Rea: I want everyone to let Haleybird take the credit for the rewriting of this chapter. She did a beautiful job and well it made me want to try harder than i've been. So Since this story is ending very soon...at chapter 11. My next few stories i will give my all even if i don't update on time. right? anyways she did a magnificent job on this. a masterpiece. She did it without my asking and showed it to me. even though the rest of the chapters won't be done let this be the beautiful intro.
Thanks again Haleybird
Disclaimer: dont own any final fantasy. i own the plot. haleybird owns the re-write.
"Lone Racer"
Chapter One: A Bloody Beginning
Dust flew as the sound of about two dozen engines sliced through the otherwise peacefully slumbering city. Motorcycles almost as diverse as their riders raced through the shadow-filled alleys, making hairpin turns and kicking up a mist-like layer of dust and exhaust fumes. The obvious leader leaned forward, sharp blond spikes dancing in the rush of air. Unlike his competition, he didn't wear a helmet. Cloud's vibrant blue eyes peered into the dark, warm Thursday night. As he sped across the finish line, most of the crowd cheered wildly, as the few others groaned in dismay at money lost in a badly placed bet. Strife carefully steered Fenrir to the side of the road where he waited for the other racers to finish.
"Twenty-three year old Cloud Strife wins! And here come second and third place..." The announcer screamed into his old, unnecessary microphone.
The second-placed biker pulled up beside the Strife and pulled off his blue and black striped helmet to reveal black spiky hair and playful blue eyes. "Great job, Cloud! Looks like you won a nice amount of money. How much did you bet on yourself?"
Cloud shrugged. "I don't know, around a hundred."
Zack laughed and slapped his companion on the back. "Just how long are you going to go on racing, anyway? Your luck won't hold out forever, and one of these days you're going to get hurt." Zack straightened up and looked around, much more serious than before. "You've made more enemies than you know. Have you thought about quitting while you're ahead?"
Cloud shot Zack a dirty look. "You know why I do what I do, so you should know that my answer is no." Zack sighed.
"Yeah... okay, Cloud. See you in a couple of nights for the next race." Cloud nodded. He kick-started Fenrir and spun around to drive away through the dusty streets, anxious to get home.
Zack waved until Cloud whipped around a corner, speeding out of sight. "Take care of yourself, buddy." He murmured, also mounting his bike and turning into an adjourning alleyway.
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About mile away, two eighteen-year-olds walked through a very similar run-down side street. The taller of the two strode confidently forward, his friend following closely behind. The former had piercing blue-gray eyes and soft brown hair that reached his shoulders, while the latter sported short spiky blond hair and crystal blue eyes.
Zell turned to his orphaned friend. "Come on, Leon. Stay at my place tonight. You shouldn't be sleeping out on the streets." Squall just rolled his eyes.
"Look, I'll be fine. Besides, I stay with you Friday nights."
Zell threw back his head and groaned sarcastically. "But that's so far away!"
Squall gave a slight smile. "Tomorrow is Friday, Zell."
"Okay. I'll be back for you tomorrow then!"
Zell chuckled lightly and took off running down a side ally. Squall shoved his hands in his pockets and turned down the opposite street, an eerie silence descending. All Squall could hear were the scuffing noises of his black pants, the steady thud of matching black boots, and the metallic scrape of the charm sliding back and forth on his silver necklace.
Suddenly, Squall heard several other footsteps besides his own. Rounding a corner was the worst (and best-known) gang in the city, made up of only three: Raijin and Fuujin with their deadly leader, Seifer, in his trademark white trench coat. Squall could see a cut trailing from Seifer's cheek down to his collarbone, and a black eye on his right side.
Raijin raised a tightly clenched fist and shook it angrily at Leon. "You're going to pay for what you did to the leader of the Viper gang, ya know?"
Squall laughed mockingly. "I didn't do anything. Maybe it was just his own stupidity, ya know?" Squall began to edge backwards. If I can just distract them long enough... His mind was racing.
Fuijin shook her head in disgust. "Unbelievable." Seifer inclined his head and Raijin leaped at Squall. Unable to dodge Raijin's heavily muscled (yet deceptively agile) body, Squall was thrown to the hard cement ground.
Seifer's grin was sinister. "Hold him, Raijin. Make sure he doesn't get away." Seifer handed his coat to Fuujin and took the gleaming pocket knife she held.
Squall's eyes widened in horror, and he struggled harder. "Get off!"
Seifer chuckled. "What's wrong, Squall? Don't want to play? I was going to let you join... but you'd rather hang out with that rich punk Zell, wouldn't you?" Seifer began to advance towards Squall, who tripped him, sending the deadly knife spinning away. Squall then rocked all of his body weight to the side, and rolled Raijin off him. Squall started to run when Fuujin grabbed his arm in a vice-like grip.
"Afraid?" Fuujin mocked.
Seifer laughed darkly and walked over to Squall. He looked down at the victim, struggling harder against his captors.
"It's useless trying to run away."
Leon tried to yanking his arm free, but Seifer stepped forward quickly and punched Leon square in the jaw. The momentum sent Squall stumbling backwards and he tripped over Raijin's feet, coming down hard onto the rough pavement with a crash. Raijin moved forward to hold him down. Squall groaned as blood began to build up on the ground around his head. Seifer grabbed the pocket knife off of the ground and crouched down next to Squall.
"Now let's get started." Seifer savagely swung the knife down and ripped it across Squall's chest. Squall's white shirt was instantly stained a bloody red. Squall hissed, holding back tears of pain.
Seifer laughed darkly. "This is only the beginning..."
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The Viper gang sauntered away, satisfied with their night's work, leaving Squall at the mercy of the sewer rats. Both thin and dangerously deep cuts ran up his arms and from his ankles to his knees. On along his chest, the crimson blood had turned his white shirt almost completely red. A slash beginning on the tip of his right eyebrow that reached diagonally across his nose bled profusely. It was a painful mark that would eventually turn to a scar…a reminder. If he even survived to remember. Blood was seeping continuously out of his many wounds, making him lightheaded. A growing puddle of his own blood was forming around him, and hacking coughs added to the crimson river, flowing away from Squall's outstretched arm.
I might just drown in my own blood before I bleed out. Leon shook his head weakly, trying to dispel the morbid thoughts that kept returning to the forefront of his mind.
Squall tried to use the dizziness to distract from the pain, without success. Even the smallest twitch sent bolts of fire up his arms, his legs, and into his chest. His head was pounding, and his vision was beginning to fade.
"Help... please..." He coughed painfully, and drifted into oblivion.
"Somebody..."
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Cloud slowed while passing through gang territory, as he usually did. He had heard stories of idiots trying to jump a biker driving past at high speeds, making for a dangerous crash, sometimes even a gas-fueled explosion. Strife drove through a puddle of water, which splashed up and soaked his pants and wheels. Unbidden, a memory flashed through his mind: ...making hairpin turns and kicking up a mist-like layer of dust and exhaust fumes... It hadn't rained in a month! He quickly looked down at his dampened pants, that were covered in blood that was not his own.
Oh, crap... Cloud leaped off Fenrir and raced back to where the puddle was. Around the corner, in a narrow ally, lay a teenage boy, sprawled face-down on the pavement, blood splattered everywhere. Cloud grimaced at the bloody scene, and kneeled down to check the figure's pulse. His eyes widened in surprise.
He's still alive...?