Redemption
A Final Fantasy 7/ Lord of the Rings crossover
By: Lazeralk
Standard disclaimers apply.
Lasthas and Orolon are mine. I made them up.
Once again, ("blah") denotes things said in Sindarin. 'Blah' is the Advents and Cloud sharing thoughts.
Sorry for the delay in update, I was whisked off to Arizona to visit some family and then my final exams tried to kill me.
0o0o0
"So you use magic?" asked Elrohir, gazing at Kadaj with a great deal of confusion.
"Yes."
"But you aren't wizards?"
"No."
"How is that possible? A wizard is someone who uses magic. Are you one of the two missing Blue Wizards?"
"No. I'm not a wizard. I'm just Kadaj." Said the smallest of the advents, quickly becoming frustrated.
"But you can use magic. You must be a wizard." Insisted the dark haired elf.
"Anyone can use materia." Argued Kadaj, hands on his hips as he scowled at the elf. He thought he had already explained this.
"Will you both shut up go to sleep already?" groused Yazoo from his bedroll, glaring balefully at them both.
"I want to understand this Yazoo." Requested Elrohir as he sat beside the campfire, a placating smile on his face.
"Here." Said Kadaj, taking Elrohir's hand in his own and curling the elven fingers around a small glowing orb.
"Close your eyes and concentrate on the materia. What do you feel?" said Kadaj, letting the elf hold the crystallized life-stream on his own.
"I feel…warm. Whole. It's…it's…" struggled Elrohir, a contemplative frown on is face.
"Like coming home after a long journey and knowing that everything is alright." Said Cloud, a small smile playing on his lips.
"Yes," agreed Elrohir with a quick smile to Cloud. "You say that anyone can use this?"
"Anyone can use materia. Not everyone is good at it, but we're all capable." Answered Cloud.
"That's Restore Materia. It's used for healing. It's the same kind of materia I used to heal myself and my brothers when we first met." He added, tossing another stick into the fire from his own bedroll.
"This is unlike the healing Adar uses." Said Elrohir as he examined the orb.
"What do you mean?" asked Kadaj.
"Adar does not rely on objects to heal. The power comes from within us." He explained, handing the materia back.
Kadaj tucked it away with a soft frown and went to curl up beside Cloud. The blonde eyed the smallest one before he sighed and lay down. Yazoo and Loz were already asleep, pressed close together.
0o0o0
Cloud awoke well before dawn and checked his companions before he slid two heavy swords from their sheaths and proceeded to stretch. Orolon regarded him calmly from his place on watch, a slight frown on his impossibly beautiful face as he watched the moody blonde begin to work.
The camp came alive shortly after, the elves rising from their strange wide-eyed sleep and immediately setting about breakfast. The three Advents slept on, though Kadaj curled into a tight ball and shivered.
"Cloud, when you're finished, could you come help me a bit?" asked Elrohir, setting up a small cook pot. They had to eat the rest of the meat before it rotted. They simply didn't have time to smoke or dry it.
"Sure." Said Cloud, not pausing in his routine.
Cloud finished his stretches and put up his blades before he went to see what the dark haired elf wanted of him.
"Cut these up please." Said Elrohir, handing him a small knife and few long strips of rabbit meat. Cloud set to the task silently while Elrohir regarded him quietly.
"Thanks you, for coming dashing to our rescue last night." Said the elf, his tone flippant.
"Your welcome." Said Cloud, eyeing the elf with some confusion.
"While I thank you for your concern, I must say it was a bit reckless of you. We elves have been fighting fouler things than goblins for centuries you know. We can handle ourselves." Elrohir admonished gently.
Cloud shot him an inquisitive look.
"After your fight with your brothers, I have no doubt that you are a great warrior, but rushing headlong into battle after such exertion can't be good for you." The elf said, giving the blonde a weighted look.
Cloud looked away as he finished cubing the meat and dropped the last of the pieces into the cook pot. He quietly cleaned the knife and stored it away, pondering the elf's words.
When Elrohir turned to leave, the blonde stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"I'm…sorry. I guess…I'm use to being…ah. I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't look after yourselves. I'm sorry if I insulted you." He said quietly, not willing to look the elf in the eye.
"No harm done my friend. It's mostly my ego that suffered." Assured Elrohir with a gentle smile.
"Still." Said Cloud with a frown.
"Think on it no more my friend. Go and rouse your brothers, will you?"
Cloud nodded and cast a quick glance at his host, chewing on his lip as he thought. He called to his brothers in their minds and with his voice and they woke quickly, Kadaj immediately coming to his side. Food was distributed and camp broken quickly. Lasthas estimated that they'd reach the forests outskirts of Lorien by late afternoon if they set a brisk pace.
0o0o0
("Halt!") called a voice from seemingly no-where as the small party entered the trees.
The Advents immediately drew weapons and formed a tight circle. Lasthas laughed joyfully, shocking the silver haired warriors, before he began to speak in Sindarin.
"Peace my friends, we have reached the borders of Lothlorien." Whispered Elrohir to the Advents and Cloud, laying a soothing hand on the blonde's arm. Cloud barely contained his reflexive flinch at the contact and frowned but grudgingly put up his blade, silently urging his brothers to do the same.
The elves continued to chatter in Sindarin, their lovely faces jubilant. Kadaj shifted uncomfortably towards Yazoo, casting uneasy glances at Cloud.
'What are they saying Ni-san? Are they talking about us?' whispered Loz in Cloud's mind, his own unease apparent.
'I don't know Loz. There's not much we can do about it.' The blonde replied.
"Come my friends, we will be off. Though I have argued in your favor, the March Warden insists that you four must be blinded until we reach Caras Galadhon." Said Elrohir apologetically.
"Blinded?" demanded Yazoo harshly, crossing his arms over his chest defiantly.
"Why?" asked Kadaj, eyes wide with confusion.
"No mortal is allowed to know the way into the city. It has always been this way." Explained Orolon.
"But that's ridiculous. Can't the city be traced by energy output? Don't you have trade routes?" argued Kadaj.
The elves blinked uncertainly before Lasthas attempted an answer.
"Lorien conducts all trade outside her borders. What is meant by energy output?"
"I don't think the technology exists yet Kadaj." Said Cloud, hoping that the elves wouldn't pry too deeply into it. He received some odd looks but thankfully, the subject was dropped.
"I am sorry my friends, but this is the way it is done." Said Elrohir, spreading his hands in a helpless gesture. Cloud sighed, but nodded.
"But Ni-san!" said Kadaj, scowling at the approaching Lorien elves.
"Just do it Kadaj, it's not so bad. Think of it like training. Didn't you guys have to do some blind training back home? We did during basic." Said Cloud, calmly allowing himself to be blindfolded.
"Well, I guess it's ok if we do it as training." Mumbled Kadaj, still scowling but passive as he too was blindfolded.
Once all the non-elves were blinded, the twins and their two steady Lorien companions took a place at each of their elbows to guide them through the forest. Yazoo stepped heavily on Lasthas' foot before he found his pace, muttering an unrepentant apology. The elf grinned, but said nothing.
0o0o0
Cloud knew he probably looked a little ridiculous, masked and grinning as he attempted to blindly dodge his brother's attempts at sabotage. The four of them had broken away from their guides and had spent the final stretch to Caras Galadhon in a sort of impromptu race in which they would navigate the trees, keep pace with the jogging elves and attempt to hinder each others progress so that they could say they reached the city first.
He wasn't entirely sure how the race had started, but he knew it had something to do with Yazoo and Kadaj's brotherly bickering in their heads. Cloud could now clearly hear when the brothers conversed with each other, even if they were not speaking to him specifically. The elves found it all amusing and would occasionally join in, calling out to distract them or throw them off course. Sometimes they would knock things into their path, or go around a low hanging branch instead of ducking under.
They laughed loudly when Cloud slammed headfirst into such a branch and ended up on his rear in the leaves. Loz was the only one of his brothers who managed to contain himself long enough to ask if he was alright.
Of course, they did not think it so funny when the elves insured that they met the same fate.
"We're here." Said Elrohir, putting a stop to the race.
"Who won?" asked Kadaj as he pulled the blindfold from his eyes.
"Yazoo, actually." Answered Lasthas, giving the usually sullen teen a warm smile.
"Hn." Said the middle child, but the wide grin that spread across his face was unmistakably triumphant. Loz pouted but laid a gentle hand on his brother's shoulder, whispering congratulations in his head.
"Wow." Said Kadaj as he gazed around, tuning in circles as he tried to take everything in.
"The trees…" whispered Cloud as he too stood transfixed by the beauty of the place.
"Come, we're to be presented to the Lady." Said Orolon, gently taking Cloud by the elbow and guiding him deeper into the ancient and majestic forest. Cloud almost immediately shook off the touch but followed docilely enough.
"It's so pretty…" said Loz, allowing himself to be dragged along behind an amused Elladan.
"Like the city of the Ancients must have looked when the trees were still alive…" said Yazoo, equally spellbound and being led by Lasthas. Kadaj followed obediently behind Elrohir, still trying to turn in circles as he walked.
They walked in silence, the elves grinning in amusement as their charges walked with their chins tilted up, their eyes wide in childlike fascination.
They reached the base of a huge tree with several ropes hanging down from the branches, swaying invitingly.
'Welcome' whispered a woman's voice in their minds.
End part 10
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