Ultimatum

Ultimatum
Date of Scene:	30 May 2013
Location:	Costa Del Sol
Synopsis:	Illua gives Alma an offer: solitude and servitude, or death. The choice is elementary, but the preference is surprising.
Cast of Characters:	Illua, Alma Hyral

---

Illua has posed:
Somewhere in, or nearby Costa del Sol, where nobody goes, or perhaps just where nobody pays attention to screams...

There is a plain, unfurnished building. It is connected to the grid, but that's all. There are no furnishings beyond what is brought in, and no reason for anyone to take interest in it. On paper, it is a holding area for props and club equipment.

In reality, it is the home of a Khamja cell, which has spread out considerably into the World of Ruin following the collapse of Ivalice proper.

It is also the current resting place of Alma Hyral and Illua, the former of which has been placed in a plain cell with no windows, a blanket, a chamber pot and a tin cup. The latter is probably resting in something more upmarket.

But not today! Today she's going for a conjugal visit. She has a chair to sit down in, and she's going to have someone unlock the door and call her name, using a voice changer to ensure an indistinct tone.

Mostly so that she can give her a moment to think someone's here to rescue her before dashing it.

Alma Hyral has posed:
The first few hours after she'd awakened had involved a lot of sobbing. So much so that her eyes were still a little red and puffy. Then.. after they'd withdrew food, she began to sleep more often.

During the times she was awake, they'd notice she had become more withdrawn, distant. If they tried to rouse her from this state which seemed like near catatonia, it would either take pain, or a few minutes of shouting before she became conscious to the happenings about her once more.

They brought her a chair today, she was seated in it, and appeared to be in this same state which looked like near catatonia. Except her expression seemed, serene, tranquil. Her hands were demurely folded upon her lap... As she just waited...

Her name was called, and the door was unlocked.. She didn't notice for a full ten minutes.

And even when she did come out of it, it looked like she was staring at in near disbelief. She'd slowly begin to rise, before she walked towards the cell door with slow, measured steps. She'd look just outside of it, peering to the left, then to the right..

And then she'd walk just outside of it, testing whether her newfound freedom was real, or not. That same yellow aureole that they'd seen around her before during her trick on the streets began to spring into life around her...

Illua has posed:
And that's when the one-two punch hits her again.

"Don't bother trying to teleport again. I have ten agents in the building and seven out in the town that can be called back at any time."

Illua steps out of another room, replete with her grimore and katana (does she ever not carry them around with her?). She rolls her neck, and waits to see what Alma will do next.

"I'm amazed, by the way. You took ten minutes to respond to your name being called. That's remarkably slow."

She pulls a chair from the room, and sits down in front of Alma. You don't /get/ a chair.

"Now, today we are going to discuss the terms and arrangements of your joining my organization."

Alma Hyral has posed:
She crumples almost instantly to her knees, with no sound except a gagging, and labored breathing. Her stomach was empty, so the dry heaving didn't actually produce anything..

She might have explained that it wasn't a teleport, but she didn't bother, as she was entirely out of breath. Suprisingly, the corona around her doesn't fade, it remains, but she pulls no suprises. Makes no sudden movements. It's only once she catches her breath that it flickers, and dies away.

And then once she felt like she could actually breathe again, she'd turn over, seating herself, with her knees in front of her, her arms wrapped around her knees in an embrace.

Her voice was quiet, stuttery as she kept her gaze downcast, "T-Tell me your t-terms then."

Illua has posed:
"I don't think it's particularly unreasonable," Illua says, finger on her chin in a thoughtful pose.

"The curtain will fall on your previous life, of course. Some incident will be set up to presume that you had an unfortunate encounter with the Heartless on your journey..."

She pauses to think for a second. "No, Heartless don't leave any bodies behind. Oh well, let's say Antlions then. That will give your loved ones something to mourn and bury and that'll all give them a sense of closure."

"Since you will be disallowed from seeing them ever again so as to maintain this illusion, you will become a permanent part of the organization. You will recieve a research facility in a private location. You will live alone, if that is your preference, or with assistants or companions if you wish for them to be given to you. They will likewise have no previous affiliation with the organization."

"In short, you will work for us, but you will not have to associate with anyone personally except on whatever occasions you are visited for supplies, provisions or results."

Alma Hyral has posed:
The girl weighed her options. She could feign joining them, but given the circumstances, they'd likely have enough precautions to ensure she couldn't easily escape. She was terrible at bluffing anyhow, and wore her heart on her sleeves..

She could deceive on occasion, but only on matters which weren't likely to come up in casual conversation..

She had her research in a place where someone else could continue it. Giving it to these people would possibly condemn millions of lives to death. Even a scrap of it, could do that..

She also realized that Illua hadn't likely heard what she was doing to her radio in those final moments.. out of all the people that received the message, there would at least be likely one that realized what it meant, and that one would not likely come alone. She just had to stall for just long enough. Not so long that they'd lose patience, but long enough that they she'd give the others time.. She had that stupid, blind faith in them that Kyra always hated to talk about.

She doesn't lift her gaze. "I'll t-think a-about it."

Illua has posed:
"You have a day," Illua replies.

"I took the liberty of putting in the call to my local specialist in handling bodies, and that will be the amount of time it takes for her to arrive. When she gets here, she will either be supervising your faked death..."

"Or organizing your actual one."

She takes a moment for that to sink in.

"Disposing of troublesome individuals is not a role I relish, Alma, unbecoming as it is to my position, but consider this ... lighting a fire under you now, so I do not have to perhaps do so later, if you know what I mean."

"This will of course be the one and only time you are given this particular offer," she finishes, with all that implies.

Alma Hyral has posed:
A day.

The interesting thing about Alma Hyral was that she more afraid of life and all of its troubles than death. Until three years ago her life was full of naive joy and faith. That was all dashed away in short order once she came to face the challenges of adolescence. She wasn't so depressed that she was suicidal. She was just quite pessimistic. Also.. she believed she had a death mark on her head anyhow. In her mind, her death was inevitable.

All she ever wanted was to just to get betrothed, get married, settle down, have a sprawling family, live in her adherence to the principles of her Church... The end times had dashed all of those humble dreams away..

And in this time, her mind just.. slipped away. It took perhaps another fifteen minutes, or /incentive/ from Illua for her to become coherent of her surroundings again.

Either way, she'd turn her gaze away from her, murmuring, "T-Then I'll r-reevaluate your n-next offer."

Illua has posed:
"If you decide to work for us, then the threat of death will not always be hanging over your head," Illua says, assuming Alma needs it clarified. Then, to break it down even further, "That means no 'results or die' working environment."

She only actually said this after about five minutes, though.

She's not going to hit her, or even touch her. In Illua's mind, she is not a monster at all. She's just... imposing her view of the world on someone else, and of course her interpretation of how the world works is the only one that matters. And if Alma refuses to yield to that definition of how the world works, then...

Illua is good at reading people, or at least, she is good at picking out certain way people act and translating it into her unique mindset. Poor, traumatised, pathetic little Alma Hyral will be redefined in her mind as a girl who was so damaged and abused by the world that she willingly crossed the lion's path, and gladly closed its jaws around her body.

And that's how Illua will let herself sleep at night.

Alma Hyral has posed:
About ten minutes after she stated that, she'd speak in a voice which seems actually far more calm than before, "If I decide to work for you then m-millions might suffer. That weighs heavily on me, so I need more time."

In her own mind, that translated to: /Never/. Even if she did accept their offer in the end, she'd fake her results.

But there was no need to sign her death warrant early. She'd stall for the twenty four hours. That was the wise thing to do. Her gaze momentarily flickered towards Illua's linkpearl..

She was fast enough to grab it. Possibly fast enough to send a message.. if she used /that/. But that might cut down on the.. time they were offering her. In fact, they might execute her right here.

So thoughts of trying to snatch it and send a message slipped away.. for now.

Even so, Illua would see a silvery glow emanating from her as she tried to heal away the wounds that Illua caused, to ease the hunger pangs.

Illua has posed:
"You have a day," Illua reiterates, in exactly the same tone as before.

In alternate universes there's probably places where that happened, and places where thirteen minutes later Alma was on the chopping block, but these universes lack certain elements that make them 'not this universe'.

Probably something to do with the parrot in a shirt that Illua calls into a room, who's here to escort her back to her cell.

"Your work is positive in scope and I'm merely controlling the distribution of it. I fail to see how refusing does anything other than spite me, Alma. I personally think you are just looking for a reason to die in a way you consider meaningful."

As they go back to the cell, "I almost consider asking you what your preferred method of execution is, but then I suppose that's too presumptuous," as she's pushed back inside.

Alma Hyral has posed:
She's pushed back inside. Given the lack of food, her overall delicate nature, and her clumsiness. The shove causes her to fall over instantly to the floor. She reflexively turns her head to the side to prevent her glasses from shattering. The pain instantly brings a sort of plaintive sniffling, but that dies away after a short while.

Controlling the distribution meant a few things, /We'll give it to those who can pay./ /We'll restore that which benefits us, and nothing more./

That was unacceptable to Alma Hyral.

As she lay there on the floor composing herself, she knew that she just wanted to give it all away in a charitable way, to those who would responsibly see their world restored.

Her preferred method of execution? She didn't think Illua could arrange that, even if she asked it of her, so she remains silent on the matter.

Illua has posed:
Illua waits ten minutes for Alma to say something.

Then another five.

Then she turns away.

"Then I hope that either you agree to my generous terms, or you are satisfied with the way I choose to end your life."

And then she leaves to have a pina colada.

Alma Hyral has posed:
Alma Hyral crawls into the corner, and is once more hugging her knees.

A few minutes later it comes back to her.. She knew she had to be careful, slipping into this realm of serenity. Allowing herself to listen to it too much.. she might lose herself in it.

Right now she wasn't so sure whether or not that'd be a terrible thing.