"Tell us what you know," said Axel. He didn't have time for Marluxia's word games. He wanted to know the truth...needed to know the truth.
"Perhaps we should move inside," said Ansem. He gestured towards the town's meeting hall. "If this truth can help us avoid more losses then I would like hear it. Although," he paused and stared at Cloud, "if you say all Sephiroth wants is Cloud, surely Cloud could face him alone."
The blonde haired warrior shot a glare at Ansem. "I'm not afraid to face him," said Cloud. "This fight is between Sephiroth and me, no one else should be involved."
"Unfortunately," said Marluxia, "fighting you alone wouldn't be enough to assuage Sephiroth's anger. Even if you somehow managed to win the fight, there's no guarantee that the other naga wouldn't want revenge. Let me assure you, there are others in our number who want there to be a war, and will push for conflict no matter what happens. Unless..."
"Unless?" asked Cloud.
"If we can persuade my people of the truth, then perhaps this fight can be avoided," said Marluxia.
"Then come, we shall move to the council hall and you shall tell us the whole story," said Ansem. He then turned to Leon. "In the mean time, you must ready are forces to move out within the hour, in case this battle is indeed inevitable."
Leon nodded and moved off, calling orders to his men. People scrambled to ready themselves for battle. Amidst all this bustle, Ansem walked towards the town hall, Marluxia slithered behind him, followed by the rest of the group. Cloud walked with Aerith at his side. Roxas was in the back, hand in hand with Axel.
Roxas glanced up at the red haired naga, then looked around. Children peered from doorways and windows, frightened and unsure. Roxas saw three children in one door way for an instant before their mother pulled them inside and shut the door. He thought of his own mother, and the others who had died in Nibel five years ago.
Would whatever Marluxia knew really be enough to stop this fight? It seemed so hopeless, like the fighting wouldn't stop until everyone was dead. How had it all started? Who had killed Zack, and why?
All around their group, people were running here and there. It seemed to Roxas that he was walking through water, every movement seemed slow and heavy, as though they would never reach the meeting hall and learn Marluxia's secret.
When at last they reached the entrance of the hall Ansem pulled open the great doors and motioned the group inside. A fire roared in the massive fireplace, giving enough light by which to see. Cloud, Aerith, Ansem and Roxas took seats around an enormous oaken table while the naga used their own coils as makeshift seats. Marluxia sat opposite to the rest so they could give him their full attention.
"First," said the fuchsia-haired prince, "you must understand the way of naga. I know most of your experiences with naga have been with violence, but this is not our way."
Ansem scoffed audibly. "You're all man eaters, the lot of you," he spat.
Axel glared at him. "You don't know the first thing about-"
"We are predators, this is true," said Marluxia, cutting him off, "but we do not take life needlessly. We hunt to live and will eat whatever we can catch, humans included. However, when I speak of violence I refer to needless violence, such as acts of war."
"Naga don't declare war?" asked Cloud. It didn't sound like he took Marluxia's word for it.
"The naga's sacred law prohibits any violence unless absolutely necessary," said Marluxia. "We kill to feed ourselves and our pack, or else in self defense, but that is all. War was once unknown to the naga, our warriors no more than hunters who were charged to protect and keep the peace."
"So what happened?" asked Cloud.
"Zack died," said Axel. "Sephiroth wanted revenge, he argued that it was necessary to destroy the humans because they were all a threat. Zack tried to befriend one, and it had gotten him killed, so none of us were safe."
"Except, I didn't kill Zack," said Cloud.
"No," said Marluxia. "And now I will reveal who is to blame. Five years ago, there was a naga named Vexen who served as treasurer."
"Vexen?" asked Axel. "Wait, you're telling me Vexen killed Zack?"
"In a way, he's the one who planted the seed which would blossom into war. You see, it is his duty to account for the needs of the village. How much food we must acquire, how much space and other resources we will need to support our numbers. He began to think that our village would be much more prosperous without competition from the nearby humans of Nibel, and that if we destroyed them with our might we could claim their resources for our own. He proposed this to our leader, Xemnas."
"What?" asked Axel, his tail slammed against the floor of the hall. "He wanted to kill hundreds of humans because they were...competition? That's against our code, take only what you need, kill only as is necessary! What about that balance of life? How could Xemnas agree to something like that?"
"If Vexen's plan succeeded the village could grow and our tribe become even more powerful, which in turn would make Xemnas more powerful," said Marluxia. "Power can be such a strong temptation. Of couse, I rejected the plan, and pointed out it was against our code. Xemnas didn't care about the code, but it did pose a problem. You see, most naga, including our warriors, would not defy our code regardless of what Xemnas wanted."
"So he killed Zack, and framed Cloud to give the us a reason to break the code and go to war." said Axel. He was seething now, coiled like a viper poised to strike as the tip his tail quivered in fury.
"Xemnas knew the warriors would follow Sephiroth anywhere," said Marluxia. "The trick was getting Sephiroth to agree to attack the humans. To give him reason."
"So Xemnas is to blame," said Axel, "did Vexen know?"
"Oh yes, Xemnas didn't act alone. In fact, he didn't kill Zack himself," said Marluxia. "Couldn't get his hands dirty. He brought others into his scheme."
"But how did Xemnas even know that Zack and I were friends?" asked Cloud.
"One of our hunters, Xigbar spotted the two of you together and informed him of it," said Marluxia. "He'd let it go, until he saw the opportunity to use the information. He went to one of our warriors, Larxene, she was a birth mother, and was easily persuaded, her off spring would be better off once the plan was carried out. Larxene was never one to mind blood on her hands. I for one took no part in the plan, but swore silence for my brother's sake. A vow I have kept until now."
"Then Larxene killed Zack?" asked Roxas.
"Larxene along with Vexen carried it out. You see, Vexen, in addition to his skill with numbers, is something of a scientist. He concocted a poison which when placed on the tip of a blade is deadlier then the surest venom." said Marluxia, " Larxene only had to get close enough to wound Zack. Just a nick with one of Larxene's knives, that's all it took. Zack was dying even before Larxene delivered the fatal wound with Cloud's blade."
"I remember," said Cloud. "The female, she cut him, and he fell. Then the two of them, they attacked me. They took my blade, and then she..." Cloud looked away. "I couldn't protect Zack."
"After he was stabbed, Larxene and Vexen returned to the village. She found Sephiroth and told him she'd heard Zack screaming. He rushed to save his lover and instead found him dead, and you," Marluxia looked at Cloud, "covered in blood. They had set the stage perfectly, and when Sephiroth arrived he could only assume that it was Cloud who murdered Zack,"
"Sephiroth let himself become Xemnas's pawn," spat Axel. He crossed his arms, and looked away.
"You seem to be very knowledgeable about these events, Marluxia," observed Ansem.
"I was there when the two reported back to Xemnas," said Marluxia. "Larxene gave every detail. It sickened me to hear it told, and to keep this treachery a secret. However, I couldn't betray my own brother, could I? I'd hate to be responsible for the death of a family member, and what Xemnas and the others did is tantamount to treason. They would have been executed. Sephiroth would have made sure of it. So I've held my piece, until this very moment."
...
Axel slithered to the back door and went out into the empty side yard. He stared into the distance, his hands clenched into fists. Roxas followed, and watched him from the door way. He'd never seen Axel so angry, not even when Sephiroth had told him Cloud had killed Zack.
The naga began to slither back and forth, pacing and muttering, before he came to a stop under a tree. Axel tore a branch off, and threw it into the night. Then hissed, his fangs bared.
"Axel?" Roxas ventured, slipping outside.
"I just...I can't believe it," he said. "All this time Xemnas was behind it all. He used Sephiroth, he used all of it. It goes against everything, our deepest laws. Killing one of our own. Using that to justify breaking the code." Axel looked back at Roxas, his emerald eyes burning with anger even as the glistened with unshed tears.
"I know," said Roxas. How did Axel think he'd felt when he'd heard his own brother was responsible?
"You don't," said Axel. "It's not just about what Xemnas and the others did, it's about what we are. What I am. I was always told humans were vicious, that they'd skin you alive as soon as look at you, that they killed each other as often as we'd kill them. So-"
"Did you really think humans were that bad?" asked Roxas. "If you did, then why didn't you kill me?"
Axel sighed, and shook his head. "Because you were just a kid. You were so small and defenseless, and sort of cute. Because I knew it was wrong to kill unless you needed to, and you were the first person I'd have had to kill face to face. But I did kill others, Roxas. I was there when we attacked your village. I helped them burn it to the ground, and I didn't think twice about it. Those were my orders, we were at war. I guess I understood wiping out a threat. Then when I found you, well you weren't much of a threat." He laughed, the sound barely audible as he ran a hand through his hair.
"No, I wasn't," said Roxas. He walked to Axel's side. "I remember, I had a pitch fork and I was ready to fight you but you had it away from me in an instant. Then I was in your coils. I was so sure you were going to eat me. That's what they'd told me. That if naga ever caught you it would gobble you up. I thought naga were monsters, and I guess you thought humans were too."
"Maybe you had the right idea," said Axel. "You know, when I found you I...I did think about eating you, at first. I never told you because you were so skittish and I didn't want to scare you. But...when I first found you in the barn and grabbed I was going to down you. I had it all planned out. I was gonna say 'Wait... your not food? Cause you look like food, and you taste like food. So why should I let you go?' I was toying with you, and I was going to kill you, because I could and my orders were no survivors. Then you looked at me, and you were so afraid, and you started crying and I just...I couldn't do it."
"I'm glad," said Roxas. He'd never really known how close he'd come. The thought sickened him. Not because he'd nearly died, but because they'd come so close to never getting the chance to become friends and more. To know each other as people instead of enemies.
"So am I," said Axel. "I just can't help thinking about all the others who died. People I helped kill, and for what? Xemnas's greed? Naga are supposed to be better than that. Maybe we are as bad as the humans think we are."
"There are humans with less mercy than you have shown," said Ansem the Wise. Roxas turned to see him standing in the door way. "Myself included. Years ago I was part of an expedition which wiped out a tribe of fire naga."
"Fire naga?" asked Axel. "What are those?"
"Why that's what you are," said Ansem, "or what we call your kind. So called for your distinctive red scales and venom which can causes a very painful burning sensation and almost instant death. To be honest I'd thought I'd seen the last of the fire naga. I'd be interested to know how you came to be living with tribe that now threatens our village. Entirely different species from yourself."
"You've seen others like me?" asked Axel.
"Yes," said Ansem, "but I'm sorry to say all I saw are long dead. We killed every last one, down to the hatchlings. I killed a mother as she tried to guard her nest, then smashed the eggs for good measure."
"How could you do a thing like that?" asked Axel. "Killing a mother and her eggs?"
"I did what I felt was necessary," said Ansem. "When I fought the mother the eggs were scattered and one of them rolled away, down a hill to where a flock of chocobo were nesting. Do you know what happened to that egg?"
Axel and Roxas exchanged a long glance, but said nothing.
Ansem continued, "My bet is that the chocobo destroyed it, because they knew it was a threat. Trampled it as surely as they would serpent underfoot!"
"No, they wouldn't," said Axel.
"How would you know?" asked Ansem.
"Call it a hunch," said Axel. "You think the world is a dark cruel place, but the only thing dark or cruel about it is people like you."
"Perhaps you're right," said Ansem.
"Huh? I am?" asked Axel. Roxas looked from Axel to Ansem.
"I see now that I was wrong," said Ansem. "All these years, I never regretted what I did. Naga had eaten humans, and in mind any creature which kills a man deserved to be wiped out. Now I see you with him. You spared his life, and in doing so showed far more humanity than I."
Roxas crossed his arms, and cocked his head to the side. "You knew Axel and I were friends before now," he said, "you suddenly think he's a good guy now?"
"I didn't believe any naga could be trusted," said Ansem. "But I saw the look in Axel's eyes when Marluxia revealed the truth," he looked at Axel "the anger at your leaders lies. I never thought a naga would have such high concern for morality. I think I have condemned nagas unfairly for far too long, and it's time such judgments are stopped.
Xemnas may have not lived up to your expectations, but that does not mean your entire race should be condemned. We must instead judge individuals for their actions."
"We have to stop all this hate," said Aerith. She stepped out into the night followed by Cloud. "Killing naga just because they're naga, and humans just because they're human, it's crazy. We're just the same, and any one us could be friends if we had the chance. Axel and Roxas are proof of that."
Cloud nodded in agreement. "We have to stop this battle. We have to make them see that there's been enough pointless killing, and get Sephiroth and the others to realize who's really to blame."
"Yeah," said Roxas. He took Axel's hand and smiled up at him. "And beating yourself up over what's past isn't going to help anyone now. I know you're disappointed and the truth both sides have done wrong, humans and naga. None of us are perfect. It isn't like a story where one sides is good and the other side is evil. It's not that easy."
Axel sighed, and smiled at Roxas. "Yeah, I guess you're right. It isn't easy. We're all just people, some are good and some are bad, and sometimes we fight for stupid reasons and misunderstanding, but we can fix this. I don't know how, but I'm going to make Sephiroth listen to me. We're going to stop this fight."
"All the same," said Ansem. "We are going to prepare to meet them for battle. If we can't persuade the naga from their path I have no choice but to meet them in war. I can't let this village meet the same fate as Nibel."
"My soldiers are ready," said Cloud. "We'll go to fight, but not until we try to set things right."