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The set I was led into was nothing like what I imagined. There was a couch, an armchair, and a desk on some carpet but it was all false. It was made to look like a whole room when in reality it was missing three walls and a ceiling. Above the fake room were metal struts with bright lights shining down on the armchair and couch in particular. Then the set had cameras on cranes and equipment of all sorts pointed at it. It was an illusion and a false room with one tan fake wall with a pseudo window in place behind the couch of foggy blue glass.

Someone with a tag came up to me and attached a microphone to my shirt without a word. Then the young woman pointed at the couch. "Have a seat there, make yourself comfortable."

I agreed and leaned back on the couch. I was in my hunting get up but somebody took my weapon from me when I entered the building. I missed the familiar weight in this unfamiliar environment but I'm not sure what I would have done with it had I been allowed to keep it.

The couch and armchair were a soft purple and red respectively and the desk was a hard dark brown.

I recognized Lisa Lavender. She was wearing a suit with slacks and a jacket and a dark blue button up shirt with a collar. She was in heels and had on set of crystal purple earrings on. The same assistant that came up to me walked up to her without a word and attacked a microphone to her collar.

Then Lavender came towards me. I stood up from the chair and held out my hand. She was only a few inches taller than Weiss which left me most of a foot taller than her. She was slim at the shoulders such that I was closer to three times as broad as she was than two times as broad. Her stature reminded me of Weiss in terms of how she was built with slender legs as well. She took my hand softly and shook it. I was wary of crushing her little hands. She was a civilian.

"Cloud Strife; it's a pleasure to meet you," I said softly.

She smiled up at me and let go of my hand. "Lisa Lavender; the pleasure is all mine, Professor. Won't you sit again? Let's ignore the cameras and just have a nice chat."

I sat down at once. A camera on a crane lowered and pointed directly at me. I found it difficult to ignore.

I had no idea what to do with my hands. Why did I not know what to do with my hands? They were just hands. Where did hands go? I ended up folding them over my lap one over the other.

A man with a headset held up three fingers before us and Lisa sat down in the armchair. "And we're live in three… two… one..." the man counted down.

Lights on the camera's flickered to life.

"Hello, I'm Lisa Lavender with Vale Tonight and today I'm joined by a special guest, Professor Cloud Strife, Beacon Academy's very own combat instructor," she addressed the cameras directly, then she turned to me. "How are you tonight, Cloud?"

"Doin' well," I managed. "And yourself?"

"Very good, thank you for asking," she returned. "Tell us a little about what you do for Beacon and Vale."

"I help students master their weapons, semblances, and fighting styles to prepare them for the opponents they will face in their role as Vale's protectorate."

"Opponents like the Khagan Branwen whom you killed in single combat."

"Bandit leaders are definitely included in that, sure. I wasn't aware that was such public knowledge."

"Khutan Branwen was no ordinary bandit leader. How did you manage to overcome her when Valean and Mistrali militaries failed.

"That's true enough… Raven's power allowed her to escape most traps. In order to defeat her I had to come up with a way to destroy her before she could open a portal and run. My power lets me become stronger and faster for a period. With the right timing I was able to engage her, put her in disadvantage, and destroy her before she could escape."

"And did you know the Khaganate would shatter without her in play?"

"That was the general hope."

"But you weren't certain and in Anima alone the number of raids has increased by one hundred and sixty percent since you killed her. The shards of her empire run rampant across two continents. You must confess some responsibility for that. And now we hear that you weren't even certain the Khaganate would collapse."

"That's temporary. These are the death throes of her empire. No Khaganate has ever outlasted the death of the Khagan for long. Without real leadership and Branwen's organization and with communication back up things will eventually go back to the way they were before Black Out Day. Of course I'm in part responsible but Raven had to go down and she was never going to die quietly."

"On the subject of communication let's discuss the satellite; how do you feel about the Atlas having a presence in Vale again?"

"It's a good thing. Vale and Atlas were close before Black Out Day. There's no reason that should change because of some terrorist hackers and the actions of the White Fang. Vale's enemies want us to hate Atlas and to remain divided. Atlas support can help deal with the bandit tribes that remain."

"But Atlas showed up with a military force with no warning. How can you justify that?"

"Atlas should have communicated that they were moving with Vale. But they had to keep the existence and movement of the satellite a secret. Look at the bombing of the airfield. If the bombers succeeded in attacking the satellite we would still be in the dark days."

"But Vale is democratic and there was no referendum to move the satellite here and then Vale had to bear the brunt of the bombers. Atlas may work in the dark but Vale doesn't. Vale is open with its citizens. The fact that Atlas moved without Vale's express consent and installed a military force which led to a bombing of Valean airfields is not alright with many Valean citizens. Especially in light of the events of Black Out Day. As many as fifty-five percent of Valean Citizens polled want the Atlas military to withdraw from Vale's airspace."

"That's exactly what the bombers want. We can't give in to fear because we all know what that will bring. It's not like Atlas wants a war with Vale."

"But you can see how their presence is domineering. Atlas can't just violate Valean airspace with military operations whenever they please, can they?"

"We should expect moving the satellite to be the exception rather than the rule."

"But Atlas machines slaughtered Valean citizens in the streets on Black Out Day. How can we feel safe with Atlas once more occupying Vale?"

"I fought on Black Out Day against Atlesian machines. I know the damage they caused. But it's the hackers at fault for the tragedy. Not Atlas. These terrorists want to divide Atlas from the rest of the world. It's critical that they not succeed."

"What about your ties to Atlas?" Lavender interrogated.

"My ties to Atlas?" I wondered.

"You've served in their military for one. You are involved with Weiss Schnee, former heiress to the Schnee dust company."

"I don't see what my personal engagement to Weiss has to do with my loyalty to Vale. I served Vale on Black Out Day even when I could have ran. So did Weiss. Many of Beacon's students fought. Yes. I also served in the Atlas special forces for a time. But it was only to assist in my pursuit of those criminals that caused Black Out Day. I killed Adam Taurus, Mercury Black, and Cinder Fall while working with Atlas. I hunted Vale's enemies."

"And what about your mental state?"

"What about it?"

"You were incarcerated in a psychiatric hospital in Atlas. You experienced trauma during Black Out Day and probably more during your time spent as a hunter. Then all reports indicate that you're in the ninety ninth point nine percentile of hunters in terms of power. How are Valean Citizens supposed to feel safe when someone with as much power as you have walks around unchecked with no mental support and safeguards for your mental state? What were you diagnosed with during your stay in the psychiatric hospital in Atlas? Are there any safeguards in place that could hold you back if you ran rampant as reports seem to indicate you did in Mistral and Atlas? You were inducted into the Atlas Military as punishment in the form of time served to compensate for crimes you committed. That was under the condition that you be treated for your psychosis? Are you still receiving treatment? Are Beacon's students safe with you?"

"I wasn't aware my stay in the psychiatric hospital was a matter of public record. But I was diagnosed with PTSD and schizoaffective disorder. We're… I'm looking for a psychiatrist and therapist I trust here in Vale. I currently self medicate."

"What is schizoaffective disorder?"

"It's psychosis like schizophrenia with a mood disorder but unlike schizophrenia the psychosis is independent of that mood disorder."

"And your power? Reports from Atlas indicate you have a grab-bag semblance with Mover five, Brute eight, Trump four, Striker eight, Blaster three, and Breaker six ratings. This report indicates you are exceedingly dangerous and from what we can gather you are mentally unstable. How do you respond?"

I reeled back slightly. I was stunned.

"I suppose that it depends on how you define mentally unstable… I was worse in the past and my condition has greatly improved since my incarceration. Headmistress Goodwitch seems to have faith that my condition is merely an obstacle to my work. It doesn't prevent me from doing my job and keeping Vale safe. I was the one who fought the bombers at the airfield and forced them to flee. There's no really powerful evidence I can give that I'm not dangerous or that I'm mentally stable. I am dangerous. Just not to Vale."

"We're just supposed to take you at your word that you're reformed and trust our future huntsman and huntresses to your care?"

"At the end of the day you have to take the patient at their word when it comes to mental health. And if you have a problem with my appointment you should address the Headmistress. I'm not a threat to Vale or Atlas or Mistral and while I've never been to Vacuo I'm not a hazard to their peace and prosperity either."

"You also trained Princess Gainsborough. She was in your care for a matter of months and you were her coach at a recent tournament. Was she aware of your instability?"

"I never shared that with her. No."

"The Princess of Vale had only the company of a dangerous and potentially mad man for a third of a year and she did not know about it. And what about your 'engagement' to Weiss Schnee? Is she aware of your condition?"

"She is…"

"What do you think attracts her to you as a mentally unstable walking weapon of mass destruction?"

"What did you just call me? You realize that I'm also, like, a person, don't you? I'm not just a sword with a human form attached to it. Not all the time, at least. And again, not unstable. Perfectly stable."

"But you're not currently receiving treatment for your psychosis and you haven't been for some time now. You don't see how that's a problem for someone with enough strength to rip a person in half. You're a high rated Brute and are very fast and capable of changing states and gaining even more power. Eye witness reports say that you destroyed Raven Branwen in a matter of a second with your Striker power. If you were to decide to start killing Valean citizens is there any good way of stopping you at all?"

"The Headmistress might be able to slow me down or even stop me."

"But you're not even sure if that's enough. Just how much power do you have? How sane are you?"

"I'm sane enough and I have enough power to get the job done and keep people safe."

"Who keeps us safe from you?"

"My loved ones and friends."

"And that's enough?"

"I think so…"

"But once again you're unsure. You won the superpower lottery and you're not stable."

"How am I supposed to be sure? It's a catch twenty-two? What should happen to me? Should I die or be locked up? All because I won the lottery? There's nothing to be done. How many other hunters could you put the same argument to? And yeah I'm under stress. Hunters tend to be. This job kills us and I've watched my whole team die. That sort of thing happens but we don't lock hunters up because we need them. Unfortunately you need people like me who can kill people like Adam Taurus. That's just the nature of the beast. And stop saying I'm unstable. It's not true. I'm about as stable as hunters come. I'm ready and able to do more and take on more responsibilities. I don't need to be shut away. And you don't want me shut away. I'm too useful to the good side. And I am on the good side."

"Who is the good side?"

"People. I'm constantly defending people from all sorts of monsters, be them Grimm and other people. Like Cinder Fall. Who would have killed her if I didn't? I'm not a part of the problem and inciting any kind of distress between hunters and civilians is a recipe for disaster and you ought to know better."

"So I'm a problem?"

"You certainly could be. Every bit as much as I could be."

I glared at the woman. But… she had some good points. If only she knew how bad things really were with my Mother and all. If only she knew the struggle I faced every day to keep people like her alive so she could sit there and accuse me of all sorts of bullshit. I worked hard to be a good person despite my evil nature. I overcame my evil nature and did good. I saved lives. I put off stopping my father to help train other hunters. I struggled. I rebelled. I was terrified. All so this bitch could try and feed off of me? I wanted to rip her in half but that desire and that action would only prove her right. If only she had an inkling into my struggle. I killed my friends with my own weapon while an alien monster goddess mind fucked me half to death. I was so much more dangerous than she knew and she knew quite a lot. But still, to ignore the strides I had made and the revolution in my heart and to challenge it even unknowingly incensed me. I was literally trying to save all of humanity. Every man, woman, and child alive had their hopes resting on me even if they didn't know it. And yeah I did it mostly for the women in my life and my friends. But I still did it.

"I think we're done here," she said.

"I agree. Thanks for the chat," I managed. "I'm glad I could enlighten you."

If only I could enlighten her into how bad things really were. My sisters were out there and they were powerful enough to shake my resolve. They outnumbered me one to seven. There was only one magical demigod on the side of humanity and there were seven demigods and one entire goddess aligned against us. This bitch had no idea how close to extinction we ran every single moment of every single day even without my Mother and just the Grimm to worry about.

I sighed.

If only I could actually enlighten her. I would sound like a mad man. And perhaps I was crazy. My mother's machinations made me more than a mad man. I'd gone around the twist a long time ago and I'd done it again. Then I came back. And the truth was that people should be scared. Mother wasn't idle. She wasn't the sort. She'd bring them despair if it took a thousand years. And she had the time. I didn't.

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-WG