March 29th

Government Offices Of The Atlesian Council;

Department Of Foreign Affairs And Military Action;

City Of Atlas; Atlas

Security Level: High;

Necessary Security Clearance: Maximum

1:39 PM

"As...easily irritated as he can be," Morell said with a slight glance to LCDR Ciel. "Emmett Schnee was right to be angry about the situation with the Schnee Dust Company. What happened to Carson was one of the last things that should have been allowed. I may not be...pleased that you sent him information about –"

"I merely informed him that there would be consequences brought against the SDC," Emmeline said shortly, and Elizabeth nodded. "I asked a few members of the council dealing with fiscal affairs and corporations and they assured me that they were already getting to –"

"You ought to be able to do something!" Neale exclaimed. Ciel narrowed her eyes and shifted closer to the woman. "You probably are one of the most -"

"It is not within my power to apply consequences to the Schnee Dust Company as you ought to be aware," Emmeline snapped. "I believe you have mistaken me with someone else on this –"

"But –" She protested.

"I am not in the mood to deal with this," Emmeline said coolly. "I do not have the power nor the influence to change the way this matter is handled, which I am sure –"

"You are –" Neale argued.

"I know very well who I am, thank you very much." Ciel snapped, her patience long since worn thin.

The room was silent for a moment before Blake Adel looked to Ciel. Though it was obvious she was not going to be pleased to discuss it again, he deemed it necessary and began cautiously. "After the last meeting, you declared that you will be taking a leave absence from April through September –"

"This meeting is not about that," Elizabeth Morell said, glaring at him for bringing it up again and impatiently tapping her hand against the table. Karissa immediately began to take notes. "LCDR Ciel simply had to make that declaration as it is routine for a military officer, particularly a ranking officer, to take leave. If you have a problem or require something of me, please bring it up afterwards and not while we're supposed to be"

Blake shook his head. "I am sorry, but we need the Ciels to all be here even if they are still struggling with the death of their father –"

"That's enough," Admiral Winchester said with finality. "I am her superior and I approved it. This matter is closed, and I demand we return to the matter at hand!"

The room fell silent and stared at him in shock, for a moment, but Winchester's glare silenced the room in an instant. He had never been one to tolerate what he viewed as tomfoolery, and he was the last person any of them wanted to be on the wrong side of. It was not easy to do so, and that seemed to be especially true when it came to members of the security council. The younger members, in particular, were the ones he hated the most. Now, there was tension due to the fact that some were far too curious about everyone else's lives and there was more than a little bit of jealousy between a few of them. Legacies seemed to be the last thing that defined any of them, despite the fact that many of them had close family ties to politics, and that fact was prevalent in everything that they did and in everything many of them were.

A few wanted to argue Winchester's point, but even the most reckless amongst them knew that it wasn't the right time. Some, such as Morell, on the other hand, were content with shutting up as to not anger him further. There was little patience between senior members of the security council and the junior members of the security council.

Rebecca Neale knew that many of them had suspicions about her and didn't trust her in the slightest, but she also knew that they were unaware of her ties to Salem despite her awareness of some of their ties directly to Ozpin. Working for Salem was for her own preservation, but it was also for the pursuit of power. It didn't matter though, at this point. She had made her choice, after all. The fact that she had to follow orders was something that the others would in theory understand if she knew but, in practice, that wouldn't keep her out of jail. The minute any of the other members of the security council found out would be the same moment that she found herself before the Atlesian justice system for conspiracy to dismantle the council and the Atlesian constitution. In a sense, that would be true. The last thing Rebecca Neale wanted to find herself in that position especially because she knew what the Queen would do to her if that occurred. Even more threatening, however, was Cinder Fall - Schnee's missing sister. That was part of why she had been vehemently against the opening of the investigation.

The other reason was because Salem had told her to be.

Admiral Winchester continued to pace as he talked about things to do with the recently instituted restrictions on the Schnee Dust Company as well as what the Department Of Fiscal Affairs And Corporate Restriction was intending to do in response to the incident involving Dean Carson. The DFCACR needed the approval of the DFAMA to proceed any further in their action against the SDC. Once approval by the DFAMA was given, then the Department Of Local And National Law Enforcement would sign off on the final action and the restrictions would be officially law. As time had worn on and the company had grown to near the size of a monopoly, the DFCACR had pushed for and more restrictions and had, for the most part, gotten them. That was not to say that the SDC wasn't the largest producer and exporter of energy propellant in the world, but it did mean that it couldn't do whatever it wanted.

The point remained that it was often overlooked, but the DLNLE had always been harsh on the Schnee Dust Company, even when it was still getting started. Nicholas Schnee had, like Jacques on a much lower scale, been annoyed with the council for its restrictions that had been placed in later years. After Jacques took over the company, however, those restrictions increased based on his business practices and the growth of the company. It was not what Nicholas had intended to be by the time he died, and now it was far from where it started. The SDC was an excellent distraction, though. It was an easy way for Neale to not have to think much and still do what she had to serve Salem, which was not an easy task for anyone. There was one thing that she knew would be a challenge for Cinder. The woman was coming back into the kingdom soon enough, and when she did it was going to be to break a different ranking council member to pieces.

That council member was Elizabeth Lily Morell.

April 1st

2nd Floor

Bushwood Apartment Complex

City Of Vale

Vale

5:13 PM

Emmett looked at Glynda in slight concern as she slammed the door behind them. "So, the girls are -"

"Fine, but can you keep it down?" She hissed, still not feeling particularly well. "I'm not feeling very patient today, so don't say that I didn't warn you."

"You're never all that patient," Emmett pointed out as James wrapped a loving arm around his wife. "Though I don't think that was really a trait of anyone on our team."

"You've got that right," She muttered.

Further concern crept into Emmett's mind as a result of her tone. "Are you alright?"

James and Glynda shared a look before he pulled her in briefly. She took a deep breath for a moment before looking at her former teammate hesitant look.

"No, I'm not," She said, after a moment. "I'm very worried about the girls, especially since Ivy's been sick."

Emmett looked at them in horror. "Are they going to be alright –"

"Yes, but…" Her voice was unusually soft. "I'm sorry, I'm just worried. It's been difficult to give them medicine, too, and…"

"It'll be fine," James reassured her, bringing her into him tightly. "That's what the doctor said, wasn't it?"

"I know, I know," She said, pausing for a moment and then shaking her head. "But I'm not going to deny that I'm scared."

"Any parent would be," Emmett said gently while the three of them sat down at the bar-style overhang from the peninsula in their tiny kitchen. "I'd be worried if it were my kid, too."

"It's different, Emmett," James shook his head. "You don't have kids."

Emmett sighed. "You know I care for your girls."

"Emmett, I'm sorry if I'm being short with you but I cannot help it right now," She paused upon hearing her eldest begin to cry in her room. "I'll be back in a few minutes."

Neither of the two teammates spoke while she stepped out of the room to soothe her daughter.

"Emmett, if you ever have kids, you'll understand what I mean," James finally said. "I worry about them constantly, even when I'm at work and I know Glynda gets the same way when she's out and I'm with them. I'm sure Cristal and Ozpin will be able to tell you the same thing after their baby is born in July."

Emmett bit his lip. "I know it's just…"

"I don't blame you," James told him. "It's just difficult, you know?"

He fell silent and then nervously fidgeted with his glasses.

"You know," He said lightly. "You and Glynda never did tell me what you would have named a boy. You two were pretty tight lipped until you found out you were having twin girls."

James chuckled. "Now that you're mentioning it, you're right. We never did tell you, did we?"

"So, what did you end up agreeing on?" Genuine curiosity was piqued through his voice. "Please don't tell me you were going to name your son Emmett James."

He had the misfortune of saying that just as Glynda came back into the room with the elder of her six-month old daughters in her arms, who still crying a little.

"Hell no!" Glynda exclaimed, annoyed by the idea. "Oh god, no, that would be a crime."

"I have to agree with that," James said, looking to her in concern while she gently patted their daughter's back. "That sounds terrible, almost as if we'd be trying to punish the kid."

"We decided on Alender Brandon," Glynda told him. "And," Off Emmett's look of surprise, she sent him a meaningful look before continuing. "We'd have called him Allen or Al for short."

"That's pretty cute, actually." Emmett admitted with a smile. "Yeah, see, names would probably be the last thing Emmeline and I would be talking about," He sighed, glancing at his scroll upon receiving a new message from her, which was short at best. "I'd be willing to bet that the council's favorite thing to do would be to give her hell about being with me and having my kid, whether we were married or not."

James sighed. "I wouldn't be surprised."

"So, I guess I'm not the only one she's complained to about the Council, huh?" Emmett said, knowing full well that Emmeline thought very highly of James which was, in part, why she didn't fight his request for orders to Vale. "Not that I'm surprised, I mean, it's not as if she's got a lot of people that she can complain to about this, especially considering that Ronnie is one of the ones that annoys her the most."

"It doesn't really seem to have a lot of people who are truly on her side," James noted, which Emmett nodded in agreement with. "That seems to be especially true with Ronnie."

"Ronnie," Glynda muttered. "He's always been a pain in the ass, hasn't he?"

Emmett began to respond but smirked when he read Emmeline's next message. "Hey, James? Emmy says she wants you to meet us at Beacon Tower in a few weeks."

"There is no way that says that!" Glynda said as she took his scroll from him and her eyes widened in surprise when she realized that it was true. Narrowing her eyes as she handed him back his scroll, she adjusted her glasses before responding. "Maybe I shouldn't doubt you so much, but it says that Ozpin was the one who told her to ask that. Why would Ozpin -"

"Why does Oz do anything?" Emmett pointed out with a shrug as he turned to James. "Anyway, if Oz wants you there then there's probably a good reason for it. Well, at least now you'll understand why Glynda's moody once a month."

"Oh, that is not even funny!" She exclaimed, restraining herself from slapping him. "That's a terrible joke and you know it!"

"Fine," Emmett said with a smirk. "If it doesn't match with your period then I guess James has to deal with that twice a month!"

"I am going to kill you!" She glared though they all knew that she didn't mean what she said.

"Just like you've always wanted?" Emmett asked sarcastically.

"Sure, if you want to think of it that way." She responded in equal sarcasm. "But let's not find out how you die today."

Emmett laughed. "See? This is why we were the best team at Atlas Academy in our year."

"Let's leave it at that," James said with a chuckle. "All things considered."

March 31st

Location: Unknown

3:12 AM

The mirror glared at Cinder as she stood in front of it, waiting for the hell and torture that Salem was about to inflict on her with it. The Queen justified her use of the mirror as a continued test of strength for her protege, but even Cinder knew that it was a way of punishing her for her failures. Looking into the currently normal mirror, she scowled at what she saw. Her amber eyes were unusually dull while her hair was slightly greasy, and her makeup was off center and smeared in some places. Her dress had a few spots that had stains from her failures with dust that had gone wrong and she knew full well that her heels were slightly cracked. Her dull eyes had the hints of fear that she recalled from childhood and her hands tensed as Salem sent the seer into the mirror and the image changed from her reflection to the Schnee family manor where she had grown up. Specifically, the image cleared to Jacques and Willow in their room.

"...Put down the wine," Jacques told her, slight concern on his face that even she knew was genuine. "...Willow, you've got to stop this."

She swayed as she tightened her grip on her drink and tried to hold her confidence. "...What? You think that I -"

"...You're only hurting yourself and our family!" He snapped. "...This isn't doing us any good - do you think that your own daughter would be avoiding you if that wasn't the case?"

"...Winter is different!" Willow insisted. "...She's got a lot on her mind right now and it doesn't help that you don't give a damn about her!"

"...That's not true!"

"...Yes, it is!" Willow shouted while she dropped the glass in anger as her eyes swelled and her composure continued to shift. "...We both know it! You told her that another child will take her place if she pursues a career as a huntress!"

"...I only told her that to make her see what she needed to!" Jacques fired back. "...She thinks that running off is the best way to handle things and it is only going to weaken the family further!"

"...Well it's done the opposite of that! It's only strengthened her resolve!"

"...No doubt your brother played a part in that!"

"...Emmett does what he thinks is right even when no one else agrees!"

"...Why can't you see that he's dividing us?"

"...Why can't you see that he's happy and that we shouldn't drag him down? He's finally getting over the loss of Ashlynn. I mean -"

"...I know, but nevertheless –"

"...For heaven's sake, he's happy and I -"

Jacques slapped Willow both to her shock and Cinder's. Tears of anger and some residual sadness formed in her eyes as she watched her sister look up in disbelief. Forcing herself to look but not listen very intently to what was being said, Cinder tried to feel nothing. For the most part, she did succeed in this. Her anger was written off to Willow not fighting back rather to Jacques for hurting her twin. The sadness was then written off to be an umbrella feeling; that is, to say, she would feel genuine sympathy for anyone in that situation. She allowed her hatred for the kingdom that she had once called home and the family she had once called her own to overcome her and she even let herself smile as she watched Willow be left alone and collapse onto the floor in tears. Salem clicked her heels in approval as she dismissed the seer and the reflection in the mirror returned to Cinder's own. Unable to look at herself, the young woman turned to face the Queen.

"Very, very good." Salem said, placing a hand on Cinder's shoulder. "See, this? This is what I want of you. You are focusing on your goal - gaining power - and not letting the little people you once had ties to get in your way." Forcing her apprentice to look back towards the mirror, Salem held her and narrowed her eyes when she realized that the young woman was staring at her feet. "Look up," She commanded. "You are the girl who wants power, so look at yourself - damn it!"

Cinder did what she was told and stared at her appearance. Wiping some dust off the mirror, she noticed her eyes flare and the way that everything about her seemed different. Part of her was confused for the briefest of moments before she realized what was going down and decided that she didn't like it.

Is this...is this me? This is my reflection, isn't it? So…it has to be me? But then why...why do I not quite recognize this girl? My reflection seems to show me, but it also doesn't. What's going on? What the hell is wrong with me?

"Speak," Salem commanded. "Tell me exactly what you are thinking."

Cinder hesitated and her eyes grew wide. "I feel almost like I don't know who I am. There's a part of me that...that doesn't recognize my reflection."

"Well," The Queen said as she circled the young woman. "That must change. Whatever part of you isn't recognizing your reflection needs to die. It is a sacrifice that must be made for your power, I'm sure you understand."

"I do, " Cinder said, rubbing her arm. "But...how do we kill this, this part of me?"

A laugh escaped Salem which was a rare and usually dangerous occurrence. "Oh, Cinder, my dear. I do forget how young you are sometimes. It is going to take time, but the smallest part of Ashlynn Schnee that lingers will be killed. And you will be the one to do it."

Fear swept across her for the briefest of moments and she was kicking herself for that. Fear was part of what made her weak. "Tell me how."

Salem smiled. "In that case," She said, summoning the seer back and pushing it into the mirror. "Let's begin."

The image changed to the past - to her childhood.

This was going to be the beginning of the end, wasn't it?

April 5th

City Of Vale

Vale

Downtown

8:32 PM

Having been released from the hospital and declared well again a few weeks earlier, Dean had taken advantage of his newly granted freedom by going to Vale. He hadn't told Glynda and James that he was in town, not because he didn't want to see them but because he didn't want to risk running into Emmett or Emmeline, who had supposedly taken a personal leave of absence. Admittedly, he had chosen to leave Atlas for the time being because he was struggling to deal with the way things were turning out for his former partner, teammate, and lover. Entering a bar, he sighed and ordered himself copious amounts of whisky and proceeded to attempt to drown his feelings in the alcohol. For a while, this worked but, as soon as a black-haired boy with red eyes and a scythe walked in, it was all over.

"So, seems like we're seeing a lotta you Atlas people in town, huh?" He said as he joined him. Dean sighed in recognition of him. Qrow, one of the members of the team they had fought in the Vytal festival.

"Yeah," Dean said as he took down another gulp of his drink. "Aren't you a little young to be drinking?"

"We're the same age and have both graduated from one of the academies. Don't start actin' like my parents," Qrow responded as he took a shot. "I remember you, by the way. You're the redhead who was on a team with Glynda and Emmett."

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You remember that?"

"Well I have to work with them sometimes because I help out Oz," Qrow shrugged in spite of Dean's confusion. "I'm a little scared of Glynda if I'm going to be honest."

"I think I can understand that," Dean said, taking a shot. "What do you do with Oz?"

"Missions, mainly keeping him informed of Vale's grimm population," Qrow knew that he was being careful with the way he worded things. Revealing the circle was the last thing he wanted to do and what he said was not entirely untrue. "After what happened to Mountain Glenn, the council wants everyone who can to help out and that includes students with a high skill level, although I'm sure that means something different in Atlas than it does here."

Dean thought about that for a moment before responding. "Eh, I don't know. Things in Vale seem a lot less crazy than in Atlas."

"I can kinda see that," Qrow admitted, thinking about the most recent gossip associated with the kingdom of Atlas. "Like the political dynasties and the assassinations and the drama."

"No shit," Dean said, taking down another shot. "It's some of the craziest shit I've ever heard."

Qrow laughed. "I'm not even gonna argue with that, because it's true."

"Seventeen," He corrected, fighting back his anger. "But it's still off-putting to people like me."

"Something about this seems personal," Qrow noted based on Dean's countenance. "This got anything to do with you and Schnee? Were you and him in a relationship?"

"Okay, yes." Dean snapped, not bothering to hide his annoyance. "What is it to you?"

"Woah, calm down," Qrow took another shot himself before continuing. "I was just gonna say that you should never trust a Schnee."

"You've got that right," Dean muttered. "So, why don't you trust the Schnees?"

"You want one reason or multiple reasons?" Qrow asked with a smile. He could go on for hours about his dislike of the family.

Dean shrugged. "Why not all of them, I haven't got anywhere I need to be."

"Okay then," Qrow smirked as he took a shot. "Well, I'll admit that I've never really met any of them except for Emmett and I can tell you that he's not my favorite person though he seems better than the rest of them.

"They're the reason I've lost some people...close to me. Jacques is...well in my opinion a dick with a stick up his ass...which is one of the few things I agree with Emmett and Cristal on. I don't know for sure why he married Willow but if I had to bet...money and influence had a lot to do with it. Doesn't seem like the type that would marry for love.

"Honestly, it's pretty uncommon for that to happen. I mean, look at our society! But it still happens, I guess. Anyways, the man's a snake and I don't like it. I've heard the news about Willow these days and I honestly...well I can't help but feel bad for the poor woman. Supposedly she's got a bit of a drinking problem."

"Yes…" Dean tried to avoid letting his emotions get the best of him but the second he had heard that report a while back, he had wanted to kill Jacques. "I blame Jacques because it seems like he makes her life miserable."

"I'm not surprised," Qrow admitted. "Given the way Emmett talks about him and all. If I ever have to deal with the man, well, let's just say it probably wouldn't be pretty."

"I'd second you in a fight is it was us versus him and Emmett." Dean stated darkly. "Seriously man, I would."

"Good to know," Qrow smirked and Dean did so back.

It was nice having a chance to talk with someone who had an equal distaste for the Schnee's. At first, Dean had been upset about cutting off his relationship with Emmett because of the man's personal problems but now he was relieved. Looking back on his former teammate and friend, Dean couldn't help but see the flaws amongst all the things that he had found attractive about him. They were glaringly obvious and while he had passed his selfish views off as a desire to protect Emmett at first, he eventually acknowledged that they were what he really thought. Emmett was a diva, for lack of a better term, who knew right from wrong but struggled to realize that he was dragging people down because he was obsessive. The same went for Cristal, who he found to be vindictive. Emmett also didn't seem to know how to let go, which was too big a flaw for pretty much anyone to deal with. Dean wasn't going to deny that he was curious about how anyone dealt with them and their temperament, but he wasn't going to press it. It just wasn't worth it for a man that he didn't care about anymore or, at least, that's what he told himself.