The Offer
part of The-Fic-That-Never-Was
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Roxas sat on the steps to the Coliseum, idly twisting the keychain around his fingers, lost in thought.
"Nice trinket," a voice said from behind him as Bond of Flames' keychain was plucked from his hand. He spun around, angry, hands fisted at his side and more than ready to make whoever had decided to disturb him very sorry they had. But all thoughts of a good punch to the face stuttered and died when he came face-to-sternum with his antagonist.
He blinked at the all black Greek-style robes before craning his neck up, and up, to meet the calculating yellow eyes of the God of the Dead.
"A love token, right?" Hades asked smugly, swinging the keychain between his fingers. "You were certainly staring at it like it was."
"Give it back," Roxas ground out. Hades just laughed at him.
"Hey now, I'm trying to be friendly here," he said, arms spread wide in an attempt to look unthreatening. "Don't you want them back? The person that gave you this?" Roxas had been preparing to jump up and grab the keychain from Hades' grip when he froze at the God's words.
He remembered Hades. They were Sora's memories, but he did remember him. Remembered him pulling Auron's soul from the depths of the underworld and giving it flesh. Giving back life to someone who was already dead.
"He was a Nobody. You'd just be reviving his Other," Roxas said disdainfully before looking away, shoulders hunching in as he crossed his arms. "He wouldn't remember me."
Hades let the chakram charm float in his hand in the center of a greenish soul flame he conjured, holding it before Roxas' eyes.
"A soul is a soul is a soul kid," The God of Death whispered as Roxas reached out, hand hovering just barely above the cold flames, hesitating. "I can bring him back any way you want him." Roxas drew his hand back abruptly and took a step away from Hades, eyeing him suspiciously.
"What would I have to do?" he asked and Hades smiled.
"That Other of yours has been a real pain ever since I met him," he said conversationally. "One life taken for one life given back, if you take my meaning." Roxas stood frozen for a moment before making a lunge for the keychain, grabbing it from Hades' fist and running back to the Gummi ship.
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Sora looked up as the hatch to the Highwind 8 was wrenched open and then slammed shut again. Roxas pressed himself to the door for a moment before sliding down to sit with his knees to his chest.
He, Riku and Kairi traded looks for a moment before he got up and walked over to the blonde. As soon as he started to move Roxas' gaze snapped to him, following him unblinkingly as he knelt in front of the other boy.
Sora looked at Roxas questioningly as the blond continued to stare at him, eyes wide and expression unreadable.
"Roxas?" he asked softly, a small shiver of unease crawling down his spine as Roxas just continued to stare. Then, suddenly, the other boy blinked and his eyes glazed with tears. He looked away with a muffled sob.
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The-Fic-That-Never-Was is a story idea that I know I will never write in its entirety. But I like it too much to discard. So I will write and draw some scenes from it. But the thing, if I wrote it all out, would literally be a novel and I have other stories I'd like to work on more.