December 26th
Argus-Atlas Military Base
City Of Argus
Mistral
7:34 PM

"So, you're Winter Schnee," A derisive, condescending voice said as she stepped into the room. "I'm the commanding officer of this base, Specialist Caroline Cordovan."

Winter stiffened at her tone. "Of course, although it's Specialist Branwen-Schnee."

Cordovan paused, turned to look at her, and raised an eyebrow. "Branwen? Like that Qrow Branwen who is known for being a drunken huntsman who believes he's friends with General Ironwood?"

"I would not exactly call them friends, but they are acquaintances," Winter said, rather tight lipped. "And, yes, that is correct."

Cordovan's eyebrow rose even higher up her forehead. "You are in a conjugal relation with Qrow Branwen?"

Winter smiled tightly. "If you should like to put it that way, I suppose, but I believe that married to is a much better way to describe my relationship with Qrow Branwen."

Cordovan shook her head. "Specialist...Branwen-Schnee, my apologies if I offended you but you are aware of the fact that you are the daughter of one of the most important women in society -"

"I do not want to discuss my family," Winter said abruptly, placing her hands on her sword to steady them. "Not only because it's not relevant, but because -"

"I was only saying that I pity your mother, I do not understand your father, and that I think you could have done better," Cordovan sighed. "But I suppose not everyone has the proper sense that I do."

"Specialist Cordovan, I am not here to be lectured about my personal life by you just because I'm a Schnee," Winter said, a bit of ice entering her voice. "I am here on orders from General Ironwood to look into whatever information you might have here that relates to the search for Arthur Watts, Cinder Fall, and, as Dr. Merlot's hearings continue, anything pertinent that arise from his statements."

Cordovan bristled at the mention of Merlot. "Dr. Merlot...that crazy Valerian scientist who has, and apparently continues to, tell people how superior the grimm are to us because of their...unbridled, raw aggression."

"He is, at the very least, cooperating with authorities in Atlas," Winter said, her voice the definition of neutrality. "Not that, I imagine, one could get away with lying to Adeline Carrington, Blake Adel, Elizabeth Morell, Karissa Mar, Kiara Davis, Tara Sparks, Katharine Alyy, Eleanor Violetta, Cristina Jennings, Steven Immergrun, Irabella Carrington, Rozovyy Arc, Ariel Vedette, Winifred Zele, Arthur Blanechur, Shawn Pana, Ronnie Ciel, Lacey Svet, Renee Hale, Martin Vse, Blaisse Winchester, Reva Flores, General Ironwood, General Ciel, and Dr. Brianna Oobleck."

Cordovan's steps ceased as she turned to look at the much taller woman. "Merlot's hearings are a big enough of a deal that they've pulled all twenty department heads, the president's senior adviser, the chair of the Atlesian National Security Council, the treasury secretary, the head of the investigative committee, and one of the top members of the CIA?"

Winter nodded curtly. "In fairness, it makes sense -"

"Yes, it makes sense, of course," Cordovan said, still adjusting from her surprise. "But General Ironwood is still one of the top members of the CIA, General Ciel is the head of the investigative committee, while while Dr. Brianna Oobleck...well, she's President Ciel's most senior advisor."

"Apparently the Council deemed this to be a serious enough of an issue to deal with it during a shutdown," Winter said, then shaking her head. "Not that, of course, Madame Morell was unjustified in aiding the testimony as much as she could in person before taking a leave of absence with her husband and family."

Cordovan pursed her lips. "I've never particularly liked Morell. She might be the chair of the security council now but, and I don't mean to be offensive, she was a journalist and she was hardened by what that Ashlynn Schnee did to her. She's a tight, irritable woman who has more issues than most, and that is concerning considering her position."

"Madame Morell is not that bad," Winter said as they stepped into the central command and Cordovan snapped her fingers, summoning two guards to her side quicker than Winter could have imagined. "I am aware that she has her own issues, but we all do -"

"Pull the most recent records from that one town relating to Little Miss Malachite and those two women she was talking with, the shady one and the one with the odd hair," Cordovan said, and the guards did so. Turning to Winter, she sighed. "These are from several months ago, I'm afraid, but they're the only direct records we have of Ashlynn Schnee here with the girl we believe is the twenty years gone Nicole Ciel."

Winter stared at her in surprise. "Nicole Ciel? The youngest of President Ciel's four children, the one who was kidnapped at six years old and never found? You believe that you've come across her?"

"Her heterochromia was always distinctive, one brown and one pink eye," Cordovan said shortly. "That and her functional muteness. She had, correction has, the ability to speak but she's refused to use it for the majority of her life. Why is beyond anyone, considering that the Ciels tried to help her but it never worked. If she is indeed still alive after that kidnapping, then I can believe that she would have no desire to overcome her functional muteness even if she could."

Winter nodded once. "Have you sent this information forward?"

"No," Cordovan said, pausing for a long moment but then going on. "I believe we all know how the Ciels would react if they found out Nicole might still be alive. President Ciel lost his wife six years ago to an horrible accident on a military mission, his youngest son is a drug addict, and his two eldest are the only ones in his family who are truly alright although I imagine it was a great shock for General Ciel when she found out that her husband was still alive. Her sister in law too."

Ozpin bringing them back was a shock to all of us, Winter thought a bit tensely. And it was more than unexpected.

"But, regardless," Cordovan said, shaking her head once more. "I cannot stand Madame Morell. To be honest, she's not a very nice woman. She refuses to stop anything until she has her way, she claims that the only reason she recommended three years ago, when she was able to have Ashlynn Schnee locked up, to make me the commanding officer of this base was because, I quote 'Cordovan has a stick up her ass further than anyone else, and I think we all can agree that it would be nice to get her as far from the kingdom as possible.'"

"Morell didn't come up with those words on her own," A time weary voice said as she entered the room. "And it seems that your security isn't all that great, if I can get past it easily with my -"

"Maria Calavera," Cordovan said, a higher note of irritation in her voice as she turned to face the woman. "I imagine you want to get into Atlas to have those eyes of yours repaired?"

Maria smirked. "Well, why else would I request to go to Atlas? Why else would I be here?"

"You'll be taking her back with you in a few days," Cordovan said, addressing Winter but then turning back to Maria. "I see that the witch has finally acknowledged that she needs other people."

"I genuinely take offense to that, Cordo," Maria said, narrowing her technological eyes. "Or should I say She-Devil?"

"Good lord, still being childish," Cordovan said, crossing her arms. "And were you suggesting that you gave Morell those words when you were in Atlas to help with defending her against the things Ashlynn Schnee did to her?"

"There's no use in calling someone by a name they refuse to answer to anymore," Maria replied. "If you're going to discuss her, then call this dead Ashlynn Schnee by her true name, which is Cinder Fall."

Cordovan tensed. "I should think not."

"Coward," Maria remarked, then looking to Winter. "Madame Morell is brilliant, isn't she? Always knowing the right thing to say and do, even if she sometimes needs a bit of prompting."

"Morell is often wrong, at least about people she chooses to hate," Cordovan said bitterly as she brought Winter the rather large file filled with physical copies of information. "The very top one is the photograph we have of Nicole Ciel. We actually have her detained here, and we're just waiting for the DNA test results to come back in a day or two."

"How on earth did you manage that?" Maria tilted her head inquisitively. "I can't imagine it being ethically."

Cordovan snorted. "You have much to learn about Atlas. Ethics are our highest priority."

"That's rather strong rhetoric coming from a woman who fails to acknowledge that her kingdom fucked up in bringing a sentient android to the Vytal Festival," Maria replied, sending Winter a sympathetic look soon after. "No offense to you, dear."

Winter sighed as she opened the file. "No offense taken."

"That," Cordovan said, pointing to the photograph of a petite woman in pink, white, and chocolate brown holding an umbrella and wearing a bowler hat with a feather in it. "Is Nicole Ciel. In the last day we have you here, I want you to talk to her even if she doesn't talk back, because if the -"

"Specialist Cordovan!" An overtly zealously guard shouted as he came into the room. "I have the results of the DNA tests! They just -"

"Give those to me," Cordovan ordered, and he did so. "What page does -"

"The first six pages are the detailed analysis of her fingerprints, her DNA, and the breakdown of her genetics, etc," The guard said. "The seventh page has her results."

"Commander," Winter said cordially as she looked back at the photograph of the woman. "This looks like Roman Torchwick's ally, Neopolitan or Neo."

Cordovan took in a sharp breath but then shook her head as she looked at the DNA results. "I'm afraid, Specialist Branwen-Schnee, that Nicole Ciel and Neopolitan, sorry Neo, are one in the same."

Winter shook her head and tucked the file under her arm. "We have to inform the president and his family."

"I am aware," Cordovan said tensely. "But not right now. We'll wait."

"Until when?" Maria questioned, half amused.

Cordovan scowled at her but then sighed heavily. "I will send the report forward late new's eve. They'll receive it in the morning when the government completely reopens because it's funded once more and no longer shutdown."

"That's a lovely way to start off the new year," Maria said dryly. "I can't wait to hear all about it."


"They're little cuties," Allison said as she tickled Alyssa Ironwood who giggled. "Both of them, really."

"They keep both of us up at night," Glynda said, laughing a bit. "Which I imagine is harder for James than it is for me considering that I don't go back to work until next March."

"Well, at least they're reopening Beacon within two years like they said they would," Allison said, and Glynda sighed. "It's better than more delays, anyways."

Allison gave her a sympathetic look. "I know that it's been hard on you with everything that's happened. Honestly, it's been hard on all of us."

"I can imagine that," Glynda said as she continued to nurse her son, Edward Ironwood. "But with the two of them, now, I have more to worry about than just Beacon and James."

"It's going to be alright," Allison assured her. "Believe me, I know what I'm talking about. I have four kids, and one of them was born just after my business started to take off and my husband found out about...well…"

"Nothing about that year was easy," Glynda said, and Allison nodded. "I know. It was difficult for all of us to deal with what happened with your family, with Emmett and Cristal, etc. But things, at least, got better."

Allison laughed dryly. "If by better you mean me bruising a rib a little while back because of a woman working closely with my father and Salem, my husband losing quite a bit of mobility from his left shoulder down because of my father shooting him a few years ago…"

"And I keep trying to tell you that it's not a big deal," Blake said as he and James both came into the room. "At least anymore. Things have gotten better, Allie, and our family is perfectly fine."

Glynda smiled as James sat down next to her and gently wrapped an arm around her waist. "Didn't you have another day trying to get more information out of Merlot?"

"Yes," He said, smiling as she handed him their now sleeping son who had finished nursing. "But we adjourned early because we started around nine this morning and another day of twelve straight hours of questioning would have been overkill. To be honest, I'm jealous of the Morells."

Blake rolled his eyes. "Right now? Yeah, I think we all are."

Allison giggled. "You're usually jealous of them for some reason."

"Well, either way," Blake said, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. "I'm glad I got to see you at a good time and not wake you up at eleven or midnight just to talk."

Allison scowled. "I thought we agreed we wouldn't discuss those nights."

"I'm not sure I want to know why," Glynda said as she carefully took her daughter into her arms. "I've known both of you for years, and you two are more openly affectionate than most people are which, in case you hadn't noticed, is why most of our friends get skittish when the two of you start a sentence with the words 'so, last night…'"

Blake blushed as he shared a look with his wife. "Allie and I are not as bad as you all make us out to be."

"Most of the time," James said with a smirk. "Most of the time."

Blake shrugged, placing his right hand on his wife's shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with the way Allie and I are with each other."

"Never said that," Glynda reminded him. "You're extrapolating, as you often do."

Allison glanced to her husband before smirking herself. "And you and James aren't affectionate? I'm sorry, but if I recall, there was an entire incident of the two of you getting distracted by each other and showing up late to a meeting -"

"I think that's happened more than once," Blake added mischievously, his green eyes sparkling humorously as he looked to his teammates. "If the two of you want to complain about us, fine, but at least Allie and I have never had sex in an elevator and been late to meetings because of it."

Both Glynda and James flushed, sharing an awkward look.

"Blake!" She exclaimed after a moment of processing exactly what they had said. "Al! Really, in front of -"

"Your kids aren't going to remember this, they're only a few weeks old," He reminded her, and she groaned. "Besides, one of them is asleep and the other looks like she's leaning in that direction."

James sighed. "You've always been the most blunt of all our teammates, haven't you?"

"No, I think you or Cristal win that," Blake replied. "I think Emmett and I are the most shameless, and you and Cristal are the most blunt, while Glynda is the most adept."

"I'll agree with that," Glynda said with a faintly amused smile. "And I know you and Emmett are the most shameless. I can still remember the Halloween during our fourth year when the two of you both wore slinky dresses that shocked your girlfriends."

"Wives," Blake corrected, causing Allison to giggle. "And we looked damn good in them! We had them custom made -"

"A sign of how rich both of you were and remain," Glynda laughed and then rolled her eyes as she adjusted her glasses. "Although Allison thought -"

"I know, I thought Emmett had paid for his dress because he's a Schnee and I didn't know the true nature of Blake's finances until we were engaged," Allison sighed. "Don't remind me of how I reacted to that."

"You were adorable," Blake said, kissing her cheek. "Not that it's hard for me to find you to be that."

"All I'm saying," Glynda said, smirking. "Is that you two are definitely shameless because you both wore those slinky dresses in front of Al and Emmeline, although the look on Emmeline's face was the most priceless thing I've ever seen."

"You should have seen how her father reacted," Allison said, and James couldn't help but laugh a bit. "I remember him shaking his head, since at that point he was a political representative and not yet a senator for the province of Contraire, the province we live in, at the time, and asking Emmeline to 'please polish him up, he needs help.'"

"He was probably joking," Blake said, then winking. "But you never know."

"That seems to be a common thread nowadays," James remarked, much more seriously. "If you consider things from a more holistic perspective."

"There's always uncertainty," Glynda said, then sighing heavily. "Nothing's ever really going to be certain, no matter how damn close we come to it."


"I think," Yang said as she stared at the ceiling. "That sometimes the world is filled with more idiots than it's not."

Ruby giggled. "You want to play Zork?"

Yang gave her a funny look. "Zork?"

"Don't fall for it," Blake warned her, turning around in the swivel chair. "It's a bad plan."

"What's a bad plan?" Qrow asked, stepping into the main area of the flat that he was paying for the team. "If it has anything to do with blowing things up, then I don't recommend it."

"...Or defenestrating someone," Caitlin Morell said through Weiss' computer through which the two girls had been speaking. "...Besides, defenestration sounds like -"

"It's around six in the morning where you are," Qrow remarked as he glanced towards the computer. "I can't imagine Elizabeth liking you being awake."

"...I woke her up," Elizabeth said, stepping into the frame with her hair up in a towel but her makeup and clothes otherwise pristine. "...Michael and Jack are having breakfast, but I let her sleep in and I figured that one video call to a friend in Atlas wouldn't be too big of deal, even on my work laptop."

"Aren't you concerned she'll stumble upon government secrets?" Qrow asked her, and Elizabeth shook her head. "And why is your hair -"

"...Because I showered and then got dressed and did my makeup like I always do," Elizabeth replied. "...I am glad you didn't know that, though."

Qrow grimaced. "Gross, thanks for the imagery, Liz."

"...And I'm keeping an eye on her, she's not doing anything she shouldn't be," Elizabeth said a bit haughtily. "...Besides, my sensitive and classified information is password protected and closed right now."

Qrow sighed. "Caitlin, what the hell would someone need to defenestrate someone for?"

Yang shrugged. "Defenestrating is throwing someone out a window, so I suppose that -"

"...The answer is simple," Caitlin said with a smirk, her green eyes sparkling mischievously. "...Duel with someone or a fight in a building that's low."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and affectionately ruffled her daughter's long, bronze waves. "...Cute, Caity, cute."

Caitlin immediately went to adjust her blunt bangs and rake her fingers through her hair. "...Mommy!"

"...Sorry," Elizabeth said, gently embracing her. "...I know how you're a perfectionist."

Caitlin shrugged but then turned back to Weiss. "...We'll talk later, okay?"

Weiss nodded as she signed off the call and closed her laptop. "Okay."

A short lived silence passed amongst them until Yang shot a spitball up onto the ceiling.

"Yeah!" She exclaimed, standing up and punching her fist into the air. "That was a direct hit."

"Yang," Qrow said slowly, setting down his flask and putting his hands up in mock surrender. "That's gross, not a direct hit."

She stuck out her tongue. "Says the man who thinks licking a blender makes it is. I'm just glad that you and your wife didn't get dad's blender as a wedding gift."

"My sister would never put anything in anything that's been licked by anyone," Weiss said, crossing her arms as she sat down in one of the beanbags next to Ruby who playfully punched her in the arm. "And she certainly wouldn't -"

"Your sister and I have done 'unspeakable' things to each other," Qrow said, crossing her arms. "I really don't think a blender would be a big deal."

Weiss reached over to the couch and threw a pillow at his head which he caught, much to her chagrin. "You're disgusting, sometimes, you know that?"

"I'm also your brother in law," Qrow reminded her, and she groaned. "Keep that in mind, Weiss."

Ruby giggled. "I'm don't think she likes that."

"I don't," Weiss said snippily. "Or, at least, I don't like him saying it."

"Yeah, yeah," Qrow said, then smiling. "So, what's been going on with the four of you?"

"Not much," Blake admitted, rubbing her neck. "Mainly video games, relaxing, and hanging out with occasional outings into the city for walking or fun since we can't take any training missions right now."

"Well, you don't go back to Atlas Academy until the Spring," Qrow shrugged as he went on. "At least in your fourth year you'll be able to go back to Beacon. Seems like Oz and Glynda are going to go back to running the school together, albeit with her teaching combat."

"I'm not too sure how Cristal's going to feel about that," Weiss interjected, and he sighed. "Considering that she's due on February 28th with their child. I know it's not until next March, but she's still the CEO and chairman of the board of the SDC, and she won't want to raise their daughter without him."

Qrow was silent for a moment but then sighed again. "I know Cristal well enough to know that she'll be fine, and that she and Oz will make things work. Emmett and Emmeline have it easier than them, though."

"No kidding," Yang said, then shaking her head. "Even Cas thinks that."

"Cas might know better than anybody," Blake added, sharing a glance with her partner. "Since -"

"You know what, guys?" Weiss said suddenly. "Can we please not talk about my family? Please? I just...it's complicated enough and I don't want to think too much about it."

Another silence passed, this time a much longer one, but it was Ruby who broke it this time.

"Of course Weiss," She said gently, giving her teammate a sympathetic look. "Sorry, we were being insensitive."

"It's...it's okay," She said, biting her lip. "You know how I am."

"Look, guys, there's something more serious we need to discuss," Qrow said sharply, looking at all of them with utmost seriousness. "Apparently, while the Atlas Council has been grilling Merlot and getting him to blab about everything, Watts and Cinder got out of the kingdom. Obviously, they're keeping that quiet because they don't want to scare people, but when someone like Davis or Morell or Mar inevitably leaks it…"

"Cinder and Watts escaped?" Yang asked, standing up suddenly and clenching her fists. "How many times can we lose -"

"Yang -" Weiss started anxiously.

"No, this is…" Yang let out an angered cry but then shook her head and wiped a tear away from her now red eyes. "When is everything going to start turning around into our favour? When are we finally going to be able to win this war? Was Ozpin really lying to us -"

"Oz made mistakes, and I'm still a bit pissed with him but he does has a plan," Qrow sharply reminded her. "And it will be okay, in the end, Yang."

She scowled, crossing her arms, and in that moment looking startlingly like her mother. "Will it be, though?" She questioned, then sighing heavily. "Or are we all going to hell because we'll be unable to reverse this curse?"