Before Crisis: The Beginning

By DarkAngel

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing, yo. Got it memorized?

Chapter 13: The Old Stomping Grounds (St. Andrew)

Being back in Junon was weird, St. Andrew reflected. It hadn't been all that long ago that he'd been riding the streets here with his boys. And now here he was in a well-made suit, with a badge and a new affiliation. He felt out of place and awkward, though he wasn't sure whether that was due to being back in Junon or because of his position now vis-à-vis his position then.

Taking his PHS out from his pocket, he flipped it open, looking at the grids glowing in blue on his screen. All he had to do was follow the map, right? But what did he need it for, anyway? Junon had been his home for years; he knew the place like the back of his hand, and if anybody knew where to get the lowdown on groups like AVALANCHE, it would be him.

After some thought, St. Andrew put the phone back in his pocket. He knew just where to start looking for information…

Taking a right on D Avenue, St. Andrew passed a row of rust coloured buildings. Every few houses, tiny alleys lead to other avenues and streets. At the fourth alley, he hung a left. Partway down the alley was a brown metal door with a knob set in the middle, and a keyhole on the right side. There were no numbers on the door. Raising his fist, he knocked.

At first there was no answer. Then there was a scuffling sound, and a rough voice barked "What's the password?"

St. Andrew swore colourfully at the man, who opened the door a crack – then opened it wider when he realized who was on the other side.

"Andy? That really you?"

St. Andrew grinned, showing his teeth. "Who else would I be, Buck?"

"Shit man, I thought you were dead man!"

"It'd take more than that to kill me," St. Andrew said confidently.

"Yeah man, I bet," Buck laughed, pushing the door wide open. "Come in." Then he stopped. "Wait." His eyes fell to St. Andrew's clothes. "What's with the suit? You look like one of them Shin-Ra…"

"It's a long story. Lemme in and I'll tell you everything," St. Andrew said.

Buck gave the suit another once-over, then seemingly deciding that it wasn't that big a deal, shrugged and let him in. St. Andrew looked around.

The place hadn't changed. The floor was still bare cement. The walls were still lined with wooden crates stacked at varying heights. A bare bulb lit the room with a dull orange glow, and old posters with famous bikes and underground heroes were pasted on the walls. The only other furniture in the room was a round table around which crates were placed in lieu of chairs. Several brown bottles of beer, cigarettes stubbed in overflowing and dented ashtrays, a copy of a newspaper and a scattered deck of cards were on it.

"…the old dartboard is gone," St. Andrew said, at last picking out a change from the room of his memories.

"Yeah. Ness didn't like the fact she kept losing so we had to get rid of it." Buck chuckled. "Things have really changed since you been gone, man." He took a seat on a crate, eyeing St. Andrew. "Okay man, so talk. What happened to you? We heard you got caught and then we ain't heard nothing from you, man."

St. Andrew scratched at the back of his head. Where should he even begin? He took a deep breath.

Several minutes later, St. Andrew was leaning back against the pitted wall behind him. He had just finished telling Buck everything, concluding with his current situation now. Buck whistled.

"We'd wondered about that. We thought you were dead, so uh…" Buck looked embarrassed. "Don't take this the wrong way man, but we needed a leader, so…"

"Don't worry about it," St. Andrew said, snorting. "Who is it?"

"Nick."

St. Andrew grunted. At least it was someone he could stand.

"Look, I need some information. I'm hoping you guys might know something," St. Andrew said, changing the subject. He looked Buck in the eye. "If anybody knows this town, it's you boys."

"Got that right," Buck said, with what would have been a modest nod if it wasn't for the Cheshire grin.

"How much d'you know about a group called AVALANCHE?"

"AVALANCHE?"

"Yeah. They've been causing some trouble in Midgar lately. Word is they're also in Junon."

Buck scratched his head. "Man, I don't know anything about that. What do they do? Drugs or some shit like that?"

"No," St. Andrew replied, shaking his head. "If you don't know, that's cool. Guess I'll do some searching on my own."

"You gonna need help? The boys'll go with you no problem, you know."

"Nah," St. Andrew said. Best to leave them out of this. He stood up, raising a hand. "I'll see you around, Buck. Gotta get back to work."

"Yeah, sure." Buck opened the door for him. "Good luck man."

"Yeah."

St. Andrew stood at the main street again. So that had been a bust. The gang was usually on top of what went on in the city, but this time, either the gang's feelers hadn't gone far enough or AVALANCHE was doing a good job of keeping a low profile. Maybe he'd better do as Tseng suggested. With a sigh, he fished out his PHS once more and began walking.

To be continued…