A Heavy Heart

Nadia's hand trembled as she typed the number. It had been a crazy few days and she hadn't messaged or heard from her friend in a while. It was probably a bad idea, but if there was one person she should talk to, it was this person.

She pressed the call button and raised the track phone to her ear. "Hello...? E-Eryka? It's...Nadia."

Eryka had been at home, which was a rare occurrence, cleaning up after dinner and taking stock of her kitchen's inventory in preparation for the weekend's inevitable shopping trip when her phone rang. Her phone ringing was an odd occurrence, on account of how little a social life Eryka actually had, so in spite of the fact it was an unknown number the Cadet answered the call.

"He-" Eryka barely got to say hello as she heard the all too familiar voice of Nadia. Strange, bold and stupid. Eryka was a Cadet. Nadia was a known Psycho Terrorist so why on Earth was this call even happening to start with?

"Ah...well hello Nadia. I suppose you're here to ask me something? But before you do...turn yourself in. I will collect you and ensure we resolve this fairly. I trust you have not engaged in any operations, either active or passively, that have done damage to the state correct? Provided your only crime is that of association I will personally guarantee we can resolve this matter and allow you to return to your life." Eryka had a feeling Nadia was afraid and lost on options. Why else would she have called Eryka?

Nadia's heart broke a little as she heard Eryka's voice. This confirmed that the Cadets had indeed been told about her existence as a Psyche Terrorist. But it also made it sound like perhaps Eryka didn't know what happened to PTs who were caught. If that was the case, then perhaps her hopes were not all lost. She sobbed a little as she contemplated her reply to Eryka. She needed to be quick and decisive. Eryka would appreciate that, and as much as she wanted to talk to her friend and ask her about her day, she knew that option was lost to her now. "It...it doesn't work that way, Eryka, I'm sorry. I have Persona powers. I didn't ask for them, but they saved me when there was no one around to do so. I can't forsake them.  Aside from that, I'm terrified of the mental changes they make to reformed Terrorists. There is nothing wrong with my mind. I dont want them to change who I am..." she breathed out a shakey breath, steadying her voice. "Listen, I don't want you to be seen as a sympathizer or anything. You dont have to say anything else. I just called because I wanted to apologize. I didnt mean to deceive you. I just wanted to be your friend. The second reason I called you, is a warning. The reason I was outed...the one who sent the anonymous tip about me and Yuri, was an Individual named Joker. He admitted that he is Infinite Jest, and took footage of me using my powers to try to save Yuri. He tried to black mail me into helping him, and when I refused, he released the video to the cadets. I dont know what sort of technology the Cadets have, but I have a feeling the Jest are a much bigger threat than I am. Joker posts a lot on Smile Web Forums. The Cadets may be able to trace him. That's all I can really say for the time being. I dont know much myself, I just sort of got swept along. But...the Enemy of my Enemy is my friend, so I thought you may be able to make better use of this than I could. Please be safe, Eryka. I hope when we meet again, we can still be friends."

Without giving Eryka time to respond, Nadia flipped her phone closed, ending the conversation.

For once in her life Eryka decided to simply listen. She did not wish to interrupt or cut Nadia off in the case of missing out on any important information. Anything and everything Nadia could say may turn out to be useful in tracking her, or any other Psycho Terrorists, down. The Cadet found herself both annoyed but also grateful about Nadia apology. Grateful as she had apologises but also annoyed that Nadia didn't go all the way and simply turn herself in.

"Nadia wait. Tell me where y-" But it was too late. Nadia had hung up and that left Eryka alone to decide on what the hell to do about this.

"Verdammte Scheiße" Eryka slammed her fist against the wall, accidentally denting the plaster and most likely upsetting her neighbours, but she didn't care about them at this moment. Okay. Take it from the top. So Nadia has revealed that the footage was released by Joker who admitted he was part of Infinite Jest then tried to blackmail Nadia and Yuri. That Eryka could work with as she was not sure if Nadia's "feeling" about this Joker fellow being a bigger threat was worth following up on. As far as the Cadet was concerned they were both threats at the end of the day.

The question was what to do with this information? Informing Julius, or at least someone else higher in the chain of command, seemed obvious but then what? Simply sitting on her laurels was not something Eryka would be satisfied with. She paced her department scratching her head in thought. What she wanted to do was find Nadia and drag her to the authorities, kicking and screaming if needs be, but for that she would need to know her location. Her location...her location....which would require triangulating the call...

She knew what to do.

Eryka cycled through her phones contact list until she found the number for Julius's office. A few button presses later and it was ringing. Ringing....ringing...come on answer the phone...nope. It went to voice mail.

"Julius Cadet Eryka here. I have just been contacted by Nadia Marquee. She has claimed that an individual known as Joker was seeking to blackmail her by recording footage of herself, and Yuri Ivannov, using their powers. This Joker reported to Nadia that he was Infinite Jest. Nadia has claimed Joker in turn posts on the Smile Web Forums repeatedly. I'm making this call for the sake of transparency to ensure that whatever happens next, it has at least been fully documented." Okay that was all the background information. Now to cover what Eryka was going to do next.

The Cadet took a deep breath, preparing herself for the next spiel of information she had to unwind.

"I'm on my way to the police station now to requisition assistance in triangulating the call's location so we can take her into custody. I am unaware of what kind of opposition we may face at the target's location, or if we'll be able to triangulate it in the first place, but I'm requesting you call prepare reinforcements. Time is of the essence here for I did try, and failed, to convince her to willingly turn herself over." With that Eryka hung up, rapidly changed into her bike's suit and ran outside. She hoped onto her motorbike and, despite how it was early evening, tore down the street. The longer she waited the more likely it was Nadia would ditch her phone and change location.

Nadia clutched the phone to her chest letting out light sobs as she let herself feel the loss for a moment. She had to move, though. Eryka would...probably be looking for her, despite what she'd said. Still, she hoped that she understood her situation at least. She hoped that she heeded her words. The next time they met they'd likely be enemies, but the fugitive still wanted her friend to be safe if the cards were favorable.

She flipped the phone back open and set it on the ground. Stomping once, she snapped the phone in half, and tossed it's remains into the dumpster she'd been hiding behind to place the call. It was a semi-busy day here in backlight, and she had taken to one of the less crowded alleys to hide in. Now, though, she had to move. Disguised as she was, in her light brown wig, glasses, and colored contacts, she knew she shouldn't take chances. So, she moved along, going anywhere that wasn't here. She dried her eyes and set her chin. She'd probably have more rather than less of these kinds of conversations in the future, and she needed to prepare herself for the friends that would hate her now. She had people who loved and cared about her. Those were the people that mattered, her promise to them to be careful and to keep living. So she slipped out of the alley into the traffic of the night and vanished into plain sight.