Redemption
A Final Fantasy 7/ Lord of the Rings crossover
By: Lazeralk
Standard disclaimers apply.
Once again, ("blah") denotes things said in Sindarin. 'Blah' is the Advents and Cloud sharing thoughts.
Another few questions answered at the bottom. I really appreciate these questions, because they make me look back at things and try to see the reasons why I did them the way I did. So please, keep 'em commin'.
0o0o0
"They're dangerous laddie, mark my words." Said Gimli as he set his tankard down on the table. The five of the them were gathered near the hearth in the Meduseld, holding quiet conference amongst themselves. The twins stood to one side of the table; the elf and the ranger were arranged around Gimli's seated form on the other side.
"They are our allies." Said Elrohir quietly, his tone reasonable.
"That blonde one made threats against Aragorn. I heard him. Cold as ice that one is. And the boy, did you see those monsters he came back with? In league with the enemy I tell you!"
"No Master Dwarf. They were entrusted to me by the Valar themselves. They cannot be our enemies. They simply cannot." Argued Elrohir, regarding the dwarf with subtle hostility.
"What treats do you speak of Gimli?" asked Aragorn from his place against the wall, a long pipe between his teeth.
"Said if he never heard your name again he could die happy. That sound like something an ally would say? I saw the look on his face too, when Aragorn gave his titles. He wasn't happy to meet you, my boy. The elf either if I remember right. Scowled like he'd eaten something sour when the elf gave his name, he did."
"Then we will just have to be careful, my friend. I see no other course of action." Said Legolas.
"They are not enemies." Said Elladan, moving to stand beside his twin.
"And they will fight beside us against the armies of Sauron. I will be comforted to know those mighty blades will be on our side. If they are in league with the enemy, I fear we have little hope of defending against them. Surly we must admit to that, having seen firsthand the things they can do." Said Aragorn.
"Aye. Strong and fast they are. As for them being on our side, well. Maybe they are, but maybe they aren't. Beware of treachery I say." Grumbled the dwarf crossly as he reached for his ale.
"We shall, my friend, as always. We haven't much time now, people have already begun the journey to Helm's Deep. We must join them, or be left behind."
0o0o0
There was a lot staring and whispers as the column of people and supplies made their way slowly towards Helm's Deep. Cloud and the Advents were moving their giant, reinforced cart by hand with relative ease. The path was rocky and uneven, wider in some places and narrow in others. Because the cart was so large and so well built, many other things besides weapons had been added to the cargo. Huge piles of linen sheets, ready to be torn into strips for bandages and baskets of food and herbs pitched and rocked dangerously as the monstrous cart moved along the path. Loz's shoulders heaved as he pulled on the double length of chain wrapped around the whole of the wagon, moving it forward. Yazoo and Kadaj pulled from the sides, keeping it on the path, and Cloud pushed from behind.
A startled shout from the front of the column made everyone's heads snap up in alarm. The SOLDIERS abandoned their posts around the cart and drew weapons, fanning out to protect the vulnerable civilians.
"Wargs! Riders to the front!" came the king's command and men on horses charged past them.
"'Daj!" yelled Cloud as he and his brothers ran towards the front where the fight was taking place. Kadaj raised a hand while he was running and a pack of Lurkers leapt from the shadows to run beside them. The wargs were larger than the horses, canine and furred with short shouts full of sharp teeth dripping with saliva and blood. Several horsemen were already down when the four SOLDIERS reached the front of the column. A warg charged at Yazoo only to be sliced neatly in half by his whirling long knives. A Lurker jumped over his head to catch a warg in the middle, the dark creature easily twice the size of the warg. The Lurker's massive jaws cut the smaller animal in half. Yazoo raised a long knife to his brow in a short salute to the Lurker before turning to look for his next victim.
Cloud frowned as he sliced into orcs and wargs alike, unsatisfied with the pace of the battle. The plains of Rohan were wide, affording the enemy quite of lot of ground to spread out over. Cloud was forced to run from opponent to opponent in order to engage them, giving the enemy ample time to pick off slower moving targets. Yazoo, Loz and Kadaj were facing similar problems, though Kadaj easily swung himself up onto the back of any passing Lurker to get around the field. The fighting was over in minutes, and Cloud was pleased to find that the column of civilians had been left almost completely un-harassed.
"Aragorn!" shouted Gimli from the other side of the field, looking frantically around. Cloud made his way steadily over to where the dwarf and was searching. Legolas also joined the search, calling out to his friend. A harsh laugh caught their notice and the three of them found a mortally wounded orc near the steep edge of a cliff.
"What do you know!" demanded Gimli furiously.
"He'd dead." Proclaimed the orc, his laugh causing him to cough up blood.
"You lie!" accused the dwarf.
"Took a little tumble off the cliff he did." Continued the orc, opening his clenched fingers to reveal a shining jewel. Gimli grabbed harshly for gem and shook the dying creature; he opened his mouth to question him further, but the orc's labored breathing suddenly stopped.
"I'll find him." Said Cloud as he turned back towards where his brothers watched across the plain.
'I'm going to find Aragorn, can you three handle the cart while I'm gone?' he asked over their mind link. Kadaj nodded back at him and dismissed the Lurkers still milling around the battle field.
'Aragorn?' questioned Loz.
'He fell off the cliff, one of the uglies said he was dead.'
'What good will it do to find him then?' asked Yazoo.
'I have a Phoenix Down.' Answered Cloud, watching as Yazoo made a sort of shrugging, sideways bow with his head and shoulders, indicating without words that he understood and accepted.
"And just how will you do that? And if he'd dead…" the dwarf had begun harshly, but his voice trailed off quietly as he spoke his fears. Cloud turned to regard him and blinked, still adjusting to the idea of having two separate conversations at once.
"I have a Phoenix Down." He repeated and then leaned over the edge of the cliff to gauge the distance.
"A what?" asked Legolas as he stared at the other blonde quizzically. Cloud glanced at him briefly before he threw himself over the edge of the cliff and into the raging river below.
"Fool boy!" shouted Gimli as he reached futilely after Cloud's falling form.
"What madness in the heads of men! Threw himself to his death he did! And for what?" the dwarf demanded, turning to look at Legolas. The elf only shook his head, distress written clearly across his face.
"I know not, my friend. We shall hope for the best, but I truly do not welcome telling the twins of what has happened here."
"Ai." Agreed Gimli as he rose to his feet, the Evenstar pendant still grasped in his hand.
"I do not envy you the task, and I fear for Aragorn if he did survive. Those two will be alone now…" said the dwarf suspiciously, handing over the star jewel to his elven companion.
"We've no proof of anything Gimli. We can do naught but cling to hope. I hear your doubt of Cloud's character, and I for one would like better to believe they will both return to us safely. Can you not lay your rancor to rest a while? Let me cling to hope without your troubles taking up company with my own." Said Legolas, a reprimand in his tone and a frown on his face.
"Aragorn?" asked a voice behind them and the pair turned to find King Théoden addressing them.
"He fell off the cliff, Cloud has gone to find him. Said something about feathers." Answered the dwarf gruffly, as he stormed past the king. "Fat lot of good that will do." He continued to himself as he moved away.
"We must keep moving, leave the dead." Ordered the king as he too gazed at the cliff edge where Legolas stood, unwilling to abandon the site. The king ignored the look of venomous hate the elf cast his way at the order to abandon his friends.
0o0o0
Elladan moved away from his very troubling conversation with Legolas and Gimli, an anguished frown on his handsome face as he stalked up the steps of the Hornburg. The three silver haired SOLDIERS were sitting silently at the top, gazing out at the vast expanse of plains that marched up to the mountain and the fortress half-buried in it. Yazoo cocked his head to the side and Kadaj gave a small half shrug, and Elladan knew they were speaking through their thoughts, as he and his own twin sometimes did.
"They said that he fell, and that Cloud went to find him." He said quietly, but with heat, carefully not looking at any of them. Instead he gazed out across the plains, his sharp elven eyes picking out the subtle movements of distant animals and the indistinct forms of far off houses.
"Ah. Ni-san went to find him, and bring him back. He's searching the banks now, no luck yet." Answered Kadaj, studying the elf intently.
"They say the orc claimed him dead." Said Elladan, feeling the younger man's eyes on him but refusing to meet them. He held himself stiff and silent, as if by exerting exact control over his body he could somehow control everything else. If he just held onto his control, he could make it so that Estel would live.
"Ah." Said Kadaj, turning to look out at the plains. The four of them stood in silence for a long time, the wind throwing their hair into their faces, the muffled blustering of the people below drifting up to them.
"What is a phoenix down?" the elf asked at length, almost as if he were afraid of the answer.
"It brings the dead back to life." Said Loz helpfully from where he sat on the edge of the platform that held a massive metal horn, legs crossed and chin balanced on one open palm.
"If the death is recent enough." Added Yazoo, arms crossed over his chest, eyes scanning the vast openness of the grassy plains. He shifted a little, drawing one knee up to his chest as he sat more comfortably against the wall, his other leg dangling over the edge of the spiraling stairs.
"Does that really work?" demanded Elladan, now turning to pin Yazoo with a look that was all carefully controlled despair and desperation.
"Yeah. It works. Why wouldn't it?" asked Yazoo, a little defensive to cover his confusion. Elladan quickly turned away, hunching his shoulders to keep them from shaking.
"He is my brother. I love him dearly. I could not bear to lose him like this." The elf bit out, his voice tight with emotion.
"You won't." said Kadaj, so full of confidence and ease that Elladan turned to look at him sharply, the stress of his worry and fear falling away from him in the moment of confusion. He studied the smaller male, who stood reclining against the wall of the Hornburg, his stance relaxed. The wind whipped his shoulder length hair about his face and gently moved the few loose bits of black leather that hung off his slender frame. Glowing, cat green eyes met his steadily and a smile graced his features. Elladan was shocked by that smile; it was a smile he'd only seen on the faces of children, so full of absolute certainty in the world that peaceful confidence was all they knew.
"He's alive. Somehow managed to find a horse and was already on his way back when Cloud ran across him. They'll be here soon enough." Said Yazoo, carefully not looking at the elf, but instead staring at Kadaj.
The middle child knew how Elladan felt, or at least, he thought he did. If he somehow lost Kadaj, if for some reason he could not hear or feel him anymore, the worry and fear would eat him alive. There had only been the one time that he and Loz could not hear or feel their younger brother, and it had terrified them both. They could see it sometimes, in flashes of Cloud's memories when he wasn't paying attention, their precious baby brother vanishing behind the curtain of black feathers. They could see him being devoured, swallowed and consumed, so very, very quickly. By Him. Mother's favorite. The special one they'd been cast aside for. The one Mother has abandoned them for. Sephiroth.
Elladan had noticeably relaxed, his shoulders coming down to their proper resting place. He turned a blindingly beautiful smile on the fiercely scowling middle child and placed his fist over his heart.
"Thank you." He said and bowed regally, before he turned and rushed down the stairs.
0o0o0
End chapter 16
To the person who asked about why/how Cloud knows how to build a wagon: Cloud built Fenrir. A wagon is several hundred times less complicated than a motorcycle. Not even counting the fact that Fenrir is no ordinary bike. She's a beautiful, fully customized piece of sex of two wheels. Plus he has the wagons in Rohan to base his design off of.
To the person who asked about the boy's emotional maturity and Cloud being childish: Yes, it is a little childish to show off like that, but it did serve a purpose. Also, please remember that Cloud has a big chunk of Zack still lodged in his head, and that kind of thing is right up Zack's alley.