Disclaimer: All characters belong to Rooster Teeth Productions

Edited by ToxicExotic

Chapter 87 - A Decision Made (Part 2)

It was with no small amount of haste that Willow strode down the hallway of Schnee manor. Doors and windows rushed by her, but she paid them no mind as she walked towards the only one that was important to her. Every click of her heel reverberated off the wall, filling her with a sense of unease; unease that caused her heart to race with every corner she turned, fearful of what could be waiting behind it. But she knew there wouldn't be anything. She had made sure of that. At least for a little while.

Of all the things she had done in her life, the interview had without a doubt been the most terrifying experience. It had taken everything she had not to bow out and slink back into the shadows, fearful of the fallout that she knew it would produce. Every question had left her heart hammering, and every answer spoken had been done so with great difficulty. With each word, her throat had threatened to close up and her body shook, her mind screaming at her to be quiet; but she'd fought it. She'd had to.

She wasn't going to let the man destroy her daughter's future. The girl had worked too hard, and had overcome too much. She'd finally found a life away from him, and was happier than Willow had even seen her, and there was no way she was going to let the man take that away from her daughter out of nothing more than sheer spite.

No. She was done.

No longer would she stand by and drink herself into a stupor as the man tore her family apart. No longer would she cower in fear as he terrorised her children and forced his will onto them. No longer would she let him dictate their lives. She had ignored it for too long, failed her children for too long; but not anymore. No matter how scared she was, she knew she needed to fix a mistake she'd made twenty-four long years ago.

So, arriving at her son's open door, she stepped inside and quickly shut it behind her. The boy was sitting at his desk, his purple vest slung over the back of his chair and his tie loosened. In his hand was a video game magazine, which he quickly looked up from with a brazenly annoyed look on his face. She knew that he was still a long way from trusting her, but she couldn't allow that to stop her.

"What are yo-"

"Whitley…" She cut him off, striding over to his closet and pulling it open. "I need you to get ready to go to your sister's apartment."

"And why should I do that?" He asked, confusion on his face as she pulled out his suitcase and began to haphazardly shove some clothes into it.

"There is no time to explain. Just please get dressed. We need to go before your father returns."

"Why?" The boy stood from his desk and surveyed her curiously. "What have you done?"

"What I should have done a long time ago." She reached down and picked up his shoes. Though she attempted to pass them to him, the boy made no attempt to take them. "Whitley…" She pleaded.

"I am not going anywhere with you until you tell me why?" He crossed his arms and gave her a mistrustful look.

Cursing inwardly at the mess she had made her relationship with her son, Willow shook her head and knelt down in front of him.

"Your father was about to ruin your sister's life." She said hurriedly. "But I couldn't let him do that so I told the world the truth about him."

Just as she expected, a flicker of fear entered her son's eyes. "Wh-What?"

"Now we need to go before he gets ba-"

"No…" The boy took a step back, his voice quivering slightly. "This is… This is your choice. I don't want…"

"Whitley, please. We do not have time for this. He will be back any minute."

"Then go." The boy scowled. "I did not ask for you to come and get me, so just go before he gets back."

Willow shook her head. They were running out of time. She had timed the interview purposefully to coincide with the meetings Jacques would be in before the launch, but there was no doubt that someone at the company would have seen it and rushed to tell him. Feeling a sense of desperation take hold of her, she reached out to touch his arm, only for him to recoil.

"I am not… I am not leaving without you. I know you do not trust me, and that I have done nothing to even deserve your trust, but you are my son, my darling baby boy, and despite whatever you may think of me, I do love you. And I am not leaving you here with him. Now I know you are scared, I am too, but we need to go."

Whitley's brow furrowed in uncertainty. While it was painful to see her normally confident son so fearful, she knew that emotion was a good sign. She was getting through to him.

"Please, Son." She whispered desperately. "If you never want to talk or listen to me again, I will respect your wishes; but please just listen to me this one time."

"I don-"

"WILLOW!"

The bellow echoed around the house, the cold marble and loveless decor doing nothing to dampen the fury that it held. As it reached Willow's ears, she felt a chill run down her spine and watched as her son took another step back, his eyes widening slightly. She thought she had ensured them more time.

"Whitley…" She whispered, unable to keep the fear from her voice as her mind began to count the seconds. "Whitley please… I cannot leave you… I will not leave you alone again, just please put your sho-"

"WILLOW!"

His voice was closer, much closer, causing her son to take another step back.

"N-No." He shook his head. "Just… Just go."

"I will not."

"Willow!"

His voice was right outside the door, and as she heard the handle being twisted, she raised herself to her feet and spun around to face the entryway, stepping in front of her son as she did. Fear coursed through her body, causing her to shake and tense up so much that a small headache began to form; but she pushed it down. She wouldn't run. She couldn't run.

Not anymore.

With enough force to break the door stop, the door was flung open with a loud bang. In the doorway stood Jacques Schnee looking more disheveled than she had seen him in years. Strands of usually slicked back hair clung to his face, and his clip-on tie was shoved hastily into his breast pocket. His blue eyes gleamed with barely contained rage, and his walrus moustache was pulled up into a sneer.

"Do you have any idea what you have done?" The man snarled, stepping into the room and making her feel like she'd been dropped into an ice bath.

Straightening her back, she forced herself to look him in the eyes. "I saved her from you."

"From me?" His eyes bulged. "From me? I was trying to protect her future!"

"You were about to destroy it!"

"I was ready to do what needed to be done for her to see the error of her ways!" A fleck of spittle flew from his mouth. "To make her realise what was important! And had you not interfered, it would have worked! She would have been by my side at the launch and all of this nonsense would have been behind us! And yet, instead you have guaranteed that our daughter throws away her life with that inept woman, and now I come home to find you trying to take my son from me too?"

"You are blinded, Jacques." Willow retorted, stepping closer to her son and holding out a hand towards him. "Weiss was not going to stand by your side, she never was. She despises you, just like Winter despises you, and just like I despise you."

"It is you that drove our children away. You are vile, and disgusting. Your cruelty made you unable to see what it is that they desired, mistaking your own dreams as theirs. And when they fought back, the only thing you offered them was a firm hand to the cheek. But I will not let you do that to my son. I will not stand idly by while you abuse and twist h-"

CRACK!

Jacques' hand slammed into her cheek with enough force that Willow felt her head whip to the side. A feeling similar to a searing flame ran along her face, though quickly faded into a thousand tiny pinpricks. Nevertheless, despite the pain and the tear it brought to her eyes, she did not move.

"I will not be talked to like that by a drunk that abandoned her own children!"

"I m-may be a drunk," She winced and turned back to face him. "But at least I am nothing like you. You are nothing more than a parasite, Jacques. Everything you have accomplished has been because of my name."

Jacques' eyes glowered dangerously, but the fear was beginning to subside. For too long it had controlled her, ensnared her and turned her life into misery; but not anymore. Where once she would cower before his gaze, she stood tall and proud. Finally taking her stand.

"Mother."

"Whitley, stay back." She replied, placing a hand on his chest and keeping him a safe distance from the enraged man.

"Get away from my son!" The man growled.

"He is not your son!" Willow spat. "To call you his father is a fate nobody deserves."

"Mom…"

Jacques stepped closer. "I have done more for that boy than you ever have! Now get away FROM MY SON!"

Before Willow could even refuse him again, she felt his hand clasp around her arm. The man gave a strong tug and she felt herself stagger, but used her free hand to grip the bedpost to keep herself steady. Pushing him away, she reared her arm back and lashed out, her hand clashing hard against his face. Unfortunately, after years of drinking and barely looking after herself, the blow did little and his hand returned to her arm.

"GETTOFOFME!" She screamed. Letting go of the bedpost, she swung her arm at the man again, only for it to be caught.

"I WILL NOT LET YOU TAKE MY SON FROM ME!" The man roared, her eyes widening as his hand pulled back again and crashed into her cheek.

White dots filled her vision and she fell to the floor, her face going numb for a second and the sound bounced around the room like a whip crack. The world spun before her in a mess of tears as she gazed bewilderedly down at the floor. However, before the pain could even start anew, before she could even stand up, a loud grunt issued from above her, followed by the ear splitting sound of broken wood and glass.

Glancing up, she found herself looking at a pair of small, sock-covered feet. As her eyes trailed upwards and took in her son, she saw him standing where his father had been looking down at his hands in surprise. To his right, crumpled up on the floor in the remnants of what had once been the desk he would study at, was her assailant. He looked to be in pain, and his fringe was stained with red, but he was definitely still conscious.

"Wh-Whitley?" She gasped, even the slight movement of her mouth muscles sending a searing pain through her cheek.

"I…" He looked down at her, clearly surprised at his own actions. However, that surprise quickly faded as the sound of moving wood greeted their ears. "We have… We have to go."

She didn't even need to reply. Without another word, Whitley leaned down and took her hand with one of his own. Even as it clutched her for dear life and pulled her to her feet, she could feel the boy shaking.

"Come on." She breathed, not even bothering to look back at her husband as she pulled her son towards the door.

Dashing out of the room, the clicking of her heels echoing around her and creating a cacophony of sound that only amplified her quickly growing headache, she ran down the hallway with her son in tow and quickly arrived at the stairs. Rushing down them so fast that she would have tripped if not for Whitley's assistance, she tore open the door and exited the mansion to see Weiss' car speeding down the driveway. A rush of relief passed through her at the fact they wouldn't have to go around the mansion to the garage.

"Go." She croaked to her son, pushing him ahead of her as the car came to a stop and Weiss and Yang hurriedly climbed out.

"Mom!" The girl gasped.

In less than a second, she felt her arm slung around her daughter's shoulder as the girl supported her tired body.

"Whitley! Get in the car!" Weiss demanded.

Willow was thankful the boy wasted no time in listening and climbed into the car, the tall blonde running a hand through his hair as he did.

"Yang, gi-"

"I've got her." Yang said, rushing over to take Weiss' place. "Go and see to Whitley."

Letting herself collapse into the much stronger woman, her body tired as the adrenaline began to drain out of her to be replaced with only pain, she allowed the girl to pull her towards the car. When they arrived, Yang helped her in with surprising care for her size, before slipping into the front seat herself.

As her body met the soft cushions of the chair and the doors slammed shut, she glanced over at the other side of the car, she saw her son still looking down at his hands. For the briefest of moments, the pain disappeared. He was confused and in shock… but he was safe. He was away from that monster disguised as a man, and that alone was more than enough for her to let out a satisfied sigh as the engine rumbled to life and the car moved away from the manor.

A small sigh left Yang as she exited the secondary living room and shut the door behind her so that Willow could have some peace. It had been an hour since they had returned to the safety of the apartment, and the woman had still yet to stop shaking. Not that Yang blamed her. From the scattering of broken blood vessels that littered her cheek and left the woman with a bright red handprint, there was no doubt that the past hour had been an extremely trying one for her, but one that should not have happened in the first place.

Thankfully, the woman was finally out of harm's way. As was Whitley, who had taken up residence in the upstairs living room, wishing to be left alone for a while. Though how long that would last, Yang didn't know. Given what the man had done to keep Willow from taking him, there was no way that he was simply going to let them live in peace. Whatever he did though, they would at least be able to face it from a safe place.

Walking into the main living room to see Weiss pacing back and forth, the very same thing she'd been doing when she had left to give Willow her coffee, Yang scratched her head and leaned against the back of the chair.

"Well this is a mess." She mumbled.

"That would be an understatement." Weiss continued her pacing. "What was she thinking angering him like that?"

"Probably that she had to save her daughter's future and get her son away from your dad before the same thing happened to him."

"And she put herself in harm's way to do it!"

"She did what she thought was right for her children." Yang countered. "You can't be mad at her for that."

"Of course I'm not mad at her for that!" Weiss snapped. "This is just yet another consequence of my stupid, childish war with that animal. Atlas, Winter, my mother; how many more are going to be hurt because I lashed out without thinking something through?"

Yang shook her head. She thought they were past that.

"You've gotta stop blaming yourself for that." She sighed. "Yes bad stuff happened, but that would have happened anyway. That doesn't mean you shouldn't have spoken up. None of what happened is your fault, it's Jacques' for causing them in the first place."

Weiss finally stopped her pacing and turned to face her. Her blue eyes were filled with anger and doubt as they sparkled with barely contained tears. Yang didn't need to imagine the self-hatred the girl was feeling over the belief that she had somehow contributed to her mother's suffering. After all, she knew it all too well herself. It would be a lie to say that a part of her didn't still blame herself for letting Blake end up in a position where Adam could take advantage of her; but she also knew that it was a stupid way of thinking. A fact that Blake had spent two years drilling into her head.

"You can't shoulder the blame for other peoples' actions."

"I just…" Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose. "I wanted to keep her away from this. She's been through enough as it is, and now she's hurt because she was protecting me."

"She's your mom, Weiss." Yang reasoned, walking around the couch towards her girlfriend. "I doubt she cares about that. Besides, she finally worked up the courage to get herself and Whitley away from him. That's a good thing, right?"

They both glanced up towards the second floor to witness a streak of white back away from the railing. Closing her eyes, Weiss let out a low, defeated breath and nodded her head.

"I suppose." The former heiress grumbled. "He's going to come after them though. He'll try to take back Whitley, at least."

"I figured as much." She wrapped her arms around the woman's waist. "But they're safe now. With what your mom revealed in the interview and the reporters that saw her stumbling out of the house, there's no way the courts would give him custody."

"I know." Yang felt Weiss melt into the hug.

"Good." Yang smiled and rubbed the woman's back. "So just relax, okay?" A reluctant nod was given in return. "Now, how about I cook us some food?"

"Food sounds good." Weiss hummed, her arms coming up to link behind Yang's back.

Placing a kiss on the top of the woman's head, Yang remained where she was for a few minutes until Weiss felt comfortable. Once she did, however, and the frustrated breathing began to calm, she let the girl go and pressed another kiss to her forehead before they both moved towards the kitchen.

"Mom?" Knocking on the door, Weiss slowly pushed it open and peered inside.

The room was as quiet as it was dark. Where usually the television would be on and playing some random music channel that Yang was interested in, it sat dormant and lifeless. The light that would normally illuminate the room was turned off, and the blackout curtains had been drawn closed over the room length window to block out the sun. In fact, the only light in the room was from the door which Weiss had just opened. The thin sliver of soft yellow light broke through the eerie blackness, revealing a woman sitting on the couch.

She looked frail. Frailer that Weiss had ever seen her. Even when she'd been drunk and barely able to stand there had been some element of strength in her determination to get to places; but all of that looked to be gone. With her legs curled up beside her and her usually pristine white hair dishevelled, the woman looked like she was ready to crumble at the slightest touch. However, despite her appearance, the woman's head turned and a hand raised to shield her eyes from the light.

"Can I turn the light on?"

"It is your apartment, dear."

Giving a small nod and flicking on the light, causing her mother to flinch, Weiss walked into the room and sat down on the coffee table opposite her. With the light on, she was able to see the red handprint that stood out vibrantly against her pale skin. Along each imprint of the man's fingers were vicious red blotches where the blood vessel beneath the surface was ruptured. Just looking at it made her feel sick, even though it wasn't an unfamiliar sight.

Letting out a small sigh and shaking her head, she raised the ice pack she had brought with her and pressed it against the damaged skin, her mother hissing slightly before raising a hand to take over.

"How are you?" She asked softly.

"Tired." The woman smiled, a hint of relief in her voice as she repositioned the ice pack. "But glad to finally be away from that place."

Weiss hung her head and fiddled with her fingers. "I'm sorry I put you in that position."

"Don't be so silly, dear." The woman said, the firm voice a stark contrast to her frail appearance. "It is I who should be apologising to you… To all of you. I should have never let it get to this point to begin with. I should have taken a stand sooner. Instead I left you to suffer at his hand."

"That wasn't your fault." Weiss countered. "You were suffering too."

"I was still your mother." Willow shook her head. "And it's high time that I made up for my mistakes and began to act as such."

"You have nothing to make up for, Mom."

"Maybe not to you." Willow smiled weakly and reached out to gently touch her hand. "How is your brother?"

Weiss was genuinely unsure how to answer that. Whitley was hard to read at the best of times, but the fact that he had still yet to come down from the upstairs living room and hadn't really said a word made it even more difficult.

"He's a little shaken up." It was the best she could do. "Yang's upstairs playing a game with him while she waits for the food to cook."

"I'm glad she is willing to help him."

"Yeah, they get along rather well." Weiss opted to leave out that the reason the two got along so well was due to the similarities in their lives. "I'm sure she can get him to join us for dinner, if you want to as well?"

The woman took a second to think, wincing a little as she shifted the ice pack on her cheek. She would definitely understand if the woman wished to be left alone or go to bed instead, but she really did hope that she would join them. It would be good for her, and definitely for Whitley, to begin to experience what a normal family dinner could be like without all the pressure and fear.

"Food and company would be wonderful." The woman nodded. "Though I'm not sure I would be very good company in my current state."

"Don't worry, Yang usually does most of the talking anyway."

"She does seem the type, yes."

Stifling a small chuckle as she could hardly deny that, Weiss stood up and picked up the woman's empty cup. "Well it should only be another twenty minutes, so feel free to come and join us in the kitchen whenever you like."

"I'll join you soon. I wish to get cleaned up first."

"Of course." Weiss said with a nod and began to walk towards the door. "Mom…" she said as she placed her hand on the doorknob.

"Yes, dear?"

Looking back, she met her mother's bright blue eyes and gave her a smile. "I'm proud of you."

The woman looked taken aback for a second, but her face quickly softened and a grateful smile crept across her lips. "And I you, daughter."

Letting their eyes linger for a second, the two of them merely smiled at each other, and Weiss finally felt a little bit of hope bloom in her chest. For the first time since she was born, her family was safe; and she was going to do whatever she could to keep it that way.

Wiping a hand over her face as the cool night breeze drifted lazily through her hair, Weiss let out a low sigh and leaned forward onto the balcony. The week was starting to wear on her. The uneasy dreams and the excessive workload, the worry about her future and her family, it was all just so much to deal with. She was tired, and even as she stood looking up at the bright silver mood that hung in the dark sky, she could feel her eyes starting to close.

But she couldn't let them. The day was not yet over. As much as she wished that it was, as much as she wished she could crawl into bed with Yang and fall into an early sleep, there was still more to be done. Thankfully, she'd at least been able to relax for a little while during dinner.

Though Whitley was still refusing to talk, Yang had at least managed to lure him down from the second floor with the promise of a super greasy burger; while the rest of them had enjoyed some nice Mistralian food that Yang had tried to tell her the name of three times before giving up. The dinner itself had not been the happiest affair, and her mother had not really eaten much at all, but it had at the very least provided some solace and normalcy to the day.

Once it was all done though, Whitley had once again returned to his haunt upstairs, ignoring her calls to him and making it clear he wanted to be alone; and her mother had decided to retire to the bedroom for some rest. With the day she'd had, Weiss didn't blame her.

"There you are." So wrapped up in her thoughts, Weiss started a little as she felt arms slip around her waist but quickly relaxed into the warm body that pressed lightly against her back. "You feeling okay?"

"Mhm." She yawned, the feel of Yang's body against hers only making her even more tired. "I'm just tired. What did Yatsu want?"

"Just telling me he's about to close the main doors for the night. Apparently a bunch of reporters almost ripped one of them off its hinges."

Weiss felt a small groan rumble out of her throat and looked down at the street below her to see the swarm of trucks and ant sized reporters that were milling around the base of the building. As far as she was aware, they had been there all day after following them back from the mansion; and if the brief flashes of light that she could see were any indication, they wouldn't be moving for quite some time.

Unfortunately, those people just happened to be the remaining task she still had to complete before finally sleeping.

"I still need to talk to them." She grumbled, wishing there was some way to avoid it.

"Can't you put that off till the morning?"

She shook her head. "I need to get out ahead of it now, before he can do damage control. He's probably already meeting with his lawyers to craft the perfect speech."

"Can he even damage control this?" Yang's voice was sceptical.

"I would not put it past him and his slimy lawyers to find a way." She replied. "You've seen for yourself the amount of things he has wriggled out of."

"That's true, I guess." Yang muttered, her chin resting in the crook of her neck. "Did you at least get through to Winter?"

"No. She's probably busy on assignment."

To say Weiss was disappointed not to get through to her sister was an understatement. The woman's advice on what to do would have been greatly appreciated; but of course the time where Weiss needed her the most, she wasn't available.

"Damn..." Yang breathed. "Anything I can do, at least?"

"You are already doing it." Weiss sighed.

"Right, your whole just being there for you thing?" Yang hummed.

"It is more helpful than you will ever believe."

Giving a soft smile, she closed her eyes for a second and enjoyed the sensation of having Yang around her. The smell of lavender shampoo from the girl's recent shower filling her nose, the gentle breath tickling her neck, the pressure of the arms around her, Weiss wished she could experience it for longer. She wished that she could give in to the sleep that was threatening to overtake her, but she knew she couldn't. At least not yet.

So opening her eyes almost five minutes later to see the sky burst into silvers and blacks before her, she let out a deep breath and tapped her girlfriend's hand.

"I really should go down." She grumbled as the arms moved away from her waist. "Before Yatsu seals the door."

"Want me to come with you?"

Though Weiss was certain that there was no risk of the press hurting her, their persistent and lack of consideration was not something she didn't want to face alone. Especially considering that she was about to side with her mother and publicly condemn one of the most prominent men in the world.

"Mhm." She turned around to face the blonde. "I could certainly use a bodyguard to keep me safe from the vultures."

"Well then, I'm happy to lend my services." Yang grinned as they made their way back into the apartment. "But any idea what you're gunna say?"

"The truth." She shrugged, guiding them towards the main living room where the elevators were waiting. "Partially, at least."

Though it had not been anywhere near how she wanted it to happen, as she hadn't wanted it to happen at all, Weiss knew that she couldn't go against the story her mother had woven about the bribery scandal. Unfortunately, the media, and people at large, tended to believe the first thing they heard, so to go against what her mother had said would at the very least it would merely look like she was trying to take the fall for the woman. Or it could have a much more disastrous effect of being something people used to discredit both of their arguments.

No. No doubt her father would try and fight against that story himself in order to keep her away from the business, so better to let him discredit himself.

"Whitley?" She called as she entered the main room, looking up at the second floor balcony. After a few seconds, his pale face appeared and glared down at them. "We are just heading down for a little bit, okay?"

Just as he had all night, he remained quiet and moved away from the balcony.

"He's fine." Yang said reassuringly, taking her hand and reaching out to press the elevator button.

"Did he say something to you?"

"Not really, but you know how he is." Yang reasoned. "He likes to feel in control, and right now he doesn't. Ruby's the same way when things change too fast for her. She shuts herself away for a while so she can gather her thoughts, but she always goes back to normal after a day or two."

Weiss wasn't sure. It felt like something else was bothering the boy, but she knew that there was no point trying to get him to tell her what it is. Trying to force him to talk before he was ready never worked out well, and would only make him isolate even more.

"I hope so." Weiss sighed.

"Trust me." Yang smiled, pulling her into the elevator. "He'll be back to playing head games with us in no time."

Giving her a tired nod in response, Weiss stepped into the elevator beside her and leaned into the woman. She hated what had been done to her family. Even though they had finally broken away from the source, they were still damaged and in need of repair. She knew that wasn't what a family was supposed to be, her time with Yang having shown her what that should be; but hopefully with time, that could be fixed.

But that would definitely not be happening until their freedom was secured, so as the elevator came to a standstill on the ground floor and the door opened, she stepped outside into the brightly lit atrium. Almost immediately she was blinded by the dozens of flashes that shone through the glass of the entryway as the sound of innumerable reporters reached her ears. There was a small rattling as some tried to pull it open, but the lock kept it shut tight.

"Evening, Miss Schnee." Yatsu greeted her from behind the desk, his brown eyes alright looking tired despite his shift having only just started.

"Evening, Yatsu." She replied with a smile. "My apologies for all the noise."

"It's no problem." The man shook his head and held up his hand. "You get used to it when you work here. Can I help you with anything?"

"We need to talk to them for a bit." Yang leaned against the desk. "Wanna provide some extra muscle?"

"Suppose I got nothin' better to do right now." The man yawned, standing up and immediately dwarfing both of them.

With just how rare it was to see the man out of his seat, Weiss had forgotten that he was the third tallest person she had met. Nevertheless, despite his size, and a few notable similarities to someone Weiss would rather not think about, he exuded an aura of gentleness that completely removed any of the intimidation one would usually feel when confronted with someone so large. Watching his hulking form exit from behind the desk and walk over to the door, she stayed where she was and took a deep breath.

"You sure you wanna do this right now?" Yang asked, taking her hand and giving her a reassuring squeeze.

"Mhm." Weiss breathed out with a nod, moving towards the compass insignia in the center of the floor. "It's time to end this. You can open the door, Yatsu."

Sliding away the bolts that kept the reporters out, Yatsu pulled the doors open. The sound was almost deafening. The clicking and snapping of cameras, the numerous voices that shouted questions that were quickly lost amongst the twenty others, the scurrying of feets and grunting of pain as people struggled to push their way to the front of the back like parrahna's trying to get to a piece of meat that had been dropped into their habitat. Even though Weiss was used to it, it was still a slightly intimidating watch, but she stood firm as the giant guard threw his arms out to block them.

"Alright, alright!" The man called, his deep voice booming over them and causing most of the noise to quieten down. "Miss Schnee will speak to you now, but on behalf of Founder Towers I must remind you that you are entering a privately owned building. Freedom of the press does not apply here; and any failure to comply with our instructions will result in the police being called and charges being filed." He waited for a second as a murmuring of understanding passed through the crowd. "Good. You may now follow me."

Gripping her girlfriend's hand tighter as Yatsu led the press towards a marked line, Weiss closed her eyes and waited patiently. She could feel her heart hammering. Could feel her throat threatening to close and her nerves calling for her to walk away. Deep down, a voice told her that it was the wrong thing to do, that it would only make things worse, but she quickly buried it. That voice had kept her, and her family, silent for too long; but not anymore.

With the voice buried, she opened her eyes and saw the swarm of reporters spread out along a line in front of her. Already their cameras had begun to resume their snapping.

Here we go, she thought to herself, giving Yang a final look and letting go of her hand. Summoning the same steely resolve that she used in meetings, she took a step forward into the middle of the insignia.

"Weiss, are you…"

The rest of the comment was lost in a sudden sea of noise as every reporter in the room began to ask their question at once. Thankfully, she knew how to handle that and slowly raised a hand. The effect was immediate and silence fell across the room, the only noise being the continued clicking of photographs being taken.

With one last deep breath, she lowered her hand and spoke.

"As you are all aware," She began, making sure to keep her voice even. "This afternoon my mother attended an interview. During that interview, she revealed things about our home lives that we have been silent about for too long. Things that I am sure many will question the legitimacy of and ask why these atrocities were allowed to continue for so long. Well, the simple answer to that is that we believed that staying quiet would save the people we love from undue pain. However, inspired by my mother's courage to speak out today, I feel it is my responsibility to finally speak up as well."

She glanced around the room to see that every eye was on her. Barely a breath could be heard from the reporters, and even the taking of pictures had stopped so that they may better hear her words.

"For the entirety of my life, and even before it, the walls of Schnee Manor have been more akin to a prison than a home. Within them, the word of Jacques Schnee was law, and any act of defiance to that law would quickly be met with discipline and violence. Our actions were limited to only those he deemed appropriate, and any desires we held that did not fit with his view of what a Schnee should be were squashed without hesitation."

"My sister was reminded of this six years ago when she dared to love a man that our father deemed beneath us, and in retaliation he had the council estate the man lived in turned into a car factory to separate them. I was reminded of this when my relationship with Yang was revealed, and my refusal to leave her meant that my role and position at the company were stripped away from me. My mother and brother were also reminded of this today, when she was forced to stumble from the house after my father beat her in front of her son for daring to finally speak out against his abuse. Even now, she sits upstairs with his handprint on her cheek."

As she revealed those truths, she felt her voice shake a little.

"These were not singular incidents." She swallowed heavily. "These were our lives. Every day, for as long as I can remember, we have lived in fear of that man. But today, that comes to an end. From this day forth, we will be doing what fear has kept us from doing for so long and leaving that man in our past. This is our family. And we will not be letting him tear it apart any longer. My mother took the first step today when she left, and now the rest of our family will follow."

She looked each other the reporters in the eye so that they understood the sincerity of her words and took a step back.

"That will be all." She said firmly, accepting the hand that her smiling girlfriend was holding out to her.

"Miss Schnee, would you be willing to answer a few questions!"

Weiss glanced towards the reporter and saw it was the same one that had chased Ruby. Unfortunately, as much as she would have liked to have expressed her disgust, she knew it would be a bad choice while surrounded by other reporters.

"I'm sure you understand that I have a family I must take care of." She said with a falsely pleasant tone. "I have given you my statement, but I do not have time for questions."

Giving a nod to Yatsu to let them know she was done, she turned away and gave her girlfriend a tired smile. "I'd very much like to sleep now. That was exhausting."

"I bet." Yang said with a soft look, pulling her away from the increasingly noisy crowd towards the elevator. "You did great though. You're finally free of him."

"I hope so." Weiss yawned, stepping inside of the small metal box and resting her head against Yang's shoulder.

As the doors closed, she looked out over the mass of reporters still attempting to take her picture. She knew Jacques would not be pleased once her statement hit the news, but she didn't care. They were done, and her family was free.

And that was definitely enough for her to sleep easily.

A/N

Hello everyone.

So, this chapter was a thing. This chapter was one that I have been nervous to write for a while now, simple due to the topic it is covering and how tricky it is to navigate it. Weirdly enough, the first scene was probably the easiest to write of the chapter, and the small scene with Willow and Weiss was the hardest.

Anyways, that's all I really have to say. I hope you uhhh... enjoyed? the chapter xD And I hope you#re looking forward to the next.

Chapter 88 - Goodbye will be up on the 8th :)

Reviews

KaijuKnight, timrocks99, Zoro50, and jm4reader. Thank you so much for your wonderful comments.