*Updated 02-05-2018*

Chapter 25 - New Leaders

Hey guys! I feel bad for not uploading however, I was at a party on Saturday night so I didn't have time to and on Friday I was wayyy too tired to even open my eyes as I always write the chapters at like 1am. Nevertheless, on with the show and I apologize for not uploading sooner.

Nothing was spoken of Hoyt for the next few days. Vaas and Rosa had had a quiet week, with Vaas taking new drugs off of the Doctor every day, out of boredom, expecting different results.

The hostages were providing little entertain to both Rosa and Vaas; they longed to have some that had a little fire in them, a bit of fight. They all immediately arrived weak and pathetic, so easy to kill as Vaas and Rosa both longed for a chase. Rosa never mentioned Hoyt but she was always thinking about him. trying to block it out with drink and weed. They were stuck in a rut since Citra and Jason had died; they both wanted something to perk them up.

"You sold those hostages yet?" Rosa asked.
She was sitting on a ledge on a wall and Vaas was next to her.
"Nearly. Buck is coming tomorrow to pick up the last one. He'll like him, I can tell."
"Always having an eye for business, don't you Vaas?" smiled Rosa.
Vaas nodded.

"You know me, Rosa. I was taught by the best."
There was an awkward silence between the two, Vaas feeling stupid at having made the comment.
"Sorry, princesa." he mumbled, looking down at the floor.
She jumped down off the wall, taking him by surprise.

"It's okay. Can we go and look at the hostages together?" she asked with a smile, her teeth dazzling.
Vaas smiled back at her.
"Sure can, hermana."
He grabbed her hand, walking by her side to the hostage area, swinging her arm and making Rosa laugh.
They stopped near the first cage; a woman was balled up in the far corner, quietly crying into her knees. All of her clothes were ripped, her hair was wild and she was covered in dirt. There was hardly anything left of her pants; Rosa knew what she'd been subjected too.

"This one came in last week." explained Vaas, "Her Mama and Papa only have 2 more days to pay up, don't they pera?"
He was now addressing the girl as she lifted her head slightly to look at Vaas but as soon as she made eye contact, she looked away again.
"She's going to earn me a lot of money, if her Papi pays the bill."
The girl was shaking in fear and Rosa knelt down in front of her cage.
"HEY! LOOK AT HIM WHEN HE'S TALKING TO YOU!" she yelled.
The girl whimpered and raised her head again.
"Good." Rosa replied, Vaas smirking.
"Shall we move on?" he said.
They made their way down the cages; Rosa knew that most of the people's families had already paid, however they wouldn't be going home. It was the grim reality of it all.

The last cage they stopped at contained a young looking man, who had brown hair. He was wearing a blue t-shirt and weirdly was missing his ring finger, his arm covered in tattoos. Rosa stepped back, her eyes wide.
"J-Jason." she stuttered, "Vaas. What the fuck is Jason doing here?"
"What are you talking about, hermana?" he asked.

Rosa looked into the cage again, in disbelief. In it was a man of about 50, who had a grey shirt on, his hands tied. Rosa blinked a few times and shook her head.
"It... It was Jason. I swear." Rosa whispered.
"Are you alright, Rosa?" Vaas asked.
Rosa frowned.
"We need something, Vaas. Anything. There is nothing to do around here anymore. Don't you miss the chase? Something to keep us occupied?"
"I miss it too, hermana, but I can't magic something up out of thin air."
Vaas waved his arms in the air, nearly hitting Raul in the face.

"Vaas, dude, watch out."
"Sorry, hermano. Is there something you wanted?"
"Yeah. It's kinda important." Raul said, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Just spit it out, Raul." Rosa said, becoming impatient.
"I've just heard from the boys that the Rakyat have chosen their new leader."
Rosa's eyes widened as she stepped forward.

"You fucking serious? Who?" she asked.
Vaas didn't say anything, staying silent.
"Yeah, the boys were down near the temple and they heard it all. Apparently his name is Caddo and he's a skilled fighter. Does it ring any bells, Vaas?"
The pair turned to look at the pirate king, who had yet to speak up.

"Vaas?" Rosa said, pulling Vaas from his daze..
"True Chief." he said.
"What?" Rosa asked.
"Caddo. It means True Chief. Fuck, I remember him. He was always a good fighter, never the best, but he was an excellent planner. Why didn't I think of him?"
"Should we be worried?" Rosa asked, her voice now concerned.
He looked at her, his green eyes intently looking into hers.

"I'm not sure." he replied, "What's their first move?"
Vaas turned to Raul.
"They're planning on going straight to Hoyt cause they think you're still dead and that the jungle got to Rosa. Vaas, they're good man, real good. They've got better guns, even potions and shit that could wipe everybody out. All of the men are more trained, skilled than they were before. They could be better than Hoyt's men and if they have a plan, then that son of a bitch has got no chance of-"
Vaas glared at Raul, which silenced him.

"Can you leave now, Raul?" Vaas said, his voice demanding.
Raul nodded curtly, before scuttling off. Rosa turned to speak to Vaas but before she could, he was stomping out of the compound. She gave it a few minutes before going deciding to go after him; she knew he would be sat down by the beach. Rosa exited the compound before spotting a mohawk sat on the sands.

"What's going on, Vaas?" she said from behind Vaas.
He turned his head to look at her, squinting.
"Fuck." he mumbled, "I didn't wanna say anything in front of Raul. Or even you. All I want is for this tribe to die so I can live in peace on these islands."
Rosa sat down next to Vaas, looking at him.
"What are you talking about?"
"The tribe. They don't pick their leaders randomly; they gotta go with someone that's good, that can fulfill the prophecy and become the ultimate warrior."
"So, what's that gotta do with anything?" Rosa asked.

Vaas sighed.
"Rosa, I know Hoyt is not your favourite person at the moment but I'm gonna have to say it. The Rakyat picking a new leader, picking Caddo ... Hoyt is in danger, hermana."
Vaas shuffled around so he was sat directly in front of Rosa, his arms resting on his knees. His hands dangled as he touched Rosa's legs, making her shiver.

"He can't be Vaas, you've seen his men and the equipment they have, the Rakyat will be slaughtered."
"Look at Brody, hermana. That fucker nearly took down the whole organisation, attempting and nearly succeeding to kill us both. He wasn't even trained when he arrived; the tatau built him up. All of the Rakyat warriors have some form of tatau, so combined? Fuck."
"Vaas, Brody was totally different. If the Rakyat had all these tatau's, then surely they would have tried to finish us off long ago?" she asked.
Vaas rubbed in between his eyes.
"Hermana, when the tribe follows a leader, their authority never gets questioned. Citra always saw it as futile to come for the whole organisation; she only wanted me. Under Caddo? They'll get better weapons, craft and train even harder. I know the full potential of the Rakyat. I was in it once, remember?"

Rosa said nothing, allowing Vaas to speak.
"If they have planned it and believe me, they will have, Hoyt doesn't stand a chance. They'll kill him, destroy the business and that will practically destroy us too."
Rosa scoffed.
"It won't get to that. Hoyt can die for all I care." she said.
Vaas sighed before getting to his feet as Rosa could feel that there was anger vibrating off of him. Frustration.

"Rosa, stop fucking lying to yourself. You miss him, you wish you had never sent him away but you have too much fucking pride or whatever that you can't call him up and say you're sorry. You're bothered about this, Rosa and you can't even fucking admit it to me. Sitting here and wishing him dead? That's not the Rosa I know. The Rosa I know would have swallowed her fucking pride, made peace with her father and then grabbed a beer before forgetting about the whole thing."

"Fuc-" Rosa started before Vaas interrupted her again.
"No, Rosa, listen to me. As much as Hoyt has fucked up and as much as an asshole he was that night, he's still your father. He's one of the best things that you've got. I would have given anything to have a family that loved me as much as Hoyt loves you. Just admit it to me, princesa. Admit how much this is fucking killing you."

Rosa stared at the ground, trying to blink back her tears. Everything Vaas had said was true. He had dropped to his knees in front of Rosa again before grabbing her chin and turning her to face him.

"Admit it to me, princesa." he whispered.
"I miss him so much but I can't call him. I'm still so hurt by what he said, what he did. I know I should call him but there is always something in my head stopping me, Vaas. I don't know what to do."

Vaas kissed Rosa on the lips softly, as a sign of gratitude of her admitting how she really felt. He had been worried about her since the incident with Hoyt as she hadn't been herself. He knew she hadn't been sleeping and could always tell it was on her mind.

"What are we going to do?" she whispered, "He needs to know."
"There is only one thing we can do, princesa and you have to trust me."
"Okay ... I trust you."

"We need to go to South Island and stop Caddo and the Rakyat before it's too late."