Negotiation: Part 3 (
Synopsis[]
The announcement system repeats that special martial law has been declared, and that it is not a drill. Morena, Borksen, and the five Heil-Ly underlings watching over the game all turn to the speaker and listen. Tier 5 is instructed to follow orders from the military police and their bosses, and told that the problem is in an upper tier and will not affect Tier 5. They are reminded to remain calm, and the announcement begins to address Tier 4. Tier 4 is told that the closure of the passageway is to prevent the problem from disrupting lower tiers, informed that safety measures are in place, and that the issue will not affect Tier 4. Tier 3 is given instructions next, and the passengers on Tier 3 are told to face the nearest wall and kneel, to place both hands on the wall and to stand by. They are instructed not to move until they receive orders from the royal army, and warned that if they did not comply, they would be shot.
As the instructions for Tier 3 are given, Borksen thinks about the implications of special martial law, that all royal army soldiers are now granted the right to shoot any suspicious person without warning, and have the duty to remove any armed citizens and eliminate subversives. Borksen notes that Morena appears to be a bit tense but does not blame her for it, aware that even she herself, having just come from Tier 1 a short while ago, did not expect this. She quickly moves on, and prepares to narrow down where they are, with the knowledge that upper tier announcements would not be broadcast to the lower tiers, and now able to confirm that they were above Tier 3.
Borksen hopes that the broadcast continues, letting her narrow down the location more, before returning her focus to the game and telling Morena that she picks "Deal". Morena reacts blankly, and Borksen clarifies that it is her turn, and she chooses the "Deal" card. Instructions for passengers on Tier 2 are given as Morena compliments Borksen for being calm despite the situation, and comments that she did not think the risk to their side would surface at that time. Passengers on Tier 2 are instructed to return to their rooms at once, to not hold anything in their hands, as they await further instruction. They are told to leave all doors open, to sit on a chair and place both hands on a table, or to keep their hands raised above their shoulders.
Borksen guesses that Morena was momentarily confused because she was either distracted by the announcement or needed to buy time to organize her thoughts, since the announcement should not have been loud enough for Morena to be unable to hear her. She decides that the interruption benefits her regardless of which it was, because Morena's choice to continue the game despite the emergency indicates Morena's confidence in either the hideout's location remaining a secret despite the special martial law, or that any soldiers that found them would not be able to neutralize them. Again, Borksen decides that both options roughly mean the same thing, that the game continues without a hitch, which means that there would be no argument over the results of the game. As Morena begins introducing what happens when the "Deal" card is chosen, Borksen continues thinking about how special martial law might affect the game, that it would be best if the royal army comes in and neutralizes the Heil-Ly, but that risked her being hit by a stray bullet, or perceived as one of Morena's allies and if not shot, taken into custody, questioned, and tortured. She decides that to get out of the game as peacefully as possible, she needs to leave with the "X" card.
Morena tells Borksen that the "Deal" card means that Borksen's choice of a card can be retrieved from the graveyard by fulfilling her "small request", which she had already decided to be a kiss. Borksen stares blanky for a moment, then begins to stutter, saying that she would rather not. Morena flirtingly taps her fingers together as she clarifies that she wants a mouth to mouth kiss, a deep kiss, just one but it would last until she was satisfied. Though Morena keeps smiling, her tone becomes a bit more serious as she clarifies that the kiss has to do with her ability, and warns Borksen that the kiss is one of the conditions to grant her ability to her followers. Morena explains that she needs to fulfil three conditions for Borksen to join them:
- The negotiation game must end with a "Yes".
- Morena must infect Borksen with her ability via a kiss.
- Borksen must be present where either Morena or someone from the Heil-Ly commits murder.
She clarfies that the order does not matter but all three must happen or Borksen would not be considered to have joined them, then tells Borksen to decide whether she would oblige to the "small request" with the knowledge of its context.
The speaker comes to life with instructions for Tier 1, catching Borksen's attention. The passengers on Tier 1 are instructed to return to their rooms and await a military investigation, and told that their freedom to resume their daily activities prior to special martial law. Borksen's mind jumps to the conclusion that they were on Tier 1, since an announcement for Tier 1 would never be broadcast in the lower tiers. She wonders if there was a way on the Black Whale to kidnap her on Tier 3, then carry her to Tier 1. Borksen questions herself and re-evaluates the situation. She considers that the Morena in front of her pretended to be the second-track faker to take over and so had a residence on Tier 1 to begin with, as a shadow to the royals, then considers the possibility that they had set up their residence so that they get all the broadcasts, which means that they could be anywhere on the Black Whale. As Morena reassures Borksen that what they were asking was indeed a lot to ask for, and promises that the Heil-Ly would not force any of the conditions on her, Borksen decides that there's something she needs to know and that she also needs to get the "X" card back, and agrees to do Morena's "small request". Morena asks Borksen to step over to her side.
A short amount of time passes, and Morena blushes as she looks at Borksen, daintily covering her mouth with both her hands. Borksen looks flatly at Morena, with her hair slightly messed up. Morena apologizes to Borksen, slightly confusing her and making her ask what for. Morena begins to say that she didn't think their kiss would have been Borksen's first, but is cut off by a flustered Borksen, asking how she knew, before changing her question to how she would have known, and then changing her response to tell Morena not to answer her question at all. Morena asks Borksen if she wants to take a minute, but Borksen pushes on and asks what the big deal is, before asking for the "X" card back and rushing Morena to continue. Morena tells Borksen that she did not have to push herself as she slides the "X" card forward, and in response Borksen says that her treatment was seriously unnecessary.
Orarge reaches out to pick up the three cards to shuffle, but Borksen tells them to hold on. Borksen asks to turn the two remaining face down cards on her side over and look at them, earning a look of slight confusion from Orarge, and an intent look from Morena. Borksen says that she took her eyes completely off the cards during Morena's sexual harassment session. Morena restates that as she had been saying throughout the match, she is not cheating, and asks Borksen if she still wants to look at them, sardonically asking if Borksen was saying they were both the "X" card. Borksen ignores her dig and asks if it would have been a problem if she was not cheating. Morena says it is not but it was sad, and brings up that some people would look throgh their partner's cell phones while claiming "you wouldn't mind if you're not guilty", and says that Borksen's actions say that she doesn't trust her, which really turns her off. In annoyance, she asks Borksen if that was alright to her, while questioning what happened to privacy rights under her breath. Borksen says yes once again, and again asks for permission to flip the cards over. Morena sadly remarks that they had even kissed, but Borksen animatedly tells her to shut up and what they did was not kissing, before declaring that she would be flipping the cards over.
Borksen picks up the two face down cards in front of her, and flips them over to reveal that they were indeed the "No" card and the "R" card. Morena brusquely tells Borksen that the cards were as she claimed and had not been tampered with, and a Borksen tensely agrees. Orarge picks up the three cards and lays them neatly in front of Borksen. Morena smiles gently and tells Borksen to take her pick, and Borksen slides the leftmost card up, then flips it over to reveal that it is the "X" card that she had just returned. With slight vindication, Morena tells Borksen that it was too bad, and asks if she would like to check the two remaining cards again. Borksen does not respond, and Morena tells her to pick her final card, adding that if she only had one question, she could skip the "Question A" card and go straight to the "Question B" card.
Borksen picks the "Question A" card, and Morena begins answering as many questions as Borksen wants to ask. Borksen begins by asking if the hideout they were in is on Tier 5. Morena pauses for a moment, before smiling and responding "No". Borksen asks if the hideout is on either Tier 4 or Tier 3, and hears another "No". Borksen triumphantly thinks that she had correctly guessed that the hideout is on Tier 1 as she asks if the hideout is on either Tier 1 or 2, but hears a "No" once again. She is confused, but Morena just continues smiling at her. Borksen asks Morena if she is lying, but hears a fourth "No" in a row. Borksen asks if the hideout is on the Black Whale and hears her first "Yes", then pauses for a moment before asking if the hideout is made with a Nen ability, and hears a "Yes and No" in response. Borksen continues to be confused, but suddenly hears and feels a loud rumbling. In a moment of realization, Borksen asks if the hideout is between Tiers 2 and 3, and Morena says "Yes". Borksen connects the dots and realizes that the situation had been planned all along, even before the Black Whale was build, having recognized the sound as the sound of the central gate connecting Tiers 2 and 3 being completely shut.
Borksen guesses that they must be near the center of the area between the tiers, and resumes her questioning. Borksen asks if the entrance to the hideout is somewhere regular people can access, and hears a "Yes and No". She asks if there are multiple entrances and hears "Yes", then asks a series of questions about how many entrances the base had until she hears Morena confirm that there are five doors. Borksen picks up on Morena's pause before her answer, and interprets it as Morena counting in her mind to ensure that she remains truthful. Borksen determines to use the vows and limitations to her advantage so that the Heil-Ly would not be able to get any of them after she leaves. Borksen moves to asking how many Heil-Ly members there are, and hears Morena confirm that there are 21 members. She then confirms her understanding of what happens if "Return" is the final card, and if "No" is the final card, then asks about the Nen type breakdown of the current Heil-Ly members, learning that Morena is the only specialist, that there was at least one enhancer, and that Morena did not know all 20 of their abilities.
Finally, Borksen gets to her last question, and tells Morena that she was actually glad to talk to her and get to know her. She asks Morena if she intends to change her goal, and repeats the question four times, hearing a "No" each time. Borksen dejectedly accepts this, and Orarge holds up the final two cards, confirming that they are "No" and "R", before shuffling them and laying them in front of Borksen. Morena tells Borksen to decide which card to discard and to slide it forward, telling her that this was it, her final card. The Heil-Ly underlings watch closely as Borksen slides the right card forward with a single finger, before locking eyes with Morena and suggesting that they open the cards at the same time. Borksen clarifies that if the card she slid to Morena was "Return", she would die, but if the card on her side was "Return", she would forget everything that happened at the Heil-Ly hideout and leave.
Morena agrees, and says that they would open the cards on "0". They count down from "3" and flip the cards over at the same time, to see that Morena has the "No" card and Borksen had kept the "Return" card on her side. Borksen immediately grasps the card in her hands, and expresses her relief. Morena applauds and congratulates Borksen, telling her that it was a shame, but the results were what they were. She tells Borksen to exchange "Return" with the card she wants, and the game would be over then. The Heil-Ly underlings spectating the game slowly leave as Borksen apologizes for crushing the "Return" card. Morena reassures her that it is alright and they use a new set every time. Borksen leans forward and picks the card she wants returned. Morena is surprised, and asks her if she had made a mistake. Upon hearing this, the Heil-Ly underlings look back and see that Borksen had chosen the "Yes" card, which she confirms is not a mistake.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
Trivia[]
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