, face clearly eager as she held her own hand up.

 

‘Focus us, Wallace!’

 

Putting her own hand in the sky, a deafening silence fell over the playground – from players and onlookers alike – every soul holding their breath in anticipation of what was to come.

 

As one, three hands dropped…

 

And the carnage began.

Notes:

Kind of a filler chapter, but one that I felt added some flavor to Marlene's kid world. For some reason, I couldn't get the image of Marlene being a tough slum girl out of my mind haha. But don't worry the ghost hunting kicks into full force next chapter.

Fun Fact: Bits is Kyrie's and Evan's "kid". Kind of like how Marlene and Denzel are Cloti's "kids". Apparently, after Meteorfall and Geostigma, a lot of different people were kind of just cobbled together into unconventional family units. Like straight up, a lot of the young adults in Edge would see an orphan kid in the streets and say "Alright, Imma adopt them. They are now mine." that's essentially what Cloud did with Denzel lol.

Notes:

Just a short a story of the kids getting into shenanigans