“Welcome to Win or Lose, the game show where the winner walks away with their dream prize, while the loser wishes they received nothing.” An announcer called out as the lights came onto the stage. “Now here’s your host, Malazoha!”
Malazoha appeared at the center of the the stage in a puff of smoke, wearing a black suit and red tie. He was clean shaven with slicked back black hair, had a crooked nose, piercing green eyes, and a devilish grin.
“Thank you, thank you,” he bowed to fake applause. “We have an exciting show tonight as the contestants will be playing for prize of restored youth! Now let’s meet out contestants,” he gestured to one side of the stage to an empty podium. “50 year old Darcey Green!” As he finished that sentence she materialised. He then gestured to the other side of the stage. “And 43 year old Fiona Hopkins!”
Both the contestants seemed confused as to where they were or how they got there but Malazoha paid them no mind for now.
“Both these lovely ladies will playing to wind back the clock and return to their late teenage years.”
The contestants, while confused seemed to be delighted by this idea.
Malazoha’s lips curled into a smile. “I thought they’d like that. Though of course this wouldn’t be Win or Lose if they didn’t risk losing something, so let’s bring out tonight’s challengers… Bestfriends, 19 year old Tayla Green and Valerie Hopkins!” The girls materialised besides their mothers.
“That’s right, tonight’s challenge won’t be fought by the contestants, instead their daughters will be the ones winning that glorious prize for their mother, after all it is their life on the line.” Malazoha paused for a moment to let that sink in. “That’s right, the prize it their youth, meaning the winning contestant will be leaving the show much younger, while the losing contestant’s daughter will be leaving much older.”
“It’s time to play Win or Lose!”
Both mother-daughter teams looked horrified. The mothers were more than happy to play for their prize of youth, but not when it cost their daughter’s friend’s youth in the process.
“You can’t do this!” One of them exclaimed.
“This is not fair!” Another cried out.
Malazoha remained calm as the two teams went hysterical. “Uh-oh, it looks like neither team want to play. That’s alright though, if they decide to forfeit that makes them all losers and all of them will lose their youth,” Malazoha threatened in a polite fashion.
“Okay, we’ll play your twisted game,” Darcey commented, spitefully.
“Mom!” Tayla countered.
“It’s either Valerie becomes older or we all do, dear. I know which one I’d prefer.”
“Bring it, bitch!” Valerie snapped from across the stage. “Tayla might be my friend but I’m not giving up my youth for her!”
“That’s the fighting spirit I like to see,” Malazoha stated. “Okay the game is simple, there’s three rounds total, and it’s best two out of three. Let’s see what our first game is…”
A screen lit up behind Malazoha and it cycled through random options before stopping a few moments later.
“I can’t believe you did that!” the announcer read. “I can’t believe you did that is a picture association game, we show you an image relating to something in your life and you must guess what the other challenger may have done regarding that subject. The challenger who gets the most right, wins the round.”
“Seems simple enough, okay, Tayla you’re up and here’s the first image.”
A picture of a doll appeared on the screen.
“Hmm, a favoured toy perhaps? Now Tayla how do you think this doll relates to Valerie.”
“Oh that’s easy, Malazoha. This was my favourite doll which Valerie broke on me and threw away.”
A huge red X appeared on the screen.
“Ooh, I’m sorry that’s not what happened. Valerie, did you want to tel Tayla the truth or should I?”
Valerie gave Malazoha a dirty look. “I didn’t break your doll, I sold it to Maria for some candy.”
“You did what?! You know how much I hated her, she was always jealous of my things! You know what, you deserve to get old!”
“Now, now, Tayla, let’s not get too hasty, I’m sure there’s some dirty laundry in your closet too,” Malazoha interjected. A picture of a boy showed up on the screen. “Speak of the devil, who’s this young chap?”
“That’s Scotty, my first boyfriend, he dumped me out of the blue. Wait, did Tayla have something to do with that, did she say something to him? Is Tayla the reason he broke up with me?”
Ding, ding, ding. A bell chimed as the screen went green with a giant tick.
“Yes, it looks like Valerie takes round one.”
“What did you say to him?” Valerie demanded.
“Oh, I’m sorry, no more questions, this round is over,” Malazoha announced. “What do we have for round number two?”
The screen began to cycle through options again before landing on Obstacle course.
“Obstacle course,” the announcer read out the words. “In this challenge you must compete against each other, to complete this obstacle course.” The screen went through a short track, involving tyres a climbing wall, a barbed wire crawl and a rope swing. “The task is simple, you must complete each section and be the first across the finish line, anything goes.”
The girls took their positions and were off as fast as they could go, both making good time across the tyre section. When it got to the wall though, things turned rough as Tayla began to climb the wall when Valerie grabbed her ankle, pulling her back down into the mud. She then went to climb herself before Tayla grabbed her by the hair. The girls fought for a few more moments as they both tried to climb up the wall, with the other one stopping them. It wasn’t until Valerie managed to make it up a part of the way and managed to kick Tayla in the face before someone finally won the lead.
Tayla couldn’t recover from that blow and Valerie won not only the round but the game itself.
“It looks like we have a winner, folks. Congratulations Fiona, your daughter just won you your youth back. And Valerie this means you’re safe,” Malazoha helped the exhausted Valerie up and back over to the podium.
“Now Fiona, you may have won the prize but the game isn’t quite over yet, as there’s two ways to claim your prize, switch or swap.”
“Switch,” the announcer began. “Involves transferring the youth from Tayla to you. However Tayla does get the chance to defend and the device can have some unforeseen consequences. Swap, is the safer alternative, though this involves a body swap with Tayla, meaning you will live out the rest of your life as her, and she you.”
Malazoha walked over to Fiona. “Well which will it be?” He asked.
“I’ll go with switch,” Fiona didn’t hesitate, she wanted to be young again, not become someone else. Even if it did run a risk of losing her reward.
“Well, Tayla, it looks like it’s your lucky day, you get a chance to defend. As you have the option to compete against your own mother to decide who sits in that chair with Fiona!” Malazoha pointed to where an age transfer unit was revealed.
“Don’t you dare, Tayla!” Debbie warned. “Being 40 is nowhere near as bad as making me suddenly become almost 80.” She pleaded with her daughter.
Tayla sat there for a moment, her face still raw from Valerie’s boot, she had to make a decision, was she willing to become 40 something to stop her mother from aging even further. Also there was still a chance she’d lose against her mother anyway, making her still older while potentially destroying that relationship.
“I’m not going to challenge,” Tayla announced. It wasn’t her mother doing this and she’d rather lose 20 years of her life and have 60 more than to see her mother lose 20 years of her life leaving her 20 left.
“A brave girl… or should I say woman?” Malazoha commented as he lead Tayla over to the age transfer unit.
Malazoha strapped both Fiona and Talya into the machine. Up on the screen their ages came up with an arrow pointing from the 43 pointing to the 19. Malazoha pulled the switch and the lights when black
“Reversal!” the announcer yelled in excitement as the 19 now pointed to the 43.
“What does that mean?” Fiona panicked.
“I’m not sure,” Malazoha confessed. “What does it mean?”
“Reversal is a rare occurrence that can happen when the challenger chooses not to compete against the contestant. When it to make the switch there’s a 1% chance of a reversal happening, where the age unit will reverse who is the giver and who is the receiver.”
“But that means that I’ll…” Tayla began to say as the 19 began to decrease until it reached 0 leaving her as a newborn baby.
Meanwhile Fiona grew older, with more wrinkles as her hair became grey as she went from being 43 to being 62.
Malazoha gave Darcey her daughter. “That’s all we’ve got time for tonight folks, join us next when when a young man in love battles to win the heart of the one he loves. Goodnight… and take care”