August 15th
City of Atlas
Atlas
Downtown
7:56 PM
"What do you need, Madame President?"
Robyn Hill raised an eyebrow in surprise when Morell motioned for her to sit down, looking both thoroughly exhausted and, even, rather strained. She watched her uncomfortably, very much aware of the way Morell's fingers tapped against her desk and the dullness to her eyes that seemed so foreign on her. Robyn noticed the multiple case files on Morell's desk, along with piles of paperwork, and, of course, her computer, which was plugged into the wall and shut. Albeit maintaining her professionalism, Robyn found herself itching to know what was concerning the Atlesian President so much. She did not ask, however, and instead waited for Elizabeth to speak. A few minutes passed in silence, with Elizabeth looking over a few files quite quickly, but, then, pushed one towards her. General Emmeline Ceceila Ciel. Robyn's eyebrows shot up in surprise, opening the rather large file and slowly beginning to look through it. She was almost too stunned to believe what she was looking at.
"To be clear, I am not asking you to do anything," Elizabeth finally said, rubbing her temples. "At the very least, that is, I am not asking you to take any...action to restrain Emmeline. I am, however, asking you to keep tabs on her. I don't want to see anything to happen to her, and I don't want to see her discharged from the military either….but she is a danger to herself and others. If she indeed is going to be involved when we, based on Ozpin's speculation, put an end to the situation with Salem at the end of the year, then we need her to be in full control of her mental faculties."
Robyn nodded. "It's regrettable," She said shortly. "What's happened to her over the years, that is. I completely understand this decision, Madame President, and will address this as quickly as I can. By the end of the week, I'm sure, we can find a way to keep her from going…."
Robyn trailed off and restrained herself, deciding her thoughts were too dark for it to be fitting for her to say them outloud.
"From going a-wall?" Elizabeth surmised, frowning. "Yes, I would tend to agree. It would be for the best that she not go in that direction. I understand Emmett is doing his best to help her, but he can only do so much...and I would argue he is the singular person with the most influence in her mind. At least, that's what I've seen since she killed Khan. Emmett is the only reason Emmeline has not completely lost it...but he's concerned. That's why I'm asking you to do this. It's not just about restraining her….it's about protecting a family that has already been through too much."
"The Schnees definitely….are broken," Robyn shook her head. "I hope they'll be able to heal once this is all over. Really, I hope everyone will be able to heal."
"That would be ideal, now wouldn't it?" Elizabeth glanced towards the window, looking a little detached. "I worry that we're already too late, though. I sincerely hope that I am wrong...but I don't know anymore. If this ends up well, then all the best for the people and everyone else involved."
"Agreed," Robyn nodded and slowly stood up with the file in hand. "I'll do everything I can to make our final preparations go smoothly. If there is any other work that you need me to do, I'm more than willing to come in early or stay late to address it. I know the situation is increasingly volatile, throughout the entire country."
"It's not just the Atlas," Elizabeth ruefully replied. "It's the entire world."
Robyn paused in the doorway. "Is there anything else that I ought to know, Madame President? Or is that all for today?"
"I'll let you know," Elizabeth said emotionlessly. "For now, I have a great deal to look over for the DFAMA."
"Of course," Robyn said.
"Keep me updated," Elizabeth added, briefly looking up as Robyn left the room.. "Things are already bad enough as it is."
August 21st
City of Atlas
Atlas
Downtown
9:34 PM
"Emily."
Emmeline almost screamed upon seeing Willow step into the room, realising, with a start, that Spencer, Karissa, or Emmett must have let her in. Willow sighed, having never seen her sister in law look quite so distressed. Everything about Emmeline seemed to be falling apart. Her black and white hair was in such disarray that it looked almost as if she had been in a fight or, as Willow hoped wasn't the case, had been pulling it out. It had been a little while since the two women had seen each other, and it was almost overwhelming to see Emmeline in this state. Willow swallowed hard, suddenly all too aware that she had once been so close to snapping this way. Some days, she worried, it felt as if she still were lingering too close to that precipice. Seeing this, it was a horrifying reminder, not only of her own fragility but of how quickly Emmeline had unraveled.
This was a long time coming, Willow thought, feeling a little dizzy when she finally sat down beside Emmeline, who was starting to curl into herself. Downstairs, though Emmeline probably hadn't realised it, Emmett, Spencer, and Karissa were speaking with the family psychiatrist and one from the military. Willow knew all too well that they had asked her to check on Emmeline because of how similar they could be. If it weren't for Ash doing everything she had...would Emily be better off? Would any of us...would all of us have been better off if Ash hadn't been caught up in that staged accident in Mistral back in 2001?
"Emily, you're freezing," Willow shook her head and grabbed the blanket draped over the opposite arm of the couch. She quickly wrapped it around her, sighing when it occurred to her this was exactly how she had comforted her son after she and Jacques had divorced. "Are you okay?"
"No," Emmeline shuddered and curled around the blanket, her sister in law slowly inspecting her head. "It's still raw," She whispered. "Some of those scabs are recent."
Willow took in a deep breath upon seeing where, as she had feared, Emmeline had been ripping out chunks of her hair.
"Is this about what happened during the Festival?" Willow eventually pressed. "With Ivy, that is?"
"She needs to pay," Emmeline said quietly, her voice and entire body shaking. "She had so much potential. I thought she was going to recover after that bullshit between her and that terrorist. I thought she was going to put her daughter first. Put the country first. And then she decided to kill. She's killed so many people….and I have no idea why. She must be stopped...at all costs."
"She may not be acting of her own volition," Willow gently reminded her. "Sometimes people just can't keep going. She's disturbed, she needs help….but she doesn't deserve to die either."
"And what about the message that sends?" Emmeline suddenly began to curl tightly into herself, looking sick. Willow stood up and quickly grabbed another blanket, which she draped over her. "She needs to be made an example of."
"But what's murder going to fix?" Willow sighed and shook her head. "Emmeline, what you're going through must be hell and I know you and Emmett are struggling...but killing her is not going to make you feel better. I don't know what to do, I don't know how to help you cope because, honestly, I don't know how to cope beyond trying to know everything and drinking. But I do know you're not as horrible as you're acting. You're not a psychopath, Emmeline, but you are distressed and you need help….and that help isn't going to come through killing anyone."
Emmeline sniffled, squeezing her eyes shut and trying not to cry.
"My head is so muddled, Willow," She said, her voice nearly inaudible. "I can't sleep without hearing screams, I can't be awake without punishing myself for not doing enough. Everything feels so distant….like I'm completely detached."
"You're not," Willow hesitated but then came over to her sister in law and hugged her tightly, trying to comfort her while she started to sob. "I'm not sure what it will take, but you'll get better. You aren't too far gone. If there's anything I want you to know, it is that. You've done so much good over the years, Emily, and you've helped me before too. Please don't forget that."
Emmeline tried to respond but found she couldn't, her throat constricted. The entire room was spinning, now, and, while she cried, the only thing she was able to feel was how much warmer her sister in law was compared to her. It was then that, more than anything, Emmeline realised that she desperately wanted life to be right again.
August 30th
CIty of Atlas
Atlas
Downtown
11:13 AM
"How are you doing, Hope?"
Samara smiled and affectionately elbowed her wife, who laughed a little when Hope grinned and jumped up onto her aunt. Even with what was happening with her mother, it was moments like these that reminded Samara what they were fighting for. She ignored the way Emmeline had yelled at her the night before. You two have no idea how to handle yourselves. You're supporting a child that will probably be as dangerous as her mother. Samara frowned at the memory, all but ripping her keys out of the ignition while Caitlin finally set Hope down outside the car, holding her little niece's hands. She was glad that the one person she was open with was her wife. The two of them, according to Emmett, anyways, had a rather unusual marriage. Perfectly content with each other's past affairs, completely open about the subject with each other and, to some extent, enjoying what each other had experienced. Between them, at least since they had gotten married, there had always been complete transparency.
That was obviously not the case with the rest of the family.
Samara knew as well as Caitlin did that her goodwill for Emmeline was wearing thin, and it wasn't even related to Emmeline's increased insistence that anyone who could be reasonably believed to be a traitor should be executed. The two of them had argued the point with her just a few days before, and it had gone nowhere. Caitlin had remarked after that Emmeline was too far gone to be able to understand where they were coming from, where essentially everyone else in the group was coming from. Samara had no argument against that, no matter what Emmett had to say on the subject. It was infuriating, the half baked excuses he was offering on a near daily basis and, just as much, both women were completely done with the way even Ozpin and Cristal had caved, the two of them seemingly giving up arguing against Emmeline. They were so close, too, to having Salem's location and being able to address her. Team RWBY had uncovered quite a few previously sealed documents in Mistral and were sending them back to Atlas as they went through them.
Their mission had been uneventful beyond that, and they would return in two weeks' time, but Samara and Caitlin were not convinced that some of the information could be kept from Emmeline for that long.
"It's still warm out!" Hope skipped a little ahead of her aunts with a smile. "Think it's gonna stay warm?"
"Hopefully through October," Caitlin replied, taking Samara's hand while the two of them quickly caught up with Hope. "It's certainly nice to know that we have some time before we have to put up with snow."
Samara rolled her eyes. "Snow isn't that bad."
"Yes, it is," Caitlin said, starting to go on but then suddenly grabbing Hope and pulling her back shortly before she skipped into the street, a speeding car going past them and whipping their hair around. "Damn it! Even I don't drive that badly!"
Hope hugged her and Samara tightly, shaking a little from the startle. Samara let out a deep sigh, but then noticed something strange across the street. Cars were still going quickly past, but, when they stopped at the light upon it going red, the two women could see between them. Caitlin immediately shielded Hope with her entire body before the little girl could see what she and Samara had seen. Across the street from them was a sleek black car, and, just stepping out of it, was Raven and a woman that they didn't recognise at first. When they saw her eyes, however, both of them could feel their hearts drop in their chests. When this woman noticed them watching her, she flashed her eyes, sparks appearing around them. Less than a minute later, cars began to move again and, when Caitlin and Samara could see again, the woman and Raven were gone. But they had no doubt as to who she was.
"Why is she back in the kingdom?" Samara whispered, tightly squeezing her wife's hand.
Caitlin squeezed her hand back, swallowing hard. "That's not my only question," She softly replied. "Why is she also with Raven….and why would she let us know?"
