Chapter Text
He awoke to the sound of an explosion, so loud the house itself shook. There was no gentle halfway point between awake and asleep, the house shook and at once the boy sat upright, staring wide-eyed into the darkness of his bedroom. He scrambled out of bed, as alarm bells began to ring in the distance. At Twelve years old, he was old enough to know he shouldn't panic, but young enough to be terrified. He knew what the bells meant; their village was under attack. The boy headed for the door, but it opened before he reached it.
"Roxas." It was his mother, holding a lantern. "Come on, we have to get out of here." She motioned him forward urgently.
He moved toward her. "Mom, what's happening? Where's Dad?"
"No time, follow me," She grabbed his hand and turned towards the stairs, practically dragging the child along behind her.
Another explosion, even closer than the first, rocked the house to its foundations. Roxas lost his footing in the tremor and only his mother's hand to kept him from falling headfirst down the stairs. One hand clung to him, the other to rail. He reached for the rail with with his free hand and pulled himself steady. His hand formed a vice grip. He didn't want to move, but his mother urged him forward.
They headed through the kitchen and out the back door, Roxas trailing along behind her. There wasn't even time to put on shoes.
In the darkness before them lay an open field and beyond that, a little ways back from the house, lay their barn, with only a fence separating their land from the woods. They were lucky to be on the edge on the village, even if the woods didn't seem much safer, especially in the dark. As Roxas made his way across the field, the cold dew stung his feet, but he ignored the pain. He could hear the sounds of battle raging behind them, the whistles of explosives, the clashing of swords, the roar of fire, and the sound of screams.
Roxas looked back and saw the whole village was aglow. Whoever was attacking seemed bent on leaving only ashes.
"Baby, come on," His mother urged, she let go of his hand and opened the barn door. The chocobos were frantically warking and clawing at the stalls. They wanted to run, too.
Roxas went inside, but when he looked back at his mother, she made no move to follow.
"Mom?" he called her name, practically begging her not to stop. He didn’t want to let go of her hand, and even the small distance between them was too much. It wasn’t safe, nothing was safe, he needed her here with him. Being together was the only thing that felt at all okay. Why wasn't she coming inside?
"Roxas." She knelt down so that they were face to face and ran a hand through his blond hair. He saw tears in her eyes. "The Naga are here, they're the ones attacking us."
The boy stood frozen. All his life his mother had warned him of the man-eating monsters that lurked beyond the walls of their village. He’d never heard of Naga attacking a village before and he never thought anything could get past the walls of the village. This was a nightmare, too horrible to be real.
But there was no waking up from this, it was real. The Naga were here and nowhere was safe. "Mom, how did-"
"There's no time, I need you listen now. Listen carefully. If they find you, they will kill you." She stared into his eyes. "I need you to be safe and stay hidden. Go in the barn, keep quiet and out of sight. If you get the chance, take one of the chocobos and go. Ride as fast as you can and don't stop. Head for Aerith's village; you know the way."
"But what about you? And where’s Dad?" he asked, "Mommy, please don't leave me!"
"You're father's fighting, he's a brave man, and I need you to be brave too, Roxas. Promise me you'll be brave. There are other children in the village; I'm going to try and get them out. But you have to stay here, and as soon as you get the chance, you leave."
"Not without you, Mom, please!" He was desperate now, and weeping.
"You have to promise me, Roxas!"
"I…I promise."
His mother kissed his cheek. "I love you." Then she turned, and vanished into the night.
Hours passed, but Roxas stayed, huddled hidden in one of the empty stalls towards the back of the barn. Outside, the sounds of battle continued, louder now as buildings collapsed under the flames. The air was thick with the smell of smoke. Roxas thanked his lucky stars the barn was far enough away from the village that it wasn't in danger of catching fire, unless one of them set it on ablaze intentionally.
Them…Naga. He'd never seen one, never dreamed they'd come here, but he knew all he needed to know about them. They were monsters, half man above the waist and half snake from the waist down. They lived in the woods, and they ate people. From the time he was old enough to wander off, he'd been warned that 'if you stray too far, a Naga might catch you, carry you off, and eat you alive.'
Why would they come here, though? Why would they attack the village?
It would be over soon, though; it had to be. His dad was fighting, his brother Cloud too, and everyone else in the village. They'd drive them off, beat them back, and things would be fine. They had to be.
Roxas knew his mother had told him to leave, but he was too afraid. She'd said to wait until he got a chance, but it wasn't safe yet, right? More than fear for himself, he didn't want to leave without his mother. So he stayed huddled and hidden, too afraid to move, and he wished his mom would come back to make everything alright again.
Then, things began to quiet down. Maybe it was over now. Maybe they'd beaten them back. Maybe it was safe to run, just in case. Roxas slowly inched out of his hiding place. Then, he heard the familiar creak of the barn door opening.
Mom!
He stepped, out expecting to see her familiar form, but it wasn't her. His eyes widened as he saw a huge Naga slither into the barn. He crouched down and hastily crawled under the door of the adjacent stall and out of sight. The chocobo in the stall paid him no mind, but continued to focus on the Naga. Roxas crawled into a dark corner, and curled into a ball. He hoped that if he made himself as small as possible the shadows would be enough to hide him.
He couldn't keep himself from peering out and watching as the shadow of the Naga moved along the wall, though, as each moment brought it closer and closer to his hiding space. Soon, the Naga was directly across from his hiding place. From his hiding place, it looked enormous, more like a half-dragon monstrosity than a serpent. No snake could have scales that red. Although the shade varied, a mixed pattern of uneven stripes some dark as blood and others light has fire, all of it was more vivid than any snake Roxas could ever imagine and all of those colors, blood or fire - always meant death. His eyes moved up, taking in in a human enough from the torso and face, but his hair was like a crest of red spikes.
The naga moved on, and for a moment Roxas dared to hope it would just leave, but then he heard another door open, the tack room. Roxas inched forward and looked out. Maybe he could make a run for the door while the Naga's back was turned. From where he sat he could see the naga reaching for the rope, but then the naga turned around again.
Roxas ducked back out of sight, praying he hadn't been seen. Evidently he hadn't, as the naga made no move to come after him. Of course, that didn't mean he was safe since the naga hadn't made a move to leave.The boy scrambled backwards again; the chocobos were making such a commotion now that he didn't have to worry about being heard. All he could do now was hide, and hope he wouldn't be spotted. He peered out from under the stall, and watched the naga as it headed towards the stalls across from where he lay hidden hidden.The birds’ reactions to the naga ranged from skittish to panicked, but the naga warked softly to calm them. His calls, miraculously, seemed to work. He then spoke to them in the same tongue Roxas and the others of his village spoke.
"Hey there," he said, "good bird, let's get you roped up."
The chocobo gave an angry squawk and stamped its feet. Roxas smirked, hoping the bird would peck the snake's eyes out. That naga might be able to speak the same language as their human masters, but the chocobos knew it wasn't the same.
"Okay, okay," said the naga, "you don't know it yet, but you belong to me now. Hmm, let's see, which one of you is the head bird around here?"
Roxas's family had raised chocobos for generations. He'd been raised with them, and knew them as well as his own family. He knew that when it came to a flock of chocobos if you gained the trust of the flock leader, they'd all follow you. The naga, seemed to know that too, and probably knew enough to pick out their alpha bird, the same bird that Roxas was currently hiding behind.
Roxas held his breath as the naga drew closer. The stall doors opened, but for the moment, the naga's focus was on chocobo.
"Easy, big guy, easy." the naga said, "Not gonna hurt you, good bird." The naga patted the calmed chocobo's side, before tying on a halter, and leading it out into the barn.
Roxas watched, not even daring to breathe, with the chocobo out of the stall, there was nothing to keep the naga from seeing him. Sure enough when it looked back, it spotted him at once. "A chick?" It squinted at him, and then realized what it was looking at. "A human!"
Panicked, Roxas stood and darted out of the stall.
The naga jumped back in surprise, hissing. "A human? You should have run when you had the chance! Wait a minute—"
The boy paid him no mind but dove for a pitchfork which was lying near the other tools. Taking the makeshift weapon, he held it in front of himself defensively. There was no way he was becoming that thing's meal without a fight.
The redhead rolled his eyes. "Honestly, now?"
He smirked, before raising a pair of chakrams and darting forward. In one fluid motion, almost too fast to see, the naga cut the pitchfork into the four pieces, which fell uselessly to the ground. The naga then wrapped his coils around the youth, and pinned the boy against the wall. The green eyed naga looked down on what's he'd caught, licking his lips.
Roxas's blue eyes went wide as he was easily overpowered, and pinned. In the dark, lit only by the light of the fire, he didn't notice how close the naga was to his own age, only a teenager. He just knew he was bigger, stronger, and probably going to kill him. Roxas struggled, teeth gritted in determination, but it was becoming clear there was no escape. Wide eyes began to fill with tears. "Let me go!"
The naga just smirked as it considered him."Wait...you mean you're not food?" he asked, his tone sarcastic.
"Yeah, not food, definitely not food!" he said hastily. "Don't eat me, please, don't... I don't wanna die."
The naga seemed to almost soften when he saw the boy's tears. "Oh, don't do that." The naga leaned in licking him and making a face. "Now you taste way too salty."
Roxas cringed at being licked. "Then don't eat me?" he suggested meekly.
"You're just a kid aren't you?" he asked.
Roxas glowered, he hated being called a kid. Besides, now that he was face to face with the naga, it didn't look much older than him. "Well you’re just a taller kid"
“Great come back,” the naga retorted.The naga scoffed. "I'm sixteen," he said, as if there was nothing more important than being a sixteen year old. "You see these?" He gestured to the markings below his eyes. "They mean I've come of age. And how old are you, anyway?"
"Twelve ," Roxas answered.
"Not even thirteen yet? Helpless little thing, aren’t you?”
Roxas scowled.
“A bit too young to eat I think." said the naga. "Besides, I bet you'd make a nice pet. Adorable little thing like you." He pinched Roxas's cheek.
"Stop it, I'm not a baby," he said, "and, I'm not a pet either."
"Look." The naga's voice had gone soft now, his natural instinct to soothe and calm the skittish was coming out, and he spoke to Roxas like he had the chocobo. "I'm just rounding up the livestock, which includes you. I don't want to kill you. So you have to come willingly, as a pet or as livestock. It's the only way I can let you live. Besides, I could use another pair of hands in the stables; I'm betting these birds are yours, so you come trained."
Roxas shook his head. "Please, just let me go! You have to let me go! I have to find my parents I—"
"Axel?" Another naga slithered into the barn, another teenager, although this one looked nothing like his captor. His face was scared with an x shaped mark. His hair was a deep blue, spiked on top, but long in the back and on the sides. The tip of his jet black tail swished as he spoke. "Axel did you get the..." The naga spotted Roxas and paused, before smiling maliciously. "Oh, you found a snack, I see. It looks good."
Roxas instinctively pressed himself closer to Axel as the blue haired one eyed him.
Axel's head shot up, a smirk in place. "Nah, Saix , this one's too little, wouldn't be enough to fill me up at all. Besides, he knows these birds and that means he’s more useful to us alive.”
“That’s not your call to make,” said Siax.
“I’m rounding up everything useful, why can’t I make that call? Besides, even I want to keep him, for now that doesn’t mean I can’t put an end to him later." Axel said, smirking. "When he's bigger," Axel shrugged, "if he causes more trouble than he’s worth, then I'll eat him. No big deal."
The human paled slightly at the naga's words. So he was food after all, just not right away.
Saix paused, looking slightly annoyed. "Xemnas won't like this. Though I guess he is a little small." He slithered closer, looking at Roxas, "He could stand to be fattened up."
"Bingo, he'll make a much better meal later." Axel agreed, his smirk never wavering, "And for now I'll need another pair of hands for all these chocobos."
Saix nodded. "That little thing can handle these birds? Well if you say so, but just in case I'll send Demyx. Idiot didn't do anything useful during the fight so he might as well be useful now. Besides, I want him out of the way, and I think even he can manage some birds." Saix turned and slithered away, before pausing a moment to look back. "Oh, and Axel, you still have to ask permission to keep that thing." He motioned to Roxas. "Don't get too attached, you might have to kill it, or let them do it, if you can't manage." With that he was gone, leaving them alone for the moment.
Roxas relaxed slightly when the other was gone but not completely. The redhead was still frightening in his own right. Sure Axel was the only thing standing between him and instant death but he was a naga and he still intended to eat Roxas, eventually.
Axel sighed in relief, smirking down at the little blond. "Just keep quiet and make them think you're stupid." He said, tilting his head. "Are you stupid? You don't look stupid...and they always underestimate chocobos..."
He shook his head. "No, I'm not stupid and I AM NOT a chocobo!" Roxas was frightened, but he wasn't going to let anyone call him a chocobo.
Axel fixed his gaze on him for a moment, and Roxas bit his lip. Maybe now wasn't the time to refuse teasing.
All his mother's warnings replayed through his mind. If a naga gets you it will gobble you up as soon as they look you. Well, that wasn't true since he was still alive, but he still didn't like being in the clutches of one. Despite Axel's friendliness, the naga was terrifying. Even a young naga was much bigger than him, after all, and much stronger. And that wasn't the worst of it, maybe it was just the light, but his green eyes seemed to glow. The markings which framed them, combined with the naga's obvious fangs, made him seem not only inhuman but predatory. Roxas silently cursed himself, he needed to learn to keep his mouth shut.
However, after a moment Axel burst into laughter. "You're a brave little one, aren't you, good to know."
Roxas relaxed, and actually smiled, just a little, at Axel's words. It made him glad, and not just because that meant he wasn't going to be slapped, or worse, for his cheekiness. Roxas liked how Axel said it, and thought the naga really seemed, kind of…well cool. If he wasn't a naga, and this was a different situation, Roxas might have liked him.
However, as it was, he was a little too frightened by everything to warm up to anyone. Then the naga leaned over and began to sniff at him, and once more he stiffened. Please don't let him think I smell good enough to eat, please, he thought silently like a prayer. Roxas tried to keep himself from panicking, maybe naga's were like puppies, and it was friendly to sniff him.
Axel just smirked. "Well, then, let's go convince my elders not to eat you. And you
are
going to help me with the birds."
Roxas nodded, he could help. Maybe if he was useful Axel would keep him around for labor and not just have him for a snack later. His stomach clenched slightly at the thought of that, and at a worse one: what if Axel couldn't convince the elders? Would they eat him, or would Axel? Would it be quick if one of them did kill him? He tried to stop himself from going there before he made himself sick.
"Now, I'm going to put you down, and just so you know if you try to run I will bite you and you will die." He uncoiled from Roxas. "Just be a good boy, and help me get those guys rounded up."
"Sure…uh…I mean… yes sir, I can help," he said, nodding urgently, "I won't run or do anything wrong, I promise."
"Good to know and sorry about the threat. It’s really nothing personal," said Axel, "but I've got orders, and letting a human escape wouldn't go over well. I don’t want to hurt you, but I’m not getting into trouble for your sake."
Roxas nodded. "Thanks I guess...for not hurting me. Yet, at least."
“I’m sure you won’t give me a reason to,” said Axel.
"Hey, Axel, Saix said you might need help with the birds?" Came a voice as yet another naga slithered in, this one sporting velvety dark blue scales, except for his underbelly which shown a brighter shade, although over all his scale pattern looked more like the black scaled naga than Axel. He wore a dishwasher blond mullet turned Mohawk and a goofy smile. The smile turned predatory when he spotted Roxas. "Whatcha got there?" He circled the boy, eyes narrowed. The blonde naga then began to take in Roxas's scent, mouth watering. "Yummy."
Roxas froze in terror. That sniffing was definitely not friendly, and he couldn't help but whimper slightly. It wanted to eat him, and he was completely defenseless and practically tiny compared to the full grown naga. He looked at the red head, eyes wide, silently pleading; don't let him hurt me. Roxas was a child left alone and surrounded by monsters, but the red haired one was the closest thing to a friend, so he looked to him for protection.
Axel frowned at the new comer. "He's mine, Dem. So quit sniffing him." Axel said, putting himself between the terrified boy and the drooling naga, shoving Demyx away. "And back off."
Demyx pouted, and whined. "Awe can't I have him? He'd be so tasty."
"Hmm, let me think about it." said Axel, pausing to consider, before darting away to grab a chocobo who was making a dash for the door Demyx had left wide open.
Now there was nothing between Roxas and the naga who wanted to eat him. Roxas looked to Axel desperately, tears once more spilling from his eyes.
Demyx slithered forward again, grinning as he put an arm around Roxas, pulling the boy closer. Then he leaned in to get a taste. Closing his eyes to savor the human's flavor he licked Roxas's cheek. "Mmm, very yummy, can I have him? Please?" He grinned at Axel.
Axel shut the barn door and led the chocobo back. "Hmm, well I thought about it, and no." said Axel flatly. "Now quit traumatizing him."
Demyx shrugged. "Whatever, so do you still want my help with those things?" He gestured to the chocobo.
Axel shook his head. "Nah, I think the human will be more useful." He looked at Roxas and ordered. "Get the chocobos lined up."
Roxas nodded, and got to work. The birds knew him, and trusted his touch, easily moving where he guided. However, they weren't used to naga, and were already worked up from all the noise tonight and the smell of smoke. A younger one who was always slightly skittish darted when he tried to line it up. Demyx moved to block it, and the panicked bird bit him on the arm before Roxas could get a hold of it.
Demyx yelped loudly, glaring at Axel. "It bit me!"
Roxas bit his tongue to keep from laughing as Demyx yowled.
Axel just rolled his eyes. "You're a snake, what did you expect? They don't like snakes and waving your arms like that scared the poor thing." He went over to the bird, patting its crest and cooing "Don't worry, buddy, I won't let the big scary naga eat you."
Though he'd managed to suppress his laughter, Roxas couldn't help but smile as he watched Axel comfort the chocobo. This really wasn't what he expected from the naga.
However, his smile instantly vanished as another naga arrived, and glared down at him. The naga's skin was a dark tan color, and his hair was a silvery gray. Like Demyx, his scales were uniform in pattern and mostly dark, also his were an inky black aside from a white belly. The naga held himself with an air of authority. As he entered the naga's instantly grew silent and Demyx stood straighter. His gaze made Roxas's heart feel like ice and his breath catch in his throat.
The newcomer shifted his gaze from the human to Axel. "You were sent to gather spoils, not take prisoners.”
Axel stood straighter. “Alpha I-
“We are not interested in taking prisoners or leaving survivors,” the naga continued coldly, ignoring the interruption. “If you want him as a prize, then you're welcome to eat him. However, I think you are old enough to understand you cannot take in this...thing...like some stray. It's young, but it's still a human, and my orders are no survivors."
Roxas looked from the silver haired one to the redhead, hoping his captor would try to convince the older one, and not simply listen.
“Xemnas,” Axel broke in again, giving the silver haired naga an easy smile.
The naga cleared his throat.
"Alpha," Axel corrected, "I know my orders, and I do have spoils." He moved one hand to to gesture to the flock and put the other on Roxas’s shoulder.
Roxas stayed frozen, though, strangely, having Axel rest his hand on his shoulder was comforting. Cloud used to do that. Oh...Cloud...he was gone wasn't he? And mom and dad were gone too. Tears began to form behind his eyes, but he fought them, not wanting to draw attention to himself. Fortunately, neither of them paid him any mind.
"They have tons of birds," Axel continued. "Plenty to add to our flock. Think of all the eggs we’ll have now. Not to mention more birds to pull plows and carts. We can’t just pass these up. But it won’t exactly be easy to get them all back to the village. They don't take to most naga if they aren't used to them. Dem has the bite marks to prove it. This little human," he poked Roxas in the chest with his free hand, keeping the other firmly on his shoulder, "is one of the chocobo handlers. His skills are what I want, at least until we get back.”
“And then you’ll finish him.”
“I mean, I guess I could eat him,” he shrugged dramatically, “but what’s the harm in keeping him around? Like you said, he’s just a little human. Maybe he’ll make a good pet. After all, he's so cute and all alone, can't I keep him?”
“What a ridiculous notion,” spat Xemnas.
“Well if not, then let me save him for later. Like I said, I need his help and if I ate him now I’d have to make the whole trek back with a full stomach. I'll bet he'll be tastier once I get home. I'll be hungrier then."
Roxas couldn't help gulping nervously when Axel mentioned eating him once they got back to wherever it was they came from. Hopefully he was just saying that for Xemnas's benefit.
“And I’m sure you’re not just saying all this so you can buy time to set the poor thing free once everyone else is busy,” said Xemnas. “You’re too soft hearted. It’s why you never made a hunter. Still…” He looked over the flock. “He will prove useful in moving these along, if you need help managing them. But keeping him or worse, freeing him - how can you even consider it. He’s a human. If he lives he will grow into a killer. Humans hunt down our kind. They skin us. They kill us for sport. This battle was waged to address a loss we all suffered, you perhaps more than most, Axel.”
“You don’t need to remind me,” said Axel. “But this human hasn’t hurt anyone. It’s not our way to kill without need. Even if I ate him it would be to live, I’m not starving and he’s hardly big enough to make a meal. There’s no need to take his life. Kill to live, for food, for threat, that’s the code! He’s too small to be either.”
“And if he led others to us?” asked Xemnas. “Others who would avenge what happened here?
“Then I won’t let him go,” said Axel. “I can train him for work as well as I train the birds. I’m the only one who can handle chocobos and it will be years before I can train an apprentice. Not to mention I have to keep up my duties with cissnei if you want that wall built around the village and canons mounted on it. Another hand helping me out at the barn will be good for everyone.”
“I suppose,” said Xemnas. “However, it was Sephiroth who vowed revenge. Offer him the boy. If he wants to kill it, that's his right, otherwise, it's yours. Demyx, will you get the General, please? He must see to this matter."
"On it!" Demyx said, taking out a piece of parchment and a charcoal, from his belt. "Find Sephiroth, inform him of the situation and bring him back here." He said aloud as he wrote, before slipping the paperback inside a pouch, and leaving.
Xemnas shook his head and sighed, before continuing. "Axel, as soft as you are and as useful as a slave may be, do not forget what he his: a human. Prey or threat, always an enemy, and possibly kin to the one who murdered Zack. Make your case for its life to Sephiroth if you will, but do not forget. Now I have other matters to see to." With that he turned, leaving them.
"Hey," said Axel, looking at Roxas. “You ok?”
"Are…are you…really going to eat me?"
"What? No,” said Axel. “all that stuff I said...Xemnas was right, I was lying. I meant it when I said I don’t want to hurt you. And I don’t want to see you get killed by someone else either. So I think I should tie you up now, just for looks. I know you're not going to run, but Seph might not like that I'm letting you run loose, you know." He took out some of the rope. "Here, hold your hands out in front of you."
Roxas obeyed, and the naga bound his hands together at the wrists, and then tied a rope around that as a makeshift leash. "When we leave, I'll have to keep you on a lead. And don't worry, you will be leaving with me. I'll convince him not to eat you…somehow." He bunched up the rope and placed it in the human's palm. "The rope's not too tight, right?"
The blonde shook his head, "No, it's fine." His tone was quiet and distant as a question burned in his mind. Roxas looked up at Axel. "But what if you can’t convince him?”
Axel looked at the boy, opening his mouth to answer when he was cut off by the sound of his name.
"Axel."
The both turned to see a newcomer slither into the barn. He was tall, and strong, his hands currently occupied with wiping blood from a very long blade. The naga sheathed the blade, and then pushed long strands of moonlight colored hair away from his catlike green eyes.
"Sephiroth," greeted Axel. "Thanks for coming. So did Dem fill you in?"
"Yes," he said, looking at the small human, his lip curled. "And tell me, why should I let you keep it?" His voice was soft and deadly, but somehow, sounded heartbroken inside.
Axel looked at him, his acidic eyes knowing now, no longer teasing. "Because...when I was all alone in that nest, with no family save a bird...Zack saved me. I may be a naga, but I wasn't kin to either of you. I'm not even the same kind of naga...probably. I don’t know who my people are, all I know is the people I’ve known. Your people, Zack’s people, and that’s because of him. There are some who would have eaten me just as quickly as you'd eat this human. Snakes eat other snakes. There is no friendship between serpents of different kinds. Zack didn't kill me. He didn’t leave me. He took care of me, and I don't think that this is what he would have wanted." Axel looked daringly into eyes that mirrored his own. "He never wanted blood, and if I can repay his spirit by sparing a life, any life at all...I think he'd be proud." he turned away. "However….if you need your pound of flesh…here." He pushed Roxas forward.
He trembled as Axel pushed him forward. The boy looked at the ground for a moment, then up at Sephiroth, shoulders inward, cringing.
"If you want him, take him." said Axel. "But remember that Zack would have never wanted any of this." He waved a hand to the charred and skeletal remains of the village which lay beyond the wide open barn doors. "All this fear and hate...Zack loathed it."
“You’re starting to sound like Angeal,” said Sephiroth, his tone darker now as cat’s eyes narrowed.
“I didn’t leave,” said Axel. “I could have - plenty people did. War isn’t our way, just defense. But I stayed and I followed you into battle and fought here for you. So don’t question my loyalty. I’ve helped give you your revenge, but I fail to see how killing a defenseless young does anyone good.”
Sephiroth looked at Axel and sighed, closing his eyes. "Do what you want with him."
Roxas immediately scrambled to return to Axel's side, and get away from Sephiroth. He hadn't understood all of what was said, but he knew Sephiroth had a reason to want him dead. Roxas didn't know who this Zack was, but apparently he'd been killed by someone in this village, and Sephiroth wanted to make the whole village pay.
Roxas resented that Axel had practically offered him to Sephiroth, but Roxas had to admit, Axel was pretty bold, speaking so frankly to the other, almost berating him for the whole attack.
Sephiroth looked at Axel. "Little brother," he sighed again, shaking his head, "you're right, you know." He slithered closer, suddenly looking dangerous. "Which is the only reason you're not dead."
Axel smiled sadly. "Just...whenever you need to talk, Seph. I know Zack never stopped."
Roxas felt like he shouldn't have been there, like this conversation wasn't for him to hear. He actually felt sorry for Sephiroth, for them both, even though it was Sephiroth who had led this attack. Roxas didn't know what to think, and in the end was too exhausted to really consider anything.
Sephiroth slithered off, and Axel took the rope he'd tied to the bonds around Roxas's wrists, and led the boy away, grabbing the lead birds halter.
"Stay put, I'm getting them tied together." Axel said before getting to work herding the chocobo into a line, using rope he'd taken from the barn to tie them together in a caravan.
He then returned to Roxas. "Here." he lifted the boy, setting him on the lead bird, and placing the reigns in his hands, though he kept Roxas bound. "Lead the birds, just follow Dem." he motioned to the rest of the naga's who had returned; ready to begin the march home. Some had brought goods, more spoils looted from the village, which they loaded alongside what was left of the munitions.
Once everything had been loaded, and they were all gathered, someone called. "Move out!" and they began to move off.
The boy looked back at the line of chocobos. There was no way he could try to get away on this one if they were all tied together. Besides, Axel had made it clear that if he tried anything he'd be killed. Even if Axel actually wouldn't, none of the others would hesitate to end him if he tried anything.
Better to count himself lucky to be alive and give his new...master, no reason to harm him. Was master the right word? He supposed he belonged to Axel, now that he was a slave. Livestock just like the chocobo, a beast of burden, but better that than livestock to be eaten. Still, he didn't expect to be treated well; he was just an animal to them.
Better to make sure he was a useful one. Roxas clicked his tongue, and squeezed his legs together to get the bird moving, following the group of naga.
It was dawn when they reached the outskirts of a village. He could see the village itself in the distance, and was actually surprised by how much it looked like his old home. So they didn't just live in the woods like animals, they were just like…like people.
The sun was not yet risen, but the world was tinged with golden twilight, and it was in this light Roxas caught sight of stables, the first building they reached. They came to a halt, and naga came to unload the wagon, carrying off the spoils to be sorted. Then the rest of the naga continued on towards the village, but Axel slithered up beside Roxas, and took the reins from him to lead the line of birds toward the barn.
Roxas blinked at him sleepily. He had nearly fallen asleep where he sat on the bird, but fear of falling off kept him awake.
"You'll get to rest soon," promised Axel as he led the line in, closing the door. "Here we are," he said, looking up at the chocobos. He then turned to Roxas, and untied his hands before lifting him off the bird to set him down. "We're in the loft," he pointed, "but let's get these guys bedded down."
Roxas stretched, glad to be untied, and yawned as he did so. "Okay."
He helped Axel put the chocobo in the stalls. There wasn't quite enough room; they had to put two or three to a stall in some cases. He supposed they weren't prepared for more livestock, but would probably add on. Once that was done, he went the naga's side, and looked up at him.
He owed the naga his life, but wasn't sure how to put into words what he wanted to say. Then he wondered if he should speak at all, or just keep quiet until spoken to. "Hey, um, thanks...for saving me." He fidgeted, looking down, and then asked. "Oh, and, my name's Roxas, what's your name? Or… do I have to call you master or something?"
"My name's Axel. Got it memorized?" he asked smiling. "You aren't really a slave. I mean, I'm not going to beat or anything. I just had to give them some reason for keeping you. Besides…I… really...you remind me of someone." he said, pushing his hair out of his face. "My...my brother, if you want to know the truth."
"Your brother?"
"Zack," Axel explained. "Well, we weren't related, but Zack really did raise me..." he smiled, picking Roxas up and slithering up the pole that led to the hayloft.
He set Roxas down, and the boy saw that the place was Axel's bedroom. It wasn't much, only a small bed in the corner and a set of belongings, but seemed cozy.
Roxas nodded and was silent for a moment, but he had to say something. "He…he sounds like he was great person…I'm sorry….I already have a brother. I don’t want a new one."
Axel sighed… “I didn’t mean it like that,” he said, “I can’t take your family’s place and you’re a bit too old to raise like we’re family. But what my family taught me is kindness and mercy. Zack’s gone now, and all that’s left is what I remember. If I can keep part of him alive by doing what I think he’d want then I will. You might not need another brother, but with all that happened, you look like you could use a friend.”
Roxas was silent for a moment, and then asked the question which had been weighing heavily on his mind all night. "My parents, they're dead too aren't they? Everyone in the village?" He was suddenly overcome with grief, and began to weep uncontrollably.
Axel wrapped his coils around him in naga hug. "It's okay, little one." he said softly, simply holding him.
"I…I want my mom."
"You're mother can't be with you any longer," Axel said solemnly, "but I'm going to look after you. I can't replace what you've lost, but I'll be your friend."
Roxas looked at him, surprised, before hugging him tightly. "Thanks, I was honestly worried you'd end up eating me at some point. You're really nice, though. I didn't know naga were."
Axel shrugged, moving to bed down for the night. "We're plenty nice, just usually not to food."
Roxas cringed at being referred to as food.
"Sorry," said Axel at once, "I didn't mean it like that. You aren't going to be food, these are special circumstances. You can trust me. As to being nice to you, maybe I'm just strange. I'm...not exactly one of the villagers myself, you know." He looked down at his tail, chuckling. Its color and pattern was radically different than the solid black or silver scales the other naga had and visibly marked him as an outsider. "A chocobo found me before I hatched, I guess when my own home was lost. It brought me to the forest near here."
"A chocobo?" he asked, "really?"
"Yeah," said Axel, "they aren't the brightest birds sometimes, hatching a naga and treating it like a chick. Then, Zack found me and he took me in, brought me up. More than anything I want to be like him, do what he would have done."
Roxas nodded in understanding. "Well I'm glad Zack found you, and I'm glad you found me. I owe you big time." Maybe it was just because he was practically asleep on his feet, but despite everything, he felt all right, kind of warm inside.
Axel smiled, drawing him down, and wrapped his coils around him. "You're warm," he said softly, smiling. "Here...sleep. We have a free day tomorrow."
Snuggling into him like a teddy bear, eyes closing, Roxas began to drift to sleep. He was in the arms of one of the creatures who'd destroyed his village, but this naga was also his friend, the only one he had. Everyone else was gone, and so was home, but he couldn't help but feel like maybe he'd found a new home now, here with Axel. As he slipped into unconsciousness, feeling completely safe in the coils of the predator, Roxas couldn't help but think that everything would be alright, somehow.