"Before you say anything," Tai said, putting his hands up as if he were expecting to be arrested by them. "I'm not here again to defend Qrow."

Cristal snorted. "Then why are you here?"

"In part because I'm giving the group information he would have under...better circumstances," He said, rubbing his arm. "And, in part, to apologize for his behavior. He was an ass, and you had every reason to be upset, especially because he slapped you."

Ozpin sighed, giving his wife a reassuring squeeze when she tensed.

"Tai," He started. "This is complicated at best."

"I agree," He said, nervously jamming his hands into his pockets. "All of this is complicated, and I don't think any of us know where to go from here."

Cristal sent him a pointed look. "Have you found anything new about the so-called Shadow Empire."

"All my searches for it in the mainstream channels brought up dead ends," He replied, not meeting either of their gazes. "It seemed to lead only to conspiracy theories and rumors about things that could not possibly be real."

She raised an eyebrow. "Like what?"

"Well, one of the less reliable sources suggested a link between it and the SDC," Tai said, trying not to laugh. "I found that one to be completely absurd. Jacques might be questionable in many ways, but I hardly doubt he's involved in anything illegal."

"I remain unsure of that," Cristal said slowly, sharing a look with Ozpin who nodded. "But, my own issues with him aside, it doesn't seem likely that he would risk his position and wealth for the sake of...well, whatever the hell this Shadow Empire could be after. That idea sounds far-fetched at best, Tai, and I think you know it."

"I'm just giving you what I know," He reminded her. "I'm not trying to raise concerns, but I'm making a suggestion based on what I found. That was one of the most common things that came up, although I certainly wouldn't call the sources I got them from reliable."

"You have a lot of...unusual contacts, don't you?" Cristal shook her head. "Tai, I am warning you now to be careful. This sounds precarious at best."

"My work often is," He said calmly. "But this is what I believe in and, for everyone's benefit, I am going to try and figure out this case. It's unorthodox...but, then again, plenty of us have people we can ask for help in this."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "You're thinking about Raven, aren't you?"

"Yes," Tai confirmed. "I think Rae might be able to shed some light onto this."

"That surprises me," Ozpin remarked. "If only because Raven is not the first I would be willing to trust."

"She might be our best chance at figuring this out," Tai countered. "And, at any rate, she has no reason to lie to me about any of this."

"That you know of," Cristal countered. "She might disagree on that front."

Tai bit his lip. "I'd rather not think about that."

"It is a possibility," Ozpin gently reminded him. "One that I do not recommend we discount."

"Oz, I can tell when she's being truthful or not," Tai said, crossing his arms. "I'm not inclined to trust her on several matters, but this would be peripheral to her and I'm sure she doesn't -"

"Just be careful," He warned him. "It's potentially -"

"Dangerous, I know," Tai shook his head. "But with the Vytal Festival coming up, we cannot leave any stone unturned. This could impair security, it could -"

"Exactly," Cristal said, tiredly adjusting her glasses. "Are we in agreement that, if you bring her back into this, even temporarily, it's on a need-to-know basis?"

Tai nodded shortly. "That sounds reasonable."

"Oh, and Tai?" Cristal eyed him as he stepped towards the door. "Make sure that you're careful. After all, this is a particularly...delicate situation."

"Of course," He said, shutting the door quietly behind him.

It would have been a nice sensation if his head hadn't been spinning and the sound hadn't felt much louder, much more ominous than it truly was.

"Madeline!"

Roman Torchwick stared at the woman in surprise before ushering her into his apartment. Neo raised an eyebrow upon seeing her but, per usual, said nothing. She did, however, slam down the newspaper she had been reading and swaggered off. As he shut the door, Roman took in the spectacle of Madeline Ciel who was dressed as finely as always. Just looking at her reawoke the desire in him and he forced his expression and gait to remain neutral. He was, after all, a suave businessman who took what he wanted when he decided the time had come to seize it. Madeline, in his view, both fell into that plan and complicated it. Whatever the case, however, he lit a cigar and poured her a glass of sparkling white wine. He let her sip it for longer than usual. There was something about the lack of warning before her visit that concerned him. It could imply danger, or, so he swore, perhaps that was his imagination. In the last week alone, he had survived a round of Vacuoian Roulette with his sister, Neo, and two huntsmen, not to mention all he counted as accomplishments from time both before and after prison. He was a stronger man, if no straight arrow, and he wasn't afraid to be arrogant about it. Regrettably, that air was lost in this particular juncture.

"I have some...interesting news regarding my husband," Madeline eventually said, still sipping her wine. "And, no, it is not that we are divorcing or that I'm pregnant. Ugh, the horror, can you imagine?"

Roman ignored that last and flicked some of his ash aside.

"So," He said cooly. "What's happened?"

Madeline giggled with an endearing twinkle in her eyes.

"Ronnie's been...shall we say...embezzling millions of funds alongside Jacques Schnee," She told him with a faint smirk rising on her crimson lips. "My dear husband, it seems, is at the heart of the most shadowed empire in recent years."

Roman stared at her. "Are you serious?"

She scoffed. "Oh, Roman, believe me, if there's one thing I take seriously, it's lining my own pockets."

Roman felt his eyes widen and knew his shock was written all over his face.

"Out of curiosity," He finally said, puffing on his cigar. "How in hell do you know that?"

She winked. "That is for me to know."

"Which doesn't answer my question," Roman replied, matching her silky tone. "Nor does it give me any sense of comfort."

She irritably blew on her hair. "The short of it is that I have access to our financial records, even though Ronnie is convinced that I never look."

"So, you know this because he wants to maintain his image," Roman rolled his eyes. "The irony is that I'm not inclined to believe that."

"Ronnie, we're…" Madeline awkwardly trailed off. "Sorry, Roman. God, this is strong...look, Roman, we're in a relationship, even if we keep it under the wraps, and I trust you so I need you to trust me."

"That's where you're mistaken," Roman sent her a dark look. "You might trust me, although I can't imagine why, and I don't trust you. I ain't going to deny how hot you are, or how much I enjoy our little trysts, but that does not equate to trust."

"You're quite the player, aren't you?" She hissed. "A little -"

"Madeline, I have heard anything you are about to say before," Roman shrugged. "I don't care."

Her expression immediately darkened and he took a small step back when she stood up.

"Listen to me," She said, slamming down her wine glass and storming towards him. "You can't hold me to different standards than I do you because that is exactly how one of us will end up in jail."

"I don't have a problem keeping your dirty little secrets," Roman told her, scowling when she grab him by his scarf. "But I have a feeling that you won't keep mine."

She narrowed her eyes. "Is that so?"

"You and I both know it is," He said, prying her hand off and pushing her back about a foot. "Now. Unless you have something else to tell me, I think you should get going. You don't want to make that husband of yours suspicious, now do you?"

"Oh?" Madeline quirked an eyebrow. "Is that a threat?"

Roman scowled. "You know it is, don't you?"

"I don't know if it was worth it for me to take the powers from Fria when she was diagnosed with the tuberculosis," Cate Schnee activated her powers as the winter maiden and pulsed a small orb of ice in her hand for a moment. "Especially because, in the…"

"You at least had a choice," Alice looked to her wife sadly and gently patted her knee. "It might be straining on you, but you had a choice. I didn't."

"You've always been tight-lipped about that," James hesitantly glanced to her. "You said it was blood-reconstruction surgery, but -"

"I got drained almost to death," Alice said softly, and her wife looked rather sick. "And the blood and aura of the last summer maiden were blended together so that it could be transfused with mine and I could be...restored. I was in a coma for almost a month. When I came to, I was in a lot of pain and I was the summer maiden. I don't think you understand what that kind of thing does to a person."

James swallowed hard. "You're right," He agreed. "I don't know what that does to a person but, if there's anything -"

"You said that yesterday," She said, staring at her hands. "So did Emmeline."

Cate wrapped an arm tightly around her wife and rested her head on her shoulder.

"I'm still angry," She murmured, her voice almost inaudible. "But I will try to be here for you through this. I still love you, Al, but that does not make things better."

She looked ready to cry but nodded weakly. "Thank you…"

Silence fell over the three of them for what felt to be the longest time. Then, James finally spoke.

"Cate," He slowly began. "Back to what you said before, are you really suggesting that you -"

"I would do anything to be free of my powers, now," She said, sharing a look with Alice that spoke volumes. "I know that sounds desperate, but I am."

"You would lose your aura," Alice found her voice shaking despite herself. "You would lose your semblance, and the -"

"But aura doesn't define a person," She softly countered. "It's merely an extra layer of protection that gives a bit of extra power. I have other ways of finding truth when it comes to you-know-who. After all, if someone is lying, or we think someone is, then we can unwind it. Aura has little to do with our ability to handle her —"

"You're underestimating how deeply the loss of your semblance could affect you," James put in, horrified. "I don't even know who you would be able to give your aura to, considering -"

"If it were someone in my family, I could swap auras with them," She said, her hands shaking furiously. "If you're all so concerned about what losing my semblance could have on me, then -"

"Who would you swap it with, though?" Alice chewed at the inside of her cheek, still holding her wife as if she were holding on for dear life. "Emmett couldn't take the powers of a maiden, and Cristal would never -"

"I'm not denying any of that," Cate found her voice shaking and she lost all of her scientific mask. "But Winter might be willing to do it and, just as important, she would be capable of handling it."

"Cate, listen to me," James said calmly, albeit unable to hide his concern. "I know that you're jaded from some of the things you went through as a young woman, and I know that these are dark times to which none of us can foresee an end, and I know that you're severely depressed but think this through. I don't doubt what you're saying but I can't do this."

Her face fell. "I had a feeling…"

"Honey, even if you'd do anything to be free of your…" Alice fell silent and brushed tears away from her eye. "It's never worth it, or, at least…"

"It's ultimately a decision you and Winter will have to come to when and if the time is right," James said, and she nodded, however numbly. "But this...this is not that time."

"I know it isn't," She admitted weakly. "Yet…"

"I agree with James," Alice said, stroking her wife's hair. "I'm just trying to protect you."

"And that's not even including what I'm sure Nick and Anne would have to say abou it," James added, and she sighed. "You have to know that."

"I do, but...it's not right, nothing is, it seems," Cate said, then she shook her head. "But it's okay. I'm going to make it anyway."

"You always do," He said with a faint smile. "None of us have ever seen you do otherwise, after all."

"Everything's easy for you, isn't it?"

Spencer Ciel turned around in surprise. Behind him, standing as tall as ever and with that look of determination she defined herself with, was Robyn Hill. A girl in her last year at Atlas Academy, she was well-versed in the ways of being a huntress or huntsman and seemed to have already gathered a bit of a following beyond her teammates. She was now standing in front of him, her arms crossed. Spencer sighed and set down the book he had been reaching for and motioned for her to sit down. She did so grudgingly. Her eyes were narrow and seemed to be calculating every move he made. It was unnerving, to say the very least. Spencer considered, for a moment, reaching for his coat but decided to let it be. He doubted she would look at his inner elbows, and he didn't think she was going to notice his scars even though his v-neck was short-sleeved. A few seconds passed tersely and then he spoke.

"Miss Hill," He said cordially. "What brings you here? I thought you were on a mission with your teammates."

She sent him an irritable look. "We returned two days ago. Shouldn't you know that?"

He shrugged. "I'm not involved in it. I'm a -"

"I get it," She said, putting up her hand. "It's just...I heard that your father's running for president."

"If it's any consolation, Miss Hill, I only learned about that recently myself," Spencer informed her, and her eyes widened in genuine surprise. "My father is especially closed when it comes to his political aims."

She snorted. "That's an understatement. You know the folks like me in Mantle? His charm is lost on us, and I get the feeling it's lost on a lot of other people in the kingdom too. After all, unlike Sassler, he isn't fighting for people like us and, on top of that, he doesn't talk much. He's quiet and, when he speaks, it's very calm and passive. He sounds reasonable but, of course, no one knows what he's against or what he's for."

Spencer considered that but said nothing. He was not going to give her the satisfaction of being told she was right.

"I mean, all he does is be all: shake hands with them! Charm them!" Robyn rolled her eyes. "He's got experience, sure, but no one knows where he stands on anything."

"That's the trouble with politics," Spencer said, and she began to twist her ponytail with her fingers. "Often, it's difficult to know what people actually believe, even if they are being, supposedly, up front about it."

She considered the point. "I suppose," She conceded. "But that's easy for you to say, considering where you and your whole damn family is."

"Miss Hill, if you ever want even a shot at understanding politics, you have to consider the human aspect of it," He said, and she bristled. "I mean that in the sense of humanity."

"Doesn't make me any happier," She said dryly. "But I guess that's fair."

He eyed her for a moment and then shook his head.

"Do you need anything else?" He forced himself to ask. "Or was that all?"

"Just one thing," She said, crossing her arms. "How is it you can say the things you do when you've never endured real pain the way people like me have? Pain that they almost exclusively refuse to discuss because it's inappropriate to pin your struggles on other people."

Spencer knew he looked incredulous at her words and, when he stood up, he attempted to balance that with what he was thinking.

"I am going to be frank," He said shortly. "People like you talk about how their struggles are worse than everyone else's and, while in some ways that's true, you push down other people or anyone else brave enough to admit to what they have faced or are facing. You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, and, I'm sorry, I cannot empathize when I know you cannot do the same."

Her eyes flared. "Do you have any idea what poverty does? What being subjugated -"

"Look beyond the surface, Robyn," Spencer said tiredly, running a hand through his hair. "I think we'll all be better off if people like you learn to see the world holistically."

She paused upon seeing him move his arm just enough for his inner elbow to be visible. It could have been intentional, or it could have been by accident, but she saw enough in those few seconds to know what they meant. She knew exactly what caused those scars, and those lines.

"Tough," She said, glaring as she left the room. "That's what this damn world needs to be. Tougher."

She paid no mind to the hypocrisy of her words, nor did she consider her own weaknesses.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not thrilled about any of this," Emmett Schnee glanced at the time but then shrugged. "Oh, and please don't tell Emmy that I'm drinking coffee."

"It's only six," Glynda sighed. "But, I agree, I'm not thrilled about the Vytal Festival either."

"The trouble is that it could go terribly wrong in more ways than one," Emmett paused and then began sipping his coffee again. "Truth be told, I'm not particularly confident in any of this. Seems like we're taking a lot of risks that we don't need to."

"And we'll pop a boot in your ass, because that's the Atlesian way," She remarked dryly. "If you don't open up your door, we'll lay it flat upon the floor."

Emmett couldn't help but chuckle. "That should be our national anthem."

"It may very well be de facto," She replied, delicately adjusting her glasses. "Generally speaking, anyways."

"Welcome to Atlas," He said, setting down his coffee. "The home of the free, the brave, and the damned."

Glynda raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to be ironic?"

"Nah," Emmett said, waving his hand dismissively. "If I were trying to be ironic, I'd pull out a lighter, a vase, and some incense and tell you to travel into the abyss of the unknown."

She recoiled at the thought. "Don't disgust me."

"That was not my intention," Emmett said, smirking and pushing up his glasses. "You scare me enough as it is, and I don't want to give you any reasons to terrify me."

She rolled her eyes. "You could just think about what might be above the ceiling."

Emmett shuddered. "You know I've hated attics since Emmy and I found a questionable video tape in her childhood home. The fact that Edward didn't even know it was there made it worse."

"I remember that," Glynda said, frowning. "What else did you find in there?"

"Mostly old photographs, some of them that we couldn't explain," Emmett paused in consideration and then shook his head. "A lot of old clothes were in there too."

"Sounds more than a little bit scary," Glynda remarked. "As are most of the things we're dealing with, it seems."

"We might be losing the solitude and peace we've had for so long," Emmett sighed, fidgeting with his wedding ring. "The solitude and peace that we always knew."