Redemption

A Final Fantasy 7/ Lord of the Rings crossover

Standard disclaimers apply.

Lasthas and Orolon are mine, I made them up.

By: Lazeralk

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Part 7

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Two days had passed without incident on the road to Lothlorien. According to Lasthas, who was taking his turn to lead, they were making good time. Cloud thought that not getting anywhere for two days was not 'making good time', but he kept it to himself. They'd all taken time to walk a few miles when they got saddle sore, even the elves, though they didn't use saddles at all.

Yazoo walked most of the time. He never said anything, but Cloud could tell that he didn't like horses. Not that he could blame him; after all, the four-legged animals were nothing like chocobos. They had a completely different rhythm to them at a walk, though they seemed just fine at a trot.

"Kadaj, I have a question, if I may?" said Elrohir as he made his way over to the smallest of the Advents.

"Sure." Answered Kadaj, giving the dark haired elf a serene smile.

"When we first met, Cloud said something about all of you fighting to the death. Why were you fighting then and not now? Did you not like him then?"

"It wasn't that we didn't like Ni-san then, but he was trying to stop Reunion, and Mother said we had to have Reunion." Said Kadaj, somewhat sad when he thought of how his mother had abandoned him.

"What's Reunion?" asked Elladan, curious to hear more about the people his twin had been ordered, by the Valar of all beings, to mentor.

"They were trying to bring back Sephiroth." Said Cloud, his face set in hard lines.

"Wasn't he the one that killed all of those people, and tried to kill you Cloud? The one who was your childhood idol?" Asked Elrohir.

Cloud nodded slowly and turned away.

"Mother wanted Sephiroth to finish what he'd started. She wouldn't let us do it. She always did love him more than me. More than us." Said Kadaj bitterly, the first openly negative emotion he'd shown since he'd woken up in this new world.

"Kadaj." Called Cloud, his back still turned to them as he rode ahead.

"Don't call her that anymore. She's Jenova. Your mother is Aerith now."

Kadaj smiled brilliantly and nodded.

"You're right Ni-san. We'll call her Jenova from now on." He promised.

"What is it that Sephiroth started to do?" asked Elladan, already dreading the answer.

"Sephiroth was trying to kill everyone on the planet in one fell swoop. Ni-san stopped him." Said Loz, happily joining in.

"So why aren't you fighting now?" asked Elladan.

"We had our Reunion. We brought Aniue back, and he killed Kadaj. Then Moth-Jenova. Then Jenova abandoned us. She stopped speaking to us, like we weren't worth her time if we couldn't give her Sephiroth. She just left us, after years and years of whispering in our heads, promising us that we'd all be a family, promising that she loved us. We're just pieces of Sephiroth, that's the only reason she even bothered with us. It's always only ever been about Sephiroth!" snarled Yazoo angrily from his place on the ground, walking sullenly beside Loz's horse.

Everyone was silent until Cloud sighed and turned around in his seat, flipping easily with his hand as a balance between his legs. He sat backwards on the horse and rest his hands on his thighs as he studied each of his silver haired brothers in turn. Aerith, give me strength, he thought and began to speak.

"You're not just pieces of Sephiroth. Each of you has pieces of him within you, and it shows in your personalities, but you're each a great deal stronger than he was. Not physically, but emotionally, mentally." He began.

"Are you saying that Aniue had a weak mind?" Yazoo demanded, his voice dripping with venom. Cloud was momentarily puzzled as to how he could be so obviously jealous and bitter towards Sephiroth one second and then so vehemently defend him the next.

"Yes Yazoo, I am. Sephiroth was incredibly powerful, always had been, but he chose to let himself be used as Hojo's pawn. I knew him before he found out about Jenova, not very well, but I did know him. He was very withdrawn, anti-social. He just followed his orders and then went back to his rooms or did solo-training. Zack complained about it all the time. Said he needed to get out more, meet people, live. He was very distant to everyone around him, except maybe Zack. Still, he was good man, he looked out for his men, even the cadets, he never abused his authority and he was a good teacher.

But when he found out about Jenova, when he finally found out about all the horrible experiments and things Hojo had done to him, all the lies and betrayals, and deaths. He just…lost it. He let his grief and his rage consume him to the point that he couldn't see anything else. He let it wash away everything that he'd built for himself, all his morals and beliefs and experiences. He didn't fight to keep his sense of self, he just let it go. It was easier to let go of who he was than to fight to keep himself together. He gave up. Maybe Jenova had something to do with it, no one will know except Jenova herself and maybe Sephiroth.

But the point is that he just gave up, he gave up his identity, and with it, his direction. Without those two things, he was just a puppet, going wherever Jenova told him to, doing whatever she told him to do. He didn't have a sense of self anymore; he didn't have the control or the will to make his own choices. And giving up all that, letting it all go without a fight is weakness of the mind to me."

The whole group was staring at him, utterly silent, and Cloud took another deep breath before he plowed on ahead.

"You three are different. You each have your own individual sense of self, your own will and your own beliefs. You each define yourselves as different from each other, and different from Sephiroth, and much different from anyone else. You followed the orders of Jenova, but you chose to. And in the end, in those last few moments after the battle, you chose Kadaj over Jenova, and over Sephiroth." He said, mostly to Yazoo, and a little to Loz.

"Neither of you offered any sort of resistance once Kadaj was dead, the fight went completely out of you. Jenova wouldn't have cared at all, but you two chose to die together rather than live apart. And now you've chosen to live for yourselves. You follow Kadaj's lead, and he follows his mother's, Aerith's. But Aerith isn't speaking to you; she isn't directing any of you to do anything. You're making your own choices, living the way you want to. Maybe you don't like all of it, but you are. Don't look like that Yazoo. You could have decided to stay in Imladris, but you didn't. You didn't ask Aerith if coming on this journey was what she wanted you to do, did you?"

Yazoo frowned and ground his teeth together.

"No, I didn't. I came because I don't like being away from my brothers, and because Kadaj so obviously wanted to come." He admitted.

"And Kadaj, Loz, did you ask Aerith if this was what she wanted for you?" Continued Cloud.

"No Ni-san. I didn't." said Kadaj, strangely pleased. Loz shook his head, a smile blossoming on his face.

"So you see? You are all much stronger than Sephiroth was. It takes a great deal more strength to live for yourself than it does to follow blindly or lie down and die. So don't say that you're just pieces of Sephiroth. I don't think that's true at all. Each of you by yourselves is a better person than what Sephiroth had become."

He gave each of the Advents a long look, his face serious. Kadaj smiled up at him, utterly joyful, and even Loz gave him a small smile, approving and appreciative. Yazoo frowned down at his feet, but his face was more considering than angry. Cloud hoped that he'd really think about what he'd said and that his words would help Yazoo with all the resentment he seemed to be carrying around.

Satisfied, and diligently ignoring the proud smirk on Elrohir's face, he flipped himself back around and stared straight ahead, watching Lasthas' back as he led them down the thin dirt trail.

For the next few hours, the Advents remained in distracted silence, while the elves chatted quietly in their own language. It wasn't until Yazoo raised his head and then leapt out of the way of an arrow with a curse that the others returned their attention to their surroundings.

The elves knocked their bows and fired from their higher position atop the horses while the Advents and Cloud all quickly dismounted and drew weapons. Yazoo's hands hovered over the gunblades on his hips, before he snarled and drew the long knives instead. Cloud had two giant swords in hand and was already casually batting the black arrows out of the air. Loz had drawn the broad sword and was defending the twin elves behind him. Kadaj and Yazoo blocked arrows headed for the two Lorien elves. There was a momentary pause and the arrows stopped before the foliage parted and vaguely humanoid shaped black brutes emerged, roaring and charging.

Now that the arrows were no longer an issue, the Advents and Cloud rushed to meet the enemy head on, blades flashing. A quick series of turns here and few well placed thrusts and slices there and the enemy soldiers fell quickly. It was over in seconds, the party of thirty of so Orcs proved to be no match at all for the much more experienced warriors. Cloud took stock of everyone before he started cleaning his blades, and Yazoo studied the butchered bodies of their enemies while he slowly wiped his knives clean. The elves put up their bows and watched their guests with renewed respect, and not a little fear.

Kadaj wandered over to one of the closer dead and poked a lifeless shoulder with the twin points of Souba.

"What are these things?" he asked.

"Yrch, in Sindarin. Orcs, in Westron. They're usually disorganized clans of small scale raiders and pillagers. Bands of them wander the land looking for encampments to sack. They're like vultures, only more dangerous. Now that Sauron is on the rise again, they've become much more organized. They're forming up into an army again." Answered Elladan.

"We need to keep moving." Said Orolon quietly from his position as rear guard.

"We'll push forward today and cut a few hours off our travel time. Everyone mount up." Said Lasthas, his voice firm. Loz hurriedly mounted, always willing to follow orders, so long as one of his brothers didn't contradict them. Yazoo and Kadaj shared a look, and Cloud could see the rebellion rising in them. Instead of snapping at them he just mounted his horse without hesitation and headed towards Lasthas at a slow trot. Seeing that they didn't have much of a choice, the other Advents followed suit.

They pushed the horses into a canter, then a full out run for half an hour before they slowed to trot for another hour. Once they were out of the forests they would be able to run with less risk to the horses. It was another hour or so through the trees before they would reach that point and everyone was on high alert for more enemies.

Cloud focused on riding, wishing vehemently for his bike and felt Aerith's soothing presence at his back.

I have a gift for you, she told him.

What is it?

Listen.

Cloud looked up and strained his ears, but only heard the rushing wind, the rustle of leaves and the stomp of their horses' hooves.

'I hate these things. Why couldn't Mother have left us our bikes?' Kadaj muttered quietly. Cloud nearly jumped, knowing that he shouldn't have been able to hear that over the noise they were making, even with his Mako-advanced hearing. He turned to look over his shoulder at him and Kadaj met his eyes questioningly.

'What are you looking at Ni-san?' whispered through his mind.

'I can hear you.' He sent back, watching his brother's face carefully to see if he got the message. The youngest Advent's face lit up and he beamed happily. Then, much more quietly than before, Cloud could hear Kadaj excitedly telling the other's that he could share thoughts.

'Ni-san?' came Loz's tentative mental voice after a moment, louder in his head.

'I can hear you Loz.' He sent back, smirking quietly to himself as he turned his attention back to the front.

Aerith's voice suddenly rang through his head, the soothing sent of her flowers in his nose, even though he knew he shouldn't have been able to smell them at the speed they were traveling.

Your link to them will grow stronger with time, and the more you feel for them, and the more they feel for you will strengthen it as well. The link between the three of them is already strong enough to transmit emotions as well as thoughts. For now, yours is only strong enough to send thoughts, and only ones that you specifically direct. Good luck Cloud, Tifa sends her love.

Cloud ducked his head down and fought off a slight blush. He really didn't want to think about Tifa just then. He already felt immensely guilty for dying on her and then abandoning her to some other world to work on his relationship with former enemies, one of whom beat the crap out of her.

He spent the rest of the ride very diligently not thinking about home and trying to get a conversation going with his brothers.

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End part 7

Note to Angelus: I think I can manage that. No promises though.