Cordially Invited

Atlas Academy…

Weiss Schnee is holding an invitation to a banquet hall at the Schnee Manor, "Only my father would turn a hostile takeover into a fluffy PR move."

In their dorm room, Weiss is sitting in a circle with Ruby Rose, Oscar Pine, Yang Xiao Long, Jared Shay and Blake Belladonna. She, Ruby and Oscar are sitting in chairs, and Blake, Yang, and Jared are sitting on Weiss' bed.

"On the news, he said he just wanted to break bread and hash things out. Maybe it won't be so bad? We do want the General to start opening up to these people, right?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, but on his terms. Ironwood's going to be locked in a room at his rival's own dinner party. I know Jacques says he's happy to moderate, but all that really means is he'll be the one controlling the conversation." Oscar said.

"Not hard to imagine how that's gonna play out." Blake said.

"If this is anything like how my world turned out. It's gonna be pretty." Jared said, sadly.

"Right. You ran away from all that."

"I still can't believe he won. Robyn was supposed to be the people's champion, wasn't she?" Weiss asked, sighing. "There's just too many coincidences."

"You really think your dad might have something to do with Salem?" Yang asked.

"I think my father would do whatever it takes to win."

"And we should do the same." Ruby said.

"After Demon's Run, I could do with a victory for once." Jared said, sadly. "And one that didn't involve love winning."

"You're right, we lost a lot recently. Where it was an ex or a battle." Yang said, looking at Blake. "But we need another victory in our minds."

"Meaning...?" Weiss asked.

"Well, no one knows your dad better than you, and out of everyone going tonight, I'd say you're the only one who could snoop around the house and not be questioned. If Jacques Schnee is up to something, I think we should know what it is." Ruby said.

Weiss thinks about it for a moment, then gains a somewhat determined look.

Schnee Manor…

An Atlas Broadcast News airship hovers in the night sky above the Schnee Manor. Four hover cars drive along the driveway loop and come to a stop in front of the manor. While Ruby, Weiss, Yang and Qrow Branwen get out of their car, Jaune Arc, Oscar, and Jared stand nearby, having already exited their car. The Ace Operatives exit another of the cars, and Ironwood steps out of the fourth car with Winter Schnee. Penny Polendina gets out of the other side of Ironwood's car.

"Suppose we should smile for the cameras?" Ironwood asked.

"Sir, with all due respect, you'd have to pay me." Winter said.

Ironwood smiles in amusement from Winter's response, and the two head to the front door of the manor. Weiss stops and takes a deep breath before following them. Everyone gathers at the door, and Ironwood rings the bell. The double doors open to reveal Whitley Schnee.

"Good evening, everyone." Whitley said.

"Where's Klein?" Weiss asked.

Whitley responds with a sarcastic smile and somewhat dramatic poses, "What an interesting way to say 'Hello, dear brother, how have you been?'"

Whitley crosses his arms and continues to address Weiss with a frown.

"I'm afraid you won't find him here. He was let go. I can't imagine why." Whitley said, smirking, and upon realizing what he meant, Weiss gasps and looks guilty.

"It's okay, Weiss, Klein helped you escape, right?" Jared asked, walking over to Weiss to grab her hand. "That's all that matters in the end."

"Yeah…" Weiss said, as Jared squeezed her hand to make the former heiress feel better.

"General, exactly how large do you think our dining room table is?" Whitley asked.

"I happen to know it's enormous. But most of my guests will be on standby in case the council requests additional eye witnesses. Until then I'm sure they'll be happily celebrating your father's victory." Ironwood said.

Whitley forces a sarcastic grin with a smug chuckle, then rolls his eyes as he turns to lead them into the foyer. Scattered around the room are small groups of formally dressed guests. Waiters roam the room with trays of wine glasses and hors d'oeuvres. Whitley stops in the middle of the room, turns to Ironwood's group and points to his right.

"For those of you joining us in the dining room, please follow me." Whitley said, walking in the direction he pointed, crossing his arms behind his back.

Ironwood, Winter, Penny and Clover Ebi follow.

Clover glances back at the others, "Wish us luck."

"I mean, they already invited you, didn't they?" Qrow asked.

Clover responds with a slight chuckle. A Faunus waiter approaches Qrow and offers him a tray of wine glasses with his rabbit ears folded back.

"Care for a drink, sir?" A waiter asked.

Qrow looks at the wine, his eyes widening slightly, "Uh...no, n-no thanks."

Qrow waves his hand in rejection and turns to Team RWBY and Jared.

"I think I'll just stick to patrolling the grounds." Qrow said, walking away from the group.

Marrow Amin frowns and watches the waiter pass by, "Words out of my mouth."

Marrow walks away in the same direction as Qrow, and Harriet Bree turns to address Team RWBY and Jared.

"Right, well, don't wander off, don't break anything, and be ready in case the General calls on you." Harriet said, walking away with Vine Zeki and Elm Ederne.

"Hors d'oeuvres?" Vine asked.

"Let's eat them out of house and home." Elm said.

"Counterpoint, how about we do wander off, consider breaking things, and then all that other stuff." Yang said, smirking.

"Thank you! After years of traveling with the Doctor. When do we ever listen to him?" Jared asked. "To one version of the first rule of his. Which is to not wander off."

"Never." Blake said.

"Yeah." Ruby said, smiling.

"I'll be in touch." Weiss said, pointing to her ear, then heads to the staircase.

Weiss stops at the base of the staircase upon seeing Whitley descending the stairs.

"Dear sister, I was hoping we could use this time to catch up." Whitley said.

"Oh…" Weiss said.

"I have to know, why did you go through so much trouble to leave home, only to come crawling back?" Whitley asked, gesturing as he speaks and ends his question with a smug grin.

Weiss looks away and sighs, while her friends watch from across the room.

Dining room...

"This might be a problem." Oscar said.

"General Ironwood, please...have a seat." Jacques said, standing on the other side of the room at the head of a long dining room table, and he opens his arms in invitation.

Sitting to either side of Jacques are Sleet and Camilla. On the left side of the room, Robyn Hill is standing by a window, staring outside with her arms crossed. Ironwood nods to Clover and Winter, who then take their seats on either side of the end of the table nearest to them. Penny takes a seat next to Winter.

"Councilman Sleet, Councilwoman Camilla." Ironwood said, taking a seat at the end of the table.

"Councilwoman Hill would have had a nice ring to it. Though I suppose I should just be grateful I got invited to the table." Robyn said, taking a seat at the middle of the table.

"Miss Hill, that vigor of yours is precisely why we're grateful to have you with us tonight." Jacques said, chuckling.

"What is she doing here?" Ironwood asked.

"What we're all doing here, James, addressing the concerns of our Kingdom, which means we have much to discuss."

"Indeed. I was hoping we could start by…"

"Are we safe with her here, by the way?" Jacques asked, looking over at Penny, who looks upset by his comment. "I do recall some confusion regarding her involvement with that horrific massacre."

"As the official report stated, that footage was doctored. Penny is completely under my control." Ironwood said, defensively.

"Which is concerning, I think." Jacques said.

Penny grows even more upset, tensing up her shoulders and looking down.

"Concerning?" Ironwood asked.

A waiter and a waitress enter the room, carrying trays with plates of food.

"Let's talk about exactly what it is you control." Jacques said.

The foyer…

Ruby, Jared, and friends watch from across the room as Whitley continues to talk to Weiss in front of the staircase.

"Why won't this kid buzz off?" Yang asked.

"We need to do something." Blake said.

Jaune thinks, while Lie Ren stares ahead in boredom and Nora Valkyrie bounces in place, grasping a tray with a maniacal look on her face.

"What was that earlier about breaking things?" Jaune asked.

Jaune looks at Nora and Ren with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, and Ren looks at him while Nora continues bouncing.

"Coney Island." Jared said, looking at Team JNR.

"That's what I was thinking." Jaune said.

"That Mario Party 5 Minigame?" Nora asked.

"It can work." Ren said. "If done right."

A short while later, Nora walks around the foyer, piling all of the wait staff's hors d'oeuvres onto her tray. As she does so, Ren walks around holding a plate with a single hors d'oeuvres, smiling to himself, and Jaune sneaks around to get into position.

"Well, Whitley, I'm sure the company is lucky to have you, but if you'll pardon me…" Whitley said.

Weiss tries to walk past Whitley, but he side-steps to continue standing in her way. While this happens, Jaune and Jared hide behind one of the columns holding up the upper floor walkway and look around.

"And where exactly is it that you're going?" Whitley asked.

Nora walks across the foyer, swaying and turning as she goes. Her tray has a tower of hors d'oeuvres topped with a bowl of stew. Jaune and Jared give Nora an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"Careful, messy food comin' through!" Nora said, excitedly.

"Of course once I'm old enough to drive, the company has promised me my own parking space." Whitley said.

One of the butlers approaches a female guest and offers his tray of wine glasses.

"Care for a drink?" The butler asked.

"Don't mind if I do!" The female dinner guest said.

Nora and Ren pass each other behind Weiss, intentionally bumping shoulders with one another as they do so.

With a grin, Nora begins spinning around dramatically, "Oh no, look out!"

"I'm going to go get some hors d'oeuvres." The female dinner guest said, turning and began walking in the direction of Whitley and Weiss right as Nora threw her tray into the air and fell backward.

The food flies through the air, the stew already starting to spill from its bowl. Ren smiles, and Jaune and Jared celebrate prematurely.

"Yeah!" Jaune said.

"Operation Coney Island was a success." Jared said, looking at Jaune.

Whitley turns his gaze away from Weiss, having noticed the massive collection of food hurtling toward him, and his eyes widen. Soon after, the female guest approaches the area directly between Whitley and the food. Ren and Jaune frown, and Whitley looks at the guest, his eyes still wide. Before she even realizes what is happening, food covers the dinner guest, and Jaune, Ren, and Jared cringe.

"Now that didn't happen in that Mario Party mini game…" Jared said, sadly. "It was funny though."

Now covered in stew, the guest screams, and Whitley watches her, cringing. The dinner guest begins hopping up and down in distress, causing her wine to spill onto Whitley, who reflexively puts his arms up to protect his face. The wine covers his hair and the front of his shirt, and he holds his arms out and looks at the stain, eyes wide. Jaune, Ren, Nora, and Jared smile. Weiss has watched the entire event with her hands clasped over her mouth and nose. The dinner guest runs away hysterically, while Whitley stands with his arms out and an annoyed expression on his face, wine dripping from his hair.

"If you'll excuse me." Whitley said, wiping some of the wine from his face and walking away.

Weiss watches him leave, then looks over her shoulder at her friends. Across the room, Ruby is laughing, and Yang and Blake are smirking.

"Coney Island?" Ruby asked. "How did Jared think of using that?"

"He did play video games for years." Yang said.

"Jaune did help plan it though. It worked." Blake said.

Weiss takes the opportunity to finally ascend the stairs.

Dining room…

The Council members have begun talking to Ironwood.

"The fact of the matter is, you've operated with a fair amount of autonomy for the past few years, James. But we need now is for you to work with us." Sleet said.

Winter is tapping her finger on the table with a scowl on her face.

"Sir, I have…" Ironwood said.

"It's obvious that no kingdom intends to declare war on Atlas. We had no involvement in the incident at Haven, we have proof our drones weren't acting on orders at Beacon. At this point, the closure of Atlas borders is only serving to hurt our relations with the rest of the world." Camilla said.

"I…"

"The rest of the world? It's hurting us. The people of Atlas are suffering and they want to know why." Robyn said, turning her head to look at Ironwood who looks saddened.

"Quite right, Ms. Hill." Jacques said.

Ironwood drops the saddened expression and looks at Jacques. Robyn turns to Jacques, as well.

"And I'm afraid there's more than just your choices that have brought harm to our citizens as of late. Have your forces found any additional evidence as to who is slaughtering innocent civilians down in Mantle?" Jacques asked.

Clover is looking at Ironwood, and as he begins to speak, he turns his gaze to Jacques, "That is an ongoing investigation, the details of which are classified, I'm afraid."

Jacques immediately begins speaking again, not leaving even a split second of silence, "I'm afraid of the ever-growing list of classified information you seem to be keeping. I asked our fellow councilmen here to shed some light on your Amity Colosseum project and, as it turns out, they know about as much as I do."

Winter continues to tap her finger on the table.

"Even you don't know?" Robyn asked.

"The Amity Project will help with all of the issues you've presented, but you have to understand that discretion is a top priority at this time." Ironwood said.

"Are you saying you don't trust us?" Jacques asked.

Winter's tapping speeds up, and she aggressively slams her fist onto the table and stands up, facing Jacques, "You can't just buy trust like everything else, you have to earn it!"

Robyn looks at Winter, smiling a little. There is silence for a few moments, and Jacques begins smiling.

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Jacques said, while Winter gasps. "General, if I may be blunt, you have spent what little trust this Council had left in you. The hacker who turned Atlas drones against us was never captured, whoever's been murdering your critics is still at large. How are we supposed to give you our trust, when you've given us nothing as of late?"

"That's not what…" Winter said.

"Winter." Ironwood said, as Winter stops and looks at him. "That's enough."

Penny stares up at Winter, who clenches her fists.

"Excuse me." Winter said, and she quickly exits the room just as a female butler enters, and she shoves the door open on her way out into the hall.

Schnee Mansion…

Weiss walks down a hallway, passing by a room that has framed portraits and replicas of Manticore and Beowolf heads decorating the inside wall around the doorway.

One of the portraits is a painting of Jacques and Weiss, from when Weiss was younger and still had her ponytail centered, before she received a scar over her eye. Another portrait depicts a white-haired man in a suit of armor. One portrait depicts Whitley playing piano, and another appears to depict a man in a white suit shaking hands with a man in a dark suit outside a Schnee Dust mine. There is a pair of portraits appearing to depict headshots of Jacques and Willow Schnee in their wedding attire, from a profile view. The other portraits depict the Schnee Manor, a curved pathway between two unknown structures, the City of Atlas, an industrial type building next to a cliff, and a fountain with a statue of a winged figure holding a staff.

As Weiss continues walking, she is startled by a waitress.

"Miss Schnee, is everything okay?" The waitress asked.

"I'm fine, thank you! Keep up the great work." Weiss said, while she curtseys and walks past the waitress, continuing on her way through the halls. Once she gets to Jacques' study, Weiss enters and breathes a sigh of relief, still facing the door. A voice from across the room startles her.

Jacques' study...

"Hello darling." Willow said.

Weiss turns around to see her mother standing behind Jacques' desk with a bottle in one hand and a glass in the other.

Schnee Mansion...

Winter stands alone with her arms crossed in a hallway away from the dining room.

"Are you okay?" Penny asked.

Winter looks to her right to see Penny leaning around the corner. Penny walks over to her.

"I'll be fine. I just let my emotions get the better of me." Winter said.

"What do you mean?" Penny asked.

"You wouldn't understand."

Penny takes a brief moment to process, "Oh...right."

Saddened, Penny looks down at the floor, fidgeting with her skirt. Winter looks at Penny, and upon seeing Penny's expression, she realizes that her words were misinterpreted. She moves to stand in front of Penny, speaking with a softer tone than usual, and Penny lifts her head to look at her.

"No, no, what I mean is, this place holds a lot of memories for me, specifically. I thought I was in control, but...you heard me. I sounded like a petulant child." Winter said.

"I thought you sounded fine. You were just speaking from your heart." Penny said, placing her hands to her chest.

"And that is precisely the problem. I should have just stayed in line."

Penny turns her eyes away, thinking for a moment. She then looks at Winter.

"I guess you're right, I don't understand." Penny said, walking away, going back around the corner. Winter stays behind, watching her go.

Jacques study...

"I'm sorry I couldn't come down for your party, I'm...afraid I'm not feeling well." Willow said.

While she speaks, Willow walks around to the side of Jacques' desk and sets her bottle and glass on it.

"Um...it's okay, mom. It's fine." Weiss said.

There is a brief silence.

"What are you doing i-in your father's office?" Willow asked, slowly.

Weiss blinks rapidly, unprepared for the question, but she soon recovers, "Just looking for something I left."

Willow looks at her glass, leaning it in circles on the desk.

"That's right, you...left." Willow said, pausing, looking at Weiss. "You left."

Weiss walks across the room, headed for Willow and the desk, "I need to use father's computer."

"Why?" Willow asked.

"Because I think he may have done something. Something wrong." Weiss said.

"I thought we all simply assumed that at this point." Willow said, turning her back to the desk and leaning against it, resting her hand on top of her glass.

Weiss looks at the glass, then at Willow, "Yes, well, some of us are trying to do something about it."

Willow tenses her fingers on the glass. She snatches up her bottle of Six Swans brand vodka and begins drinking from it. Upset, Weiss looks away and grips her arm. Willow finishes drinking and gazes at Weiss, gaining a look of realization, followed by sadness. She sets the bottle on the desk.

"He started locking his home computer." Willow said, turning and picks up a Scroll from the desk. "But...he still has blind spots."

She opens the Scroll and taps one of the buttons, showing Weiss a live camera feed of the office. Weiss gasps and looks at the corner behind Jacques' desk. She then looks at Willow.

"You put a camera in here?" Weiss asked.

"I put them in every room of this house, for our safety, in case I ever needed to…" Willow said, upset.

Willow quickly trails off and takes a moment to gather herself. She then looks at Weiss.

"You haven't come back to stay, have you?" Willow asked.

"No." Weiss said.

"Good." Willow said, smiling.

A single tear rolls down Willow's cheek. Her smile soon fades, and she wipes her tear away, while Weiss looks away sadly.

"A man came by." Willow said, sniffling.

Willow hands Weiss the Scroll, picks up her bottle and begins walking across the room, "I'm afraid your father may be involved in something more dangerous than he realizes."

Weiss looks at the Scroll, which has a recorded video of Jacques and Arthur Watts pulled up.

"No matter what happens, Weiss...please don't forget about your brother." Willow said.

Weiss looks at her mother, "Whitley wants nothing to do with me."

Willow stops at the door and turns to look at Weiss.

"Of course not, you left him alone." Willow said, looking at the portrait of Jacques behind the desk, and Weiss looks at it too.

"With us." Willow said, leaving the room, shutting the door behind her, and Weiss stares at the door with a sad look of realization.

Weiss then gathers herself and looks at the paused video suspiciously, "Who are you?"

She taps the screen to begin playing the video.

Mantle...

Thunder rumbles, and rain pours down on the streets of Mantle. Watts is standing on a roof in front of a billboard advertising Atlas Academy. He is holding his umbrella in his right hand and his Scroll in his left. He holds up his Scroll and taps a folder with the Atlas emblem on it, which brings up three windows. The first window is labeled 'ATLAS_SECURITY_NETWORK.EXE', and the other two are labeled 'MANTLE_HEATING_SYSTEM.EXE'. The third window shows a map of Mantle with the sections colored red. He taps a couple times on his Scroll, and it begins making a processing noise. A large portion of the Mantle map loses its red color. Across Mantle, heating units begin powering down.

Soon, the orange glow disappears from the sky, and the rain stops. Watts tosses his umbrella off the roof as snowflakes begin drifting down. On the porch steps below, Drunk Mann and Drinking Buddy are sitting together. Civilians holding umbrellas are walking by, and a Faunus is sitting on the sidewalk, playing guitar. A small child inside the house runs to the window and looks at where the umbrella fell. He then looks around at the snow. Drinking Buddy points up, and Drunk Mann looks at the sky. Slowly, other civilians begin to stop and notice the snow, as well.

"Hey mom, it's snowing!" A Mantle child said.

The child runs off to get his mother. The snowfall grows heavier, and wind begins to blow.