Chapter 10: The Deal

At the stadium, Tidus watched Sora training by running through several obstacles. Tidus knew he had to tell Sora, but he had no idea how.

"Hey Tidus, what happened to you?" Sora asked as he took a breather and looked over at Tidus.

"'Sor, we've gotta talk." Tidus said somberly when Sora picked him up and tossed him into the air. "Ah!"

"Tidus, I just had the greatest day of my life!" Sora called out happily. "I just can't stop thinking about Kairi."

Atem leaped up onto the handrail and sat on it.

"She's something else." Sora mused happily.

"Sora, I'm trying to talk with you here!" Tidus called out. "Will ya come down?"

"Oh, how come down when I'm feeling so up?" Sora asked as he literally leapt into the sky and didn't come down for several minutes.

()()()()()

Pegasus was watching Sora happily. He had to admit, Kairi seemed to make Sora happy, and that was what mattered. Suddenly, he heard a whistle and saw a female Pegasus standing there and winking coyly at him.

Pegasus squeaked weakly.

The female Pegasus with a smile as she walked off, swaying her hips.

Pegasus walked forward until they arrived at a shack next door to the stadium when female Pegasus disappeared, and two small girls walked out of the shadows. One had short brown hair with a long pony tail in the middle of it ran down, and the other had long blond hair in a ponytail fill with many ponytails.

"Got ya!" They both said.

()()()()()

"Okay, Sora, that was very nice." Tidus sighed as Sora came back down. "What I'm trying to tell you is that-"

"And if it wasn't for you, I never would have met Kairi." Sora said happily. "I owe you big time, buddy."

Sora then grabbed Tidus by the neck and gave him a noogie.

"Will you let me talk for like thirty seconds?" Tidus asked by Atem was sparring with Joey.

"Rule number 38: Keep those arms up, Tidus." Sora said with a playful impression of Tidus's own voice as Tidus sighed. "Tidus, I've got two words for ya. Duck."

Tidus ducked a blow from Sora, not caring that it was only one word.

"Listen to me!" Tidus called out. "Kairi's-"

"A dream come true?" Sora asked as he continued to smile.

"Not exactly." Tidus said, but Kairi went on.

"More beautiful than Surane the Goddess of love?" Sora questioned.

"Hey, now let's not talk crazy kid." Tidus countered. "Kairi's-"

"The most wonderful-" Sora began before Tidus grabbed him by the shirt.

"SHE'S A FRAUD!" Tidus shouted out. "She's been playing you for a sap!"

"Oh come on." Sora said with a shrug. "Stop kidding around."

"I'm not kidding around." Tidus went on. "She's-"

"I know you're upset about today, but that's no reason to-"

"Sora, you're missing the point." Tidus said.

"The point is I love her." Sora said stubbornly as he poked Tidus in the chest.

"Well she don't love you." Tidus countered.

"You're crazy!" Sora argued.

"And Kairi's nothing but a two-timing-"

"Stop it!" Sora called out.

"No good, lying, scheming-"

"SHUT UP!" Sora called out as he punched Joey into the dumb bells.

Tidus got up, with a few bruises, but nothing serious. He looked at Sora before he turned around. He'd had it. Sora wanted to get himself killed by some crazy guy, fine by him. Tidus knew he was pathetic for believing in that stupid dream of his again.

"Tidus, I'm sorry." Sora tried to apologize, but Tidus didn't care.

"Okay, okay that's it." Tidus said. "You won't face the truth? Fine."

Tidus then began walking off.

"Tidus, wait." Sora said. "Where are you going?"

"I'm outta here." Tidus muttered. "I'm going home."

Joey then headed off towards the docks.

"Fine!" Tidus heard Sora call out. "Go! I don't need you."

"I thought he was going to be the all time champ not the all time chump." Tidus said to himself as he walked off.

()()()()()

Sora heard what Tidus said and sighed sadly. Suddenly, Sora also heard a puff of smoke and turned to see a pale skinned man about a few years older then his own age and height appear. He had long silver hair that appeared to be made of fire.

"Geez, what got his, huh?" The man asked with a sneer.

Sora ignored him until the man appeared right in front of him in a puff of black smoke.

"Hello there." The man said darkly. "My name is Sephiroth, Lord of the dead, how are you?"

"Not now, okay?" Sora asked as he turned around, but Sephiroth appeared in front of him again, walking on his hands across the handrail.

"Hey, I only need a few seconds." Sephiroth said with a smirk. "I'm a fast talker. You see, I've got this deal in the works, a real estate venture, you might say. And 'Sor, you little devil, may I call you ''Sor'? You seem to be constantly getting in my way."

"You've got the wrong guy." Sora said as Sephiroth appeared and grabbed him by the shirt.

"Come here, you little-!" Sephiroth said angrily as his hair turned orange and seemed to begin to spread across his body before calming down. "Just hear me out. Anyway, I'd be eternally grateful if you'd say… Took a day off from this hero game. Monsters and disasters can wait a day, can't they?"

"You're out of your mind if you think I'd do that." Sora said. True he wasn't a true hero by his father's standards, but he wouldn't let the people of Greece down.

"Not so fast, binky boy." Sephiroth said with a sneer. "I have a little leverage you may want to know about."

Sephiroth snapped his fingers, and Kairi appeared in the stadium.

"Kairi." Sora gasped.

"Don't listen to him!" Kairi called out as black smoke-like ropes suddenly appeared and tied Kairi up as well as gag her.

"LET HER GO!" Sora said as he charged at Sephiroth, but he slid right through him.

"Here's the deal." Sephirothsaid, in complete control of the situation. "You give up your powers for twenty-four hours, the next twenty-four hours, and Kairi here's as free as a bird and safe from harm. You'll dance, you'll kiss, and you'll marry her and live happily ever after. What do you say?"

Sora looked at Kairi. He couldn't risk putting her in danger, and he began to wane in his resolve.

"People are going to get hurt, aren't they?" Sora asked.

"Nah!" Sephiroth said. "Well maybe. You know it's war, but what do you owe these people? Isn't Kairi more important to you than the rest of the people here?"

"Stop it!" Sora called out.

"Isn't she?" Sephiroth persisted as he held Kairi's chin between his thumb and forefinger.

"You have to swear she'll be safe from any harm!" Sora called out.

"Alright fine, I'll give you that one." Sephiroth said. "Kairi will be safe; otherwise you'll get your strength right back and so on and so forth. Okay, done? Why don't we shake on it?"

Sephiroth extended his hand, but Sora was skeptical to take it. Something didn't seem quite right.

"You know Sora we don't exactly have time to discuss this." Sephiroth said with a hint of impatience. "I'm on a schedule until August. I need an answer now. Going once, going twice."

Sora looked at Kairi and knew he couldn't risk her getting hurt by this maniac.

"Alright!" Sora said quickly.

"Yes!" Sephiroth called out with a sneer as he took Sora's hand. Sora suddenly felt incredibly weak and buckled under Sephiroth's increasingly strengthening grip.

"You may feel just a little queasy." Sephiroth pointed out. "Maybe you should… SIT DOWN!"

Sephiroth then caused a dumbbell to toss itself at Sora, trapping him under it.

"Now you know what it feels like to be just like everyone else." Sephiroth said with a sneer as he looked down at Sora. "Isn't it just peachy? Oh, and you're going to love this next bit."

Sephiroth walked up to Kairi.

"Kairi, kiddo, a deal's a deal." Sephiroth said as he snapped her fingers and the ropes disappeared. "You're off the hook. Oh by the way, 'Sor, isn't Kairi a fabulous little actress"

"Stop it." Kairi said in a shamed voice.

"What do you mean?" Sora said as he managed to crawl out from under the bar bells.

"I mean your little girlfriend here was working with me the whole time, duh." Sephiroth said as his grin widened.

"YOUR LYING!" Sora called out, but as he saw the look in Kairi's face, he knew it was true.

Suddenly, the two boys he'd saved on his first day at Thebes appeared.

"Help!" One girl called out as he gave a fake cough.

"Jeepers Mister, you're really strong." The other girl said before they turned into two short women, one with a short brown hair with a long ponytil in the middle, and the other with long blonde hair in a ponytail with many ponytails in one.

"Ta da!" They both called out.

"Couldn't have done it without Little Kairi here." Sephiroth said with a smile as he held Mana close.

"NO!" Kairi called out. "It's not like that! I didn't mean to- I couldn't. I-I'm so sorry."

Sora looked away and walked off as the two women started chanting, "Our hero's a zero! Our hero's a zero!"

"Well gotta go!" Sora heard Sephiroth say. "There's a whole cosmos out there waiting for me with my name on it!"

()()()()()

At the prison of the Titans, Sephiroth smirked.

"So much for the preliminaries." Sephiroth joked. "Now it's time for the main event."

At that moment, the planets finally aligned, and a beam of energy shot down and revealed the caged door of the Titans' prison.

"BROTHERS!" Sephiroth called out grandly. "Titans! Who put you down there?"

"ZACK!" The tITANS all called out.

Sephiroth then stretched down his hands, and the lightning bars of the Titans' prison gave way.

"AND NOW THAT I SET YOU FREE, WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU'RE GOING TO DO?" Sephiroth shouted out.

"DESTROY HIM!" The Titans said in unison.

"Good answer." Sephiroth said with a smirk as he was about to conquer the entire universe.

"Crush Zack!" The titan of the winds said outloud.

"Strike him down!" The titan of ice said.

"Melt Zack." The titan of valcanos said as flames erupted from his body.

They started walking off before Sephiroth called after them.

"Guys," Sephiroth called out. "Olympus is the other way."

The Titans then changed course as Sephiroth stopped the weakest beast, the Cyclopes.

"Hold it bright eye." Sephiroth said. "I've got a special job for you my cyclopean friend."

Chaos dose not own Hercules or kingdom hearts, but she owns Iris, Surane belongs to SuraneSpiral, and Hikari belongs to WingBladeWeaver1357