Warning!!!: This fanfiction may eventually contain Shonen ai.
Paradise Lost
Prologue
Here we may reign secure, and in my choice
To reign is worth ambition though in hell:
Better to reign in hell, than serve in heaven.
- John Milton, "Paradise Lost"
Sand gritted under his boots as he strolled languidly but purposefully to the bar. He did not usually drink but today, he felt the sudden need for some alcohol and in the middle of the day too. He had a short but brutal moment of panic that perhaps he was turning into an alcoholic but it passed. He woke up today feeling empty inside and now he wanted to fill himself with some of the burning liquid and perhaps, just for a day, forget about himself, forget about forgotten memories if ever such a thing was needed or possible. Life was such a drag after all that excitement even though at that time, he wanted more than anything to be able to get out of it all.
It was then that he met an old enemy again. They weren't really enemies of each other towards the end but then, when it was the end of the world, or nearly so, one simply did not have the presence of mind nor the time to bear grudges. For a moment, Cloud watched impassively at the bunch of people who had exploded out of the bar engaged in a vicious brawl. Three large burly men against one thin redhead, the odds of the fight seemed uneven but when said red head was an ex-Turk, the informed bets would be on the red head. Cloud had not recognized him at once as he was not wearing his usual Turk uniform and he doesn't seem to be using his electro-rod thing but the fiery red hair and fighting skills was immediately identifying. Reno was throwing punches left and right, moving with unexpected grace among the large men, leaving a black eye here and a broken nose there. He didn't even bothered taking out his nightstick. With a roundhouse kick, Reno sent one of the guys with a strange tattoo on the nape of his neck slamming into the ground and with another well aimed uppercut, snapped another thug's neck backward with a horribly loud crack.
Reno was holding very well with the odds of three against one. Indeed, he was sending the brutes sprawling and avoiding their attacks in a graceful but macabre dance. But suddenly, a look of surprise fleeted across Reno's face when he first caught sight of Cloud and then he grimaced as one of the brutes closed in behind him and things went downhill from there.
Cloud had in retrospect, no idea why he helped Reno but when the tide turned for the red head, Cloud had stepped in automatically. Perhaps, he was intrigued by Reno's sudden loss of dexterity and angered by the way the brutes closed in on Reno like vultures attacking a dying animal as he fumbled around like a drunk. Perhaps, it was fate that decreed he would lose an enemy today while gaining a friend. Perhaps it was just his 'hero' instinct, as some would call it. Whatever it was, Cloud had entered the fight almost automatically, his body moving before his mind grasped the significance of his action. The men scattered like rabbits within five minutes after Cloud swung his buster sword into the fray.
Reno groaned from his position on the dusty floor as he regained consciousness a mere three minutes after he fell, he was trained to rouse as quickly as possible. Being a Turk, that one minute more of lying on the ground unmoving might mean the difference between life and death. He felt incredibly dizzy and sleepy even though his left temple was throbbing in pain as someone's fist had found its mark, his whole body was starting to ache as the adrenaline wore off and he was starting to cough so badly that his whole body was thrown into spasms as he struggled to push himself up. He had been kneed in the stomach, not once but at least twice, he lost count after his mind blanked out in pain. In any case, the important point was that, now his guts felt like they were trying to escape from him after all the abuse they had suffered from both their master and his enemies. He coughed blood. Shit, now they were trying to escape through his mouth.
"Are you okay?"
Someone had asked Reno. It had been quite some time since he had been presented with that particular question although just a few months ago, he would hear them quite often. He had expected that question and had a standard nasty reply to it but when he tilted his head up, all he could mumble was, "Cloud Strife, of all people."
He looked funny smirking like that, with blood flowing from a corner of his mouth, a bruise starting to blossom just above his left brow. Cloud was about to comment but Reno gave him no chance as his eyes rolled back and he started to fall backwards. Cloud moved in with his inhuman agility and grabbed Reno before he did more damage to himself. Strange, Reno should be stronger than this; he managed to escape from Avalanche after being beaten to a pulp during Sector Seven. But Cloud did not want to think about that now, the blood that he and Reno had shed was still as bright red as the silky strands that now flowed between his fingers.
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Hi, I am
new to the FF7 fanfiction community though I am not new to writing fanfictions.
I had never played the game itself beyond the first 10 minutes so I need a lot
of help on the verification of story details. English is also not my native
language so I really will appreciate a beta reader. J I had an old id with
fanfiction net but I lost my email and password….But in any case, those stories
were written like four years ago so hopefully by now, I had improved. If you
are interested, my old id is listed in my favourite authors section.