Title: Happily Ever After
Chapter: A Sealed Deal
Author: Raserei Hojo
Summary: (Changed) FF Crossover. When you die, you're not really gone. In separate worlds, two men died. They were brought together in the darkness and a friendship began to grow. In an attempt to see an opera, magic is used, and witchcraft is called.
Rating: T
Feedback: Very much so desired!
Story Warnings: Male/Male, shounen-ai
Pairings: Kuja/Sephiroth
Disclaimer: Any recognizable characters of Final Fantasy VII or Final Fantasy IX belong to Squaresoft. Any that are NOT recognizable belong to me. However, feel free to use them in any story you wish.

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Shenter Tenrai sat the head of the table. Around him sat the five most important Sages—Michael, Yuki, Arisa, Maximilion, and Garnet.

"So what exactly is the crime of this young man?" Maximilion spoke up. His fingers ran through his shoulder length hair as he calmly examined the crowd at the table. "I see nothing wrong with his hair color. My hair color is silver." He wore a chain necklace that held a large hour-glass. Deep reds and grays clothed his body as he watched his leader with placid blue eyes. "Go on, explain yourself."

"I am not taking offense to your hair color. I'm simply saying that the townspeople think that the hair color silver is strange. Hell, before those two came along, you were pretty much the only one with silver hair." Shenter crossed his arms defiantly over his chest.

"I died at nineteen, and where I come from, it is not strange at all that I have silver hair. Perhaps those two… Sephiroth and Kuja… maybe they came from my world?"

"Max," Arisa said calmly, "your planet no longer exists."

"You don't know that!" Max snapped. "All I know is that the darkness swept into my planet. I never saw with my own eyes that the planet died."

Shrugging, Arisa began to braid her black hair. "No one has come to Terra-Matra from your world. Get over it. When a planet dies, their souls are automatically erased."

Max and Arisa stood from their chairs and nearly lunged at each other. They stopped themselves and offered death glares at one another instead.

"Calm down!" Shenter threw a crystal glass at the two Sages. They quickly dodged and heatedly sat down. "Now then. Kuja's trial—"

"I can't believe you're putting him on trial!" Max shouted. His eyes were narrowed as he stared at Shenter. "So he's part monkey, that's not different! Shenter, you're only half human yourself. Eventually, the humans will kill themselves off. They have to breed with members outside of their race."

"I'm not very proud of my human heritage, Max."

"Breeding with monkeys..." Arisa murmered.

Yuki's violet eyes gazed at the arguing Sages. "Why don't you leave the room, Max, and return when your head is level."

"My head is level, thank you very much."

"Well…" All heads turned towards Garnet.

"I know Kuja. He came from my world."

Hushed whispers. Garnet quietly looked at the others. "Indeed, Kuja did use magic. He used such great power when he took my mother's life. He destroyed the Great Nations single-handedly." Her cheeks grew flushed as she spoke. "Kuja used my mother. I knew my mother, she was kind and sweet—Kuja changed her, and she gave into the greed when before those awful thoughts would have never crossed her mind."

A smile crept across Shenter's lips. "You say he did use magic?"

Garnet wrapped her hands gently around her pendant. "Yes. He did." Her chocolate colored eyes gazed steadily at Shenter. "He murdered many people with it."

"Did others use magic where you came from?" Shenter pressed on.

Garnet thought about Vivi, who had 'stopped' long ago. The Black Mages were probably wiped out by now. Her loathe for Kuja boiled deep within her heart. "No one but him used magic."

"Excellent." Shenter folded his hands together, smiling still. "Well then, ladies and gentlemen, we have our proof. Queen Garnet is our witness!" He tilted his head, his hair slightly covering his eyes. "We'll have his soul destroyed immediately."

"Shenter, please don't act so harshly on the boy," Michael pleaded. "At least give him a proper trial. Let him defend himself! It's only fair."

Lethal eyes turned to Sage Michael. "Listen," Shenter said dangerously, his voice lowering. "You are no longer in charge of this place. I was put in charge. And, pretty soon, Old Man… you'll fade away. Now do you want to 'fade away' now or later? Hmm?"

Michael looked aside, his fingers flexing slightly. "I'm sorry, Sage Shenter. I've forgotten my place with you here. Please, forgive me."

"Very well." Shenter stood and looked at the five Sages, particularly Max and Michael. "I suppose I'll set up a short trial."

"Wait." Garnet stood and walked around the table towards Shenter. "Before you do anything to him, I want to see him."

Blinking, Shenter looked at the young woman. He pondered for a few moments, then nodded. "Alright. Go see him now." He passed her the keys and walked out of the Conference Room. "Good luck with him..."

----

Kuja sighed softly. "Well, this is fun. I'm alone in this dusty place with… creatures crawling all over the walls and a guy who hasn't moved at all since I got here. Maybe he's dead." The handcuffs were still on his wrists, and with no magic, he felt powerless. "Damn spiders."

He closed his eyes tightly. "I hate this place. I thought that for once, a Genome like me could be free here." His eyes opened slightly. "A place where we had freedom and weren't held back because we were different from everyone." Hugging his knees as best he could, he stared out the ten inch thick glass and at the guard who dozed across from him. "Damn this place." He looked at the motionless man beside him who was dressed in nothing but white. "Hey, you. Are you going to say anything?"

After another short silence, the man spoke. "It was all Edgar's fault."

Kuja quirked a brow. "Excuse me, I was talking about my problems, not yours."

"Edgar just had to live in the middle of nowhere. Ohh, I should have killed him right then and there! What was I thinking?"

"Excuse me... How about we just stop talking and find a way out of here?"

The man stood up, his blonde hair matted and clinging to his gaunt face. "This place? I hate this place. If I could get out, I'd show that Shenter who's top dog. Ohh, how I hate him! Hate hate hate hate!"

Kuja buried his face in his hands. "This is going nowhere fast." He spread his fingers and stared at the other man through the space. "Okay, let me try this again." He moved his hands from his face and placed them in his lap. "My name is Kuja. What's yours?"

"If I had the power of the goddesses...! Oh! I'd toast that Shenter Tenrai! He'd be well done, haha!"

Kuja smacked his head against the wall, growing impatient. "Will you answer me already?"

"Who, me? I'm the great and all-powerful Kefka. I ruled the world once. Unfortunately, that Terra and her friends ruined everything! And Edgar, whose fault it was to begin with...! That son-of-a-submariner!"

Kuja stared blankly at him. "You're a complete lunatic."

"I want out of this prison! Out! Now! But the glass is thick and the goddesses have abandoned me. And--what's this? You have a tail?"

Looking down at the silver tail wrapped around his thigh again, Kuja sighed and nodded. "Look, I'm not a monkey. I'm a Genome. I'm much more advanced than a human or a monkey, so don't start on how I'm an animal, cause I'll blast your head off." He bit his lip as he remembered that he no longer had magic at his disposal.

The glass door slid open, and Garnet slipped in. Before Kefka could reach the exit, it slammed shut once more.

"Oh my, the daughter of the Elephant-Lady has arrived," Kuja sneered. "So sad that you should die and leave my brother alone. So, so sad."

Slap.

"Whatever happened to me being your canary, Kuja?"

Kuja gingerly touched the place where Garnet had dared to touch his face. Very slowly, he stood, and glared vehemously at her. "Bitch," he spat. The chains of his handcuffs rattled.

"Watch your mouth, or I'll have Shenter erase your soul this instant. He's very eager to do so." She took in the image of Kuja, glancing momentarily at theother man in the room. "I came here to see if you had any sorrow in your pathetic self. I see I was wrong to think so. You're nothing but a heartless, soulless Genome."

"I have a soul!I may be a Genome, but I'm not like them at all. I'm different from them entirely." Kuja shook his head slowly. "But I'm not afraid."

Garnet tossed her head back, hair cascading down her back and shoulders. "I'm glad." Her fingers idly brushed against her pendant. "Oh, and the person you came here with... What was his name?"

"Why should I tell you?"

Garnet quirked a slim brow. "I thought you should know he will probably be next." She turned to Kefka. "And you, if you behave yourself, perhaps I'll ask Shenter to release you early, mmkay?"

With a disgusted look on his face, Kuja stared at the floor.

Kefka forced a calm smile out. "Yes ma'am."

Garnet gave a cheerful smile before exiting the prison again. Kefka's smile crumbled. "I hate her too. She has no business being a Sage. I think she got in on her looks, which, aren't all that much."

"Queen Garnet is very pretty," Kuja said slowly, unsurely, "Alexandria adores her. Or did. I wonder how she died... It doesn't matter!" He reminded himself. "I'm about to die. Again."

----

"We both get what we want. So, what do you say? Is it a deal, or not?"

"...I see no faults with your plan. I believe, my friend, it is a deal."