[3] Rosemary's Game

[Friend or Foe]

Sophia
Juno



They were alone. It was quiet.

The tunnel had collapsed and with no time to ponder what to do, Juno lept to the side to tackle whichever female was closer. Now, he and Sophia rolled away from the wreckage of the cave-in and landed hard down a slight hill.

"Ooof!" Juno said, grunting. He was staring down at Sophia, who was right under him. She looked up, surprised. "Oh," he said, "Uh...hi there."

Sophia blushed for a moment, then blinked. "Hello..." she said cautiously. "Uh..." She nudged up at Juno.

"Oh," he said, a little confused, "Oh!" Then he got it and quickly rolled off of her. "My bad."

Sophia cleared her throat and stood up, brushing herself off. She looked up at the wreckage at the top of the tunnel's slope. It was positioned almost too perfect, like it had been designed to cave in a certain direction. "That was planned," she said, "We were split up on purpose."

"Let's see if we can find a way around," Juno suggested. "Only one way to go from here."

The duo carefully moved down the tunnel, which bent to the left. There was an eerie light protruding from the edge of it, and as they turned they found the source: a giant, lighted cavern, covered in candles. Hundreds of them all along the edge of the crafted cave.

"Welcome," a woman said. There was only three things in the cavern aside from candles. Two podiums, and a throne where the woman presided. She sat with her scarf crossed over her torso, one leg over the other. "My name is Rosemary. Please take a podium."

The two moved forward, very carefully. Juno nodded to Sophia as they got to the podiums and stepped up to them. "What is this?" Juno asked.

"What's going on?" Sophia added.

They were ignored. Rose spoke. "We are going to play a game called Friend or Foe," she said aloud, explaining the rules. "If you both answer friend, you both can leave this game." Both Sophia and Juno shared a long glance. "If both of you answer foe, you both die. Here."

"What if one person answers foe?" Juno asked, though he could already guess the answer.

"That person walks away, right here, with 500,000 zeni in cash, from Kai Demolic, director of Friend or Foe and multi-millionaire. The person who answers friend...dies."

Sophia and Juno shared a glance. Of course this had to be a set-up, right? Both of them knew they had to answer friend, but of course the doubt was still there. Would the other answer friend? Would the other keep their friend alive, even at the cost of so much money?

"Take your time," Rose said, uncrossing and recrossing her legs. "Look at each other and ask yourself...is he or she worth it?"















(Roleplay it out, but look at Rose's profile. This is obviously just for show. She's not here to kill anybody. Just have fun, do some character development. If I need to step in, let me know)

[Juno]

What was this place? Who was this woman?

The young half-Saiyan couldn’t take his eyes off of Rosemary. He stared forcibly at her, but for reasons very contrary to the motive he usually had to stare at those of the feminine species. Sure, this woman was beautiful: gorgeous red hair; a sleek, pale face; but there was something about her that Juno just couldn’t bear.

Nevertheless, he had no idea what this ‘something’ was. He examined her countenance, searching it for some sign. But the harlot’s façade was indiscernible. Juno scoffed under his breath, crossing his arms and taking a step back.

There had been an eerie silence for the past half-a-minute or so, but a twinge in the muscle of Rosemary’s jaw signaled that the crone had something more to say.

“Take your time,” Rosemary muttered in an almost inaudible, eerie whisper, moving in her seat, “Look at each other and ask yourself… is he or she worth it?”

Juno looked over at Sophia. This was an opportunity. Five thousand zeni. He almost fainted just thinking about the possibility. But then he met eyes with his ‘ally’. And everything got a lot more confusing.

What in God’s name was wrong with him? He’d killed people before. This was nothing new to him. Granted, he’d never killed anyone he thought of as a friend, but he knew that he and Sophia weren’t all that close—he didn’t really give a crap if she woke up in the morning and hated his guts.

So why on earth was he hesitating? He knew that she would answer friend. She was a priestess. She couldn’t take a life. It was practically a given that she’d answer friend. And all he had to do was utter one syllable and let her conscience do the rest of the work for him. Foe. Foe. Foe. Foe. Foe, foe, foe, foe! FOE!

But it didn’t come out. As much as he tried, he couldn’t utter that three letter word. He hated himself right now. He had a chance to win 500,000 dollars, and he was wasting his time deliberating?

‘I don’t have time for this,’ Juno thought to himself. He looked at her, and pictured her dead body in a pool of blood—but, contrary to what he had hoped would happen, that image only made it harder. He had killed before. He knew what he was doing. So then he just had one question for himself:

WHY WAS HE NOT SPITTING IT OUT?!

He saw her face. The face of that woman. His first kill. She stood in front of him as clear as day, taunting him that he couldn’t do to this stupid, idiotic little saint what he did to her. Take everything.

But she deserved it, the stupid whore—he convinced himself that she deserved it, that she was a whore, a slut, a harlot.

But Sophia was different. He was different. He couldn’t just kill her for some reason. Her blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders, shimmering in the candlelight. She was more beautiful than Alice. She deserved more than Alice deserved. Did she?

Then there was the money. Oh, yes, the money. He needed and wanted that cash. It was so tempting. But something stopped him. He didn’t know what. Foe, friend, foe, friend, the words were interchanging in his mind. It would be so easy to answer foe, kill the priestess, and take the cash, walk away from here. But he couldn’t.

Time seemed to pass by so quickly. The candles rotated around the room, and he knew that with every passing second their fate got more uncertain.

“Sophia,” he muttered inaudibly, looking once more to her beautiful face. He would even venture that perhaps, in this moment, she was more attractive in Sage. But it was probably just the fact that once he’d slaughtered this red-haired witch they’d be alone in a room together.

Emotions poured out of him like a fountain. He felt his expression changing from grief to anger to satisfaction to sadness, and it was impossible to keep it all inside. He hit the podium roughly, knocking it out of place. It fell with a crash to the floor. And he sat down, hands running uncertainly through his hair.

“Aww, what’s wrong, Juno?” Rosemary piped up, chuckling. The halfling glared at her with the utmost anger, but the smirk was never wiped from her face. It was impossible to win with this woman!

Tears slipped from his eyes and painted his cheeks with the feelings he’d been trying so desperately to hide. The stone that he’d crafted his visage out of was being melted by the tears. He was growing soft, and he felt total disgust at himself. He looked at Sophia, his face stricken with anger. He knew that she couldn’t understand. She wasn’t at fault here. It was him.

BUT HE WASN’T A BAD PERSON! How could anyone understand his dilemma? He could speak one syllable, and she would die, and he would leave a happy man. But suddenly a conscience was creeping up on him! No sarcasm was involved here: he was in a true ethical dilemma.

He looked towards Rosemary’s throne, but the lady herself was gone. The fortuneteller swirled around, and suddenly found his cheeks in her fingers’ grasp. “Come on, Juno, you can do it!” she chided. He broke away, running towards the center of the room. “Just say it. Three letters. One breath. Go on, kill her. I promise she’ll go easy.”

He tripped, and fell back into Rosemary’s arms. She caught him from behind—her speed, he discovered, was magnificent—and wrapped a scarf around his neck, pulling hard. “What’s your answer, Juno?” she asked as the choking monkey-man slid to his knees.

The seer wasn’t put down that easily, though. He reached up, smacking her across the face, knocking her away from him and to the other side of the room. He clutched his neck, panting, gasping for breath. He walked to her, and stood triumphantly over the harlot. Rosemary’s eyes were as red as her hair, stricken with fury.

But Juno had an answer all picked out for her. “Friend.”

[Jesper]

One of Sophia’s many flaws, in her eyes, was her inability to make swift decisions.

This flaw reared its ugly head in several facets of her life, ranging in situations from her future career choice to picking what clothes she would wear for that day. All of them, however, seemed to pale in comparison to the gravity of this situation. It was a classic moral dilemma—a large sum of money, or a human life. She would have thought that such a decision would have been easy to make. After all, she valued human life above all else, and she thought that no amount of money would have changed that.

But it was five-hundred thousand zeni. The priestess took a moment to think of what that meant.

Firstly, it would bring her temple out of debt. Even though it was practically out in the middle of nowhere, they still had bills to pay, and the limited revenue that came through the place made it difficult to make due. That much money, however, was more than enough to cover that. Sophia found herself thinking of all the frivolous things she could buy with that kind of money. The priestess caught herself, however, and shook her head furiously. She couldn’t let material possessions overcome her moral compass.

A quick glance over at Juno revealed that he was struggling just as much as she was. She looked more closely. The tailed boy was moving his lips—was she mistaken, or was he chanting “foe” to himself repeatedly? He was planning on answering foe, wasn’t he? She had to act; human life was one thing, but if he was planning on killing her for money, why couldn’t she do the same? Was it because she was a priestess? It wasn’t fair for her to die like this!

Then Juno stopped moving his lips and closed his eyes tightly. Words were exchanged between the tailed man and the lady-in-red, and after a bit of…encouragement from Rose, Juno was ready with an answer. Before that, however, they had some sort of scuffle in the middle of the room—Sophia could hardly focus enough to pay much attention, but she obviously noticed when the tailed boy slapped her across the face. Somewhat to the priestess’ surprise, he chose “friend” afterward.”

Rose’s eyes flared with fury as she stared up into the eyes of her defiant “contestant.” Sophia held her breath as time seemed to slow; Rose was seemingly about to burst into a fit of rage. The priestess so desperately wanted to smack her forehead in frustration—how could Juno be so stupid? Their lives were in her hands, and one misstep could have meant their deaths! However, Rose took a deep breath and stood to her feet, brushing herself off slightly. It seemed as though the game meant more to her than any malice she might have held towards Juno.

All eyes were turned to Sophia, causing her face to turn a deep shade of red. She could practically feel the pressure upon her as they awaited her decision. This made her decision that much more difficult—one word, and she’d be ankle-deep in wealth. No strings attached; Juno’s answer made her “reward” definite, if she so chose to take it. With a sly smile on her face, Rose slowly made her way over to the priestess’ podium and leaned in close to whisper into her ear.

“So…what do you say, Sophia?” she smirked. “Ready to take the plunge?”

“Don’t…rush me,” Sophia sighed.

“What’s wrong, little girl?” Rose began to snicker callously. “Juno made his bed. Let him lie in it.”

Sophia closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. She couldn’t bring herself to make a decision. Not yet. Her thoughts turned to her late father—the strongest-willed man she had ever known in her entire life. She thought desperately of what the great Liam Rosado would do. A stream of memories flow into her mind, bringing back to her mind what her father had told her so long ago.

*

“Who was that, father?”

Liam smiled softly as he motioned for the guards to close shut the doors to the temple once more. “Them? They were businessmen, honey.”

“What did they want?”

“They wanted to buy the temple. A lot of money could be made, apparently,” her father sighed. “Don’t worry, honey. I turned them away.”

“Aren’t we hurting for money, though?” a younger Sophia inquired, tucking a stray lock of blonde hair behind her ear. “Why wouldn’t we at least hear them out?”

Liam chuckled and placed a hand on her shoulder. Those big, soft eyes always found a way to soothe Sophia, even in the hardest of times (on the eve of his death, however, those eyes could not seem farther away). He motioned around the room, bringing to her attention many of the tapestries and banners on the walls that may have usually faded into the background before. “Look around you. Our family has run this temple for several generations. They all faced a financial crisis at some point, and not one time did they sell away our right.”

“But…would things really be worse for us if those businessmen bought it?”

“Those men don’t care about our faith, or our service,” Liam shook his head. “They treat a place of faith they same way they treat a supermarket. As long as it garners funds, they don’t care what goes on inside. Easy life or not, we cannot allow material means to sully our faith in God.”

*

“But…why did He let them capture me?” Sophia muttered, her eyes tearing up. She knew that her father was right all those years ago, but things were significantly more difficult than they were then. Besides, they kept to their guns back then and turned down those businessmen’s proposal. Where did that get her? The temple remained in constant debt, and Sophia found herself in nothing but constant struggles since then. No matter what her father or Kira had told her in the past, she couldn’t shake the feeling that God had all but left her.

A single tear rolled off of Sophia's cheek as she gave her answer. “…foe.”

The edges of Rose’s lips curled into a smile.

[Friend or Foe]

Juno had been prepared for the worst, but for some reason even the mental preparation that Sophia might throw his life away couldn't have gotten him ready for the surprise iteself. She was a priestess of unimaginable beauty and kindness, having risked her life for his. What could have possibly gone through her head that she would cast him aside?

"Sophia," he said, his eyes bulging. He noticed Rose had her arm outstretched, but he ignored it for the moment. Instead, he looked at Sophia with an agonizing look, as if trying to come up with an excuse for her, but he couldn't. She just looked at him, and then down, the single tear in her eye telling it all. "Sophia!" He shouted again.

This time, it was cut off by the sheer amount of energy blasting from the palm of Rosemary. The podium he was on blasted out from under him and he flew backwards, onto the ground of the stony cave. He could immediately feel his own body moving on it's own, floating upwards. When he looked up, he saw Rose lifting her arm in the same pattern as his movements, like he was her puppet on a string.

Shackles made of strong ki energy clung to his limbs, two on each leg and arm. He was held backwards against the wall, trying to speak but not able as another string of energy wrapped around his neck, giving him just enough air to breath.

He watched as Rosemary dropped a sword in front of Sophia, holding it up with one hand. Sophia looked up at the tall woman, surprised. "You have declared this boy your foe," Rose told her.

"What?" The priestess said, "You want me to...but...that wasn't part of the rules!"

"If this boy is going to die so you can walk away with your prize," Rose said, "You must take the responsibility of his life. You can't depend on me to do it for you. If he will die, so you can live...it will be by your hand, not mine." Rose was speaking as if teaching a daughter how to act. She softened a bit, the tough-girl act starting to vanish.

The tall redhead known as Rosemary looked up at Juno as well, and then back to the girl in front of her. Neither of these two knew the true purpose of this meeting, or this game. Sure, Kai wanted ratings, but Rose had far more meanings then that. She had promised nobody would die on her watch, and if she had anything to say about it, nobody would. But there was still a lesson to be learned here. Sophia and Juno still had to learn before they could beat her game.

"Does the game change now, Sophia?" Rosemary asked, "Can you kill this boy, by your own hand, for money?" When she got answer, Rose pressed further. "Now," Rosemary said, "If he is your foe...you will walk away, right here, with five hundred thousand zeni, in that briefcase," she nodded towards the case near her throne, which was chained and locked up. "Or you can change your mind, and declare him your friend...and foresake your prize."

The priestess looked from the blade to Juno. All she could think about was the wasted breaths and pants that the boy was using. He wasn't breathing in oxygen through his muffled throat. Instead, all he could do, was spurt out at her, trying to relay a message.

But all she heard was a muffled cry that would haunt her for the rest of her life.

"Sophia...Sophia...Soph...Soph...So...Sophia..."

The woman took the sword offered to her.

[Jesper]

Part of Sophia wanted to believe that she was just testing Rose. A game is still a game, and regardless of how many times she had come close to death in just the past several hours, she knew that something would have to go extremely wrong for her to die. Part of her wanted to believe that she had played Rosemary, that she had beat her at her own game. That part of her had been wrong. In reality, the priestess was the one that was played—the tall redhead had made it obvious to her that she had no intentions of killing Juno at all. She was revolted at herself for being misled like that, all for the sake of money.

That led to the question of whether it was possible for her to leave with the money. She knew that Rose didn’t want anyone to die, so there were very large doubts that there was anything inside that briefcase. Even if there was, there was still the matter of what she held in her tiny hand. Sophia looked at her reflection in the cold steel—her eyes were red and puffy from crying. Those blue eyes weren’t the eyes of a killer, and no matter how much she wanted the money, she knew that she couldn’t bring herself to kill the poor boy, but then again, she didn’t think she could bring herself to say “foe,” either. Now it was just a matter of stalling so she could figure out what she was going to do.

“You…can’t change the rules in the middle of the game like this,” Sophia spoke in between sniffles. “It’s not fair.”

“Juno is facing a life or death situation, and you’re complaining about what’s fair?” Rose scolded her, wavering between a stern demeanor and a soft expression. “He called you a friend, Sophia. He trusted you. For you to turn on him like that…that’s what’s not fair.”

Sophia opened her mouth to retort, but she knew the woman was right. The priestess could feel tears welling up again, but she choked them back. She couldn’t let Rose see if her words were getting to the priestess or not. The priestess took a step forward towards Juno, and gripped her sword. Her wrist twitched a bit, the prospect of all that money still lingering somewhere in the back of her mind. She consciously held back though, putting the sword behind her back a bit.

“Tell us what you’re thinking,” Rose’s flair for the dramatic was too difficult to resist as she inquired Sophia for the sake of the audience.

Us? Oh, the cameras, Sophia thought. She shook her head bitterly—she couldn’t care less about the audience or the ratings or anything other than the pained look in Juno’s eyes. Still, after a slight roll of her eyes, she obliged her request. “What am I thinking? You’re detestable. This man’s life isn’t something to be decided over a game.”

“Oh? But Sophia, you were the one who called him a foe. Are you saying that you wish to change your mind?” she chided, amusement prevalent in her voice.

“I’m just saying that killing someone is difficult,” Sophia sighed, her mind racing for a plan—any plan—to come to mind. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, and although she was frightened and obviously distraught, it allowed her to calm down a bit in order to make clearer decisions. She continued. “Killing someone is to rob them of their future. Surely you understand…even you were unwilling to take his life.”

Her facial expression twitched, though it changed back too fast for Sophia to be sure of it. Juno’s sudden stifled shouts muddled Sophia’s thoughts; the tailed boy was obviously scared out of his mind, and much more than that, tired of Sophia’s speculation. The emotions that his eyes revealed were an odd mixture of extreme sadness and almost hatred towards the priestess. Those cold, penetrating eyes brought up an emotion that scared Sophia—it was his eyes above anything else that drove away any doubt of her decision. Sophia straightened up and looked Rose right in the eye.

“Hmhm…it seems you’ve come to a decision,” the lady-in-red laughed softly.

“I have.”

She raised the sword in her hand and pointed the tip at Juno. The tailed boy squirmed slightly, trying to position his face so that the point wasn’t aimed at his face. Sophia stood still, however, and the squirming stopped. The two pairs of eyes met once more, but no emotions were present. Cold, empty eyes stared into the others; the air was thick with anticipation. Juno’s breaths turned into rapid pants, feeling that his potential death may soon be imminent. The priestess drew the sword back, her elbows locked in a stabbing position. Sophia winced, almost hesitating, but eventually prevailed in her decision and suddenly stabbed forward. The priestess’ gasp combined with Juno’s terrified grunt as the point of the blade swung forward. The situation came to a head when the sword plunged into…

…the wall behind Juno. Dust flew out as the steel penetrated cold rock. Sophia surprised even herself at how far she had plunged the sword into the interior, but she thought of it only for an instant. The conscious miss put Sophia extremely close to the tailed boy; her hand was still wrapped tightly around the hilt of the sword, and her head was right next to Juno’s ear. The blonde woman began to sob as she whispered in his ear. “P-please…please forgive me!”

She sank to her knees, her shoulders heaving as tears began to hit the ground below. Rose sighed and shook her head, taking a few steps towards the pair. “So you’re not going to kill him, eh?”

“If even you didn’t have to stomach to do it, how can you expect me to!?”

Juno and Sophia were friends once again, but only in the most technical of terms.

[Friend or Foe]

Both of you advance the next round, but you did not earn the reward. Congratulations on making the final 12.