Chapter Three: AVALANCHE

Cloud staggered back into the house, one arm around Zack's waist to hold the older man up. He and Reno had, as Sephiroth so elegantly put it earlier, gotten drunk off their asses. Cloud laughed. It had been a strange night. Reno wasn't as bad as he seemed.

Cloud sat at the bar, watching Zack and Reno. He had a nice buzz, but wasn't completely drunk. Reno was telling exaggerated stories of his time as a Turk, and despite his distrust, Cloud found himself listening intently.

Tifa leaned over the bar beside Cloud, also watching the two. "Zack and Reno are funny drunk, ne?"

"Yeah." Cloud said, his eyes never leaving his friend. "Hey, Tifa?"

"Hmmm?"

"Can I have another drink? I think I'll need it to put up with Zack the rest of the night."

She laughed, disappearing for a moment and returning with a glass of Wutainese rum. "For someone not of legal drinking age, you and Zack sure do drink a lot." Cloud ignored that, taking a sip. "Hey, Cloud? How is it, living with Zack and Sephiroth?"

"They're cool. They're like brothers. Although Zack can be... a pain sometimes." Cloud said. Tifa looked ready to say something else, but a girl with long, red-brown hair poked her head out from the back room.

"Tif? When are we going to start the AVALA-" She saw Reno and gave a shrill shriek, practically sprinting back into the back rooms. Cloud heard her thundering up the stairs and glanced at Tifa.

"Who was that?"

"My... friend, Jessie. She's staying with me. She's very shy." Tifa looked over at Zack and Reno, only to find them both passed out. "Gah, those two. Reno's partner, Rude, will come get him eventually. Zack's usually gone before then." She handed Cloud a glass of ice water. "Go dump this on him and get his lazy ass outta my bar. And tell him the drinks are on the house."

So here Cloud was, with a very drunk Zack. He dropped the raven-haired man on the couch in their living room, and proceeded to throw himself into the nearest chair. Sephiroth stuck his head in and asked, "Drunk?"

"Not me. Him." At Cloud's words, Sephiroth looked the two over. Cloud looked exhausted, but relatively sober. Zack looked completely smashed, and was currently clinging to the sofa cushion singing gibberish. Sephiroth nodded to show that he agreed with Cloud, and sat down on another chair.

"I take it he drank straight rum or something?" Sephiroth asked. Cloud shrugged, and both of them continued to watch their friend act like an idiot. Zack was happily babbling away. His nonsensical words turned into a repeated singing of a single word.

"AVA-AVA-AVALANCHE, AVALANCHE, AVALANCHE!"

"What the hell?" Sephiroth asked. "Avalanche? There aren't any mountains anywhere near Midgar. Zack's lost it."

The singing changed again. Zack began singing in a high voice, "AVALANCHE in Heaven, AVALANCHE in Heaven..." Cloud abruptly remembered the girl in the bar. Jessie, Tifa had called her. She had mentioned a meeting and something that sounded suspiciously like the beginning of AVALANCHE. Cloud got up and smacked Zack full across the face. "Zack! What is AVALANCHE?"

The smack seemed to have helped Zack out of his drunken haze. He blinked as the Mako in his system kicked in to cure the drunkeness. "What? Spike, I..."

"I want to know too, Zack." Zack cringed as Sephiroth fixed him with a piercing, jade-green stare. With both Cloud and Sephiroth's eyes on him, there was no way to escape.

"All right, guys. If Tifa asks, it wasn't me who told you." Zack began. "AVALANCHE is a rebel group that Tifa is leading. You know the guy who survived Corel, Barrett Wallace? He's part of it. There's a girl called Jessie; she's good with explosives. There's a guy called Biggs, and a teen named Wedge who's better than most with a gun. They're all in it together to take down Shinra. They're still recruiting, but it's definitely a worthy cause."

Cloud's eyes widened. "Zack! Reno's a goddamned Turk! Do you not think he might..."

"Oh, Reno knows they're there." Zack said with a casual grin. Ignoring the stunned expressions of his two friends, he continued, "Reno thinks it's fun, since Shinra knows there's a rebellion somewhere. He's not going to tell, because he thinks it's more fun to watch Shinra struggle to find them."

"Zack, that's a big risk to take." Sephiroth said. Zack shrugged idly, flopping back onto the couch. Sephiroth sighed. "I hate Shinra."

"Doesn't everyone down here?" Cloud inquired.

"I hate them personally. I grew up there." Sephiroth said. Zack sat up, suddenly at attention. Sephiroth never talked about his past. "I was raised in Shinra. The head of science, Professor Hojo... he would run experiments on me, inject me with Mako... It was torture, pure and simple. I never knew my father... I heard that Hojo had done something horrible to him, but I knew my mother. Her name was Lucrecia Crescent. All of my reports in the Shinra building called me Sephiroth Crescent. I don't know my father's last name, so... But my mother was killed." His voice grew sad, and Zack and Cloud hung on to his every word. "We were living in a house on top of the Sector 8 plate. One night it caught fire. I was at the lab when I heard the news. I waited and waited for Mother to come with my little brothers. But they never got out. They were all killed in the fire. I think Hojo had it done on purpose, since my mother tried to protect me from him."

"Your whole family..." Zack whispered. "Oh, gods, Seph. I'm so sorry."

Sephiroth smiled. "Why? You didn't do anything. Those Shinra bastards did. I knew a lot of the Shinra executives growing up. I think one was nice to me. He was Reeve Tuesti, head of urban development. I remember arguing with him, because he designed Midgar. He doesn't like it here either. He's the one who left the holding room unlocked so that I could escape. I also, sadly, knew Rufus. There's a reason his nickname is "Prince Rufus". He's in command of Shinra, really. The king is dying, or stupid, and the prince is ruling in his absence. President Shinra is an incompetent moron."

"We all knew that!" Zack laughed. "C'mon. I don't know about you two, but I'm tired. And anyway, I'm taking you two to meet Aerith tomorrow. Let's get some sleep."

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"How much did you drink?" Rude asked, hauling his partner through the door of their small apartment on the Sector 8 plate. Reno stumbled to their couch and fell on it. Well, he would have, but he missed, hitting the plush carpet instead. Rude sighed and dragged his friend upright, setting him on the couch. "Seriously."

"Zack n' I had a contest, who could drink more of Costa del Sol's special tequila without passin' out, yo." Reno slurred. Rude sighed at his partner's stupidity.

"And who won?"

"Y'know, I don't really remember." Reno mumbled. Rude sighed again. Reno smiled hazily. He didn't have a Mako boost to cure his drunkeness. "It was fun though. That girl from AVALANCHE popped up. Screamed when she saw me... wonner why..."

"AVALANCHE?" Rude couldn't believe his ears. "The rebel group?"

"Yeeaaaahhhhhhh. They're holed up in the Seventh Heaven..." Reno said, swaying slightly, not really knowing what he was saying. "Zacky asked me not to telllllll..." Reno passed out onto the sofa, the tequila finally catching up to him. Rude stared. His partner had known the whereabouts of AVALANCHE all along? Rude slapped his head. God was Reno a moron. Rude left his drunk friend in the apartment, having something very important to tell Tseng and Rufus.

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Li: Excuse the "hi"s. The triangly thinger doesn't work on this computer. Here's another chapter for you guys, just because. I'm facing much strife (hehe) because of limited computer access, so it might be a while between chapters. And I'm debating: to kill Zack, to not kill Zack... I love Zack to death, but... And the tune he was singing 'AVALANCHE' to was One-Winged Angel.

Thanks to the people who reviewed, and if anyone noticed, I've put the events out of order. Anyone who guesses whats going to happen next gets a Rufus plushie. (Rufus deserves love too! Even if he is a bastard. But you know you want allllll the plushies!) Till next chapter!

Li

EDIT: I edited where Sephiroth was when his family died. He wasn't in the house when it burned; he was at the lab instead.