Second Interlude - Penny Polendina (Conti.)

It took a minute to recognize what she was feeling, it was so new her. Nervousness, uncertainty…she wasn't accustomed to such things. Yet as she waited and the seconds passed so slowly by, she felt certain that had she possessed a heart, it would have pounded in her chest. Her fingers, still moving a bit clumsily, twitched slightly without her consciously asking them to, clicking slightly against the chair. She was more aware then ever of the world around her and the slow approach of her creators—and, at the same time, more unsure of what to do than she had ever been.

When the door opened, the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"It's true, then? What he said?" She asked, her voice sounding strange, colored by emotion she hadn't heard in it before. Sadness, fear, confusion, anger…she wasn't sure. All of them? None of them?

Dr. Polendina looked at her and sighed, not seeming surprised or upset but merely tired.

"Penny," He chided gently. "We've talked about this. You shouldn't eavesdrop on the conversations of others—"

"Yes," General Ironwood interrupted with blunt honesty, barreling passed his friend's attempts at a lesson, as he was wont to do. "And no—though more of the former then the latter, perhaps, so…yes."

As Polendina put his head in his hands and sighed, the General sat down in the chair next to her.

"Penny…" He said, shaking his head. "Your father and I didn't want it to come to this. We had hoped to shield you from this for at least a while longer. We'd tell you when you were older, we said, though we never could decide when you'd be old enough—in truth, I think we didn't want to tell you at all. That if we could, we'd hide this fact and keep it secret for as long as possible. But Penny…you deserve to know, and it would be hypocritical of me to treat you as both a Huntress to be sent into danger and a child to be protected and deceived. The truth is…this world we live in…it's as terrible as it is beautiful."

"What do you mean?" She asked though she was starting to think she knew. Her creators glanced at one another and Dr. Polendina sighed again, nodding slightly before the General continued.

"There are reasons," He said. "And excuses. And often times, one is hard to distinguish from the other. The predations of the Grimm, the unforgiving nature of this world…Humanity has done a lot of things to survive. The awful truth behind the world we live in now is that it was all built upon someone else's pain. Our nations were built upon suffering and a history of atrocities going back far before the Kingdoms. Where the dangers of the Grimm met the terror and desperation of Mankind…"

He closed his eyes for a moment.

"Horrible things have happened throughout our history. Sometimes there were reasons, other times people looking for those to blame or to use, but a lot of the time…I'd say we've come a long way and it'd be true, but it doesn't change how far we've yet to go. It's hard to truly explain the tragedies in our history simply looking back; perhaps it is because we've lost so much of our history that we now cling to the few remnants we have left, however awful. The prejudice against the Faunus is an old hatred, so deeply rooted that it's hard to even begin to extract."

"What about the Council?" She asked. "Couldn't they change things? They're…"

"Yes, perhaps," He answered, shaking his head tiredly. "Yet the Council is nothing but a representation of the wills of the people. Some of them hate the Faunus or fear them—while others merely hate and fear change. Some know the numbers and worry because of them and others know only what they are told. Some are intent to preserve their power, their way of life, their…world. But others are different. They try and fight, to change things. As is, Mankind as a whole still does not accept the Faunus but…slowly, I think we are taking steps towards being able to."

"Is it enough?" She asked, images rising to her mind, of the building she'd explored after the White Whale departed. "Does taking small steps matter when things are so bad?"

"That's the question, isn't it?" He wondered, as much to himself as to her. "I wish I could say I knew. I hope so, not just for the Faunus but for everything—I work as both General and Headmaster to try and protect and improve our way of life, to keep things safe even as I hope things change. However much work it is, it's my hope that with the power those positions offer, my friends and I might be able to make things better. That's what I've worked for, hoped for, since I was a young man, even if the goals have shifted over the years. But do we do enough? Can we protect enough? I don't know. I honestly don't know if I do enough to matter…but I do my best and hope it's enough. Penny…I've always wanted to be able to give you the answers, but here…I just don't know."

"Are they right then?" She asked, laying her hands flat on her lap to stop them from trembling, long since unsure how she felt. "The White Fang? I researched them when I returned and they…aren't they the bad guys? I read about what they've done and it's…but if they're really…then aren't they…? I thought we were…"

She tripped and stumbled over the words, uncertainty leaving her tongue clumsy, her mind uncertain—but the meaning behind them still seemed to go through. The General and her father looked at her sadly, as if watching something beautiful fade, and her father moved to take the seat on her other side, each placing a hand over one of her own.

"I'm sorry, Penny, but that question doesn't have a good answer, either," Ironwood said, raising the side of a fist to his mouth. "They do horrible things. They kill, destroy, and terrorize…but they're angry and hurt and scared. For so long, the Faunus have been subjugated and abused and no matter how hard they fought things scarcely seemed to improve; can they be blamed then, for fighting for their people? Before, the White Fang was a peaceful organization and yet accomplished so little—can I honestly blame them, then, for using the tactics that proved to work when so much is on the line? Can I decry them for refusing to protest ineffectually? How can I blame people for fighting against their oppression the only way they can? And yet…how can I stand aside, when their actions hurt others? I can't do either."

He moved a hand on her shoulder, pulling her closer and she let him, resting her head against him.

"Penny…I'm sorry," The General said. "More than anything, I want to do the right thing, to be an example for you to look up to…but knowing what the right thing to do is can often be the hardest thing in life. And I…I can't tell you how to find the answers. Sometimes, it's not even there to begin with. I don't have any easy solutions, Penny; I just try to help as many people as possible…even though helping people often means hurting others. Some days…Penny, some days I hope I'm the hero. And other days…I just hope I'm not the villain. And that…the worst part is, that's probably the legacy I'm going to leave to you. I don't want you to have to face decisions that have no answer, or do things while knowing it'll hurt people; I wish I could make things easy for you and give you a happy life and simple decisions, but…"

"What about me?" She asked and had she been able, she might have needed to blink away tears. "Is what he said about me true, too? Isn't that why you keep me hidden? If people know that I'm a machine, will they—"

"You are not a machine," The General said, drawing her fully into a hug. "If anything he said was true, it was that. You are a person, Penny, and as good a one as anyone I've ever met. A better person, even, then me. Don't forget that's true, even if people get scared or angry at you; you're real and you're a hero, Penny. I've worried since the day you were born what people would think of you, what world I was preparing you for, but I believe in you from the bottom of my heart. I can't lie and say your life will be easy or that there won't be people who hate you, but I believe that you are someone beautiful and special, that you're something new and unique, and you'll change things. I hope that others will see that, too; that with you as an example, we might avert the tragedies of the past, that those come after you might find a better world awaiting them."

"But I," She blinked rapidly, meaninglessly. "I don't, I can't, I…"

"Shhh," He said quiet, resting his chin on her head. "I know. And I'm here."

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