*Updated 01-05-2018*

Chapter 20 - The Ultimate Warrior

Darkness. That's all Rosa saw.
She couldn't breathe properly and felt suffocated. She forced herself to come to a little more and started thrashing around.

"Hey! Shut up back there!" shouted an unfamiliar voice.
Rosa tried to call out but couldn't, feeling a gag between her lips. Her head pounded and she felt unclean, a layer of grime on her skin. She was suddenly thrown backwards, sensing movement as she knew she was in a jeep. And she knew exactly where she was headed.

The brakes squealed and she heard footsteps before suddenly getting dragged out of the vehicle by her tied hands. She attempted to call out again but it was useless. Her feet scraped against the floor as a known smell hit her nose. She was back in the Temple.

Rosa started thrashing around and kicking out but the Rakyat that were holding her just held onto her tighter.
"Take her through there." she heard Citra say as Rosa found she couldn't breathe. For the first time, she actually felt scared of Citra. She had no defense, nobody knew she was there and Vaas was dead.

It was her time to die now.

Arms scooped Rosa up and dropped her onto a cold surface, a sharp pain running across Rosa's hip. Rosa's arms tied slack behind her head as well as her ankles being tied, tightly.

"Leave us." commanded Citra as Rosa heard a scuttling of feet.
A tugging was felt on her head as the bag was ripped off, her eyes being exposed to the harsh sunlight of Rook. She blinked a couple of times and squinted before she focused on the head above her.

Citra.

Rosa's eyes grew wide and Citra smirked, just like Vaas.
"Finally." she whispered, "I have you."

Rosa stared into the sky and prayed that it would all be over soon. She felt weak and drained, just wanting to be with Vaas. What she would have done to physically be with Vaas or for him to come bursting in. It looked like Citra had won.

"Vaas is dead." Citra stated, "My warrior finally got the better of him."
Citra paused, looking to the floor.
"But he was still my brother. Your father turned him into a monster. Took him away with money, drugs. An evil man, just like his daughter."
Rosa tried to scream at Citra but any attempts were muffled.

"Shh. Don't. Nobody can hear you, it's just you and me. Nobody else."
Citra leaned down and untied the gag around Ross's mouth.
"One word unless instructed and you're dead." hissed Citra and Rosa decided to oblige.
"I want to know how much this hurts you. To know that your love is dead."
Rosa gulped as she couldn't help the single tear that rolled down her cheek. She was trying not to show weakness but she just couldn't anymore.

"You've got what you wanted. You thinking killing Vaas, killing me, it will solve all your problems but it won't. You are the problem."
Rosa stopped to catch her breath Citra looking smug.
"In taking Vaas, you've ripped my heart out, my soul. He was your brother. Citra, you drove him away. You tried to kill him. Vaas never came for you. He left you alone and this is how you repay him, so you can lead some shitty tribe. Well, if that's your deepest desire in life, you've got it. Kill me now and get it over with. I won't give you the satisfaction of begging for my life."

Citra blinked a few times, seeming to digest Rosa's words.
"It's okay." she said as she stroked Rosa's head, "You'll not die yet. You need to suffer, to pay for what you have done, you need to-"
"CITRA!" a warrior called, "Jason is back!"

Rosa lifted her head towards the stairs and waited for Brody to walk down. He did, staggering a little as if he was drugged but grinned when he saw Citra.
"Jason! My warrior has returned! Successful, I might add. You've done us proud." said Citra, kissing Jason on the cheek.
"That fucker is dead." he replied, monotonous, spying Rosa on the table but didn't say anything as he just looked back at Citra.
"Now." said Citra, "You kill Hoyt."
"NO! NO, YOU CAN'T DO THIS! DON'T! CITRA!" Rosa shouted. If she wasn't going to beg for her life, she was going to beg for Hoyt's.

Citra walked over to Rosa and tutted.
"Rosa, I thought I said only speak when instructed to."
She dug into her pocket before blowing some green powder into Rosa's face, causing her to black out.

"I'll delay the flight." Jason growled, lunging at Hoyt with his knife.
Hoyt just laughed.
"I've been doing this long before you were born, kid."
"Bring it on, old man."

They both attacked, their knifes in lock as Jason twisted his body, stabbing Hoyt in the shoulder. Hoyt smiled and pushed Jason onto the floor. Jason quickly got up and grabbed the knife that had slipped out of his hand. With one swift movement, he stabbed Hoyt in the side, pulled Hoyt's knife from him and stabbed him in the neck. Hoyt fell down, dead.
"Rosa." he murmured and then his body went limp.

"HOYT!" Rosa shrieked as she awoke gasping.
Another bad dream yet she had awoken in a nightmare

"Rosa." Citra mumbled and she retied the gag around her mouth, "You've been out for a while, you had me worried. But you're okay now."

Citra circled around Rosa as she tugged against her restraints. She tried to scream out for Vaas but the gag restricted her to. She was terrified. She called Vaas' name over and over but she knew no one was coming. Tears began to spill as Rosa was overcome with sobs. This was it.

Panic began to rise as she manically started pulling with all of her strength against the ropes that tied her down on the rock table. Citra just laughed evilly.
"You could have been powerful, Rosa. The ultimate of your kind. You never belonged with Vaas, they never wanted you there. You were a burden to them all, they despised you. Vaas never truly loved you. With me, you could have been perfection. You could have triumphed against them."

Rosa's eyes grew wild with fear as Citra caressed her cheek with a smirk.

Her dream was coming true.

Rosa knew how it would end. Screaming out, Citra just laughed.
"There is no point, Rosa. Hoyt is dead. Everything you know and love is gone. How does it feel?"
No. Rosa couldn't believe her. Hoyt couldn't be dead. Citra sensed Rosa's confusion.

"Jason killed him, in the traditional Rakyat way. Our child will lead the tribe to victory. I built Jason up for one thing and now his purpose has been completed."
The twisted cunt! She had killed Jason! She was hell bent on ruling everyone and everything. She was insane.

Rosa started to sob; for the death of Vaas and Hoyt, for not being able to see them again, for her inevitable doom. Rosa took a breath, finally accepting her fate.
At least she could be with Vaas and Hoyt. She spied Citra walking over to the tribal knife and presenting it to the sky, muttering some Rakyat shit. She walked over to Rosa and ran the blade across her face, the cool metal strangely calming. Citra lifted her hands into the air and Rosa closed her eyes for her death.

It never came.

A strangled yelp was heard as Rosa opened her eyes.

Mali was on top of Citra, ripping apart her shoulder, teeth sinking into her body and face, brutally killing her. Her flesh was everywhere as blood started to pour. Mali gnawed and bit at Citra but she couldn't call for help. She pleaded with Rosa in her eyes but Rosa didn't react. Citra fell to the floor, mauled to near death and she looked at Rosa.

"You won." she whispered as Mali pulled off her head.

A tidal wave.

That's what the relief felt like. Mali's fur was all bloodied and she looked crazed but jumped onto the table to rub her face against Rosa's, a sign of love.

"Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you." Rosa mumbled, under her gag.
She glanced down and saw the knife.
"Mali." she motioned, "Get me the knife. Good girl."
She didn't know if Mali could understand her but Mali looked down and grabbed the knife in her teeth, dropping it in Rosa's hand. She clutched at it and began attempting to cut out of her restraints, which wasn't easy. Rosa knew she didn't have much time. She sawed her way through one hand restraint, freeing herself and began quickly working on the other. She pulled out the gag and gingerly sat up, rubbing her wrists. She hugged Mali as the leopard purred.

"Come on, girl. We've gotta get back and we don't have much time."