Birds don't practice Kung Fu...but a girl can dream (open)

Whenever Nadia thought about training for combat, there was only ever one vision she saw. And that was monks training atop some monastery in the peaks of china or japan. The scene was easy to envision thanks to the sparse few dated movies she had watched over and over as a child, left to her own devices.

Perhaps that was why, when Nightingale entered the training room she encountered the monastery courtyard and straw dummies she would have expected. There was even a rolling, gentle mist, and the sound of cicadas. The ceiling was dark, and could have passed for a cloudless night sky, though there was a lighting like moonlight across the place. Altogether it was a serene scene - her favorite kind of scene.

There was no one else training here today, and she took a space in the wide courtyard looking around at the dummies. She felt a little silly, she had to admit, but at the same time, the lack of anyone else in the room made her feel like a monk, training diligently on some distant mountain top, and she breathed out a steady sigh, as if to center herself. Then her eyes opened, and her claws materialized on her fingers.

She charged the first of the dummies, slashing dramatically, yet with purpose, meaning to rend the dummy's head from his shoulders. Her claws found purchase, but instead of lopping the head clean off, she found her hand stuck in the straw, one of her claws had embedded itself in the wooden stake that supported the dummy's structure.

With an embarrassed whimper, Nightingale set to trying to yank her hand free of the wooden stake. One tug, two tugs, three tugs and it finally came free, the force of her pull sent her sprawling to the rough dirt ground.

"Ouph" She grunted as she hit hard earth, and pouted. "F-fine then." Still on the ground, she frustratedly raised a hand. A transluscent stone gate rose before her, and from that gate sprouted crystaline fragments of dark energy like spears of volcanic glass. The offending dummy was ripped apart by the display, and Nightingale, pride avenged, flopped back into the dirt with her arms splayed on the ground in defeat. Perhaps she just wasn't cut out for close-quarters fighting like Cecil was.

Being the designated welcome wagon of the platinum playhouse, or better yet, declaring himself as the head of the group currently. He felt the obligation of being around to answer any questions and keep an eye on the platinum playhouse. But that only meant that Gabe was confided to the bar most of the time, which hardly meant that he was doing his best as a council to all different kinds of members that remained here in the group. There was one particular member by the name of the nightingale, someone that the knight himself seemed to carry under his wing. He seemed to have quite a bit of the litter under his influence, which said a lot about his charisma and his ability to induce trust when it came to others.

Gabe was happy to have such a person on his side, even though he didn't know much about him. At the same time, he didn't know much about Nightengale either, she disappeared into the training area and didn't come out yet.

"Maybe I should check on her...."

Gabe would mumble to himself as he grabbed a bottled water and went on over to the training area of the platinum playhouse, opening the door slightly and making his presence known so that it didn't seem like too much of an intrusion.

"Hey, I figured that if you were planning to work a sweat, you should keep yourself hydrated. "

Gabe was rather casual about the whole thing, tossing the bottled water over to her.

Nadia wasn't expecting Shotaro to come in when he did. When she caught sight of him, she propped herself up on her hands, looking back over her shoulder at him. He tossed the bottled water at her, and she scrambled to catch it. She hadn't done much yet, but she was still thankful for the thought. Holding the bottle of water in both hands, she folded her legs in front of her and pushed herself to her feet. "Thank you." She replied, looking down at the bottle and unscrewing the cap on it. Tipping the bottle back, she took a drink, and wiped her mouth on the back of her gloved hand.

"I was planning to work up a sweat, but to be honest, it's a little daunting. I'm no where near as skilled with my close-quarters weapons as some of the others are." She flexed her clawed hand before her. "I just focus on my Persona's magic to defeat my enemies. I wonder if she resents me for relying on her so much..." Nightingale frowned and looked back up at Shotaro. He and Unison were so skilled. She had felt like she was doing alright until the stepped in in that last fight, and dismantled their enemies seemingly without breaking a sweat. It was impressive, but only made her feel more daunted.

"That's only the initial perception of the mind, anything that you have can have its numerous amount of uses. Whether it's close quarters or long range, the substantial amount of growth that you acquire is your persona basically telling you what you are good at. Now, I made it a point to be as versatile as possible for the sake of hitting an enemy's weakness and using that for a stronger follow-up, it has definitely costed me in the sense of acquiring more strengths that are fire-related. But I have no regrets, it's the role I chose. "

In addition to that, Gabe felt that there were other things he should say to Nightengale.

"It all works as well as it does because of how we compliment each other. It's a bit of a perfect circle. I wouldn't be able to at my best if you guys weren't able to do what you did best, and etc.  Plus, you are a lot similar to me, but could be better than me. My magic, I seem to have more affinity for it... but I don't have powerful spells.  That could be different for you, and your persona is nothing more than a manifestation of your soul, I think resentment would only be the act of hating yourself in translation, which I don't believe you should. "

Maybe she needed a little guidance?

"Why do you seek power, Nightengale? "

The Persona is the manifestation of the mind...? Well, at her core, Nadia didn't really want to hurt anyone. Maybe that was why her claws- the most visceral of her weapons, were not as strong as others. Nadia listened to shotaro's words. Again her mind was called to the image she saw, of the monastery on the mountain top. And here there was an man older than herself giving her guidance...like an old master. It was ironic, but also made her feel like she could trust his words.

Then, something he said twanged in her heart. I think resentment would only be the act of hating yourself in translation. She wasn't sure exactly what he meant by that, but it brought to mind her doubts about the value of her own existence. No, not doubts. Belief was a better word. She looked up at Shotaro with a feeble expression as he posed his question. She had to think about it. Why she wanted power? What was the real reason? She had such a habit of simply doing things, she often forgot to ask herself why she wanted or needed to do them.

"I want power because..." Her eyes averted. She thought of Cecil, Tomomi, and Kendra. Her friends. She thought of things she had learned when she was younger, and mistakes she had already made as a Psyche Terrorist. "I promised someone that I would survive. And more than that, I realized the other night that when we fight demons it's like a...a business. When everyone is in their place and doing their job, everything is fine, but if someone slips up, or doesn't do their part..." She looked back at Shotaro, a strange reticent ambition in her eyes. "I don't want to be the weak link that breaks the whole chain." She said firmly.

Gabe listened silently with a few occasional nods. For better or worse, he was slowly painting a picture in his mind that described the true nature of Nadia and how she was as a human being. So far, Gabe thought that she was a nice girl, but she could use a lot more self-confidence in herself and her abilities. The next question was as followed, how could Gabe instill that confidence within her?

"A promise? To who? A loved one? Someone...you care about? Now don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to pry into your personal life without permission, but that kind of fuel towards your will power is what drives your growth. The bonds you make with others is the source of your power, so I hope you never forget that in the coming days of challenges and hardships."

In response of being weak, Gabe thought of it differently.

"Did you think we had some easy goings? I was rather weak as well. Lost a few members by either realizing being a terrorist wasn't for them, jumping to skelker's side, or dying in battle for the sake of allowing us to escape and shade the same fate. I've lost good people, and with what was left behind, they looked to me to build it all from the ground up. But iron sharpens iron, we have to be those pillars of refined definition so that you could base it off of your peers. If that makes any sense, for those who went far, be there to guide those who are just beginning their journey. It seems like it's working so far. You say you are weak now but whose to say you won't be the strongest of us all? And since when did power decide importance? No matter what anyone says, all of you are valuable members of the platinum playhouse."

Who was it? A loved one? Someone she cared about? Yes, it was exactly that. More than one someone. She'd never expected to have so many people she could call friends, nor allies like she had at the playhouse. It was worrisome and disheartening to hear he'd lost people. She didn't know what Skelter was, but she guessed it wasn't good from what Shotaro said about losing people to their side. There seemed to be so many sides. Did they really have to fight? It was the demons that needed fighting, afterall. Why did they have to make enemies of each other at the same time?

Nadia sighed. Shotaro was right. They would get better with time. She just had to do her best to learn as she went and to keep from being afraid. She wasn't afraid of dying, but she was afraid of what her death would mean for Cecil or Kendra or Tomomi. "I promised my...friends recently, that I wouldn't die. That I would keep on living. I don't want to break that promise by dying in battle. I'm not afraid of dying, but I am afraid of breaking my promise to them. I've never had a promise to keep before, and I really don't want to let them down." She explained, looking at one of the straw dummies that was standing around them. "I also think that...Nightingale means something. I'm nobody during the day, but people look up to Nightingale. The others trusted me and my directions while we were fighting the other night. I've never felt like that before. Like I could see what was happening around me and decide how to react. I want to do more of that. I feel like maybe that's my place here. Or rather, that's how I felt..." She explained. She was just now realizing that something about Shotaro's sincerity had brought out Nadia from Nightingale. She wasn't putting on her showy facade for him, this was her true self she was showing him. It made her worry that he would think less of her. That he would see that she wasn't the loud, commanding presence that she'd tried to make Nightingale into. There wasn't much to do about it now. Everyone had their soft moments, after all, didn't they?

"Recently? That must mean you made friends within the platinum playhouse! We;l no need to be reserved, I would like to think of you all as friends, maybe in due time if some of you don't feel that way towards me Growing bonds with the people you fight with is important, some people seem to act a bit standoffish once the disguise os on. It's important to play the role and act the part that you set out to accomplish, but its also just as important to remember that we still go through our everyday lives int he day time. Some have rent to pay, an 8 a.m. shift, a test they need to study for, who knows...maybe they are a parent. The people who risk your lives with you every night has just as much to lose. So my wish as the leader is for you all to try to be nice to each other if you can."

Gabe would then fold his arms halfway, flicking out a card with his sleight of hand. There was nothing special about the card, it was just a 3 of clubs. In the other hand, he flicked out another card with the use of his soulbound, pulling out an ace of spades. "So the ace is the Nightengale and the three is the"you" outside of this all? Well, yes and no.. and the reason for that is because for the things we need to do... it never ends at night.  You might get one of those kinds assignments and soon know what i'm talking about.  People can look up to Nightengale in the morning too, the courage and tenacity you display is a reflection of your true self, you always had it in you. "

Nightingale perked up as he mentioned having friends in the playhouse. All of her friends were here, actually. Most of the people she knew were right here in the playhouse with her. It was great to know they were all in it together, but she couldn't reveal that to him, so she stayed silent for that part of his lecture, smiling lightly and nodding.

When he flicked the cards from his wrists, she marveled at the trick, eyes glittering with interest. That was like real card magic. The allusion he made to the different sides of her personality appealed to her as well, made her think. Was "Nightingale" really a different person than her? It was a version of her that she wanted...but he was right. In order to put forward that face, she still had to have that inside her. Here she was, both Nadia and Nightingale. "A reflection of my true self...you're right, Shotaro. I hadn't ever thought about it like that, really..." She trailed off.

"Thank you."

"Of course, but it doesn't end there. Me saying it and you thanking me isn't the same as you believing it. I haven't really been able to work with any of the terrorists one on one, but I'll invest some time in you... only until I feel like your outlook improves dramatically. It might seem like my constant inquiries this time around will be annoying, but bear with me, it's all in good faith. There is always something to be learned, either a new realization about yourself or the world around you."

How would Gabe begin?

"Hmm..."

Gabe paced around Nightengale, looking at her up and down.

"Did you slightly mull over what I said about the 3 card being just as important as the ace? it's alot deeper than that... let me bring up an old scenario for you with what I had to go through.  When we had to face individa, the first thing that we needed..which is the most important..is proof if justification. Being a district leader alone... it's a personal preference for most terrorists..but it's not enough for me. There has to be proof of wrongdoing, a sperate investigation, an inquiry of what they were being accused of. There were reports of cannibalism like acts being initiated around the house of cards, young women, mutilated.  That was the same district that he was in, no one even gets to go on the stage without his approval, and they were willing to do whatever it takes to get that approval. That was information i recovered from investigating.  To go into it more, a big concert happened later on with the appearance of the district leader, a first look if you will. It was there that i learned that the music had brainwashing effects on the masses, you could instantly notice if you had a persona, it acted quite defensively from within when it came to whoever that was approved by invidia went on that stage."

Gabe let that sink in a little bit.

"More questions...was it linked to him? Was it something he could give? Why is it that some of the people that were cannibalized...chosen by him before? With everything that I was able to learn, along with the help of my comrades... tell me.. who would you have gone as to acquire such information? The three? Or the ace?"

Nadia listened to Gabe tell her about the investigation into Invidia, turning slightly as he paced around her. It was unnerving, but she did her best to focus on the words. She thought she could understand what he was saying. There wasn't any way to go as a terrorist to scope out those events, he would have had to have gone in his plain clothes...as the "three."

Then he asked her who she would have gone as. Who indeed? Nadia wasn't the kind of person people confided in. Infact, there were people who ran away from her eccentricities. Still...with perseverance, she could interact with people. Perhaps that was what he meant. "Nightingale" was better at everything. But "Nightingale" was still "Nadia." Theoretically, she could act just as well with the mask off.

"I guess it'd be the three. Going as a psyche terrorist would raise alarms before you could acquire the information you were looking for." She replied after a moment. "Is that what you mean?"

"See, it was just as important. This is information you were only able to acquire while using the populus as your guide and shield. Observing them and hiding amongst them as you realized the true purpose that those concerts were serving. Let's try another one."

Gabe went on to a next case.

"To target suberbia, we needed the justification of wrongdoing of course. A member of the smile news tv station wanted to do an exchange of information with us as the platinum playhouse, which meant we were in costume. With the questions that she asked with her exclusive, in regards to what happened to Invidia and the difference of our psychic terrorist group and others, how much information would you have been willing to share on the scale of 1-10 with that journalist?"

Would she give too much? Would she give too little? IT would also be depending on what they knew.

Nadia tapped her chin, dark eyes scanning the older man as he gave her the information. This was interesting, she didn't know that they had be contacted before taking down the district leader of Vista Square. How fascinating! But how much information would she have divulged? hm...

"Well...A percentage isn't really a fair statement. I'd tell her what pertained to the situation, but only what gave the impression we needed. In order to beat the government, we need the people on our side, and the only way we're going to do that is convince them we're on their side. So something to that effect. Less about the playhouse, more about what we're trying to do to fix the problem. No specifics that would get us caught though, of course." Nadia finished, confident with her answer. She didn't have the information that the playhouse had at the time, so she couldn't give anything more exact than that, but that was her initial thought on the matter.

"She asked about our involvement with invidia and what happened at the house of cards. She also ended up asking about our own stake at this and the divergence of different terrorist groups with wants and needs. I was...scolded by larsinny from making such a judgment call, but I felt that it was important for people to see us differently, for us to be seen as something else. It took courage to trust her, and in exchange, she fed the rumors around so that we could act on it and trigger superbia's domain. Even in the sense of reaching, they always seem to be vulnerable and allow for infiltration. It's never going to be easy, but it happens all the same."

With that, Gabe took in a deep breath.

"You are right, you tell them as much as you have to without endangering the rest of our comrades. Now this is a decision of personal morality.... after experiencing a failure of losing to Invidia and watching one of your comrades sacrifice their lives to make sure you get out safely, you are paid a visit by a man who is more aggressive and assertive with his acts. He believes the ends justify the means, including killing, and manipulating the demons to their whim. If you felt any emotions at all that night, take those into account, if such a man promises success, would you join him? How would you feel if he was successful and beat invidia after the fact with those who did join him? What would you do?

Nadia leaned against one of the dummies, listening to Shotaro. It was uglier than she expected. She had to accept everything he was saying as something that had really happened. It was too specific to by hypothetical. That meant the playhouse had failed, and that someone had died.

It took her a moment to answer, and when she did, her voice was more assured than it had been before. "I would feel bad, but if we compromise what we stand for...then the people who died for what we said we stood for would have died for nothing. We know the risks, every one of us. And, if I die, Shotaro, don't stop. Keep going until we make Endymion safe for everyone." She said resolutely, seeming as if dying didn't really bother her.