Friends

'I don't believe it. I felt so close. So close to the goal, it could have been me!!! So why! Why the heck was it him? Were we not all chosen? Why bring us here if you're just going to choose from us again? I can't take it, I can't accept that decision. I can't accept that Terra got chosen instead of me!' Vito's mind was clouded with these thoughts.

These thoughts were like a thunderstorm. Every part of Vito was seething at the thought of not being chosen. All that excitement, all that planning, just to have it taken away from him in an instant. 'How could I live up to the potential that I was meant to have if I let such an opportunity get taken away from me? But that's the thing, I won't it.' He said to himself.

The dining experience was over and the plates at the table were being taken away as the servants seemed to be putting on a show by roller skating around the room while collecting the dishes.

Looking around at the table, Vito noticed that the servants left behind a card with a room number on it for each individual as they took the dishes. Room 201 was Vito's and when he glanced over to Terra's he saw that his was room 205.

Cyrus looked at Terra and said, "If I were you, I wouldn't be here anymore."

"What?" Terra asked surprised, "Why not?"

"Just give a few seconds, you'll realize soon enough," he said.

The next thing the group knew, they were being swarmed from all angles as every single person wanted to get a chance to talk with Terra.

Edith and Vito were pushed away but Cyrus had already stood up to make his getaway. Leaving Terra all alone to handle this by himself.

Vito decided he would head to his room, he wanted to prepare himself to carry out the plan he had if he was really going to kill Terra. It was more of a feeling but the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to do it.

Walking through the halls, he couldn't help but admire the craftsmanship of the place. The walls were painted in bright gold and white which added a nice compliment to the texture of the stonework. The carpet was red and soft and would make one want to take off their shoes to step on it.

'This place may be nice, but I can't let that distract me,' Vito thought, 'I need to get to my room. It should be on the next turn...' Vito said the last part slowly as he saw a familiar face standing in the hallway.

'Cyrus is waiting here? Was I followed? No that can't be, I am being paranoid. He probably has a room right next to us all. He must be waiting for the rest of the group. Just act natural.' Vito had calmed himself and approached Cyrus.

"Funny to see you so soon," Vito said with a smile as he greeted Cyrus. "Didn't expect to meet you here."

"It was inevitable that we would meet like this, our rooms are right next to each other," Cyrus said as he pointed to room 207.

"I was hoping to see Terra first but he most likely got swept up in the crowd of people. Looks like I won't be seeing him for a while. But since you are here, I've got a question, wasn't it cool how the lights went off as that green flame of fire went around our heads one by one."

"Oh, you mean that part where it was choosing between us? Yeah, it was pretty nerve-wracking. I am surprised though, that out of everyone it picked Terra. What are the odds?" Vito said.

Cyrus took note of Vito's tone of voice and body language. And it felt...off.

"Well, I guess he was simply luckier than us," Cyrus dismissed.

"Luck? Do you think this whole thing was based on luck?" Vito asked. "There's no way that we were all simply gathered in that room by chance. And there is no way Terra was chosen by chance either."

"What are you suggesting then Vito? I am all ears," Cyrus answered as he fixed his glasses.

"Nothing. I'm just tired, it's been a long day full of events, I am going to go and sleep and take this off with me to bed," Vito said as he walked towards his door.

"Well then, I would like to finish our conversation in private later Vito. Don't sleep for too long, we have much to discuss," Cyrus said as he walked away.

Vito clenched his bag. 'Does he know? Probably not, otherwise, why would he want to meet in private? He is probably just eccentric.'

Vito opened the door and walked into his room and to his surprise, it was beautiful. It has red and blue walls with pictures of birds on them and a beautiful dark ceiling with white specks scattered across each other to mimic the stars. It made him feel like a little kid again.

He could picture himself as a kid, running around in this room, jumping on the bed with water blue color on the beddings, as if sleeping under the ocean itself or maybe going on over and swinging around on the black revolving chair beside the desk. He had always loved those types of chairs.

He took a moment to enjoy the surroundings, the window was in front of the desk as if to help soothe him if I ever got tired from work. And it was positioned to face the setting sun after a long day's work. This room felt like it was made for him and him alone.

After Marveling at this place for a few more seconds, He remembered what it was he was supposed to do. 'All this and more can be mine if I were the one to save the earth,' he thought to himself. He opened his small bag to grab what he needed.

Inside it, was a gun. A Heckler and Koch VP9 with 9mm rounds equipped with a silencer all in one set. 'Santa was kind to me on Christmas,' he thought. There are also some sleeping drugs inside. 'With a high enough dosage, I can make it look like an accident. But for now, I will stick to the gun.'

As he finished preparing his tools, he heard a Knock on the door.

*Knock, knock, knock*

"Vito, it is Alex. May we talk?" the voice said.

Vito was shocked, devastated even, he thought he had been caught before he could even have a chance to use the weapons, but then he realized that if they had suspected him then they would have entered without his permission. But Alex chose to knock.

"One moment please," Vito said as he quickly stashed the items underneath the bed.

He then went out and opened the door, "Yes, Alex? Is there a problem?"

Alex smiled at him and said, " Nothing is wrong, I would just like to speak with you on a matter of sorts. Will you join me?"

"Alright, where are we going?" Vito asked.

"Follow me," Alex smiled as the two of them walked off. 5 minutes later, Vito had his arms pressed against his stomach. "Why are we taking the stairs? We have an elevator for this." Vito asked.

"You should always work out your body when you can. It will keep you in shape." Alex said as he continued onwards, urging me to keep going. After ascending for what must have been 20 minutes of climbing to Vito, they finally reached the rooftop.

"You don't use stairs much, do you?" Alex asked but Vito knew that it was rhetorical.

'Is he making fun of me because he is older? He looks like he is in his late thirties,' Vito thought.

On top of the roof, there was a swimming pool nearby with some beach chairs laid out. But that wasn't what Alex wanted Vito to see. Nearby the pool but further to the left, there were two stools and a table placed for them.

'First a bar and now stools? Where am I supposed to place my hands? My lap? This person seems old-fashioned.' But despite complaining a little on the inside, Vito sat down on the chair.

 After a brief moment of silence, they finally struck up a conversation.

"Cranberry?" Alex asked holding out a bottle that looked like wine but it wasn't. He then poured out some juice for the two of them into some glass cups.

'Was I not paying attention? Because I swear these cups came out of nowhere.' Vito thought as he took a sip of juice and said thank you.

Vito had his fill and Alex smiled in silence. After Vito had finished his drink, Alex decided to drink his as well.

"How is your family, Gotti?" he asked.

"Vito clenched his cup when he heard that and stared warily at Alex.

"I mean you no harm Vito, if I did then we wouldn't be having this conversation. I just happened to know your story. I know the story of everyone who walked into this place and yours has caught my interest."

"I am worried, someone as young as you must be going through a lot of stress. And a lot of stress can lead to a lot of stupid decisions."

"Who are you?" Vito asked as he moved his body further away from Alex and let go of the cup.

"I am just a man who has lived past his time. But you can call me Alex. I am like your guardian angel, or your godfather if you want to call me that," Alex chuckled.

"It's not funny," Vito said.

"Sorry, I for one thought it was," Alex said. "Anyway, the reason I brought you here is simple. Don't do it."

"What?" Vito asked.

"That thing you are thinking of doing, don't do it. It won't give you the result that you are looking for. I won't stop you though, I know that sometimes it takes experience to change someone's mind, but I am hoping that is not the case with you."

"I am hoping that you won't become like your father."

"What would you know about him!" Vito snapped, "You don't know anything about what we have been through!"

Alex didn't yell or react negatively when Vito yelled at him, he instead poured out some more juice, looked Vito in the eye, and said, "I know exactly what you have been through and that is why I am trying to keep you from making those mistakes. The mistakes which adults like me and your father have made."

Alex smiled at Vito as he passed him another glass, "Have a drink. I know it may be rough but just take it one day at a time. Vito."

"Thank you for your consideration, but I have to go now," Vito said.

Alex stirred his cup as he looked at Vito, "You are special Vito Gotti, don't you ever doubt that. Don't let the way you feel tell you otherwise. But if you truly have to go, then I wish you well in your endeavor. It is a shame though. I wanted to share with you the beauty of the moonlight tonight."

"If it were the planet Mars we would be watching, then I might have said yes," Vito said as he headed towards the exit for the rooftop.

"The planet Mars, huh?" Alex said to himself and drank from his cup. "Please, the moon is more beautiful because it belongs to the Earth. And it's the only one we have."

Vito took the stairs down to the nearest floor and from there he took the elevator. "Alex, he is peculiar. What did he mean by I couldn't find the result I was looking for? Is being the representative not what I want? No, that can't be... There is no way that someone like him would know what I want better than me."

"Maybe he meant that killing Terra part wouldn't give me the result that I wanted."

Vito went from jogging to a light stroll as he thought about this, he wanted to know if that was truly the case. It would make sense that it was. "Perhaps those who kill another representative would lose the right to become the main one?"

"If that is the case then I won't kill him, I will just ask him to give me his title instead, yeah, that should work!"

Vito ran faster to his room now than ever before, he was sure if he asked nicely then Terra might give it to him, and if he didn't then maybe he would threaten him but not actually kill him. 'This plan is definitely going to work.'

Reaching his room, he went inside and grabbed his gun. 'This is all I'll need," he said and as he was moving about in his room, he saw the silhouette of someone running outside.

As if on queue, he could see Terra running into the woods from the building. Taking advantage of this, Vito smiled knowing that he wouldn't have to lure Terra into a quiet place to speak with him as he had already done so himself.

Running out into the forest, there was a rich smell of earthy, woody, and herbal aromas, everything about this place brought about a relaxing sensation that would make even the most homebody of people consider sleeping outdoors.

Following the path he saw Terra take, Vito soon found him past some bushes. He was sitting down looking dazzled as he stared into the night sky. All by himself.

"Well, I guess this is where I make my entrance," Vito said. "I guess I should go and say hi to my newfound friend."