The officer was still taped at the mouth but the glare he was giving Clair clearly meant he wasn't believing her story which made Clair physically sigh realizing that this officer would have to be shown something that no one had ever seen before, something so secret that it was only known to her and the world governments, to be revealed at need to keep terrorist charges from being put on her, and only she could declare when an exception had to be made and she realized that this was one such time because while the taped officer was the most disbelieving of the group a few of the younger officers were also not quite believing how much destruction she could cause it so little time, though they believed that she was part of the terrorist group and could ultimately do serious damage, they didn't think it would take only a few minutes, more like a few hours at the very least to a few days, but at least they did believe she was capable of doing damage so that was something in her mind
*Okay I need to make a few calls, can you officers stay here for a bit? There's something I need delivered here that requires your attention as soon as it arrives*
*Very well, we'll keep an eye on Ichiro for you though*
*Thanks, Masaki, can I use the phone in your office?*
*Of course*
Clair uses the phone in Winspector headquarters to make a very important phone call
*This is Clair Kerenai, asking for video files K-110-117 sent to the police station that Winspector is based in*
*Kerenai, is this an exception being made?*
*Yes, I have some officers that won't understand just how dangerous I am without said video*
*How did that topic come up?*
*I swiped a lighter and cigarettes from an officer who has been breaking the rule from the beginning, now then that officer is the most disbelieving but I also have a few who don't believe just how quickly I can cause damage with just those two items, though they do believe I can cause the damage I say I can they think it will still take me a few hours to a few days instead of just minutes*
*And they need to know and understand the truth just in case you are ever forced to do something like what you did for seven years again*
*Exactly, because even our best attempts might not completely prevent me from causing damage and killing as few innocents as I can to save more innocents*
*I hate it when you're in a lose-lose situation*
*Same here*
*Okay the video files should be there in about fifteen minutes, fully subtitled, and Kerenai, we're thinking that maybe you should also look at the video files as well since you don't clearly remember your first year and only came out of the drug induced haze near the end of your second year*
*No, and I have a very good reason not to this time*
*Oh?*
*Because of the fact that I made copies and finally, alongside Masaki and the therapist watched the video files during the time two Winspector officers went undercover and were thought dead*
*Okay, so you know what happened then during those two years you were drugged since you remember the other five years*
*Exactly*
The video files come and the officer see Clair being drugged daily for the first year and being taught only basic self defense which she already knew. The second year the drugs frequency decreased while she was taught more advanced skills like bomb making. The other five files showed her doing terrorist jobs around the world proving that yes, she could indeed cause massive chaos and destruction in only minutes with just a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. They also saw that the personality that they knew was not the personality she had during those seven years, that time period was her being completely cold to everyone around her, not caring about damage. But they also realized it was a fake personality, her true personality was a caring person, who was cold against criminals, but not cold in the way she was with the terrorists, it was a different cold, a calculating cold that was just her saying she didn't care for what they were doing, but that she did care they didn't get hurt worse than absolutely necessary in a fight. Once the video files were over they stared at the TV in shock for a few moments and then finally, the idiot who broke the rules in the first place spoke up seeing as how Clair had come in during the sixth video file and simply stayed for the rest knowing that there were likely going to be a few questions
*I'm sorry I didn't believe you or obey the rules...what...what did the terrorists do to you? I know for a fact that the personality that you have now, the personality when you first came to us and the personality on the video files are completely different*
*Ah so you were here in the initial days then after I got out of the hospital and the truth about me had been revealed to the EDC* (sighs) *For the most part they simply tried to make me forget why I was ultimately doing in joining them which was protecting my family, there were a few times when they did their own interrogation training that they hurt me physically, hoping I would either break or prove just how loyal I was to their cause not knowing the truth. I was scared that I would be discovered so many times and ultimately I developed PTSD, but it's not severe enough to keep me from the military or police if I should choose to join. What you saw in the video was the personality I developed to keep me safe, what you saw when I first was free was the personality I had at the time I joined the terrorists times three, I was a very scared young person when I joined the terrorists, but I had to put that fear aside to protect everyone. The personality you see now is my true personality, the one that developed over time where my past with the terrorists, my past with my family and now have truly blended*
*Actually in some ways she's still just a kid*
*Masaki...*
*I'm talking about your childlike wonder sometimes when you discover something new about the world around you, something you didn't get to see while with the terrorists or your family for whatever reason*
*In that respect I hope everyone remains a kid*
Suddenly a police officer quietly talks to Masaki and Clair waits to find out more
"Clair there's someone who is twelve and claims to be an EDC kid and that's all we're getting out of him besides the fact that he was abducted, and we're barely able to get that far since we have someone who speaks English besides us"
"Let's see who it is then"
They go down to a room that is normally used for interrogations but can also quickly be converted to calming a victim down (this had been done in the early days of Clair staying in Japan when it was realized that she would be at the police station often and would sometimes need a spot not in Winspector headquarters to calm down at)
"I know him, his name is Jean Pierre and last I knew he still lives in France, you won't be able to understand us without a translator since I am going to speak French to him"
"What are you going to do and how do you know him?"
"I am going to sing him a song that I was taught as a child, it's a song my family made up and sang for me in Cybertronian, I simply translated it to the different languages that I know, and all EDC kids were told I could change words in the song to fit the situation so it doesn't confuse them when I use different words each time. I know him because while he lives in France his family would always come to America in the summer, I haven't seen him since I was five. I was recently told that unless they were a certain age when I left at age ten no one in the EDC is told the truth of why I left until they are eighteen, the only exception was when I returned and the truth discovered, if they were seventeen at the time they were told the truth as well. Now then like I said unless something has changed in the last seven years last I knew he lived in France, but due to parental work his family came to America every summer, and he actually has relatives living in Canada so they also know Canadian French, now can I go help calm him down?"
"Yes"
Clair goes in and immediately starts singing
*Hey it's okay, you're in safe hand I am here, I know that you're scared and that's alright, you can be scared I am here. I know that you don't know these people but that's okay, they are police and that means you're safe, I will stay with you, help you through this, those with me are the most trustworthy I promise you. It's okay to be confused, I will help you find your family if you let me, I will work until you're reunited. Let the officers help and let me in, I promise you we will help if you let us*
Pierre looks up and sees Clair and remembers the song she used to sing for him when he was younger. Due to everything going on no one under eighteen, or at the time Clair left the terrorists seventeen, were told the truth about why Clair was no longer around, instead they were told that Clair had something to take care of on Cybertron and that until it was resolved she would be living with some family that lived on the planet of their robotic allies. Now that Clair was no longer with the terrorists anyone seventeen and up could know the truth, however everyone younger than that was still protected from where Clair really was for their own safety, and Pierre was stressed enough and as such spoke French immediately
*Clair when did you get back from Cybertron?*
*Almost a year now, but that story is for later, for now can you trust me to find a safe place for you to stay until further notice, and can you tell me why you are here without your parents in the first place?*
*I don't know where I am or how I got here, one minute I was heading to...a lesson and the next I am in a strange place with strange people*
*Okay I have it from here, you won't be able to understand me temporarily, but you will if we speak English right?*
*Yes*
*Okay that's all I need to know*
Clair switches back to Japanese
*Masaki can Pierre stay with you for a bit?*
*What for?*
*He doesn't know how he got here and we need to find his parents*
*Wouldn't it be better for him to be at the EDC base?*
*That's right you don't know, the EDC base is under lock down until further notice, no one can get on or off the base due to a security issue, and while due to being my guardian you have more clearance than most officers you still aren't told everything about the base unlike me who is an EDC kid, and by the way Pierre doesn't know how he got here, but he does trust me to keep him safe and that means staying with you until further notice*
*Does this mean you living alone isn't happening yet?*
*Don't know yet, first we need to get Pierre settled into your place*
*Okay we'll also start trying to find out if anything happened to his parents and their current whereabouts*
*Try America first, if that fails go to France*
*And if both of those fail?*
*I don't know, in the meantime I myself will try their relatives in Canada*
*Do those Canadian relatives know the truth about you?*
*Yes, who do you think managed to keep Canada out of the fiery bid that was going on when I was initially released from the hospital and the truth was discovered?*
*No way, there is no way they are that high up in authority*
*Um...not technically speaking...but there is something about Pierre's Canadian relatives that I know about that isn't advertised for safety reasons, and as such without express permission can't be revealed*
Five hours later Pierre was asleep in the Winspector office due to everyone else having decided it was best to simply have everyone there for the time being (Clair having decided to hold off on leaving for an apartment until the Pierre situation was resolved one way or another) and they were all frustrated
"Okay, I have called over fifteen EDC bases in France and America so far and no such luck, Clair have you managed to call Pierre's Canadian relatives yet?"
"Not yet, I was going to when that...issue popped up that I had to deal with immediately"
"Right forgot about that, but what I want to know is why is it taking five hours for that issue to be resolved?"
"Don't ask me I have no clue as to why that is, now if you'll excuse me I have people in Canada to call, so don't expect to understand me for a bit"
Fifteen minutes later Clair doesn't quite slam the phone down into the receiver but they could definitely tell she wasn't happy with the result of the phone call
"Okay that's it I am calling the Japanese EDC base period the end of it and getting some answers"
(Sighs) "let me guess Pierre's parent's aren't there"
"Exactly, this is a very, very frustrating situation right now, Pierre's Canadian relatives are rightfully demanding any news about his parent's as soon as we know anything so that they can know if they need to take Pierre into their immediate care. They are fine with him staying with you for now though Masaki-san since the EDC base here is on lock down and I trust you with my life"
"Shall we wake him up then?"
"Yes, and the experiment will be temporarily put on hold for a few days depending on the EDC base situation"
"He needs you doesn't he?"
"Oh yeah"
Before Clair called the base though Masaki asked Clair a question that was valid
"So when you do take the equivalent of our GED test, even if you decide to stay in school you might do better than we thought?"
"Yes, I ad-hocked my education while in France, I will explain everything later but basically since I know Canadian French, if I am ever in France again I can order my own food, act like a tourist and shop properly, ask for directions to any location and if need be as for an official translator"
"What do you mean?"
"I may know French, with some slight differences but whenever you are dealing with police, fire or medical personnel you need official translators, more for police and medical personnel, but there are occasions where fire departments need a translator as well. And if I pass the test I will be staying in school for socialization reasons"
"Okay, call the base, we'll discuss school in more detail later"
The group understood the conversation Clair had since it was done in English but they gave her a semblance of privacy for the phone call since most of the Winspector team was not technically cleared to hear anything in regards to the EDC, Masaki had the most clearance but like Clair had pointed out earlier even he wasn't cleared on everything unlike her since she was an EDC kid
*Commander, the kid should get something to eat once he's awake, shall I go out and get everyone some food?*
*Sure Ryoma, however be careful about how much you get due to the fact that Clair may not be able to eat when we do and the kid might not be very hungry if he was drugged to make him cooperative*
*Right, I'll also make sure that for the kid I get something light to eat*
Three hours later Clair was finished with her phone call and everyone but her had gotten a meal, when she put the phone down everyone could tell that she was mentally exhausted
*So what's the verdict?*
*The base is still on lock down, however they have confirmed that Pierre's parents aren't there either, as such we have no clue where they currently are, our only hope is that they make a report with an EDC base and that report is sent to all other EDC bases on earth, once that is done the base here can alert the proper people that Pierre is currently in your care and either his parents or a representative can pick him up so that he can go home where he belongs*
*Question, you mentioned his Canadian relatives wanting to claim custody at need, but he's a French citizen, why doesn't he have any relatives in France that can take care of him?*
*From what I understand when I was told his situation shortly before everything that I had to go through on the mother's side her family disowned her a year after Pierre was born due to the fact that not only did she not have permission to marry her husband but while they could overlook that they could not overlook the child that she had, especially because she was told it was a high risk pregnancy from the doctor due to health issues, and if that wasn't enough apparently she also refused to do a few other things including a divorce. On the father's side while he does have relatives in France they are physically unable to take care of him, either because of health issues or because there is literally no living space available, though they would fortunately have the monetary means to take care of him the other issues make it impossible for him to live in France if he's lost his parents, his father's brother moved to Canada when he was old enough to strike out on his own and while he isn't the richest person he also has the ability to take care of his nephew since they have a slightly bigger living space available to them there, oh and if the brother has trouble a cousin is also in Canada to help take care of Pierre*
*Okay then everything now makes sense*
*Actually now I have a question, if Pierre has relatives to take care of him why did the Cybertronians have to take care of you when your parents died?*
(Sighs) *I was wondering if you were ever going to ask that Ryoma, Masaki knows due to the fact that he has to know as my legal guardian. As you know the Cybertronians have been taking care of me since I was a very young age due to the living will of my parents, now then like you probably know the courts try and keep kids out of the foster system by placing them with family whenever possible, when that isn't possible then and only then are they placed into the foster system, even if there is a will left behind by the parents it could take several months for the will to be found and executed, especially when it comes to young kids so that the courts have a chance to find any relatives that are willing and able to take the kids in. That's basically what happened to me, I was temporarily put into the foster system so that the courts could try and find any family willing and able to take me in before they executed my parent's will in regards to where I was to ultimately end up. My grandparents on both sides of the family had actually died before I was born, my paternal grandparents had died shortly after mom and dad married due to an accident, while my maternal grandparents died due to health issues that they had, my grandma dying from cancer while my grandfather died from a stroke. My mom was an only child while my dad was the youngest of three kids, unfortunately my aunt at the time was unwilling to take me in for reasons that remained unknown until shortly before I turned nine while my uncle had completely disappeared until right before I left my Cybertronian family. For my aunt it turned out that she was dealing with health problems on her own and didn't want to possibly make me completely homeless due to her being unable to properly take care of herself and me at the same time. As for my uncle it turned out that he was initially in the military in the special forces, unfortunately while on furlough one time he witnessed something that forced him to fake his death with his superiors*(due to just how classified he was his superiors could never make his death public knowledge and as such made everything harder in regards to figuring out where he was) *and he went into deep hiding, even going to far as to almost go into witness protection, but he ultimately didn't due to just how dangerous the people after him were. He temporarily left his hiding spot once he knew about my parents and finally revealed everything to the government, but he decided this time to officially go into witness protection and I haven't heard about him since due to the fact that he didn't want me to also be in witness protection if it could be helped, though he was prepared to take me in if there were no other alternatives. Once that was established the courts read my parents will and I was given to the Cybertronians to care for, though for the first several years they made sure to have an EDC officer with them at all times to help care for me*
*So basically Pierre is in the same situation you were in at the time*
*There are differences, but yes he is currently in a similar situation*
*How long until Pierre is sent to his Canadian relatives?*
*The current arrangement will last three days past the base lock down, once the lock down is over and the three days have passed everything will be reassessed and further decisions about Pierre will be made then*
As it turned out the base would last for a solid week, after that it was discovered two days later that Pierre would live with his Canadian relatives because Pierre's parents had been found the day after the lock down was over with, the problem was that they had been discovered murdered. It would take time but it would turn out that Pierre's parents had been looking into a criminal organization in France and continued their work during their annual summer switch to the United States, when they realized that the organization was closing in they actually decided to send Pierre away for his own safety and had friends drug him and take him out of country, the only rules laid out were that Pierre was not to be taken to Canada until there was assurance that the family there was not targeted, that he could quickly get to safety once he woke up and didn't recognize anyone and escaped (he was being watched in that scenario to make sure he remained safe) and that there had to be at least one EDC base in the vicinity. It was purely bad timing that the base went into lock down at the same time that Pierre needed the base for safety, fortunately he was taught to recognize police uniforms for all countries and simply followed a bike officer back to the station
