She hadn't wanted to spend her life in one spot.
She wanted an adventure.
She wanted friends.
She wanted something more than doing the same routine day-in, day-out.
Water her sprawling garden in the early morning; stop by the Orphanage on her way to the old Church, before stopping at the Market on her way home.
Sometimes, if the lines were long, she'd help out at the local restaurant. She quite enjoyed being a waitress – it gave her a purpose for a little while.
The closest she had to friends were Reno and Tseng of the Turks.
Sometimes, Reno would stop into the Church on his days off. At first, she was on edge whenever he would appear in the entryway, was he there on orders? She soon realized that unless a low-level ShinRa recruit was with him, he searched her out by choice. He'd talk about life on the top plate as she recruited him to help her plant bulbs. It seemed to be an unspoken rule; they never discussed their personal lives. She'd often notice that on his way out he would casually pick a flower, making her wonder if he had someone in his life.
Tseng had gifted her with her Guard Stick on her last birthday – he knew she wasn't content to stay within the safety of Sector Five. He knew of her desire to see more of Midgar; ever since that one time he found her sitting on a rubbish heap on the edge of Sector Five and Six, looking down at the lights of Wall Market. However, Elmyra hadn't been impressed with the gift. She wished her daughter would simply follow Rude's advice and remain home.
It was then that she came up with the idea of becoming an Angel.
It had started as a fluke, a one-time deal, when she snuck out her bedroom window one night, her Guard Stick in hand. It had been such a thrill, so unlike her normal day-to-day tasks that it became a habit.
Then, the Planet answered her plea.
She got her adventure – in the form of a blonde mercenary falling from the sky into her garden.
She learned he was a former SOLDIER, wasn't that ironic?
It seemed fate was intent to link her with ShinRa again and again.
Elmyra had been less impressed, it was written all over her face during dinner.
That's why she snuck out her bedroom window once more. She wasn't letting this opportunity pass her by. Try as he might, Cloud wasn't as stealthy as he thought he was. She had heard the floorboard creak under his weight, his low voice conversing with Elmyra in the kitchen. It allowed her a moment to get ahead and ambush him as he started down the road leading to Sector Six.
It wasn't how the adventures in her books began, but she didn't want a conventional adventure.
Her adventure began crawling through junk piles and fighting thugs within the rubble.
She boldly decided to visit Wall Market where she was crowned the Champion in the Underground Coliseum. She visited the fabled Honey Bee Inn and even got a meeting with Don Corneo.
Elmyra would have a fit if she knew what she was up to in the middle of the night.
Despite just meeting her, she immediately bonded with Tifa, especially when the tough bartender got spooked in the Train Graveyard and hid behind her. It was the first time anyone had truly looked to her for support.
Her heart sunk when she heard Reno's voice in the Train Graveyard, he was going to drop the plate. She had heard the rumors about the Turks . . . is this why Reno never discussed his life outside the church, skillfully changing the subject when it cropped up? This side of him was the exact opposite of the man who helped her plant bulbs the week before.
The idea of the Sector Seven plate falling on them was terrifying, but she could see the desperation on Tifa's face. She couldn't stand on the sidelines, knowing her new friends might die as she escaped to safety. That wasn't what the heroes in her books did.
Seeing the helicopters surrounding the pillars, the shouts of resistance fighters and gunshots all around her, as bodies fell to their death . . . strengthened her resolve. If she was going to die, she wanted to go on her terms, not in the ShinRa laboratory – that was why her mother had escaped with her as a child. She hadn't wanted her only daughter to fall victim to the same fate.
As Cloud and Tifa ran towards the fighting at the pillar, she ran further into Sector Seven ignoring the sound of the plate creaking overhead. Fire and Smoke was all she could see, each path she took blocked by debris from the fight raging on around her. Her heart hammered in her chest as she tried to convince Marlene to trust her, the clock on the wall behind her ticking away each passing moment.
She didn't expect to see Tseng as she threw open the bar's door, a recruit on either side of him. Tightening her grip on Marlene's hand, she played the only card she had left – her freedom for Marlene's safety.
She could imagine the look on Elmyra's face when Tseng showed up on her doorstep with Marlene. If she thought Elmyra would have a fit over her going to Wall Market and meeting with Don Corneo . . . being present within Sector Seven moments before its collapse would break her adoptive mother's heart.
Elmyra had tried so hard over the years to keep her safe and out of trouble. She always assumed that's why Elmyra liked Zack – a First-Class SOLDIER could keep her safe when Elmyra couldn't.
But, she didn't regret her decision. For that brief moment, she was in charge of Marlene's well-being. Tifa had trusted her despite only knowing her for a couple of hours. Sitting in the Shin-Ra helicopter, she prayed that her new friends would somehow find a way to stop the plate's destruction.
As they entered the Shin-Ra building, she frowned as she saw Hojo waiting for her at the end of the hallway. She clenched her hands into fists in hopes to supress her emotions, glancing briefly at Tseng as she noticed him pull a device from his pocket, a smirk appearing moments later. Her heart plummeted as she heard Cloud and Tifa's voice – they were still on the Sector Seven pillar.
Turning on her heel, wishing she had her Guard Stick, she elbowed the guard beside her as she headed straight for Tseng. They had to know Marlene was safe – she had kept her promise to Tifa – and she urged them to get out of Sector Seven immediately.
She shrugged off the guards as they dragged her off screen and away from Tseng. She held her head high as she marched between them, ignoring Hojo as the scientist mumbled about specimens and biology. As the automatic door to Hojo's lab shut behind her, cutting her off from the rest of the world, she could feel the despair setting in. This was what her mother had tried to shield her from when she escaped Shin-Ra's clutches, praying her daughter wouldn't fall victim to the scientist looming behind her.
She knew she wouldn't get any information out of Hojo.
She hoped Tseng might visit the laboratory, despite what she had shouted at him in the helicopter, she knew he would answer her questions.
Hojo's words sent a chill up her spine, although she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her reaction when he told her the fate of her mother. Was that going to be her fate? Was the Planet abandoning her? Is that why Tseng, Rude, and Elmyra warned her to stay home – was that their way of protecting her from Hojo and his experiments?
But, she knew that Cloud would come.
If he survived the destruction of Sector Seven, he would find a way to infiltrate Shin-Ra, Tifa at his side. She smiled slightly, pushing her bangs out of her eyes; at least Cloud had someone there to watch his back.
And, just like she had prayed to her ancestors, Cloud came, Tifa and Barret at his side.
They joined forces with Red XIII, another that Hojo had captured for experimental purposes.
They escaped Midgar, Shin-Ra SOLDIERS giving chase as they raced across the unfinished highway crisscrossing over the metropolis below.
She got to visit the wider world – something she knew she'd never be allowed to do.
She became best friends with a ninja.
She gambled in the Golden Saucer.
She got to see Zack's parents and hear confirmation that he passed away years ago. She didn't have the heart to tell them that she was the girl he had written home about.
She got to fly on the Tiny Bronco, the wind whipping through her hair.
She visited the oriental city of Wutai, climbing the famous Da Chao Mountain Range.
They found the hidden location of the Temple of Ancients, her fate laid out before her.
She knew how to stop the One Winged Angel.
She was the only one who could do it.
She was the Sector Five Angel for a reason, she thought as she looked at her sleeping companions.
Her goal was to protect people, although she never pictured saving the whole Planet.
She hoped they wouldn't follow her – but she expected the determined group would try.
"I'm sorry," she said, leaving the safety of the campsite. "But, it's time for this Angel to stop another."
# # #
A/N: I wrote this as I played through the Remake. The beginning and the ending were the first parts I wrote – so, at the time, I didn't know who the Sector Five Angel was. By the time I found out their identity, the majority of the story was already finished and I opted to leave it as is.