A/N: Hey, everyone who is reading this. I hope you'll enjoy this story just like the others. I can promise you it'll be interesting. And like I promised a few people, Cid Highwind is in this story. In fact, he's sort of a main character. The other members of AVALANCHE might have small parts in this story here and there. You'll get to see them once in awhile. Anyway, let's go on.


Chapter 1.

11 years later

It was a cold winter day in the small town of Gongonga. There was snow every where. Mounds of deep snow against a few of the buildings. Just outside of town, near the river, was a gray and ugly building with a sign outside the large stone and iron gates. It read "Major Heidigger's orphanage for Boys".

There were boys of all ages inside. They all wore gray uniforms that made them look more like they were in boot camp. All wore faded black shoes that some had holes at the toes. They were all cleaning their dormitories, the halls, just the whole house. Every single one of the boys looked underfed. It was like they hadn't ate for three days. Some looked like they hadn't slept for two. In the largest room, the living room, there was a large man sitting in front of a warm fire eating and reading a boot with his feet propped up. He would be the Major Heidigger.

In the kitchen there was a 21 year old young man scrubbing the floor on his hands and knees. He was very handsome and wore hand me down cloths just like the children. His face was a little boyish and his hair was strawberry blonde. His eyes a pure sapphire blue. He was just a knock out for the ladies. In the orphanage he was call Red because of the color of his hair.

Unlike the children, he looked a little happy and was humming a merry little tune. It was like he knew something that no one else did. His eyes concentrating hard on his work but his ears were listening for that little sound that he knew would make the Major mad and the children laugh. He thought they needed a little more fun aways. He knew he was old enough to just leave the orphanage, away from Major and free from being told what to do but he wouldn't leave because he cared about the children. If he left, who would be the one to make the children laugh. He was the oldest orphan there. Not that he cared. He knew he had someone out there. It was because of a small necklace around his neck.

Red was just finishing up scrubbing a large stain on the floor when he heard the merry sounds of an explosion. A big grin curled around his lips and there was the yelling of the Major. Red turned a little to look down the hall and saw smoke curling out of the room. There were several laughs from the boys out in the hall. The more yelling of the Major. Red laughed himself and shook his head. He glanced over to the 15 year old girl who was pretending to be a boy. Her hair was black and cut very short. She wore very baggy cloths to hide her growing curves. She wore a ragged and dirty yellow scarf around her neck. She always had a dirty face.

Red and the boys knew that she was a girl but they never said a word to the Major. She had came to the orphanage a few years before. Red was practically her best frined. They thought of each other as brother and sister. Her name was Yuffie but around the Major they called her Kid since she really didn't give him a name. She told Red that she had ran away from home along time ago because of her father. They didn't really see eye to eye and he was trying to marry her off at an early age. So she took off and found her way to the orphanage. It was the only place she could go to.

"I see that stink bomb we made finally went off, Kid." Red said. Yuffie giggled and nodded. "Yeah." She said trying to sound like a boy. Which she did a pretty good job. But then there was that stomping of large feet coming towards the kitchen. And soon the Major was standing there and he had his large leather belt in his hands. His beady eyes went straight to Yuffie, who froze with wide eyes. "Kid! You little brat! Your going to be paying for that stench!" He roared stomping towards her. Red sat up straighter looking at the now terrified Yuffie.

Yuffie tried to back away but the counter was right there. The Major moved very quickly for a fat man. He rose the belt to hit her with it. Red quickly grabbed the scrubbing brush and pushed it across the floor where the Major stepped on it and went crashing to the floor. Yuffie quickly jumped over the Major and hurried over to Red who stood and pulled her closer to protect her. Major Heidigger quickly got up and looked murderously at Red.

"Red! You stay out of this! That little bastard is going to pay for making a stink and setting it off right under my chair!" He snarled. Red narrowed his eyes dangerously. "It was Kid, Major! It was me! It was my idea!" He snapped back. The major growled and started forward swinging his belt. "Then you both will get the belt!" He snarled. Red was just going to stand his ground but Yuffie grabbed his arm and pulled him after her. They quickly ran out of the kitchen into the hall. Heidigger hot on their trail.

A young boy quickly got in the way giving Heidigger a dirty look. "Leave her alone!" He barked. The Major's lips curled into a sneer. "Her, huh?" He asked coldly. Every boy winced or cringed. The boy covered his mouth realizing what he had just done. "So there's been a girl in this house the whole time and no one has told me!" The Major growled. Yuffie buried her head in Red's back when they stopped running looking very afraid. Heidigger sneered. "Well, we'll have to fix that! I bet I can sell that little brat to Corneo for a lot of money." He said with a vicious grin.

Red narrowed his eyes again even more dangerously. He bared his teeth. "You will not touch Kid!" He snapped. Heidigger pointed to the door. "You get out of my house! Take that little brat with you!" He exclaimed. Red and Yuffie backed towards the door giving him a dirty look. "Fine! We will leave! It's not like we wanted to be here anyways!" Red yelled back. They quickly flung the door open and ran out. Heidigger ran after throwing a vase. Red quickly wrapped his arms around the 15 year old and let the vase smash against his back. He only winced but they kept running, slipping right through the gates.

After awhile Red and Yuffie stopped running to catch their breath. They were close to the river now. Both doubled over with their hands on their knees. Yuffie leaned against Red for support. "Great...gasp...what now? Where are we going to go?" She asked. Red stood up straight and went over to a log to sit down. Yuffie followed him. "I don't know. I think I might go Midgar." he said. Yuffie looked at him. "Huh? Midgar? Why all the way there? That's sure a long way." She said. Red undid his own scarf a little and pulled out a chain. "I think I have family there. Or at least friends." He said showing her the necklace he wore.

Yuffie leaned forward to see it. On the small key it said Together in Midgar.She looked up at him. "So you have family after all." She said. Red shrugged. "I don't know. I can't remember. I told you before. When I was ten I was found wandering around with no family or no memory of who I was. They caught me trying to steal food and sent me to that orphanage. I'm really sure that there's someone in Midgar for me. So there's only one way of finding out." He said. Yuffie nodded with a sigh.

"Well, I wish you luck. I guess this means we're going our seperate ways." She said starting to walk away. Red quickly grabbed the back of her pants and pulled her back. "Hey, hey, hey. Where do you think your going?" He asked. Yuffie turned to look at him. "Well...you don't want me to intrude, right? I mean, I have no place with whoever your looking for. So I guess I'm just going to go off on my own." She said. Red smirked. "Hey! There is too a place for you. Your like a sister to me. And if your a sister, then that means your apart of my family. Besides, someone's gotta make sure you stay out of trouble." He said. Yuffie smiled brightly. "You mean you want me to go with you?" She asked with excitement.

Red grinned. "Of course I do! Come on! What do you say? Let's have an adventure together?" He asked. Yuffie grinned and nodded. "All right! Let's go on to Midgar!" She said merrily pointing down the path. Red blinked and looked around. "Uh...where is Midgar, anyway?" He asked. Yuffie blinked then sweatdropped. "I have no idea." She turned to him. "We could go to Nibelheim. They have, like, the best travel agency around here. Maybe we'll find something." She said with a shrug. Red stood and nodded. "Yeah. Let's go." He said. Yuffie smiled brightly and began skipping down the path with Red laughing after her.

After two days of travelling together, stopping in a small village in the Cosmos Canyon to rest and being stuffed with food by the kind people there, and travelling over a large river, Red and Yuffie were almost there to the town. It wasn't a big town but it wasn't small either. There were a lot of houses, some just a little run down. A large water tower in the middle of the town square. There were a lot of people in Nibelheim. And a lot of soldiers.

Both Red and Yuffie looked at each other with confusion and walked on."Man, look at this place. What's with all the people?" Yuffie asked. Red shook his head. "Your guess is as good as mine." He said. He stepped up to a man. "Excuse me?" He asked. The large man spun around giving him the most dirty look. "What!" He growled. Red stepped back surprised. "Uh...never mind." He muttered walking away with Yuffie. "Man, that dude was so Rude." She said hurrying after him. Red looked around blowing a sigh. "I hope we'll find someone nicer." He said. They stepped up to a long line to a outdoor shop.

"Uh...could someone tell me..." Red was asking. Every eye from each person all turned to him with a nasty look. "End of the line, boy!" A man snarled. Red stepped back wincing. "I just..." He was saying. A soldier stepped up looking darkly at him. "Are you causing trouble, boy?" he asked coldly. Red stepped back looking uneasy. "Uh, no. S-sorry." He said. The soldier growled. "You better not cause trouble or I'm going to put a few bullets in your weak little head." He said harshly patting the gun at his side.

Yuffie grabbed Red's arm and pulled him with her. "Uh...come on, Red. Let's just go." She said weakly. They hurried away. "Whoa! This is a hard town." Red said wiping his brow from the nervous sweatbeads. Yuffie shook her head as they went to sit down. "Man, this town kinda creeps me out. We should just find some a travelling agency and get the hell out of here." She said. Red gave her a look and pointed a finger at her. "What did I tell you about your language?" He asked. Yuffie rolled her eyes and grabbed his finger twisting it. "Don't swear. Just stop pointing. It's rude to point." She said. Red winced from the slight pain in his hand and then rubbed his knuckles.

Red and Yuffie walked on hoping to find a nicer person. They decided to try again with another person. Yuffie was going to do it this time. "Excuse me?" She asked a little girl. The girl turned around looking innocently at her. Yuffie smiled. "Hey, can you tell me who is nice in this blasted town?" She asked sweetly. Before the girl could answer, someone picked her up. Yuffie slowly looked up to see a very tough looking black man who was glaring at her.

"Yo, what are ya doing my kid?" He growled. Red quickly stepped forward to defend his friend. "Look, we just want to find a travel agency to get travelling papers to get to Midgar. But every single person in this town has been down right mean to us. We were just asking her if there was anyone nice." He said wearily. The black man stared at them for a second before shaking his head. "There ain't no travelling agency anymo'. The damn soldiers burned it down last spring. They don' think anyone should leave Nibelheim. That's why there's so many people in town." he said. Red lowered his head with a sigh. "Great. Now we're stuck here. I'm never going to find the people who cared for me." He said gloomily.

The black name looked around before leaning forward. "Hey, go to the Shinra Mansion on the other side of town. Ask for Cid or Tifa. They'll be able to help you. You didn't hear it from me. But if they really want to know who told you, you tell them that it was their pal Barret." He whispered. Red and Yuffie smiled with relief. "Thanks." Red whispered back. Barret nodded before turning away and carrying his daughter off.

Red and Yuffie went walking towards the end of town. They were looking everywhere for this Shinra Mansion. There were so many buildings that they couldn't tell which one was the mansion. "Excuse me? Do you know where I can find a Cid?" Red asked an old woman. The woman lightly gasped before looking around. She waved her hand. "No! I don't! There is no Cid here!" She snapped. Red sighed slouching a little. "Well, what about Tifa?" Yuffie asked. The woman looked angry. "There is no Tifa either!" She snarled. Both Red and Yuffie gave the woman a dirty look and walked away. They were just walking past an alley when they heard a "Psst!"

Both young peoples turned to see the old woman again. Red and Yuffie narrowed their eyes but blinked when the woman beckoned for them to step closer. They cautious did so. The woman looked around before using a hand to cup her mouth. "Go to the end of town. Both Tifa and Cid are there taking applications right now and they should be a little busy. But they might squeeze you in." She whispered. She looked around again. "But you didn't hear that from Elmyra." She then ducked into the alley.

Red and Yuffie gave each other a look. "What the hell?" He asked. Yuffie waggled a finger at him. "Naughty, naughty, Red. Watch your language." She teased. Red gave her a dirty look before cupping a handful of snow and chucking at her. Yuffie squealed as she ducked and they had a small snowball fight. After awhile they went on.

A/N: The next chapter will the first meeting of Red, Yuffie, Tifa and Cid. They'll finally get to meet and begin their travels.