03-08-2009, 06:31 AM
Again and again, the same pressing issue rose to the top of Rose’s thoughts, and with matching, tireless repetition she batted it back down. She didn’t want to think about the situation she was in. Perhaps that’s why she’d gotten wrapped up in conversation with the other girl. She could have happily spent hours listening to Ashe talk about Earth; about how normal people lived. But no matter how long she put it off, she knew she’d have to face her decision eventually.
One part of her said that she should stick with the others and work as a team to stay alive. There was no way of telling how dangerous these kidnappers were, or what traps they’d set. The worst possible thing they could do was split up and go off alone. And yet …
“I can’t believe they’re really going to just play along with the game,” Rose said, her face tightened into a scowl. “The other group got kidnapped just like us! We shouldn’t be going after them, we should be going after the assholes who run this thing!”
Uzumaki, not even looking at the young girl, growled. “And you think the other team is going to just ignore the 100,000 zeni reward?” He laughed without humour. “People like to think they’re incapable of murder, but put any human being in the right situation, and they’ll become a killer. You’ve just got to press the right buttons.”
“That’s not true!” Rose urged, trying to hide the falter in her tone.
The samurai-like warrior turned to look at the young girl, and his querying gaze was piercing. “So you’ve never killed a person before?”
Rose looked at her feet, painfully aware of the other girl’s presence. That was different, her mind insisted. Bibidi was evil, but these people are being forced to fight. She struggled to come up with an answer, but in the end, she said nothing.
“Hmph.” Uzumaki turned his back to the girl once more. “Well, soon enough the other team is going to be coming after us, and when you’re finally backed into a corner, you’ll see I was right. If you survive, that is,” he added with a snort.
Rose’s heart thumped in her chest. The girl was afraid for lots of different reasons, but most of all, because she wasn’t just feeling afraid. She also felt … excited. Was it because they might end up fighting, or was it because she might end up killing? She wanted to believe that she wouldn’t kill anyone, but how could she trust herself when she’d so easily taken the life of her ‘grandfather’, Bibidi, the one who’d created her father? All it had taken was one order from her mother – and not even her true mother, but an echo – and she’d become a murderer. Just the thought of it made her feel sick.
Just because I’m capable of killing doesn’t mean I have to, thought Rose. And we might still escape without a fight …
But the ominous feeling at the back of her mind said otherwise.
“Um, Rose?”
The hybrid was jolted out of her thoughts by the voice of the other girl. “What is it?” she responded.
“Do you hear something?”
Rose strained her ears, a look of worry on her face. “I don’t hear anything.”
Ashe frowned. “I could’ve sworn – wait! Listen!”
A faint, high-pitched squealing noise rang out for a few seconds, and then stopped. It sounded very far off, but Rose couldn’t tell which direction it was coming from. “I’m pretty sure it’s just the wind,” she said, relaxing. “You’re getting paranoid, that’s all.”
The other girl seemed satisfied. And then, a few seconds later, the noise came again. It was louder this time.
“It doesn’t sound like the wind to me,” said Ashe.
Rose turned her palms up. “Who knows. I doubt it’s anything to worry about.”
Uzumaki, who had walked some way ahead of the pair, turned and shouted back. “What are you two doing? Come on!”
The sound came again. Louder.
“There’s something coming!” Ashe exclaimed. “I think we should get out of here.”
Now Rose realised that the sound was coming from every direction, at different times. And what’s more, she thought she could make out words in the jumble. Almost incoherent, but … that definitely wasn’t the wind.
Uzumaki had obviously come to the same conclusion. “We’ll have to make our stand here!” he barked. “Ready yourselves!”
“Fight?!” Ashe looked disbelieving.
Rose could definitely make out voices now. They seemed to be echoing from every building, every dark alleyway, every swinging door. Screechy and high-pitched, they could have been comical if not for the sinister, nightmarish edge to their voices. What the hell were they?!
“Yes, fight,” growled Uzumaki. “You can try to outrun them in this maze, but they probably know the city better than us. If we stay here, we can hold them off. Don’t fall for their tricks, there aren’t as many of them as they’d like you to think!”
Rose felt like arguing, but they were out of time. Apparently, the universe had gotten tired of waiting for her to choose what she wanted to do, and it had made the decision for her. Destiny by default.
And since I guess I’ll be fighting anyway … thought Rose, eyes darting to the shadows of the buildings. … Why not enjoy it?
One part of her said that she should stick with the others and work as a team to stay alive. There was no way of telling how dangerous these kidnappers were, or what traps they’d set. The worst possible thing they could do was split up and go off alone. And yet …
“I can’t believe they’re really going to just play along with the game,” Rose said, her face tightened into a scowl. “The other group got kidnapped just like us! We shouldn’t be going after them, we should be going after the assholes who run this thing!”
Uzumaki, not even looking at the young girl, growled. “And you think the other team is going to just ignore the 100,000 zeni reward?” He laughed without humour. “People like to think they’re incapable of murder, but put any human being in the right situation, and they’ll become a killer. You’ve just got to press the right buttons.”
“That’s not true!” Rose urged, trying to hide the falter in her tone.
The samurai-like warrior turned to look at the young girl, and his querying gaze was piercing. “So you’ve never killed a person before?”
Rose looked at her feet, painfully aware of the other girl’s presence. That was different, her mind insisted. Bibidi was evil, but these people are being forced to fight. She struggled to come up with an answer, but in the end, she said nothing.
“Hmph.” Uzumaki turned his back to the girl once more. “Well, soon enough the other team is going to be coming after us, and when you’re finally backed into a corner, you’ll see I was right. If you survive, that is,” he added with a snort.
Rose’s heart thumped in her chest. The girl was afraid for lots of different reasons, but most of all, because she wasn’t just feeling afraid. She also felt … excited. Was it because they might end up fighting, or was it because she might end up killing? She wanted to believe that she wouldn’t kill anyone, but how could she trust herself when she’d so easily taken the life of her ‘grandfather’, Bibidi, the one who’d created her father? All it had taken was one order from her mother – and not even her true mother, but an echo – and she’d become a murderer. Just the thought of it made her feel sick.
Just because I’m capable of killing doesn’t mean I have to, thought Rose. And we might still escape without a fight …
But the ominous feeling at the back of her mind said otherwise.
“Um, Rose?”
The hybrid was jolted out of her thoughts by the voice of the other girl. “What is it?” she responded.
“Do you hear something?”
Rose strained her ears, a look of worry on her face. “I don’t hear anything.”
Ashe frowned. “I could’ve sworn – wait! Listen!”
A faint, high-pitched squealing noise rang out for a few seconds, and then stopped. It sounded very far off, but Rose couldn’t tell which direction it was coming from. “I’m pretty sure it’s just the wind,” she said, relaxing. “You’re getting paranoid, that’s all.”
The other girl seemed satisfied. And then, a few seconds later, the noise came again. It was louder this time.
“It doesn’t sound like the wind to me,” said Ashe.
Rose turned her palms up. “Who knows. I doubt it’s anything to worry about.”
Uzumaki, who had walked some way ahead of the pair, turned and shouted back. “What are you two doing? Come on!”
The sound came again. Louder.
“There’s something coming!” Ashe exclaimed. “I think we should get out of here.”
Now Rose realised that the sound was coming from every direction, at different times. And what’s more, she thought she could make out words in the jumble. Almost incoherent, but … that definitely wasn’t the wind.
Uzumaki had obviously come to the same conclusion. “We’ll have to make our stand here!” he barked. “Ready yourselves!”
“Fight?!” Ashe looked disbelieving.
Rose could definitely make out voices now. They seemed to be echoing from every building, every dark alleyway, every swinging door. Screechy and high-pitched, they could have been comical if not for the sinister, nightmarish edge to their voices. What the hell were they?!
“Yes, fight,” growled Uzumaki. “You can try to outrun them in this maze, but they probably know the city better than us. If we stay here, we can hold them off. Don’t fall for their tricks, there aren’t as many of them as they’d like you to think!”
Rose felt like arguing, but they were out of time. Apparently, the universe had gotten tired of waiting for her to choose what she wanted to do, and it had made the decision for her. Destiny by default.
And since I guess I’ll be fighting anyway … thought Rose, eyes darting to the shadows of the buildings. … Why not enjoy it?
![[Image: superbuuelectricityne4.jpg]](http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/3128/superbuuelectricityne4.jpg)
Bra Wrote:People are dumb, essentially.