Raven Branwen had never been more enraged in her life. The last month had been an utter shit show — between the grimm attack, the accidental arson, and that amber eyed girl — and she had enough. Never before had she ever tolerated obstacles, but it was clear that something more was at hand. Salem herself was probably involved, much as it pained her to admit it. What pained her more, however, was the way she saw Angelica — Renné — slowly starting to fray at the seams. It wasn't unexpected, given that she had left her entire life behind, but Raven didn't know what to do about it anymore than she knew what to do about Salem herself. Truth be told, she was terrified of the Dark Queen and the ways she could play her own pieces. She had horades of loyalists at her command, of that Raven was certain, and all of them were incredibly powerful. There was little to be done against them; although she wanted to believe Ozpin was right in saying Salem could be defeated, Raven had seen plenty of her terrifying power first hand. She wanted nothing to do with any of it, and her anger towards Ozpin for dragging them all into it was unmeasurable. He hadn't warned them how bad things could get. Hell, he hadn't so much as even hinted at it.

"I cannot believe this," Raven stabbed a knife into a small table, startling Renné. "Setting aside the issues within the tribe, we are facing more enemies than we ever had! What the hell — no, what the fuck — is any of this accomplishing?"

Renné said nothing for a long time, having spent the last several weeks pondering that same question herself.

"I'm not sure," She eventually admitted. "All I can tell you is that Oz —"

"Oz is a pathetic coward," Raven glared at the knife and then shook her head. "If he weren't, we would be much better off."

"Oz is in just as bad a situation as the rest of us," Renné countered, although she was beginning to struggle to defend Ozpin when she spent so many nights regretting what she had done. "If he weren't, we probably wouldn't even know about any of this."

Raven frowned. "You really think we would be much better off? Even without Salem, there would be the White Fang and other terrorists. Atlas would still be trigger happy. The world wouldn't be able to compromise. In the end, it seems like very little would actually change."

Renné bit her lip. "Then maybe it's me. I can't even start to explain how much I miss my husband and son."

"You think I don't?" Raven sent her a dark look. "If she weren't too young, I would want my daughter here but, to raise her as part of...no. I could never."

Renné raised an eyebrow. "Why not? Plenty of people in the tribe do?"

"You sound like Tai," Raven sighed heavily, brushing her hair over her shoulder. "He begged me to stay, you know. I wonder if he ever understood what I meant when I said it's not that easy."

"It could have been," Renné argued. "You chose to abandon them."

"You made the same choice," Raven reminded her without a shred of emotion in her voice. "You are in no position to claim it's easy to simply change your mind."

Renné swallowed hard. Part of her knew she was right and that their lives were nothing like a movie in which they cold chose to go back in such critical decisions. Another part of her, however, was screaming and trashing at her to prove it could be done. Some day, she vowed, it would be.

"We can't go back right now," Renné said, her voice wavering a little. "But that won't always be the case. I won't let it be, anyways."

Raven shook her head. "He'll move on," She said sadly. "No matter what you do, he will move on and leave you here alone."

Summer Rose could hardly believe what she was looking at. The report on Mountain Glenn was almost too graphic to believe. In th steets, people had been torn to pieces by grimm or shot by mistake or beaten to death. Hunters were dying left and right, struggling to handle the situation. Only after weeks of this violence and the disappearance of one of the city's most influential residents — Dr. Merlot — had the Valerian Council finally decided to shut the entire city down. They had closed all the tunnels in and out. The people still there, if there were in fact people still there, were trapped until the council could send in helicopters to airlift any survivors out. An investigation had been launched in to the members of the Mountain Glenn city council, all of whom were under house arrest in the capital. Summer couldn't believe something so awful could be allowed to happen. There was supposed to be oversight, there was supposed to be the protection of the people. Here, there was nothing except utter failure on the part of Vale's legislature — which had neglected to pass an regulations to ensure the safety of the city — and the government as a whole. The fact they had required the aid of Atlas' military to try and restrain the mess towards the end was proof enough.

The entire kingdom of Vale was now in disarray. No one knew what to do, let alone how to do it, and they were so damn unprepared that the situation was bound to get worse with time. Summer supposed the council was making the right decision in shutting down the haunting city, but it didn't sit right with her. On her scroll flashed a new mission opportunity to Mountain Glenn. She couldn't help but consider it. While it was supposed to be a final scan of the city, she knew it could easily become much more difficult. She chewed at the inside of her cheek, trying to think of the best way to address the option. She could ask Tai, but she didn't want to leave her daughter without at least one of her parents if the worst came to pass. Summer wanted to ask Qrow, sure he would understand after being abandoned by people too. They couldn't leave the people who could still be in the city to die. She was almost certain he would understand. He did have a young son, but he was perhaps the most skilled of all of them. He would be fine, and she only needed back up support. She knew it was unlikely that something truly cataclysmic would happen, especially when the chances stood as it being a little more than standard surveying. She sighed, tapping her fingers against the table.

A few grimm would probably have to be fought of here and there, but it couldn't possibly be that bad. They were fully trained hunters with a reputation for quick results. Why would she be nervous at all? Their training had taught them the skills to handle far worse than this; it seemed pretty clear that the only reason the situation had gotten so out of hand was because the Valerian Council had fucked up. With a little support, the situation could be addressed. Summer knew she was downplaying the severity a little to soothe her own nerves, but she told herself it was only because of the pain they all still felt about Angelica's death. If things were normal, she believed she wouldn't even be hesitating. This was the kind of job that lowly mercenaries took. Summer pursed her lips at the thought, still angry with Raven for abandoning the team and a little threatened by the love she had once shared with Tai. She knew it was terrible and irrational, but she wanted to prove her worth. Summer knew she was more than just a loving mother or a caring teammate. She was a badass hunter in her own right, capable of more than anyone had ever bargained for. She had no reason to be afraid of anything, not if she was with someone she knew had her back. Why not take the chance?

"Hi!"

Little Caitlin Ironwood poked her head over the edge of the couch to stare at her baby brother, who was laying on the floor. He seemed less than amused, although he quickly found his foot and giggled. She looked at him funny, but waved at him, trying to get his attention. He giggled when she started making faces, to which she grinned. He was still super tiny, but she enjoyed playing with him. Zoey seemed to as well, although she was also amused by the silly faces her big sister kept making. Their mother was at work, so the kids were at home with James, who was watching them from where he was working himself at the kitchen table. Thankfully for all of them, Jacin was a docile baby that was easily entertained even if he didn't sleep very much. Much like Zoey, he was excitable. This was in extreme contrast to their big sister, who enjoyed sleeping a lot. Either way, things were quiet enough and it was a nice change for the Ironwoods. James and Glynda still had their concerns about the girls (and especially the guardian of Zoey's best friend) but they and their baby brother were doing well enough and, for the time being, that was what they needed. There were some things that could be figured out later with no need to dwell on them now.

"Boop!" Caity smiled and lightly tapped her baby brother's nose. He looked at her, more confused than anything else.

"He can't talk," Zoey told her. "Mommy says he's too little."

Caity pouted. "I know…"

"Mommy's always right," Zoey said, toddling over to their baby brother and giving him a hug. "He cute!"

Jacin giggled a bit upon Zoey starting to roll around on the floor with a grin. It really was a slow day for them. Glancing up from his work, James smiled, glad that they were able to have days like this more and more even with the disasters all around them.

So much as Jacques despised Emmeline Ciel, he knew how quickly she could put an end to a case. Bearing that in mind, he began to compose a short email to request She take a look into the matter of Merlot and his contemporaries. Jacques knew full well that Michael Merlot was a dangerous man with far too much intellect for someone who didn't give a damn about other human beings. Regardless, he was someone with whom Jacques had done business at one point or another and, with the state of Mountain Glenn, Jacques wanted to be prepared to address the situation if he or the SDC were to become implicated. It would be a serious scandal if they did (a fact he very much feared). Angrily, Jacques slammed down the pen he had been holding and glowered at the computer screen. He was struggling; asking Emmeline for help in any sense of the word was utterly embarrassing and he was sure she would be far too pleased with herself when she made note of the fact. Jacques was not afraid of her (at least that was what he claimed) but he knew how vengeful she could be. Nevertheless, she was brilliant and potentially the only person with access to the information he wanted that could be persuaded to share even slivers of it.

"God damn it," Jacques muttered, reaching for his scroll and deciding to simply call her. Irritably, Emmeline picked up almost immediately.

"What do you want?" She venomously asked.

"I need a favor," Jacques smoothly replied. "I believe you still owe me for saving your life."

Emmeline took in a sharp breath. "That was three years ago and you've been a pain in the ass to me and my husband since then. Not a chance in hell."

"It's about Merlot."

Jacques smirked to himself upon her falling silent. It was difficult to break Emmeline, but he seemed to have managed it without much issue. The silence held for a moment, and then she finally spoke.

"My father and the senate are already looking into that matter," She said, her voice clipped. "You do not have a clearance of any sort to give you access to that information. Why are you even asking?"

"Because you do," Jacques said, far calmer than her. Obviously he had plucked a nerve or two. "And this matter is as serious to me as it is to everyone else. I've done business with him and I am not going to end up the way Lillian has."

Emmeline scoffed. "To think I thought you already were that bad."

Jacques pursed his lips, waiting to reply until he could match her tone or sound relaxed enough to be threatening.

"I certainly am not thrilled by asking you of all people for aid in any matter, let alone with regard to my business," Jacques said, leaning back a little while he went on. "But the situations are dire enough to warrant such a motion, wouldn't you agree?"

"I'll swim through hell before I break the law or so much as bend over backwards for you to settle a score," Emmeline snapped. "Don't test my patience, Jacques. Emmett and I are both worn thin when it comes to your bullshit. I think it's clear we've had enough over the years."

"That's no way to speak of —" Jacques began, outraged.

"You're a manipulative msn through and through," Emmeline pressed on, her anger towards him never stronger. "You're a selfish coward, and to ask me to put my career on the line because you once saved me from being shot is absolutely insane. If you think that's a favor, you are out of your damn mind."

Jacques frowned. "Is that so?"

"Try to pull that card again and you're dead."

Before he could even begin to respond, the line clicked off and it was clear that something else was at hand when it came to determining who had caused the tragedy at Mountain Glenn and why.

Lillian Schnee sat in her prison cell, listening to the other inmates and guards talk. There was plenty of gossip going around, and she abhorred all of it. They kept her away from the other prisoners, kept her guarded, and seemed to give her luxuries she wouldn't receive otherwise, such as being able to wear her own clothes. Nevertheless, she still almost regretted taking the plea bargain. She had known, of course, that she would have probably lost in court but she was angry with herself for giving in. The things she had done were not that bad, and plenty of people with the kind of money she had did worse. Why would she give a damn when she wasn't involved in much other than mild extortion? It had all looked terrible, she supposed, and the thought of being brought before a judge and a jury terrified her. Now, here she sat, in a terrible mood and cursing all of her children for not defending her. She cursed Emmett for not being Felix. She cursed Angelica and Felix for dying and dragging the family (but mainly her) down with them. She cursed Willow for breaking into her home and sending footage to the FBI that had escalated her sentence from twenty five years to life. Yes, if one thing were clear, it was that Lillian Schnee was pissed beyond belief.

Her deceased husband was also on her mind. Lillian could scarcely imagine how Nicholas would feel if he could see her now. She had never said it, but she knew he had been right when he'd told her she wasn't the same woman he had married. Lillian knew full well that she was hardened, and that her anger towards the world made her almost cruel in response. She knew full well that she had been hard on their children, and she knew she had gone too far on multiple occasions too. Yet there was reason, she told herself. Clearly they didn't care if they weren't going to associate with her now that she had been marked as a criminal. There was a part of her that wanted to have been theatrically disembodied from the reputation and had always presented. She wanted to see the faces of all the people who had been right and, even more, she wanted to see the shock of the people who never could have imagined the circles she was tied to in their dizziest daydreams. She wanted to be paraded around with a bright scarlet A stitched into her clothes as if she were in the Scarlet Letter. To no small degree, Lillian Schnee desperately craved attention. Before she had married Nicholas, she had made money by shocking people. By all means, it had been effective.

She hadn't quite been a stripper but she certainly hadn't been a circus member either. Lillian laughed at the mere thought of her past. They had been called harlies, their wages were entirely in the charity of the people that saw them, and it had been her first game of manipulation. Lillian supposed it was pathetic in hindsight, especially because she had all but written her history upon marrying Nicholas. Except those whom she had once worked with, the entire world believed she had been a boring girl from another wealthy Atlesian family. No one needed to know the truth, although Lillian felt as if she were being drawn closer and closer into her past just by being in this place. She already knew prison wasn't going to treat her well. She knew they kept her guarded for safety, and she knew they let her have some of her luxuries because she was considered to be a volatile flight risk. Laying down in her bed, Lillian stared up at the full ceiling, her entire body feeling exhausted. She wanted to break something, she wanted to damn every single person — family or not — that had gotten her locked up in this place. The life she had spent decades perfecting was shattered at her feet all because of Arthur and her fucking eldest dying. Lillian told herself she felt no guilt about Felix's death, but she did.

It was almost as ironic as how much of her misfortune she had brought on herself.