Remnants of a Person

Chapter One

Absolved

Author's Notes: *slams head into keyboard and sighs* Why do I keep doing this? Why can't I just be content with the workload I already have and not create more content? Oh wait! It's because I'm anime and fanfiction trash with no semblance of self-control. But I quiet honestly fell in love with the adorableness that is Loz when I first saw Advent Children and it only grew with all the cute fan art that insprired me to write this fic. This is now *pauses to count stories* six in-progress stories I've posted. For those who read these, thanks for reading my rants.

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is owned by Square Enix, Sony (?), and whoever else. I do not own any other mentioned properties.

Cloud was the last to leave the anti-geostigma pool and join the others on the church floor. No sooner did his foot leave the water did a man shaped object fall through the hole in the roof and land with a great splash. Any smile that lingered soon faded as a sputtering and confused Remnant broke past the surface. He could only shake some of the water from his short, spikey locks before he was surrounded by the main eight warriors and WRO soldiers. He spun around, arms outstretched slightly, looking for something unknown. Fear and grief were the clearest things that anyone could discern from his features. But someone in the crowd, one of Cid's crewmembers, saw something more. Something he couldn't just stand back and watch.

He saw a small child, hunched over in the snow hugging his knees. He was crying because he was all alone, lost, and covered in cuts and bruises. Unaware of the pack of wolves circling him. their lamp-like eyes trained on him as they licked their chops. Work cap flying from his untidy blue-black hair, Blake charged recklessly foward to protect the Remnant. Leaping into the pool, knocking the Wutai girl to the side, he grabbed the man by the shoulders and spun around with his hands sliding down the man's arms to keep him inside Blake's protective grasp. Blake glared daggers at those who had yet to lower their weapons, smokey blue eyes burning with the desire to save an innocect. His expression failed to change even when addressed by his captain.

"What in the blazes do ya think yer doin' Griffon!? Get yer ass the hell outta there!" Cid growled threateningly, his spear ready for attack.

"Sorry sir, I'm afraid I can't do that." he said in solid defiance.

"Ya will or I'll turn the both of ya into a fuckin' shiskabab!" His temper rising.

"Fine!" Blake challenged, "Go ahead, kill me." calling the pilot's bluff.

"Shit!" he cursed, gripping his spear tighter. Cid knew full well that he couldn't risk losing Blake. While he had no significant mechanical skills to speak of, the man had almost supernatural instincts and perception that had saved his fellow crewmates and the Shera numerous times. He's even rescued Cid far more times than he cared to admit from engine mishaps. Lowering his spear, "For God's sake Reeve, tell yer men to stand down." he said in defeat.

"But Cid..." he began insistantly.

"Are ya deft?!" Temper returning, "I said 'tell yer men to stand down!' If Blake is willin' to lay down his life for this guy then he must see somethin' we don't! So unless ya got someone with just as good as instincts as him hidden away somewhere, I suggest y'all lower yer weapons." Cid was almost yelling, the rest of his crew glaring at the former Shinra board member.

Vincent spoke up next, "If Cid trusts Blake's judgement, then so do I." he said in his usual, ominous manner. The other six of the party soon followed his decision somewhat reluctantly, even though they knew that the ex-Turk didn't trust others easily.

Reeve sighed, "Stand down." he ordered. But Blake failed to relax even though the threat seemed to be gone. "Mr. Griffon," addressing him formally with a slight threartening undertone, "since you saw fit to risk your own life to save the last Remnant of Sephiroth, he is now your responsibility. Do you understand and accept these terms?" he asked.

"Of course, sir."" Blake said, understanding the full wight of his situation. His expression only softening when he heard a sniffle directly behind him. He turned to see the Remnant with tears welling up in his eyes.

"They're really gone? Mother? Kadaj? Yazoo? They're all gone?" he asked his savior, looking like a lost puppy.

Looking to Cloud for comformation, "Yes, they are. But you wanna know a secret?" he said in a gentle, parental tone, "The ones we love never truely leave us, you can always find them, right here." placing a hand over his heart momentarily.

He looked down and touched the place where Blake's hand had been before he broke down completely. As he sobbed freely, Blake made a gesture that the Remnant had never experienced before. Gently placing a hand on the back of his head, Blake pulled him into a warm, comforting embrace. Shocked for a second, the man wrapped his big arms around his savior with wanton abandon, crying into the raven's shoulder. In that moment, everyone got a glimpse of what the crewman saw.

Though the Remnant looked as though to be in his late twenties, he was technically only three years old if he was truely born when Sephiroth was last defeated and that he was his own person. They all watched in awe as Blake so naturally took control of the situation, easily taking on the role of the adoptive parent. Sure that they had nothing to worry about, they left the two alone until the man had calmed down enough for Blake to sheperd him onto the Shera with everyone else. Again, Cloud was the last to leave as he was pulled along by Tifa.

On the airship, the Remnant was guided to one of the few cabins that was normally occupied by one person, now to be two. Cid didn't just hand out personal cabins to all his crewmen, there just wasn't enough room, so Blake was both honored and grateful to have one. Especially now, knowing that it would be best for everyone's comfort if they didn't have to share a room with a recently former enemy. As he opened the door and let him inside, it occured to Blake that he had no idea what his new roommate's name was.

"Hey, since we're stuck with each other, it might be a good idea if we knew what to call each other." Removing his right work glove and extending it towards the other, "Blake Griffon."

The Remnant tentively grasped the slightly oil covered hand, "Loz." he said quietly, watching as Blake gave his hand a quick shake before releasing it and replacing his glove.

"Well Loz," addressing the man properly, "I've got to make my rounds. Think you'll be alright here by yourself for a while?" he asked gently. Recieving a slight nod, Blake turned to leave the cabin only to open the door to a surprised Cid about to knock with Vincent looming behind him, completely unfazed. "Is there something you need from me Captain?" stepping out into the hall, closing the door behind him.

Like the rest of the crew, there was very little difference between Cid and Blake's height and build. Slightly shorter, Cid looked Blake in the eye and said, "Reeve said would be a good idea if I..." unable force the words out.

"If Cid were to relieve you of your duties for the duration of the trip back to Rocket Town." Vincent finished.

"The bastard didn't need to tell me that, I know when to give my own men some time off!" he huffed angerily.

"Thank you, sir."

"Has the Remnant given you any trouble?" asked the still looming Turk.

"No, Loz has been very obediant and quiet. He did just lose everyone he cared about after all." Unaware that the man himself was peeking through the crack of the door that apparently wasn't actually closed.

"That's not entirely true." Cid said with a smirk.

"Yes, he does seem rather attached to you." said Vincent, amused.

"Whadda ya mean?" Blake asked before following their gazes to the gap in the door, "Loz?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"I heard you say my name and came to see what you guys were talking about." looking down as though he were in trouble.

Unable to stand that look, "The Captain just was giving me time off so I can get to know you better." Blake said quickly, not really thinking about what he was saying.

"Really?!" His face brightening.

"We'll just be on our way then." said Vincent, ushering Cid down the hall as the big brute basically tackled his gaurdian to the ground.

Now that I think of it, he has attached himself to me like a lost pup. Blake thought as his head was stuck between the floor and what he believed to be a shoulder. He tried to move himself out from under Loz, but only succeeded in further flatening himself to the ground. As he waited for the man to be done with his outburst, he notice the lingering stench of sweat, blood, and several other oders.

"Not to be rude but," Blake wheezed slightly under the pearlette's weight. "when was the last time you had a shower?"

"What's a shower?"

If his head were free, Blake would've let his forehead slam into the metal platform with an exhasperated sigh before answering, "It's how people clean themselves. If you let me up, I'll show you."

After freeing himself, Blake scoured the cabin for any clothes that could possably fit Loz. He ended up with his own comfort shirt and pants that were a size or two bigger than what he actually wore. The were fairly new, since he couldn't wear them while working for fear of getting caught in the many exposed machine parts. Relenting, Blake also grabbed a pair of socks and underware that he was willing to part with to give his charge a complete change of clothes. Grabbing a change for himself and his personal soaps, he set off for the showers with the big Remnant at his heels.

Grabbing a couple towels from the rack, Blake turned on the taps to one of the many walled off two-man tiled showers. While he waited for the water to warm up, he began stripping his upper body, revealing a tattoo of a great phoenix with wings spread up on his back that he designed himself. He would've done it himself but left it to his brother David, who ran the shop when Blake was pulled out on flights. So basically all the time.

Checking the temperture and adjusting the knobs, Blake turned to a still fully clothed Loz with a light blush, "You have to take off your clothes if you want to get clean." Blake insisted, nodding towards his pile of dirty clothes, "Leave them there, I'll take care of cleaning them for ya when we get home."

Blake, like most of the crew, didn't have a problem with nudity and others seeing him in the buff. But Loz, showing his inexperience, had difficulty looking at the man directly as they removed the last of their articles. Blake was impressed with what he saw, the man had an even tan through out his well defined body which made it easy to spot a strange scar on his right shoulder blade. He was hairless except for a nest of white pubes above a rather enticing member.

Suppressing his dirty thoughts, Blake motioned for Loz to come join him under the cascade of warmth. Making sure that his hair was sufficiantly wet, he poured a generous amount of shampoo into his hand and began scrubbing the larger mans head vigorously. Having him close his eye before washing away the suds, Blake then washed his own quickly, grabbed a washcloth, rubbed it with a bar of soap, and began lathering the man, who went stock still when he reached certain areas. Once done, Loz's skin had become incredibly smooth and, again, Blake had to distract himself with finishing his shower and turned off the facet.

He didn't help Loz get dry as much, just fluffing his hair and letting him watch and follow his example. The pearlette dressed himself in the clothes Blake had provided, only confused by the underware and the raven's instructions of tucking his pants legs into his boots. Loz ended up looking a little odd in a grey t-shirt and blue jeans, but the good news was that they fit him rather nicely.

The rest of the ride pasted rather uneventfully, dropping off others near their homes as the remainder came to Rocket Town for the night with Cid and Vincent to catch up before going their seperate ways. Blake couldn't help but notice that a certain spiky blonde kept lurking nearby as they took to wondering the ship aimlessly, eyes trained on Loz.

"Welcome back bro! Heard that some serious shit went down in Midgar, to be honest, I was starten' to get worried." Greeted David as Blake walked into the parlor, Loz immediatly being distracted by the wall covered in designs and a few memerable cutsomers.

David was taller than his younger brother, just enough that it kept him with joining up with the Shera crew, not that he cared. He wasn't as stocky as his brother, but had the same untidy hair but longer and darker. Unlike Blake, who shaved every couple weeks, David kept a Van Dyke beard and his hair shoulder length. To sum him up, he looked like a rocker.

"Well I did almost get myself killed today and not for the reason you would think" Blake said far too casually, leaning over the counter.

"Then what?"

Nodding towards Loz, engrossed in a particular design, "By risking my neck for his."

"Shouldn't he be somewhere else?" eyeing Loz catiously, probably had a rough idea of who he was.

"You remember Reeve?"

"How could I not, having Cid and Vince drag him in to get that group ink done with the rest of 'em."

"Apparently he's a big shot with his own army, after I got everyone to not kill him," jerking his head in Loz's direction, "Reeve placed him in under 'care.' Long story short, I basically adopted him."

"Dude! What the hell did you see to do something like that?!" thankfully keeping his voice down, even intrigued by his brother's strange abilitly.

"A child, all cut up, alone, and crying as wolves lick their lips, ready to eat him."

"That explains it, you've always had a soft spot for children. But he obviously not one."

"You're mostly right, but there are still quiet a few areas where he's mentally still a child. I literally had to show him what a shower was." Blake explained.

"I bet you enjoyed that." David jested, only to have his shoulder punched.

"So whacha lookin' at Loz?" Walking over to him.

"I didn't know that big brother had a tattoo." Pointing at a picture of Cloud showing his new tattoo.

Him and his friends came to Blake with a tattoo design that they all wanted to get together to comemorate the destruction of Meteor. It was simple, the comet started of blue which blended into green, darkening to almost black in the tail. Above the tail was a small light green orb that depicted the Holy materia. This lead to Blake and David being on a first name basis with everyone who got one, outside a professional setting of course. Barret had one on his chest, Cloud's was on his right shoulder blade. Tifa's was on her left hand. Yuffie's was on her right thigh. Cid's shot across right bicep, Vicent's was in the middle of his back. Red XIII's was on his right shoulder and Reeve's is on the nape of his neck. The last two were tricky for different reasons, but both should be obvious.

"He didn't until three years ago." commented David, walking out from behind the counter.

"That reminds me, Cloud and the gang are in town for tonight." Blake said offhandedly.

"Tifa with them?" looking both hopeful and desperate.

"Yeah but..." Blake started, but the door had already flown open and he was gone. "...I guess I'm closing shop then." he said in a dull, iratated tone.

Having Loz sit down with a design book, Blake went about cleaning up around the shop. Must've been a slow day, cause there wasn't much out in terms of tools. Most of what cluttered the place were magazines, food wrappers, and styrofoam cups left from David's bordom. Only took a five minutes to finish, lock up, and lead Loz to his new home.