Atonement XIV Part 2

I would burn down the whole world just to keep the very few good things in my life

"So, this is your newest invention, Father?"

Weiss could not help but lean forward to get a better look at the admittedly cute looking little robot floating in front of her.

"Indeed, Weiss." Ansem answered with a warm smile as showed this machine to his daughter along with his wife and son. "I call it…EVE, short for External Vegetation Evaluator."

"Why that?" Weiss asked, turning to face Ansem.

"This machine is meant to observe environments that are too hostile, either because of the weather such as the cold temperatures of Solstice or because Grimm infested jungles in Anima. These machines are programmed to act as security drones or aids to anyone who needs them, but their primary function will be to scope out possible locations of Dust or natural resources that cannot be reached your average worker or explorer. Not even Nicholas Schnee could cover all of Remnant, but he certainly made the effort." Ansem explained while giving a chuckle at the end.

"It's kind…adorable." Willow made a soft giggle as she too leaned forward and looked at the machine right in the 'face'. "Almost like something you would see in some sort of animated movie. Especially the neck."

The EVE unit made a beeping sound that could almost be interpreted as embarrassment to which Weiss and Willow giggled in reaction to.

"How does the machine operate without a neck?" Whitely asked curiously.

"A magnetic field, a combination of gravity and lightning Dust to power and give EVE the ability to hover and fly. EVE has an ergonomic suitable shape, scanner, an engine that enables rapid airborne movement and modular fingers. EVE is also armed with an electro-plasma cannon in her right arm, possibly for utility and/or defense." Ansem answered. "When I showed her to the board, they were almost as giddy as pre-school children."

"Her? You refer to this robot as her?" Weiss asked skeptically.

"Well, EVE is technically a female name." Ansem cleared his throat.

"Don't read too much into it, Weiss." Willow said with a soft smile as she patted Ansem on the shoulder. "Just another of your father's odd but charming traits."

Ansem just offered a weak chuckle. "If you say so. Now, have you all packed our trip to Vale?"

"I have." Weiss nodded.

"As have I." Whitely answered next.

"Good. It won't be particularly long, but you should have enough time to enjoy a little touring of the kingdom." Ansem stated. "I will be speaking with our potential new clients."

"You sure you don't want me coming along, dear?" Willow asked.

"I will be fine, Willow. You shouldn't have to be forced out of spending quality time with Weiss and Whitely over something as trivial as meeting potential new business partners." Ansem answered with a soft smile. "Enjoy taking in the sights of a kingdom where it is a different season than just the winter season."

"Speaking of, I wish Winter could have joined us." Willow said sadly. "I hope the General's not overworking her."

"I am sure she can manage just fine." Ansem said with a comforting smile.

"I am sure as well but if the good general isn't giving her a break now and then…" Willow's eyes narrowed coldly. "I will have to speak with him about it."

Weiss and Whitely took a step back, wary of their mother's potential wrath. If there was one thing to note about an angry Schnee is that they weren't the type to exhibit their anger through just yelling and visible anger.

No, the anger of a Schnee was a cold, calculated anger that threatened to freeze the blood anyone foolish enough to warrant such wrath.

Ansem cleared his throat. "Yes well, I hope to be done by the evening and join you all for dinner. I will leave the choice of restaurant entirely up to you."

Willow held up one finger, a mock glare on her face. "So as long as you are paying, dear."

"Why of course." Ansem chuckled though he sounded slightly nervous.

"Good. We'll find a good restaurant and let you know of the time, but don't you dare be late." Willow said as she turned around. "Or you can spend the night sleeping on a bench in the park."

"Of course, my snow angel." Ansem hastily bowed his head.

Weiss and Whitely looked on with dry looks, seeing their father, a man so knowledgeable and wise and yet was so easily cowed by their mother.

Willow on the other hand, brought a hand to her mouth to stifle the giggle that threatened to escape. 'Handsome, smart, kind and yet it is always so funny when he is like this. Oh well, better not push it. Besides, considering the alternatives here in Atlas he might as well be considered a gift from the Gods.'


Roman could honestly say he had been looking forward to this mission.

It was a chance to see a brand-new kingdom and possibly break away from the Spiders and set up his own criminal career, but he had to be cautious. Chameleon along with Brats One and Two were with him to keep an eye on him and no doubt had orders from Malachite to kill him if he tried giving them the slip. For now, though, he was fine with behaving as he knew that Malachite had contacts in Vale so he needed to find out who they were before he made any career changing decisions.

Still, it was clear from the sight of this city, Roman only had one thought when it came to Vale: this city was full of rubes. If he grown up here, he would have likely never ended up joining and leading gangs when he was a kid, only to be forcefully recruited into the Spiders. Anyone with natural talent, a devious mind, loft ambition, and bankrupt morals could take, take, take whatever they wanted.

For the first time in a long time, Roman felt at home.

Still, he would need to be cautious as it turned out the police had much lower tolerance for crime here than in the outer districts of Mistral. Apparently, it had some kind of reputation to uphold as a light to the other kingdoms of Remnant.

Yeah, and Roman remembered how people back in Mistral preached their kingdom encapsulated the sea and the sky.

Turned out their contact owned a nightclub called The Luck of the Mountains.

Their contact, Honey Wine, singer and owner of the club.

Roman sauntered into the club, followed quickly by Brats One and Two and Chameleon. It was a cozy little club, men and women all dressed rather fancy and sharing a laugh over some drinks and excellent looking food.

Roman found himself almost at home here.

A waiter stepped in front of them. "Mr. Torchwick, I presume?"

"You presume right." Roman simply said.

"Your table is prepared, sir." The waiter gestured for them to follow.

The table was right near the stage, glasses of water prepared along with a bottle of Mistrali wine waiting in a bucket of ice.

"You know how to make a man feel welcome." Roman commented as he sat down, followed by the girls.

"But of course, sir. Honey Wine will be with you shortly." The waiter said before turning away.

Roman took the chance and poured himself a glass of wine, content to sit back and wait for their contact to meet with them. He wanted to get a scope of the kingdom before making any big plans. While he was free from DiZ who had quickly become numeral uno on Malachite's hit list he knew she hadn't forgotten his little schemes. However DiZ had left the Spiders rather strapped for money and thugs so she kept Roman on but made sure to let him know she would be watching him very closely.

Well, he supposed he couldn't complain too much.

As long as he wasn't under the 'apprenticeship' of that red mummy bastard he would go along with being Malachite's underling for a little while long until he caught his big break.

"Well, well, well, I'm surprised to see she would send you of all people."

Speaking of the lady of the house.

Honey strolled up their table, prompting Roman to stand up and offer her a chair like the classic gentleman criminal he was.

"Great club, Honey. You're doing well for yourself." Roman said as he sat down.

"Sweet of you to come by and I see the girls are growing up into the little beauties themselves." Honey said, glancing at the Malachite twins with a sweet smile. "And how has the atmosphere of Vale been for you?"

"Boring." Brat One answered.

"Want to hurry up and get this over with." Brat Two said in agreement.

Killjoys.

"So, you really plan on making a grab for Ansem Schnee." Honey shook her head. "I can't say for sure that's a good idea since someone already tried doing that."

"They were not us." Chameleon said, glancing at Roman. "We have the best thief in Mistral to help us."

Oh, Roman wished he could say flattery would get you everywhere with him but that would be a filthy lie. Still, it was nice of them to look to him for the big plan.

"Really? And how does Roman Torchwick plan to capture Ansem the Wise?" Honey asked skeptically.

"With my sense of style and my charm, of course." Roman said with a smile, angling it just right in the light that he could imagine his teeth sparkling.

Brats One and Two recoiled in disgust while Chameleon leaned back, and Honey looked like she hadn't heard a word.

She simply said. "Good luck with that."

"Now, you know where Mr. Schnee will be staying?" Roman asked.

"A five-star apartment building in the upper east side." Honey Vine answered, holding out an envelope for Roman to take. "Bear in mind, his wife will be with him as well."

"So?"

"His wife, Willow Schnee, daughter of Nicholas Schnee, the greatest Huntress of her generation. You are good, Roman but you could never hope to best her in a fight." Honey Vine stated.

"Then it's a good thing I'm not looking to fight her. I am just aiming to kidnap her husband." Roman softly retorted.

"And of course when you do kidnap her husband, she'll have all of Remnant on your and Malachite's rear ends." Honey replied without missing beat.

"We don't need to hold him. Just long enough for him to tell us about those super Semblances." Brat One said.

"We'll drop him off for his wife to find after that." Brat Two agreed.

"Then you better have picked out a good hiding place and have a quick extraction prepared." Honey stated.

"The first things a smart thief considers on any job." Roman smiled. "And this will be a piece of cake for the world's greatest thief."

Honey stifled a laugh which Roman noticed. "And what is so funny?"

"I wouldn't say you're the world's greatest thief just yet, Torchwick." Honey said with an amused smile. "I think someone's already beat you to that title."

"Oh?"

"Tell me, have you heard of the Gullwings?"

"The who?"

"Turn on the TV when you get to your room, and you'll see." Honey simply said.

Roman scowled.


"And now back to Lisa Lavender at the Vale News Network."

Liva Lavender was a pale-skinned woman with gold-brownish eyes and pale white hair with purple hues at the tips. Her reporter outfit consisted of a black suit jacket with a purple collared dress shirt underneath.

"Thank you, Cyril. In other news, the top thieves of Vale known as the Gullwings struck again when they somehow robbed the First Vale Bank with no one seeing them sneak in or out." Lisa reported. "Security guards and bank managers were flabbergasted to see the money had literally vanished from the vault with no explanation."

An image of the bank was shown while Roman leaned forward, rubbing his chin with an interested look on his face. Looks he already had found contenders for the title of top thief in the world since not even he could have pulled off a trick like that.

"With me now, is Jimmy Vanille, member of Vale's Council and City Manager and Professor Ozpin of Beacon Academy." Lisa said, now standing in front of the bank with the two mentioned man standing behind her.

The man named Jimmy was a pale-skinned man with brown eyes who wore his dark brown hair in a short cut, complimented by a black suit. "It is utterly shameful that this has happened in our fair city. I vow, to not rest until these Gullwings are found and their stolen treasures returned to each and every person they have stolen from."

Roman snorted, the sight of a politician making a promise he couldn't keep never failing to entertain him.

"Of course, we must remain cautious." Ozpin spoke up. "It is evident that these Gullwings are a skilled and cunning group, and they are likely very dangerous. I would not advice anyone without Huntsmen training to attempt to apprehend them. We still have no idea how they managed to rob this bank with no one having spotted them."

"It is because they did not rob the bank."

Roman spat out his wine at the screen as the sight of a familiar red mummy appearing from behind the trio who spun to face them.

"Who are you?!" Jimmy exclaimed.

"My real name is of no importance. If you wish for a simple label to remember me, I will be fine with the name: DiZ." The red bastard answered.

"DiZ?" Lisa asked, a hand to her chest as she caught her breath.

"Short for Darkness In Zero." Ozpin cleared his throat. "Mr. DiZ is an informant who has deep knowledge of the inner workings of the criminal underworld of Remnant, and he has been most helpful to many Huntsmen."

Roman scowled, the sight of the red mummy enough to almost make him want to both turn off the TV and puke.

"An informant?" Jimmy questioned before looking at said 'informant'. "I think you would stand out for someone who is supposed to be an informant on all criminals."

"Theatricality and deception are powerful weapons, Mr. Vanille. My appearance is simply a form to mask the face underneath and the knowledge I carry." DiZ gestured to the bank. "For starters, the knowledge of how our dear Gullwings managed to steal the money without actually robbing the bank."

Roman raised an eyebrow as Jimmy spoke with a suspicious glare. "How can you know this? Unless you were working with them."

"I'm an informant, Mr. Vanille. What other reason would I have to come forward if not for the chance to show my knowledge and thus gain potential clients here in Vale." DiZ spoke with a small smile. "If you are not comfortable with having Professor Ozpin protect you while I explain how our dear Gullwings stole the money, of considerable amount I am sure belongs to you, feel free to call the police and lose your answer."

It was just how sickening how that red mummy could just walk out in broad daylight and act like he was the smartest person on the block.

That was supposed to be Roman's gig!

Lisa Lavender cleared her throat, having an intrigued smile on her face. "Please, Mr. DiZ. If you would be so kind to tell us and our viewers how this robbery was done, we would very much appreciate it."

Jimmy kept glaring while Ozpin maintained a look of neutrality on his face as DiZ seemingly considered Lavender's request. "…Very well. Shall we enter?"

The three followed DiZ into the bank, followed by a couple of security guards.

"Like any stage magician, the Gullwings rely on a combination of showmanship, theatrics and subtle cunning. Usually when you attend a magic show and watch the magician on the stage wave his hand and proclaims he is about to perform his act, the trick has already been performed and it's never on the stage." DiZ began, holding up one hand and waving it around.

"I'm not interested in how magic is preformed; I want to know how they robbed this bank with no one seeing it." Jimmy snapped impatiently.

"I just said, Mr. Vanille that they did not rob the bank." DiZ produced a Scroll which projected an image of a road of Vale where the truck that was meant to transport the money took. "As you can see, they targeted the shipment of freshly limited money to this bank on an armored truck."

In the middle of the road, a police car appeared in a sparkle of white and pink shards. The trunk then came up and stopped.

"The driver was obviously deceived by someone with an illusionary Semblance to make the truck stop."

Jimmy seemed to pale as the 'officer' stepped out and asked for the driver to come out. As soon as the door opened, there a shooting sound and the driver was knocked out. The officer was replaced by someone in a dark hooded coat, catching the driver and dragging him away.

"And despite what you might believe, the drivers transporting the money are not exactly mental giants. The illusionary car was a distraction while someone knocked our dear driver out from a distance to avoid seen." DiZ said dryly. "They moved him off the road where he would remain unconscious for the rest of this little venture."

Roman had to admit, he was a little intrigued by what is happening. Intrigued enough that he was able to stomach listening to the red robed freak he once worked under.

"So, they stopped the driver but why not simply hijack the truck?" Lisa asked curiously.

"Not when they know all the police in Vale will eventually come after them." DiZ calmly replied. "And who says they were not already inside."

Suddenly the back of the truck was opened and outstep two more figures, both appearing to be young girls, dragging another unconscious security guard. One of them wore a short magenta dress with black trim and a red strapped garment around her hips. She wore yellow and magenta stockings and black boots. Over her head, she wore a large magenta hat that covered her face and black fishnet gloves.

The other wore a black bandeau and pants with blue legs. She had a red strapped garment around her waist and black boots, a large blue hat that protected her face from being seen and black fishnet gloves.

"How did they slip inside?" Lisa asked, a look of curiosity and excitement on her face.

"Watch." DiZ simply said.

They brought the money out of the truck and into a pile. The one wearing the blue hat held out her hand and the shadows underneath the money became misty and stretched out, devouring the money. The two girls who had hidden in the truck vanished into the ground with the money.

"As you can see, this one relies on a Semblance that manipulates the shadows. From the way the money disappeared, the shadows can be used as a form of storage and even transportation." DiZ explained. "And now, the final trick."

The one in the dark coat waved her hand inside the truck and an exact copy of the stolen money appeared in its place.

"As you can see, the one with the illusionary Semblance created a complete copy of the stolen money, able to simulate it's appearance and mass right down to the point no one knew the difference." DiZ turned off the projector. "Once the vault was closed, the illusion shattered. When the vault was opened again, the bankers were left under the impression they had been robbed."

To say that Lisa and Roman were impressed was an understatement.

Lisa was astounded and she looked like she had found the story of the century. Four young ladies had single-handedly robbed the First Bank of Vale without anyone seeing them in action until it was too late. What an amazing feat they had pulled off and she saw it literally happen right in front of her face.

Roman was also impressed.

As much as he thought of himself as the top thief in the world, he could respect another's work and these four little ladies, these Gullwings had duped the entire kingdom of Vale so easily he couldn't help but sit back and laugh.

"So, we know that two of them relies on a Semblance that can create physical illusions while the other manipulates and controls shadows." Ozpin mused, bringing a hand to his chin. "Both impressive and both suit each other very well. I guess the shadow Semblance is what they used to get into the truck, possibly by hiding in the shadows of the very people who were transporting the money into the truck and then hid in the shadow of the guard who was in the back of the money."

"Exactly, Professor Ozpin." DiZ said before glancing at Jimmy. "You seem awfully quiet, Mr. Vanille. Does this not answer question?"

"I…" Jimmy cleared his throat. "Y-Yes, it does. It explains how these miscreants have been running around the kingdom, robbing everyone blind."

"Correct, they do not rob everyone blind. They have only targeted the very rich and wealthy." DiZ corrected. "And we do not yet know the capabilities of the other two members."

"Still, this will make things much easier. We can track them and arrest them." Jimmy stated with renewed confidence. "I suppose you seek compensation for your job as an informant, Mr…DiZ."

"I am just happy that you could benefit from my knowledge, Mr. Vanille." DiZ humbly answered with a small bow.

"Barf." Roman simply said, fighting the urge to vomit from the false humility that bastard liked to show.

"And now I shall be off." DiZ said as a dark portal appeared behind him and he vanished into it.

Lisa and Jimmy both jumped from the surprise portal appearing behind DiZ and they watched as it vanished.

Lisa cleared her throat. "Well…that was highly informative. Mr. Vanille, Professor Ozpin, care to share your thoughts?"

"I believe I have made my views completely clear." Jimmy turned away. "If you'll excuse me."

"And you, Professor Ozpin?"

"Well, if the Gullwings are watching and are interested in what I have to say." Ozpin cleared his throat, facing the camera. "You got away today but rest assured, we will be watching. And should you ever cross a Huntsman, things may not go so well for you."

With that, Ozpin turned and walked away next.

The camera fell back on Lisa who immediately spoke. "Inspiring words from Professor Ozpin. And of course, we will be watching very closely as well. Now onto Faunus Rights Movements-"

Roman turned off the TV and sat back in his chair.

So, Vale had its own band of merry thieves running around and they sure made chumps of the police and the Huntsmen here.

Roman could respect that.

'A shadow and an illusion Semblance.' Roman brought a hand to his chin. 'Normally, I'd say Semblances are overrated but these gals caught that mummy's attention.'

And there is the downside: DiZ is in Vale.

As soon as Malachite heard about it, she'd have him, Chameleon and the Brats on the lookout, wanting DiZ to be brought in for his actions against the criminal gangs back in Mistral. Normally, Roman would be up for it but he didn't have any plans for returning to Mistral. He'd rather just kill the bastard when he had the chance, but Malachite would want her own ten pound of flesh. However, right now he had to focus on the job.

The name Jimmy Vanille sounded familiar so Roman looked over the pile of information Honey had supplied him.

That's right, Ansem Schnee was meeting a lot of potential and confirmed heavily rich clients here in Vale with the name Vanille being close to the top of the list. A member of the Council and the City Manager who just got robbed by four young ladies and judging by the look on his face, he recognized the one with the illusion Semblance.

Roman was suddenly glad he got forced onto this job.

Things were getting interesting…

Very interesting.