Dr. Caitlin Schnee stared at all of the things in her apartment as she struggled to determine a schematic to pack them in so that they could be shipped to her new townhome downtown in the city of Vale. It was a strange feeling to be leaving. Though she had always been itching to leave for a little while, it did not feel as liberating as she had thought it would. A part of her felt sick, and she was a bit scared, and the scars on her wrist were barely covered by her sweater. Sighing heavily and running a hand through her dark red hair, she stepped over towards her armoire and all but ripped open one of the drawers. She pulled a small box out of it, dusted it off, and then set it down on her bed. After a moment of trepidation, she delicately pulled the lid off and leafed through the items inside. She bit at her lip for a second and then stepped into the main room of her apartment and slammed the contents of the box into the trash. A few seconds passed in silence, and she jumped in surprise upon hearing a knock on the door.

"Ronnie?" She raised an eyebrow upon seeing him. "Don't tell me you want more subterfuge regarding that –"

"Not so loud, please," He said as she motioned him into the apartment. "I just wanted to talk because I wasn't sure when I would see you before you left for Vale."

She groaned. "Chrissy sent you."

"Well, her and Brie," He admitted. "Anne too."

She was silent for a long moment, glancing out the window to the city lights.

"I'm fine," She eventually said. "No one needs to worry."

"Caitlin –"

"If you're here because you want dirt on Jacques, I'll remind you that you only asked yesterday," She said, sending him a pointed look. "Also, I have a lot I need to get through, while tomorrow and tomorrow comes in this petty pace from day to day."

Ronnie sighed. "You really do like old literature."

"Y'all know that," She said tiredly. "I don't see anything new in that regard."

"I heard you gave Jacques an earful last night," Ronnie said in an ill-fated attempt to diffuse the tension. "Cristal and Brie were laughing over what they heard from Emmett."

Caitlin rolled her eyes. "Emmett, that dumbass."

"Flamboyance doesn't equate to being a dumbass," Ronnie said, chuckling for a moment. "And I thought that was one of your insults that you had on reserve for Jacques."

"It was," Caitlin admitted as she adjusted her glasses. "But, after seeing him and Willow leave his office looking disheveled the other day, I decided that whore was more appropriate."

"You are a biologist," Ronnie shook his head in amusement. "I suppose that's fitting."

"It's more than fitting," She told him. "I think he's cheated on her a few times, which would make it even more true than it already is. For the record, if I can ever prove that, I have found something that is truly gold against him. He cares so much about how people perceive him, and that would be horrible for whatever image he thinks he has to protect."

"You really can be vindictive," Ronnie said, glancing at his scroll and feeling guilty upon seeing a message from his wife. "I think I'm lucky that I'm not on your bad side."

An awkward silence passed between them for a minute which felt as if it were an hour.

"Listen, Ronnie," She eventually said, looking at the time on her scroll and then taking her evening antidepressant dose out of the drawer. "I've got a lot my mind, and I have a decent bit of work for my position as a researching professor in Vale. I know you trust me more than most people, and I know you're worried about upsetting your wife more than anything else right now, but I've got to tell you –"

"I'm –" He started.

"Put what we had aside, please," She said, then sighing heavily. "I ain't protecting you in all of this. I'm protecting Brie. She was one of the first people to want anything to do with me, and she's one of my nine friends. I don't get close with a whole lot of people, but I will aggressively defend those I am. You all are basically...and in Emmy's case legally, family now. I'm going to treat you as such...for better or worse."

"Brie, I don't know what to tell you," Anne Schnee said as she continued to pace. "But it's going to be fine. What's so bad about all of us showing up and showing Jacques what for?"

Brianna raised an eyebrow. "The fact that you seem to be motivated by the possibility of spiting him?"

"I am not motivated by spite!" Anne exclaimed, looking at the younger woman incredulously. "It's almost as if you don't know me at all!"

"Anne!" Three-year-old Ryan Ciel exclaimed as he all but ran into the room. "Hi! Lissy's asleep!"

"Alyssa is a baby," Brianna reminded him with a smile. "And you should be in bed too."

"I wanted water," He replied with a grin. "And I want to see daddy."

"You'll see him in the morning," Brianna told him as he climbed up onto the counter and got himself a cup of water. "He's talking to aunt Caity, since she's leaving for Vale on the seventeenth."

"Which I'd call a subtle indication that she's going to call Jacques out on his bullshit at the ball," Anne laughed despite herself. "I don't know if that's good or bad."

"Ryan," Because sent her son a pointed look upon him finishing his water. "I'll be down to tuck you in soon. Okay?"

Ryan smiled. "Okay, mommy!"

A long silence passed between the two women until it was sure that the little boy was out of earshot.

"Listen," Anne said, pushing her dyed-blonde locks over her shoulder. "I promise that the ball isn't going to be bad. I mean, honestly, what do you think is going to happen?"

"I think you're going to be a full-on bitch," Brianna said, then shaking her head. "I don't think you're taking Cate into account in this equation either."

"Cate is a neurobiologist with a tongue both faster and sharper than her good sense," Anne smiled. "I'm proud of her, though; especially with all she's accomplished despite everything she's been through."

"I know that," Brianna replied. "What I meant was that she might...show him her heels."

Anne started laughing. "I think a lot of people would pay to see that."

Brianna raised an eyebrow. "Would you?"

"That depends," Anne said. "If it ended in her favor and Jacques realizing that he's been in the wrong this whole time, then yes. If it ended in her getting arrested and us having to bail her out…not a chance."

Brianna resisted the urge to start laughing hysterically. "Anne!"

"I'm serious," She said, sending the younger woman a pointed look. "There are many things that I would be okay with her doing, and there are other things that I feel I need to do in order to protect her from herself."

"I can see that," Brianna admitted. "Although I think that should apply to some of your other children too."

Anne smirked. "Emmett or Cristal?"

"I'm not sure," She sighed. "Chrissy's anxiety has gotten to her more than once, and I can see that helping her avoid that would be a good idea. On the other hand…Emmett has gotten himself into trouble more than once because he doesn't really give a damn and, despite being an Atlas Academy professor, is overly expressive sometimes. He and Edward don't really get along because of it."

Anne considered that. "I don't think that's because he's overly expressive. I would say that's because he's got expensive taste."

Brianna giggled. "That's fair."

"He's lucky that both he and his wife have good jobs," Anne said. "Otherwise, they'd be facing bankruptcy by now."

"That would be a mess," Brianna agreed. "I can't image the sort of things would be said."

"I can," Anne replied. "But that's probably only because I'm his mother. With all of my children, and this is something I'm sure you and Ronnie are learning, I have seen them at their best and I have seen them at their very worse. Believe me when I say that there is a point in time at which there is nothing that your children can do that will surprise you."

"I hope that time comes soon," Brianna said with a smile. "Because they really do keep us on our toes."

"Alright, so get this," Emmett said, wrapping an arm around his wife as he leaned forward slightly, and Spencer and Karissa shared confused glances. "Jacques invited Caity over to speak with him tomorrow as if he was cool with her."

"Is that a joke?" Karissa asked. "Or is someone going to die?"

"She has been screwing with his head for years," Spencer shrugged. "Maybe he's finally getting revenge on her for sending him all the way to southern part of the kingdom for the coffee she likes under the guise of getting things that Nicholas I wanted. Except it wasn't and it entailed him going to buy weird herbs from a Voodoo woman."

Emmett snorted. "That wasn't a surprise. Jacques was willing to do anything for the company after he realized marriage to Willow wasn't going to be enough."

"I still can't believe that he went to buy weird herbs from a Voodoo woman," Emmeline said. "I thought Jacques didn't believe in talismans and the like. I know that we do because of all we've seen, but that does not mean that it's a commonly held belief amongst our friends and…family."

"Jacques isn't family," Karissa said darkly. "If anything, he's a power-hungry business man that is desperate to rise above his station."

"You sound like dad," Emmeline and Spencer said at the same time, then pausing awkwardly and exchanging looks.

"When did dad say that to you?" He asked her. "I thought he was trying to seem neutral."

"When did he say that to you?" Emmeline countered. "Because –"

"A few months ago," Spencer said. "'Rissa and I were talking with him and Caity over some of the Star Trek alcohol she had."

"Romulan ale," Emmett shrugged upon them all sending him surprised glances. "What? She gets pissy when people don't know what it's called. She also gets pissy when people don't know the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek."

"There is no difference," Emmeline muttered. "I've never understood why people get so riled up over that."

"Well, you know my sister," Emmett said as he gave her a squeeze. "Come on, Emmy. You've seen her go on and on about a variety of things."

"That's true…" Emmeline sighed. "I suppose I should know by now."

"It's okay," Karissa said as she took Spencer's hand tightly in hers. "We all know that she's still adjusting to this planet."

"She's not an alien," Emmett said. "Although, considering that she jokes about being one, I can see why people think that."

"Well, I hope she gives Jacques an earful," Spencer tiredly ran a hand through his shaggy, shoulder-length dark hair. "He's more than earned it."

"Amen to that!" Emmeline said as she stood up, smirking a bit. "Now…who wants a glass or two of wine?"

"Willow, I am not sure how I feel about your sister coming to our event," Jacques shook his head as he motioned for his wife to sit down in his personal study. "Caitlin is a spiteful, arrogant, self-righteous –"

"She is my sister –" Willow protested.

"The only reason I am having her come here tomorrow is so that I can try and persuade her to not attend," Jacques paused for a moment, glancing over some of the things on his desk. "I have a lot of problems with her, and I will not have her ruin our event. Nor will I allow Weiss to do so either."

Willow sent him a befuddled look. "How exactly could our own daughter ruin the event?"

"The same way she did the last time," Jacques told her. "By acting like a spoiled child."

Willow was silent for a long moment, fiddling with her wedding ring, and grappling with whether or not to defend her daughter.

"We really did spoil her," Jacques said, beginning to pace. "As it happens, I think your mother did the same thing to your siblings. Cristal more so than the rest of them, although Caitlin is a close second."

"My mother didn't spoil any of us," Willow said. "She treated all of us as equally as she could. I honestly can't remember a point in my life at which she spoiled us."

"Well, whether she did or didn't is immaterial," Jacques said derisively. "All things considered, they turned out horrible. Emmett is full of himself and aggressively demonstrative of what he has, I've already covered Caitlin, and Cristal acts as if the world should revolve around her and that she is some sort of bringer of justice."

"That's not fair," Willow told him. "They've all got their own problems, but I wouldn't –"

"Willow, you are blinded by seeing the best in everyone," Jacques snapped, then forcing himself to calm down for a moment. "I admire that, I really do, but it has hurt you more than anything else."

Willow scowled. "What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"It's –" Jacques paused upon the door opening. "Whitley. What is it?"

"I merely had a query," He said, fidgeting with his hands behind his back. "Regarding aunt Caitlin."

Jacques raised an eyebrow. "What about her?"

"I would like to spend some time with her on the fifth, before she moves to Vale," Whitley said, biting at his lip as subtly as he could. "If only because that would be polite, of course."

Willow straightened herself out, recognizing that her son was doing what he believed necessary to appease his father and get what he wanted at the same time.

"I'm not sure," Jacques said, glancing towards his wife. "She's not exactly what I would call a role model."

"I never said that, and I assure you that I'm not trying to imply such," Whitley said, a nervous edge entering his voice as his heart rate increased and a pit formed in his stomach. "I'm only saying that I want to do what's right, especially considering that she has enough stress and upset in her life to begin with."

Jacques hesitated. "That is…incredibly mature of you. Unlike your sisters, it seems you haven't inherited your aunt's tendency towards spiting everyone within in a few feet of her."

Whitley glanced down at his feet. "Of course not, father."

"Klein will take you the morning of the fifth," Jacques told him, then motioning for him to leave. "And you will be home by seven in the evening."

Whitley nodded shortly and then left the room, shutting the door quietly behind himself.

"At least it went right with him," Jacques said, a tinge of arrogance to his voice. "If only Weiss and Winter were as right as him."

Willow sighed. "There are different kinds of right."

"You really do favor appeasement, don't you?" Jacques chuckled softly. "Willow, you don't have to make everyone happy. Sometimes, it pays to upset some people."

"That doesn't feel right," She replied. "I can't do that, not without feeling like I have done something abominable."

"I don't believe that's something you're capable of," Jacques said with a faint smirk. "But, then again, we all know ourselves better than anyone else ever can."

Cristal curled into Ozpin as she cried, the stress of the last few weeks finally getting to her. He gently stroked her hair in an attempt to comfort her, though he knew it was doing little. It was not only the cases that had been dominating her working hours both in and out of the courtroom. It was her sister leaving, it was the tension amongst the Ciels, it was planning for any number of issues that could arise during the ball. There was something that had ticked her anxiety into doomsday territory during the day, and she had felt sick most of the afternoon and was more than exhausted when she got home. She felt emotionally drained, and she was overwhelmed by everything. She did not care that she was crying, she only wished she could understand what was really going on, what had led everything to turn into the horrible mess that it had become.

"Chrissy…" Ozpin murmured, holding her as close as he could. "If there is anything I can do, please tell me. I hate seeing you like this."

"I…" She sighed heavily as she pulled off her fogged and tear-stained glasses. "Oz, I don't know what's happening to me…"

"You're probably just stressed," He said gently. "It's going to get better, and it's going to be fine. I promise."

"You're more confident in that than I ever have been," She said softly. "I don't even know if I believe that there can be light anymore."

"I'll do anything to protect you, honestly, I will," Ozpin swore. "I promised you that when I married you, and I still mean it. I love you, and so do our kids."

Cristal brushed her fingers through her side bangs, and then through her long white curls. "Oz…"

He pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "Chrissy, I love you more than anything."

"I love you too," She said, embracing him tightly. "I really do."

He began to rub her back lovingly. "I know…"

"Mommy?" Lana paused upon seeing her parents. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Lanie," Cristal told her tiredly, brushing tears away from her eyes. "I'm just…I've had a lot to deal with, and…"

"Oh," Lana stared at her mother in concern. "Do you need anything? Because Eddie may or may not have just sprayed silly string all over Courtney's hair, and she may or may not have punched him in the face."

Cristal was silent for a moment in shock.

"Please tell me that you're joking," She said. "Really. Please tell me that's a joke."

"It's not," Lana said, rubbing her arm. "It's kind of sort of bad."

Cristal stood up quickly, albeit shaking upon one of heels slipping. As soon as she was steady, she all but ran up the stairs.

"So…" Lana said as she and her father followed after Cristal. "What's it going to be like when term starts at the academies again in the spring?"

Ozpin could not help but laugh a bit. "I don't think that should be the immediate concern."

"It's not like they have weapons," Lana told him. "That would be bad, but they don't."

"…Edward Nicholas Schnee!" Cristal exclaimed from down the hall. "…Do you have any idea what kind of mess this is, let alone –"

"…It's sticky!" Courtney groaned. "…I can't –"

"…I haven't…" Cristal hesitated for a moment. "…Did you really think that punching your brother was a good idea?"

"…He deserved it!" Courtney protested as Ozpin and Lana stepped into the room. "…And I was –"

"Feeling motivated?" Edward suggested with a smirk. "Still feeling motivated?"

Courtney scowled and clenched her fists. "Very –"

"No!" Cristal stepped in between the two of them and sent them both sharp looks. "Don't. I have enough problems without two of my children attempting to kill each other!"

Edward and Courtney both went silent, feeling guilty.

"Listen," She said. "I don't want you three to end up like I am with Willow. It's not…honestly, if I could fix some of the mistakes I've made regarding my family, I would. Don't destroy everything you have…please."