"Penny," Pierto Polendina said, looking at her worriedly. "Have you spoken at all with Angelica recently?"
It hurt him to think of his wife and how far she had sunk since the death of their daughter.
Penny shook her head. "Only you and Dr. Schnee. She doesn't trust me at all, and it almost feels like she's trying to make me say things I don't want to say. I know I have the potential to...cause damage but I would never hurt anyone. I'm scared, and…"
"I know Dr. Schnee can be a bit cold but she means well," Pierto sighed heavily. "Penny, you know who I am."
"You're my father," She said numbly. "I remember you and mom, but my...other memories from life are inaccessible other than...I remember a fire and a steamer trunk and a game but I…"
Pierto's eyes welled with tears. "You were thirteen when you died. You and your friends were playing a game of hide and seek and a steamer trunk closed on you before you could escape. We were living in an old house at the time, and the electrical caught fire...you asphyxiated and were in a coma for six months. You never came to...but we recovered your aura before we allowed them to pull the plug on your life support."
Penny looked as if she were going to cry and then all but ran over to him. She embraced him tightly.
"I'm sorry…" She whispered.
"There's nothing to be sorry for," He told her. "I just...your mother is misguided in her...work and I am going to save you from her but, to do that, I need you to not speak of any of this with Dr. Schnee. Can you do that? I am ordering you to never speak of your past with Dr. Schnee and, if she presses, lie. I can't bear the thought of losing you again."
She stared at him for a moment, stunned.
"Do you really think Dr. Schnee means well?" Penny finally said. "Because it seems she doesn't trust or like me at all. She's…"
"She does mean well," Pierto said sharply. "It's just that she's naturally suspicious and she's afraid of what the consequences of your existence may be."
She hung her head almost in shame.
"I know," She said quietly. "But I still don't know if I should trust her."
"You should," Pierto said. "She's a good person, I can assure you of that. She's got a brilliant mind, she really does. Alright?"
Penny nodded and silently did not respond beyond that. Her father looked at her sadly and, for a moment, all she could think about was Angelica.
"Dr. Polendina?" Elizabeth Morell raised an eyebrow upon stepping into the room. "Ah. Miss Penny. How are you today?"
She looked to her suddenly, paralyzed by fear.
"It's okay," Pierto said, gently patting her shoulder. "It's only Madame Morell, the chair of the Atlesian National Security Council. She's one of the people that makes decisions that keep us all safe."
Elizabeth pursed her lips. "Thank you, Dr. Polendina, but flattery is unnecessary."
"Flattery is but a truth when it is directed towards someone of your renown," He replied, and she quirked a rare smile. "Is there anything you need, Madame Morell? I'm surprised to see you here, considering that you are still recovering from the attempt on your life."
She hesitated. "I would not call myself well, but I can walk and, at any rate, I had something to ask of you and thought it to be best practice to do so in person."
He winced upon seeing how pained she looked by her movements.
"Madame Morell, please, sit down," He said quickly and, swearing under breath, she did so. "I don't wish for you to injure yourself further, after all."
"Is there anything I can get you?" Penny asked her, and Pierto smiled at her out of Elizabeth's view.
"No, I think I'll be alright," She said, eyeing the android critically.
"I am an open book, Madame Morell," Pierto said, and she sighed. "What do you want to know?"
"That depends," She replied. "What do you have to hide?"
Penny dropped the book she was holding and Pierto took in a deep breath.
"I have nothing to hide, Madame Morell," He finally said. "Anything the Council wishes to know for the purpose of transparency or keeping the people safe is gladly given."
Elizabeth narrowed her eyes. "So you say, at any rate."
"I hate you," Alice said, glowering at Qrow as they stepped out of the elevator with her wife, Emmett, and Ozpin. "You're lucky you don't know what my stilettos taste like."
"And you're lucky we ain't ever fought," He replied, crossing his arms. "I don't think you'd be that well off if we did, you know."
She snorted. "At least I'm not a selfish dick like you."
Cate glanced to Ozpin, exasperated.
"This was a bad idea," She muttered.
"I'm beginning to see that," He replied. "Thank God Chrissy decided not to come with us."
"She and I both want to skewer him sometimes," She told him under her breath. "Particularly now, what with that girl -"
"That girl is your niece," He reminded her.
She scowled. "Sure she is."
Emmett sighed and pulled his coat tighter around himself.
"I barely know what to say or do about this," He said, fidgeting with his wedding ring. "Believe me, I'm upset about it, and I don't like that it's affecting my girls -"
"That tears it!" Alice shrieked, presumably insulted by something Qrow had said. "I've put up with enough from you over the years!"
She ripped off one of her stilettos and hurled it at him. It hit him in the middle of his forehead, and he swore upon the impact.
"You're a bitch!" He yelled. "Guess it runs in your family, doesn't it?"
"That's too far -" Cate started, stalking towards them.
"I mean, is she even drunk or is she just always an insufferable bitch?" Qrow pointed at Alice, who, in a fit of passion, ripped a golf club out of the back of her car and began to beat his down with it. "What the fuck are you -"
"Al -" Caitlin ran towards her wife.
"He deserves it!" She yelled, smashing in Qrow's windshield. "After what he's accusing me of -"
A snap reverberated through the otherwise empty parking garage and Alice found herself the club to be out of her hands and her wife staring at her in shock and concern.
"Wait…" Qrow said, putting his hands up and looking at the eldest Schnee incredulously. "You're the Winter Maiden?"
"Oh, like you didn't know," She snapped.
"How could you forget about that?" Alice added, wrapping herself tightly around her wife.
"Because I ain't you," He said, crossing his arms. "Thank God, considering that you now owe me a new car!"
Alice glowered. "I need a...darling...do you have a...like maybe -"
"Al," Emmett said, sending his sister-in-law a worried look. "Are you okay?"
"I...I'm fine," She insisted, laughing wheezily. "Come on, it's -"
"Alice, you're going to get hurt," Ozpin said worriedly. "You really need to -"
Everyone grimaced upon her puking all over the pavement.
"Well, at least she missed your Benz," Emmett murmured to his sister, who sent him a dark look while she tried to keep her wife steady.
"I think she drinks more than I do," Qrow said dryly. "I've never done that."
"I...hate...everything…" Alice collapsed to her knees and her wife bent down to rub her back as she coughed up the last of her sick.
"You guys can head out," Caitlin said, looking to Ozpin and Qrow. "Al and I are on this floor anyway, and our apartment is only about a two minute walk."
The three of them watched in worry as she gently guided her wife into the building and an uncomfortable silence befell them.
"I'm going to make sure she's okay," Emmett said with a sigh. "Coming with, Oz? She's your sister in law too."
He nodded shortly. "That's probably for the best."
Qrow snorted as they followed quickly after the couple and then swore as he ripped open the door to his now heavily damaged car. He didn't know what to do, let alone what to think.
"It seems my purpose in the last few months has been to send her money," Jacques remarked irritably, and Cristal laughed despite herself. "And she has more misdemeanor charges than some of my colleagues."
"And you've somehow managed to stay out of jail," She sent him a dark look. "Speaking of which, Winter seems to think that -"
"I know full well what she thinks," He said shortly. "Is it really impossible to have a conversation with you without you going out of your way to attack me?"
"Be glad I'm not Caity," She warned him. "She has no filter about anything or anyone."
Jacques considered that with a smirk. "She has a short temper, doesn't she?"
Cristal said nothing and only scowled at him behind her glasses.
"You would do well to be careful what you say in front of a state prosecutor," She eventually said. "Considering that anything you say can and will be used against you."
"You have a conflict of interest," Jacques reminded her. "And you know it."
Neither spoke for several minutes following and it seemed that she was trying to outlast him.
"How are you doing?" He finally asked. "My wife will compel me to ask after all."
"Perfectly fine," She said, crossing her arms. "What is it to you?"
"Well, you did faint the other night, according to Willow," Jacques eyed her for a moment in surprisingly genuine concern. "She said that Ozpin's worried about you and your unborn child."
Cristal sighed. "That's none of your concern."
She turned around suddenly upon the door to the study opening. Klein stepped in.
"Oh, Miss Cristal," Klein smiled and bowed. "You're looking well."
"Thank you, Klein," She said, smiling calmly. "I could say the same of you."
"What is it?" Jacques looked at the man sharply.
"Weiss cannot attend her studies this week due to illness," Klein said, clasping his hands together behind his back. "She has vomited a few times already and keeps coughing."
Jacques looked a bit disgruntled. "Well, I suppose there's nothing to be done."
"Mistress Willow is taking care of her," Klein informed him. "I'll ensure the girl has everything she needs."
"Yes, of course," Jacques said, absentmindedly tapping his hand against his desk. "Very well. Is there anything else I should know?"
"Master Whitley keeps shrieking 'that greedy dirtbag' whenever someone mentions Edward Ciel, which I believe he may have learned from his uncle," Klein managed to keep his face neutral but Cristal couldn't help but giggle behind her hand. "I will assume that Emmett was rather irritated when he made that comment."
"At the very least," Cristal said, standing up and pulling on her form-fitting trench coat. "He isn't screaming things like 'silence you peasant' as my siblings and I did when we were children."
"That is fair," Klein agreed. "Nonetheless, it was notable."
Jacques swore under his breath although what it was about was anyone's guess.
"I'll see to it that everything is taken care of," Klein added. "I would not want this to impose upon your work, after all."
Jacques waved him out of the room impatiently and Cristal slowly stepped towards the door herself.
"Well," She said, flipping her scarf over her shoulder. "I have to be going, or my teenage daughter is going to get a bit too confident in her ability to take care of herself and her siblings."
Jacques raised an eyebrow. "What exactly does that mean?"
"That is not a story I would like to get into," She replied. "Unless you have a disturbing amount of free time."
"Hm," Jacques mused. "It sounds as if you're the one with a disturbing amount of free time."
"No, I have no free time and choose to neglect my work sometimes," Cristal shook her head. "Don't lie and say you don't."
"I care a great deal for my family," He said testily. "And the majority of my work is giving people orders to do management for me."
She scoffed. "Of course."
"We are no different, Cristal," He warned her. "Only by name."
She paused in the doorway, her hand against the frame. "But I deserve this," She finally said. "You don't."
"I don't like what I have to do, but it is important," Annabella Sassler set down her coffee delicately and Emmeline Ciel eyed her critically. "The White Fang poses a greater threat than it ever has and, ultimately…"
"That means we have to act," Emmeline said shortly. "I know."
"I'm not asking for a war," Sassler said, tapping her hand against the table. "But, at the end of the day, we need to do something...perhaps mobilize spies to assassinate the leaders of the White Fang."
Emmeline raised an eyebrow. "The DFAMA will never approve that. Do you have any idea how bad that would be from a foreign relations perspective?"
Sassler sighed. "Emmeline, think of this from a politician's perspective rather than a general's. This situation needs be handled delicately, and I will not be seen as a coward -"
"With all due respect, do you know the meaning of the words 'conflict of interest'?" Emmeline shook her head. "President Sassler, I'm sorry, but I cannot condone this and I seriously doubt that the security council, let alone the rest of the DFAMA, or, heaven forbid, the diplomats would either."
Sassler fell into silent contemplation, chewing at the inside of her cheek for a moment.
"We have assassinated leaders we didn't like in other countries before," She reminded her. "This would not be the first nor the last time things have come to that."
"It certainly hasn't helped Vacuo," Emmeline countered. "We've done that more than once there, and it hasn't done us any favors and, frankly, keeps stoking unrest in the region."
"Then what should be done?" Sassler said, probing her forehead in exhaustion. "The meetings I've had on this subject haven't been informative or productive, so I don't know what to do, hence why I'm seeking counsel from you and other leaders from the DFAMA, DOJ, and DCCCP."
Emmeline sighed heavily. "President Sassler, I have to warn you against doing something rash because our relations in Menagerie are poor enough without undermining any moral high ground we might have."
Sassler considered that but nodded. "I understand, but is there anything we can do?"
Emmeline hesitated. "It's probably best to proceed with caution and prepare the counter-terrorism sects of the Department of Homeland Security."
"I suppose that's reasonable," Sassler paused for a moment in thought. "But I do think the legislature has the right idea in their crackdown on terrorists. This cannot be allowed to stand and, if that means putting it on those responsible -"
"Annie, you wouldn't!" Brian Sassler stared at his wife in horror as he stepped into the room, much to the shock of both women. "I agree that it's horrible what's happened, but to pin it on innocent people -"
"Innocent?" She exclaimed. "Innocent?"
"It's not their fault what they're forced to live though!" Brian protested. "They didn't ask for any of this -"
"You are talking about people who are complicit in the crimes of the White Fang!" Annabella sent him a dark look. "I haven't got a choice here. I have to address the White Fang as the threat they are."
"And you think that making things worse is the way to go?" Brian shook his head. "I can't believe you're okay with acting like this, Annie! Are you really that ruthless?"
"I am not being ruthless," She said, crossing her arms. "I am being tactical, something you know little about."
"Annabella, please," Brian said. "You can't possibly think this is what's right."
"Well, I have to do something," She said, sending him a sharp look. "And, in this case, that means dealing with a threat as a threat. I am not going to willfully endanger my people."
"And instead you're going to start a war somewhere?" He looked at her sadly. "Annie, this isn't like you."
"Oh, go hug a tree," She snapped.
"I'm not going to rise to that," He said shortly. "I love you, Annie, but I don't want you to be remembered as a warmonger and it seems like this is that."
"I am not a warmonger," She scowled. "I am looking to make things right, and I'm not going to stand for these attacks on our kingdom. After all -"
"Atlas is the greatest kingdom," Brian said quietly. "And we're the world's strongest military power, which means that we need to take things with the gravity all of our decisions actually carry."
"Absolutely agreed," Emmeline said shortly. "Although I don't believe you have the clearance to be here."
Brian sighed and jammed his hands into his pockets. "I just hope that things don't fall into hell because I already know we're teetering on the edge as it is."
"'Rissa?" Spencer called nervously from the living room. "I kind of…"
"Kind of what?" She paused upon stepping tiredly into the room with Luna in her arms. "Oh God, how many pillows did they send us?"
"Too many," Spencer remarked dryly. "I tried to call to send them back, but, apparently —"
"Pillow fight!" Natalie yelled as she ran into the room with her brothers and promptly whacked Matt with one. "Ha!"
He scowled and picked one up himself and whacked her back. "That wasn't funny!"
"It was very funny," Natalie stuck her tongue out at him. "You're a baby!"
"You are!" Matt moved to tackle her but missed and fell into the almost ridiculous pile of pillows. "Nattie!"
Percival wrapped himself tightly around Spencer, a bit concerned about what his siblings might do.
"I'll deal with this later," Spencer said, and Percival all but ran off to his room while Natalie and Matt continued their so-called battle.
"Spence?" Karissa softly beckoned for him as she started down the hallway to their room with a sleepy Luna still in her arms. "I —"
He pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek. "A lot going on?"
"You have no idea," She muttered. "Sometimes I wonder if they're trying to drive me insane. I told off some idiot who thought he could store classified information on his own port without approval."
Spencer raised an eyebrow. "That needed to be said?"
"To some of the people below me?" Karissa sighed. "Unfortunately, yes."
"I'm sleepy, mommy…" Luna said as she curled into her mother and rested her head on her shoulder. "Sleepy…"
"I know," She said, pushing open the door to her daughter's room with her foot and then laying her down under the covers. "Better?"
Luna nodded. "Love you…"
Karissa pressed an affectionate kiss to her forehead. "Love you too, Lunes."
Spencer smiled weakly as he wrapped an arm tightly around her while they slipped into their room.
"You doing okay?" He asked her, a clear note of worry in his eyes, in his voice, and exemplified by his tousled, shoulder-length hair. "You sounded pretty upset earlier."
"I was," She admitted, shutting the door. "But I'm fine now, really."
He sighed. "I'm just glad you're doing okay."
Karissa nodded shortly and then sat down on the edge of the bed beside him, her head on his shoulder, and his arm loosely around her waist.
"How's the baby?" He asked her. "It's okay, isn't it?"
"Yeah," She said, exhaustion clear in her voice. "Although It has been using my bladder as a kickball. That's been...difficult, to say the least."
"You're still happy about this though, right?" Spencer's own anxiety fell through as he spoke. "I promise I'll spend whatever time it takes to raise the kids, honestly."
Karissa smiled. "I know, Spence, and, yes, I'm happy about this...just a bit stressed."
He held her as close as he could. "I don't know what I'd do without you…"
"Spence," She said softly. "Just promise me you'll stay alive. Please."
He gave her a loving squeeze. "I will…" He murmured. "I just wish there were an easy solution…"
"I do too," She quietly admitted. "And if I could...I would."