An Angel Without Wings Cannot Fly

By: Arcander

Disclaimer: The disclaimer will hold for the entire story. If you recognize it from somewhere, I don't own it. If you don't recognize it, I most likely still don't own it. About all I own are a few names. That's it… but then again… who knows.

Summary: A young girl journeys with AVALANCHE on the fateful journey to kill Sephiroth. Having no recollection of her past, she must rely on her instincts, that is, until she meets him again, and her memory comes flooding back. Will she save this man whom means so much to her, or will she die trying?

Oh, and I apologize profusely if I get them out of character, which I'm fairly sure that I will.

Chapter 1

I shiver as I stumble up the mountain, dark hair whipping in front of my face. Once again I wonder why I agreed to join this AVALACHE thing. Tifa and Cloud, that's easy, Sephiroth burned their town. Barret, well, he's got a little girl he wants to raise in a peaceful world; Cid wants the space program to be restarted. Yuffie, well, who knows what she thinks; she's probably going to get a percentage of the materia we find. Nanaki's grandfather Bue—whatever his name is—told him to come with us, and Cait Sith, well, he was a ShinRa spy, but now he's on our side. Vincent needs to atone for some uncommitted crime. Aeris... she was the last Cetra, she was so kind... and now she's dead. And that is why I am here, because of her, because of her death. Originally, I joined to get out of that place, that festering swamp, Midgar.

The name Sephiroth seems oddly familiar, but I cannot remember why. Cloud raises his hand to call a stop and I drop to my knees and collapse on the ground, welcoming the respite from the biting wind.

Black boots move into view, and I hear the faint creak and pop of someone's knees as they stand beside me. "Sasaria," a red cape flickers into view, "are you well?"

I nod, noticing the shocked looks of the other AVALANCHE vigilantes staring at us, "I'm fine, Vinnie!" I cover a grin at his less than pleased reaction to his nickname. "It's not as windy down here." With one hand I grab a fistful of snow and lob it at Cloud's face, before hopping up and brushing the snow off of my pants. I pull off my trench coat, which reveals a low-cut, black, stretch-knit tank. I brush the snow off of it—the trench coat—before donning it again. By that time Cloud had recovered from the shock of getting a snowball to the face and was preparing to retaliate.

I do the only thing that an unfairly cute girl of unknown age, but looks to be—and acts like—a fifteen year old can do. I dive behind Vincent and fling my arms around his neck, "save me Vinnie! Cloud's going to kill me!" It works like a charm, and I get a piggyback ride out of it too.

Vincent of course just tells me to let go of him, but my antics give Cloud such a guilt trip that he gives me a ride as a "sorry, I didn't mean to, don't take it seriously" sort of thing.

I love doing that to people, manipulation is so much fun. For some crazed reason I don't think Tifa likes it that much, the piggyback ride that is.

Once we enter the Crater I am made to walk again, and the sense of foreboding increases. I cling to Vincent's side like a burr, having at some point on the trip decided that he was my "Uncle Vinnie" not only that, but my favorite uncle too. Of course, I kind of forgot to mention it to the other members of the party, so they all just think I have a crush on him.

He gives a few half-hearted attempts to shake me off, but he quickly subsides, perhaps he notices my apprehension. We slowly make our decent, pausing more frequently to rest between battles. My skill with my blade astounds, and has astounded, and probably always will astound, everyone... including myself. The sword is nothing special, unless you count it being a five foot long katana that never dulls and has numerous materia slots. Jokingly people have called it the Masamune, or its twin, what they don't know, is how close to being right they are... heh, I don't even know it. My ability to wield and master material is phenomenal. In my hands material masters up to six times as fast as the other party members, and does approximately three times the damage.

With my skills I have no reason to be afraid. Yet, I am afraid. I shiver and finally let go of Vincent's arm. I lag behind the rest of the group to give my jumbled thoughts room to sort themselves out.

Lost in contemplation, I fail to notice the group stopping. I run, well walk, straight into Barret's back. I glance up wondering why we stopped, rubbing my nose slightly. My hand drops from my nose and falls weakly to my side.

Standing before us is the almighty Sephiroth. Tears pour from my eyes and I stalk forward and slap him across the face. I stand in front of him with my hands on my hips, a glare present on my face. "You bastard." I spit out each word venomously. He rubs his jaw lightly, smirking down at me. "What, you aren't going to kill me? You certainly had no problem killing her!"

Sephiroth draws the Masamune, "as you wish." In a blur of movement my katana is drawn and I drop into my fighting stance: crouched on my right leg, my left leg fully extended to the side, my left fingertips resting lightly on the ground, and my katana in my right hand, the tip resting on the ground. "I'm surprised you can use the Murasame." He says, "But a good sword doesn't completely make up for a bad fighting stance. You leave yourself completely vulnerable to an attack."

He swings his sword down at my "unprotected" leg. What he had not been expecting was my speed. My blade flashes up to meet his and I perform a kick directed at his kneecap. He hastily sidesteps and I hop to my feet, anticipating his next move.

The ex-general steps back, sheathing his sword. "Why?" I gasp, half in tears.

"You remind me of someone I once knew."

"No... Why did you kill her?"

He merely raises his eyebrows and shrugs. "Why does anyone do anything?"

A young black-haired girl runs up and tackles a silver-haired boy in his mid teens. "Sephy!" She says accusingly, "you promised, let's go!"

The boy, Sephy, turns and glares at the younger SOLDIERS he is training, and catches the snickering, "Don't get any ideas, she's my sister. And Ria, the name's Sephiroth."

"Sephy, come on! You promised you'd take me to see Aeris!" The girl says, bouncing around on her feet, completely ignoring her brother's comment.

Sephiroth throws his hands up in mock defet. "Alright, Sasaria, you win, I'll take you to see your sister."

I suddenly spin away from him and run madly up the path, only to be caught by Vincent. "..." he sighs, "What's wrong?"

Cloud and Tifa took that opportunity to question Sephiroth, but I could care less either way. "The bastard." I whisper fiercely. "He killed her! He killed her!"

Vincent cradles my head against his chest, trying to calm me down. "... ..."

I jerk my head up to meet his eyes. "That bastard! My brother... he killed my sister!" I practically scream that. I shove myself away from Vincent and turn around. My gaze falls on Sephiroth, "Go away Sephy, it is not yet time for the final battle."

He cocks an eyebrow and grips his Masamune before spinning on his heel and walking off.

"Cocky bastard." I spit out.

"'Sephy'? Who the hell is Sephy?" Cloud asks, scratching his head. "And what's your grudge against Sephiroth, I mean, I know mine and Tifa's... but you just exploded on him there."

I just turn my gaze on him, him being Cloud, and shake my head slightly, almost sadly. My gaze then falls to Tifa who is standing next to him, "Has he always been this stupid or is it the proximity of Sephiroth?"

Tifa gasps, "Sasaria! You should be nicer to your leader! And Sephiroth could never make Cloud stupid."

I shake my head from side to side, an expression of mock-sorrow present, "So he's just plain stupid. Well, I suppose that works, pity I didn't recognize it before, because if I had I could've left." I turn to go when something—a hand—strikes my cheek. "What?" I snarl at Tifa.

"Cloud is not stupid! And you had better answer his question!"

-"Go ahead, hit her back."-

"Who... who are you?" I question the voice resounding within the depths of my head."

-"Your mother."-

"You are not! My mother was Ifalna!"

-"Or so you believe, or should I say, or so you have been led to believe."-

"Just shut up, shut up!"

A hand is rested on my right shoulder, followed shortly by something sharp and metal on my left shoulder. I flinch at the first contact, and then relax when I feel the claw.

"Who are you talking to?" Vincent asks the question no one else dares ask.

"I don't know... she wouldn't tell me." I whisper before burying my head in his chest.

Cloud looked at me curiously, "Wasn't Ifalna Aeris's birthmother?" I nod my head very slightly, "And she's your mother you say?" Again, I nod my head. He then screams at me, "Are you even paying attention to me? You had better answer me!"

Vincent glares at Cloud, "She has been, you have no reason to yell at her, and I suggest that you desist unless you want every monster in the vicinity to know your location and attack you."

I push away from Vincent, grinning wryly at his threat, "Thanks Uncle Vinnie," I whisper, before turning to face Cloud. "And yes, Aeris and I are sisters." I raise my hand to stop the flow of questions. "And before you ask, I only just remembered, during my battle with Sephiroth." I turn on my heel and stalk off.

"Looking for me?" A voice echoes from the air around me. "Come and find me little sister, and bring your friends too."

Cloud turns on me quickly having just arrived. "The voice, said sister, does this meant that Aeris is still alive?"

I roll my eyes and walk over to an entrance. "Aeris is dead, Cloud. D-E-A-D." I walk through the doorway.

"I thought I told you to bring the others." The voice whisperingly echoes. "My orders do not go un-obeyed."

I shrug and flip my long, scraggly braid back behind my shoulders and continue onwards. I come to a ledge and hop off of it, landing about eight feet below it on solid ground.

I brush a few damp strands of hair behind my ears and pause to catch my breath.

Within moments my arms are held firmly behind my back and something cold and sharp is pressed against my throat. "So you found me, or shall I say that I found you?"

I try to jerk away but the object that I have decided is a knife—due to the sharp metallic smell, as well as the coolness of the object and the purpose it is being used for—is pressed more firmly into my throat. A single tear escapes my eye and makes a streak down my dusty, grimy cheek.

"Why do you cry, Little Angel?"

"Because I am unable to fly."

"And why is that?"

"My wings are trying to remember how, but something holds them back."

"Then I will just have to help them remember." The dagger is no longer as firmly pressed against my throat.

Cloud rushes in, the rest trailing in behind him. "Let her go you murderer!"

I chuckle weakly, earning a sharp glance from Cloud. "I doubt that my estimable brother is going to listen to you."

"Your... brother?" Cloud gasps. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why? Because I thought you would be able to figure it out."

"You were the one to call me stupid." Cloud points out matter-of-factly.

"Yes, I was. I only screamed that my brother killed my sister, you discovered that Aeris was my sister, I only figure you would put the two together." I shake my head and wince as the dagger lightly slices my skin. "Sephy, you can release the death grip now."

Sephiroth doesn't respond.

The blood in my head pounds, "Sephy?"

"You said you wanted to remember." These are the last words I hear as I slide into darkness: "Here is how an angel flies."

- -

Arcander T. Nacelsten

A/N: Starting next chapter, the first line of every chapter will be a continuation of this chapter, and then the rest will be her memories.