June 6th

Schnee Family Manor

City Of Atlas

United Kingdom Of Atlas

3:45 PM

Willow Schnee looked particularly amused when her brother pulled up in front of the manor on a scooter. It was a national holiday, which was why he had foregone his car and, with that, all sense of responsibility. She knew her niece was with Emmeline, in part because her sister-in-law had called earlier that day and told her to get Emmett out of the house so she could get some work done without them debating what information he, due to his status as a licensed huntsman, could have access to and what information he couldn't. Winter had been thrilled at the chance to spend some of her surprisingly copious, of late, free time with her uncle and baby sister and Willow, if she were being perfectly honest, was glad that Jacques was in Vale for the next few weeks to handle an accident at a refinery.

"That is perfectly irresponsible," She called down to him from the top of the steps. "And how do you fit your hair in that helmet? It's just past your shoulders now, isn't it?"

Emmett smirked and shook his hair out almost as soon as he shut off his scooter.

"Scooters are badass!" He declared, sauntering up the steps and fixing his glasses. "Oh, Winter," He added, turning to his niece who perked up slightly. "Want to take it for a ride?"

"Absolutely –" The thirteen-year-old started.

"Not!" Willow said with finality, looking at her daughter in shock. "You are not going to risk life and limb because your uncle has the maturity of a six-year-old!"

Emmett scowled. "Do I have to remind you that I'm married and have two –"

He paused uncomfortably, then rubbing his neck and glancing awkwardly to his sister.

"Winter," Willow said calmly. "We'll meet you in the gardens soon enough."

Her face fell for a moment, but she quickly walked off. Emmett and Willow stared at each other in silence for a moment and then she embraced him.

"I didn't realize you and Emmeline had been trying to have another kid," She said with a smile. "I thought, since her promotion, that her –"

"It caught us a bit by surprise," Emmett admitted. "We are happy about it, really, it's just…God, it's going to be awkward to tell both Chrissy and Rosella."

Willow raised an eyebrow. "Rosella Katt?"

He nodded. "Didn't you wonder why she and Ronnie got –"

"Don't lead me down that path," She said, sending him a sharp look. "I have absolutely no desire to think about what kind of debauchery he could be involved in."

Emmett chuckled. "That's about what Emmy said when we all found out."

Willow smirked while she and her brother stepped through the front doors of the manor.

"Do the two of you know when she's due?" She finally said, lowering her voice as they walked. "Or –"

"January," Emmett replied, turning slightly pink. "Again, caught us by surprise, but –"

"Oh my God," Willow stared at her brother for a moment and then shook her head incredulously. "Emmett, are you telling me that, despite the fact that your daughter doesn't even turn one until this September, the first thing you and Emmeline did when she got back from Argus was –"

"Well, she actually…" Emmett nervously fidgeted with his wedding ring. "Can we leave it at: my wife really missed me and, after the stress of all the shit that went down with deciding what troops were being withdrawn from Argus, etc, following Sassler's declaration of national emergency, wanted me to be…extra affectionate?"

Willow couldn't help but laugh. "Say that to Chrissy," She told him. "I'm sure she'll be thrilled to hear you phrase it that way."

"She has a two-year-old daughter and she's going to have another kid in December," Emmett reminded her. "I think she knows how it works."

"And you're still our little brother," Willow said, twisting her hair in her hands. "Even if you managed to be 5'11"."

Emmett shrugged. "I guess I did get that advantage."

"That you did," She paused, suddenly looking cold. "Emmett, listen, there's something I want you to know that I don't feel safe confiding in anyone else right now."

"What is it?" He said slowly, feeling a bit uneased. "Has something happened to –"

"No," Willow said gently. "No, that's not it. Weiss and Winter are…well, Weiss, at least, is alright for now. It's that…with Jacques' temper being volatile at best, I've…"

She hesitantly gestured to one of the chandeliers and pulled out her scroll which showed them from above. Emmett took in a sharp breath but nodded shortly in understanding.

"Clever," He said, looking to her a bit worriedly. "But why now? What's changed?"

Willow sighed heavily. "He might be calmer with me, and much more…much more like he was before Winter was born but she, as it happens, isn't so lucky."

Emmett swallowed hard. "Is that why she finally started wearing makeup?"

"Yes," Willow admitted, staring at her feet for a moment. "I'm worried for her, I keep telling her to just give in and let things go but she refuses to. If anything, she's more ambitious than ever and that certainly isn't helping."

Emmett loosely embraced his sister who, after a moment, did the same.

"I'm sorry," He finally said, releasing her. "I'm sure that's hard for both of you."

"Jacques thinks I'm the damaged one between us, and he's wrong," Willow said as they began to walk towards the gardens once more through the manor. "He claims every time that I'm exhausted or in pain and have a glass of wine that I've got a drinking problem and that's just not true. Everything he thinks on that is severely out of context, and maybe he'd understand better if he were home more. I just…I don't know."

Emmett glanced to her when they both stepped into the gardens, on the other side of which Winter was sitting with her baby sister in her arms.

"Are you so sure you would want him home more?" He said quietly. "If he beats Winter when she steps out of line?"

Willow flinched and brushed the tears away from her eyes.

"Like I said, I don't know what would be best," She weakly replied. "That's why I put those up…it's not just for me, it's for the safety of both of my children."

Willow fell silent and managed a faint smile when Winter noticed them and waved them towards her and her sister.

"Weiss seems to be in a good mood today," Winter told them, letting her sister tug at her fingers. "As it happens, she doesn't mind being outside."

"Well, don't let her be out too long," Willow said, sitting down on one side of her daughters while Emmett took the other side. "I don't want her to get sick."

Winter nodded. "Of course, mother."

Willow cupped her cheek and pressed an affectionate kiss to her forehead.

"You care about her a lot already, don't you?" Willow murmured. "I can already tell the two of you will be close."

"And will hopefully make this family less of a mess," Emmett added, putting his hands up in surrender when his sister glared. "What? Dad always said that –"

"I know, I know," Willow said, brushing it off. "It's just hard for me to think about dad, that's all."

She let the peace of the moment envelop her and her daughters, but she was not naïve and knew full well that Winter had caught on to exactly what her uncle was implying.

June 16th

City Of Vale

Vale

Downtown

1:45 PM

"Ah ha ha ha ha," Roman Torchwick couldn't help but laugh his ass off when he opened the door to his apartment and found Cinder sitting primly on his couch inside. "So," He said, puffing on his cigar. "What are you doing here?"

"You and I need to discuss something, Roman," She said silkily. "Regarding how we are going to, ever so slowly, continue to dispose of people important in Atlas, starting with the Ciel family and then Elizabeth Morell."

Roman raised an eyebrow. "Why do you give a damn about Elizabeth Morell?"

"Not important," Cinder snapped, gritting her teeth. "Stop trying to distract me."

"Oh, believe me, sweetheart, that isn't what I'm trying to do," He said with a smirk. "Or do you genuinely enjoy staring down a loaded gun?"

Cinder looked at him mutinously. "Don't," She hissed. "Not unless you want me to lose my temper."

He began to laugh again. "Hmmph," He noted. "You really do have the temper of a Schnee."

"My temperament is not the point here!" She all but yelled. "So why don't you go and shove your asinine remarks up your ass or in your hat where they belong?"

"I'd rather not do any damage," He replied. "Although I respect you for being so fond of doing so."

Her eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

He snorted. "You and I both know what I do best in this world."

"Oh?" She said, still increasingly testy. "And what's that?"

Roman irritably stubbed out his cigar and sat down on the edge of his kitchen counter. He had been squatting in an abandoned apartment in Vale for months now, and, using an assumed name and some doctoring to his appearance, had managed to evade the police when they came by on their monthly rounds on the edge of the city. It was certain, he knew, that he would end up behind bars at some point again for a short time, but he didn't care for now. He was waiting to fade into the woodwork, as the woman sitting on his couch had, but he was impatient. He had been robbing from different establishments on a regular basis, and he was doing quite well, yet he wanted to be able to be more notorious. The only things he cared about more than surviving right then and there were a lush life and notoriety. He wanted to be known, and he wanted people to talk about him. It would be a good slap in the face to everyone who had ever crossed him.

"You should know," He said, matching her tone flawlessly. "Lying, stealing, cheating, and surviving. I've always been quite good at those things, if I do say so myself."

She sent him a nasty look. "I hate you. Why did I ever do you that favor?"

"Because I'm charming as fuck," He said with a grin. "On good days at least."

July 7th

City Of Atlas

Atlas

Downtown

9:51 PM

"At least all the kids are asleep," Emmett said, sauntering back into the living room. "Your kids are asleep, my kids are asleep. That's a good sign."

Karissa sighed. "I just hope that I will get some actual sleep soon, between my kids and work, I don't really have much time these days."

"None of us do," Emmeline reminded her. "Ever since Sassler all but starting a war with certain provinces and, of course, Vert –"

"Vert is small and not that powerful," Emmett put in, crossing his arms. "It shouldn't take us that long to handle the situation there."

Karissa sent him a pointed look. "Vert is wedged between Vale, one of our allies, and Vacuo, where we have difficult foreign relations at best considering both the new prime minister and the discrepancies between the provinces there. If you think it will be easy, then you clearly don't understand the situation."

Emmett considered that. "You do have more access to information than I do. Speaking of which, how have you been liking your new position?"

Karissa fidgeted with her glasses for a moment and Spencer loosely took her other hand.

"It was…sudden, to say the least," She finally said. "And I'm not particularly high up, I just have a good professional relationship with someone who is."

Emmeline smirked. "You're understating Elizabeth's fondness for you."

"Please don't," She said, looking more tired than she ever had been. "We all have enough going on as it is without…"

"I know," Emmeline glanced worriedly to Emmett. "I think we can all agree that, wherever this may lead, it won't be pretty."

"Who's understating now?" Spencer dryly remarked under his breath.

July 29th

Southern Atlas

United Kingdom Of Atlas

5:38 PM

"Ronnie?" Rosella Katt poked her head into the bedroom in their southern Atlas apartment. "There's someone on the line for you. Says they work for Redline Financial?"

He sighed. "What do they want?"

She huffed. "They said it's classified and that –"

"I'll handle it," He said, gently touching her arm and then kissing her cheek. "Just give me a few minutes."

He began speaking rapidly and in a surprisingly low tone while his wife watched him suspiciously. It lasted just three minutes and, as soon as he hung up, Rosella was ready.

"So," She said darkly. "What was that about?"

"He just…" Ronnie hesitated but then shook his head. "He was doing me a personal favor and funneled about ten mil through a shell corporation of his that disperses money amongst certain political interest groups and then into certain...politician's personal accounts, my own included. He's still trying to buy my silence for a matter regarding his involvement in the election of Rosalinde Varna as Vacuo's prime minister."

"I'm not sure I want to know what Varna's into, all things considered," Rosella said, then sending her husband a dubious look. "But what exactly is the difference between what he's doing and money laundering?"

"The fact that this is legal, for one," He replied, tucking one of her stray locks behind her ear. "Don't worry, Ella. I'll handle this just fine. I've got you and Nicollette to consider now, too, don't I?"

She looked to their newborn daughter, who was sleeping soundly in the crib beside their bed with her fluffy pink tail flicking peacefully while she dreamt.

"Did we make the right choice, having her stuck with my surname instead of yours?" Rosella said softly, standing up and stepping across the room so she could sit next to their daughter. "Or…"

"Ella, I don't give a damn that you're a faunus," Ronnie said, tiredly pressing a hand against his head. "I love you, and Nicollette, and I don't judge anyone for being human or faunus. The problem is that other people do, and Nicollette is going to have to face that."

"Neon," She murmured, gently rubbing the little girl's back. "I already told you I'm calling her Neon because of how pretty and bright her tail is."

Ronnie couldn't help but smile. "That's cute, Ella."

She sighed. "You know there's a part of me that wonders if she had your surname if it…wouldn't it be at least some form of protection? You're wealthy, you're a popular senator –"

"And that would make her even more of a target," Ronnie finished, pausing when he realized he might have been a little harsh. "It's going to be alright, Ella, just please trust me on this."

Rosella stared at him for a moment but, giving in, said nothing and let herself curl into his arms, purring lightly while she fell asleep with him stroking her hair.

August 3rd

City Of Mantle

United Kingdom Of Atlas

Uptown

7: 56 PM

"Caity, honey, please," Glynda said, kneeling in front of her nearly three-year-old daughter and taking her tiny hands in hers. "You have to eat more, or you'll get sick. Please try this for me."

The little girl glanced warily at the small bowl with some mac and cheese in it and shook her head.

"Caity," She gently repeated. "You can't nurse forever, just like you can't eat just baby food for the rest of your life."

She looked down at her hands and fidgeted with her mother's wedding ring for a moment.

"Tell you what," Glynda said, sighing. "I'll let you play with my ring for a few minutes if you try some, okay? It's soft, and you won't have to chew it. It's basically cheesy mush so you'll be okay."

She hesitated but nodded and let her mother put some in her mouth. Then her face lit up happily and she quickly reached for the bowl.

"You like that?" Glynda smiled as the little girl began to, albeit messily, eat. "Good, honey."

She sat down next to her eldest, who was still smiling and humming to herself. After the little girl finished eating and drinking her lemonade, Glynda delicately took off her wedding ring and set it on the table. Caitlin's bright green eyes lit up excitedly and she picked it up, testing the weight in her small hands while her mother began to start the dishwasher. Every so often, she would grin at her mother when she glanced to her and she continued to hum to herself. Glynda couldn't help but smile too, in part because of how pretty her little girl's humming sounded. She, of course, was a child and sounded as such, but her parents were almost certain she had perfect pitch. The little girl and her sister were both so talented, and it had been a relief to both her and James that their girls were okay. Things were difficult, and the world was darker, but they were all lucky and had some sense of hope in the increasingly dangerous world around them.

"Hi, mommy!" Ivy chirped, skipping into the room with James following closely behind her.

Glynda waved to her daughter. "Hi, Ivy. How was gymnastics?"

She giggled. "Fun!"

"Ives is one of the more patient in the group," James told her while Ivy ran over to her sister and hugged her tightly. "For a two-year-old learning to tumble across a mat, anyways."

"Well, thank you for taking her," She said, tiredly probing her forehead. "I don't think I could have handled the noise, not after what happened in my combat class yesterday."

James laughed, pulling off his uniform jacket. "You said something blew up?"

"A seventeen-year-old being reckless with Dust," She replied. "Imagine anything odd Emmett did when we were at Atlas Academy and make it significantly worse."

James chuckled. "I already can."

August 17th

City Of Vacuo

Vacuo

Downtown

6:15 PM

Ignoring yet another call from various members of the council of Vacuo, Rosalinde Varna stared at herself in the mirror with contempt. Her long hair was in tangles and the rose that she typically had pinned in it was sitting on the counter. Throwing a cursory glance to the fresh cuts on her wrists, she closed her eyes for a long moment before pulling the gauze out under from the counter. Wrapping it reasonably tight around her wrists that were slowly stopping their steady flow of blood, she let herself collapse on to the floor of her bathroom with her arm resting between her forehead and her knees as she tried to calm herself. She wished that she hadn't succumbed back to self injury to solve her problems when her mind got too tumultuous for her to bear but she hadn't been able to stop herself. Everything that she had always hated about herself seemed to be coming crashing down on her and she couldn't help but dwell on what Qrow had said. Although she knew he had said it out of pure contempt, she couldn't help but wonder if it was true.

Tell me, when you had those people executed, did you kill the woman you were too?

Why did he have to be so close though? Why did he have to be so right that she was slowly losing her grip on who she was? It was more than a little bit infuriating, if she was being honest she felt more than just culpable for signing the papers that gave the council her approval to perform the executions post-trial when all of them had been found guilty. The fact that she had approved it made her feel like she had been the one who made the decision on her own without any due process. It made her feel sick and she knew that if she went too far that one of the other four major kingdoms, Atlas being the last of them, would declare war and that would be the end of it. The last thing that anyone needed or wanted was there to be another Great War, and everyone knew that if Atlas was involved that it would not be long before Atlas took control. She knew full well that the mercenaries that had been sent were in the same vein as those that had orchestrated the attacks against Atlas three years prior, and, now, she was the dictator of Vacuo. Or, at least, that was what she really was even if wasn't in the eyes of her people.

Yet, at any rate.

Yet her guilt extended beyond that. She felt horribly guilty for what she had said to Cristal, if only because it wasn't fair or appropriate. She knew she had been cruel and she had known when she said it, in her pure, undefined anger, that it was the one thing that would cause her the most pain as things were. She also knew that she had overreacted and risen to Qrow's baiting when she should have let it go so they could have moved on. That was especially true, considering that, while Rose had never been one to be particularly enthralled by the idea of displaying affection in public, she also could imagine how difficult things could be for Tai and Elizabeth even if they had made a mistake.

"Fuck!" Rose screamed as she got up and threw a punch at the mirror. She had depleted her aura enough already so that she would be able to effectively cut herself and it restored so slowly that she ended up causing herself more harm. Rose's punch to the mirror caused damage to the surface enough to cut up her knuckles. "Fuck!"

"Rose?" To her surprise, Summer Rose was standing in the doorway with her arms crossed and her crop in hand. "Alright, we need to talk."

"What about?" Rose demanded weakly, trying to hide the blood. "Why the fuck are you even in Vacuo?"

"Are you kidding me? That can't be a serious question, Rose, can it?" Summer sighed and pulled herself up on to the counter. "You skipped the meeting three days ago, not to mention the other two before that and you haven't been answering anyone's calls. Honestly, I thought something had happened to you."

"Damn right something happened," Rose muttered as she forced herself to look at her. "Listen, Summer, I know that I never apologized to Tai for what I said about -"

"It's fine, he's over it -" She started tiredly.

"No, it's not," Rose snapped. "I overreacted and made the mistake of trying to control the group like I control my Council -"

"Rose -" Summer tried again.

"That doesn't even include what I said to Cristal -" Rose went on.

"Rose, for God's sake, I'm just relieved that your still alive because we need you! You are an invaluable member of the group, for all of your faults!" Summer pulled her hood down and sent the Prime Minister Of Vacuo a look of concern. "Are you sure that something isn't going on?"

"Qrow's right," Rose mumbled weakly. "It doesn't matter that I approved the council's motions to execute those mercenaries that Rebecca Neale sent here, what matters is that I am the one most culpable for it."

"Rose -" She said, shaking her head.

"No, I had to give my approval or the council wouldn't have been allowed to do that." Rose sighed heavily and tried in vain to untangle her hair with her fingers. "Unless they decided to override me but in a council of three hundred people from eleven different departments and of vastly different political viewpoints…well it just simply wouldn't have happened, not likely anyways. Besides, I'm ultimately the one in control of every damn thing in this kingdom."

"I don't think you're a bad person, Rose, really I don't." Summer tried to be as gentle as possible. "But I do think that you are misguided."

"I ought to resign, honestly. If this," Rose looked to her cuts again with resignation. "If this is what I do to myself then I shouldn't be in charge of other people. Still, I feel like I need to defend the people of Vacuo and I have grown fond of power since -"

"Well then -" Summer started.

Rose groaned. "The other thing is that, and I'm sorry that I haven't relayed this yet, but one of the mercenaries that I gave approval for execution for...during the trial admitted that someone is out to get the entire Ciel family or, at least, the members of the family that are still alive."

"What?" Summer went pale at hearing that. "No -"

"Do I look like I'm happy about saying that?" Rose demanded. "I'm just relaying information because -"

"Don't relay that to me," Summer told her, horror crossing her face. "Tell Emmett and Emmeline so they can warn the rest of the family -"

"I was kind of hoping that you would -" Rose admitted.

"Are you -" She started.

"Well it's not as if -" Rose protested.

Shoving her scroll into Rose's hands, Summer shook her head. "Call them. Right now."

"You deny it, but you can be as much of a bitch as Glynda," Rose muttered as she sent the call. "Shouldn't I be telling you what to do, considering that I'm older than you?"

"Summer?" Emmett said in confusion over the line. "Are -"

"It's me, Emmett." Rose said, and she heard him take in a sharp breath. "Rosalinde -"

"Yeah, I know." Emmett said with slight bitterness. "So, what are you going to say about anyone in my family and -"

"Emmett, I swear that I'm not going to pull anything." Rose sighed heavily and ran her fingers through her still tangled hair. "I promise. I just need to warn you about something."

"What's that?" Emmett asked her, skepticism lacing his voice.

Rose shook slightly, praying that he would believe her. "Someone is after your wife's entire family. Can I talk to her. I think it might be –"

"No," Emmett snapped. "And how do the rest of us know that you aren't playing us –"

"Why I never -" Rose started.

The line clicked off sharply and Rose handed Summer's scroll back to her with a dark look. "It's getting a lot scarier out there, isn't it?"

Summer bit her lip. "Honestly," She said, putting her scroll back in her skirt pocket. "I think things are getting worse."