Atonement XIV Part 5
RING-RING-RING!
RING-RING-RING!
…
"Hello?"
"Hi, you might not remember me but we met a few years ago in the Shopping District of Vale."
"…You are one of those girls who I saw get into an altercation with those older girls."
"You remembered?"
"I try to remember every unusual encounter."
"Well, you remember that you gave us this number if we ever needed help?"
"I remember."
"We need your help."
RING-RING-RING!
RING-RING-RING!
…
"Hello?"
…
…
…
"Yes, this is Professor Eraqus."
…
…
…
"Yuna? Right, you and your friends were in my class at Signal."
…
…
…
"You've found her? That's great news."
…
…
…
"What? Her parents?"
…
…
…
"Is there any proof?"
…
…
…
"You did?"
…
…
…
"That's amazing…"
…
…
…
"Well, I'm still out here on Patch so it will take too long for me to get there but I think I know someone who might be able to help."
…
…
…
"Don't thank me just yet. I'll see what I can do."
…
…
…
"Okay, bye." The caller hung up, leaving the person they called to sigh.
She got up from her desk and headed down the hall, seeing one of her co-workers wrapping up their class for the day. She waited until the students had left before opening the door.
"Tai?"
"Hey, Aqua." The man inside smiled. "I just need to get some paperwork done and we can go home."
"Is Qrow anywhere near Vale?"
The man looked at her. "Maybe. Why?"
"I just got a call from one of my old students about something disturbing."
…
…
…
"Yikes. I heard Jimmy Vanille might have been crooked, but this is…Yeesh!"
"Yeah, I thought the same thing. I can't glide over to Vale without being seen and it will take too long by boat to reach the mainland."
"I get ya." Tai brought out his Scroll. "Qrow does some work in Vale from time to time, looking into the organized crime there. I'll see if he can do anything."
"Thanks, Tai."
"Father, I know Mother can be terrifying but why do the two of you always play this game whenever we go somewhere outside of Atlas?" Whitely could not help but ask as he fastened his tie.
"Do what, Whitely?" Ansem asked, adjusting his own bow tie.
"You acting like a trophy husband completely subservient to Mother's whims." Whitely clarified with a dry look.
"Now, Whitely." Willow came out into the living room, looking gorgeous in blue evening gown. "It's not polite to imply I treat your father like a mere trophy. He is the CEO after all."
"Yes, but Weiss and I have noticed, and I suspect Winter has long since noticed whenever we take a trip out of Atlas, you suddenly want to go on a shopping spree, leaving Father holding the bags and paying for everything." Whitely remarked.
"A good husband should spoil his wife." Willow said with a happy smile.
"Uh-huh." Whitely sighed.
"Now, dear, I think Whitely is growing tired of our game." Ansem patted Willow on the shoulder. "As much as it is fun to play the loving, doting husband who will possibly break his back someday in carrying out the whims of his wife, I think you have too much fun with this and forget why we even do it."
"So, there is a point?" Whitely raised an eyebrow.
"Well, as much as Mother and Father were willing to let me take over the SDC, I simply did not have the same business savvy as my father nor the same patience as my mother. Hence why I let your father take the reins." Willow began with a soft smile. "Now, to most people inside Atlas your father is recognized for his brilliance in how he has turned the SDC from a Dust company into a multi-national business outside, many believe he only became head of the SDC by marrying into the Schnee family. Our little 'game' as you put it, Whitely simply feeds those rumors and no doubt there were a lot of eyes on us today."
"So, when we attend tonight's party, practically everyone will think father is simply a trophy husband." Whitely mused.
"And think it will be easy to cut a deal with him, believing they can convince him easily that partnering up with them will be beneficial to the SDC." Willow finished with a mischievous smile on her face. "The funny thing about the rich, Whitely is that they are always looking for ways to get more money and partnering up with someone who has even more money while likely only being the supposed figure head would make them more eager to set up a joint business venture. Little do they realize; they've fallen for a ruse to make them think they are able to easily negotiate for anything they might want from investing with the SDC."
"And of course, inviting us to meet them so they can work out a beneficial arrangement." Ansem finished.
"Little do they know; they fell for the act and thus your father will be able to get a good look at each of them, deciding who might be worth partnering with and who is not." Willow finished cheerfully.
Whitely sighed. "I understand the ruse, but did you have to make a grand spectacle of it?"
"Well, in our defense, it's been years since I've been to Vale." Willow remarked bashfully. "So much has changed and I wanted to bring back souvenirs."
"I noticed that right away." Whitely sighed. "So, who are the people we are visiting tonight?"
"The Vanille family, a rather rich one with the patriarch serving as the city manage and thus has a seat on Vale's council." Ansem answered, seemingly dropping his 'trophy husband' act. "Jimmy Vanille. Supposedly he's responsible for cleaning up the city of crime but his rather rich tastes suggest he has more money than possible, even for a man of his position."
"Meaning he might have some finances that are off the books." Whitely commented.
"A city councilor involved in something illegal, this really is different from Atlas." Willow commented.
"To be fair, some would argue General Ironwood having two seats on the Atlas council somewhat illegal itself." Ansem pointed out.
"Perhaps but he won those seats fairly no matter anyone else might say." Willow replied with a dry smile.
"So why even bother going to this party?" Whitely asked.
"Well, for one we don't exactly have any evidence that Jimmy Vanille is involved in anything illegal so we have no reason to refuse him and turning down his invitation would motivate him to convince other potential clients to turn down investing with the SDC." Ansem replied. "Needless to say, this little party is sadly mandatory."
"I am starting to see why you said Weiss and I didn't have to attend." Whitely remarked. "Sounds like the makings of a headache and I've been to enough parties like this in Atlas."
"You don't know the half of it, dear." Willow patted Whitely on the shoulder. "Speaking of your sister…WEISS, WE'RE ALL READY OUT HERE!"
"Coming!" Wiess hastily called back.
She came out wearing a white formal dress with her flowing down her back instead of in its usual ponytail.
Willow gasped happily as she gave her daughter. "Stunning, simply stunning my dear snowflake. You'll no doubt be fighting off more potential suitors tonight."
"Mother." Weiss slightly groaned.
"Not something a father is looking forward to hearing." Ansem said, taking a deep breath while his eyes were closed.
Willow let out a small giggle before gesturing to the door. "Well, let us be off and see what this Vanille family might have to offer."
"I still can't believe you decided to accept this invitation."
"What is wrong with accepting it?"
"Aside from wasting a day partying with the rich folk instead of doing your job?"
"In case it has slipped your mind, Ansem Schnee and his family are attending this party. The top family from Atlas, making connections here in Vale. I would say there is potential for a story."
"Can't be any worse than trying to uncover the true identity of the Gullwings or that scoop you did on that Torchwack fellow."
"Torchwick." She corrected, applying some make-up to her face. "And he's interesting…More interesting than anything that's happened in this kingdom in the past decade."
Lisa Lavender stood up, clad in a purple evening gown and picked up her purse. "Perhaps this will be the kind of party he likes."
The party was as the Schnee family expected.
People dressed fancy.
Lots of food and wine.
And utterly boring.
Every now and then, someone would greet them, say it was an honor to be meeting the Schnee family, a little idol chit-chat and either Ansem or Willow would politely excuse themselves from having to continue speaking. It had been done so many times that the entire family had literally memorized the guidebook on what to say and do at these kinds of parties. So far, nothing was really different, and they hadn't even met with the Vanille family yet.
Until the patriarch of said family stood at the top of the stairs from the upper floor, allowing him to survey the entire party.
"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight is a special night. A night of happiness for my family that I am glad you could all attend to see." Jimmy began. "First off, I would like to extend a warm welcome to some potential new friends from out of town."
Jimmy gestured down to Ansem Schnee and his wife.
Maybe that's the big celebration they were talking about. A chance to mooch off of some other suckers they had sweet talked.
"And warm welcome home to my daughter," Jimmy then gestured to the girl next to him who stared back with a surprised face. "Celebrating not only a chance to meet new friends but to celebrate her engagement."
Ansem and Willow applauded like everyone else but unlike the rest of the party guests, the Schnee couple along with their children could easily tell that the Vanille's daughter was absolutely shocked by the news.
Meaning it was likely she had not been aware of her own engagement.
"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Vanille."
The girl named Trivia was stopped by her mother's hands on her shoulders whilst her father greeted the man who spoke. "Ah, Ansem Schnee. It's an honor to meet you."
"My wife and I thought we should offer our congratulations to your daughter in her engagement."
"Yes, thank you." Jimmy immediately spoke before turning to Willow. "Ah, Mrs. Schnee. It is an honor to have you here as well. We hope you and your husband will enjoy the party."
"I am sure we and our children will."
Ansem and Willow conversed with her parents, allowing her a bit of room to have her own socializing with the Schnee kids. She knew her mother was watching her carefully as she made a few hand signs.
"Ah, sign language." Whitely spoke in recognition much to Neo's surprise. "I take it there is a little more than simply shyness."
Trivia simply nodded, making a few hand signs. You know sign language?
"Of course." Weiss nodded. "Our father has taken great care to educate us in a variety of useful topics."
Trivia blinked. Really?
"Really." Whitely nodded with a charming smile. "I know most families of the so-called elites like to hire private tutors and schools, but our father is a bit different in that regard. He personally saw to our education when we began and even now likes to make sure we remember every little thing he taught us."
"Sign language was a bit of a surprise, but it was a welcome one." Weiss agreed. "Where did you learn sign language?"
Neo smiled briefly and signed. My sisters.
"Sisters?" Whitely and Wiess looked surprised as Whitely voice their confusion. "We were under the impression you were an only child."
"She is." Carmille cut in. "She has a rather overactive imagination."
Trivia scowled at her and she subtly returned it with one of her own. Weiss and Whitely seemed to pick up the tension between mother and daughter and carefully excused themselves.
"Come along, dear." Carmille whispered, leading Trivia up the stairs.
"She doesn't seem to be very happy." Weiss observed.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say the news of her engagement was just as big a surprise to her as it was to us. Then again, I don't remember the Vanille's ever mentioning they had a daughter." Whitely remarked.
"You would be right, Whitely. In fact, Trivia apparently never went to any schools here in Vale, suggesting she was likely home schooled for most of her life until she was sent to Lady Browning's Preparatory for Girls." Ansem stated, watching as the girl and her mother vanished into the hallways above. "Perhaps she was home schooled like many other children of wealthy families are back in Atlas."
"Still, I feel something else was off about the whole thing." Weiss muttered.
"Oh?" Ansem raised an eyebrow. "Something on your mind, Weiss?"
"I just feel there is something else going on here and it's making me feel uneasy." Weiss admitted.
"So, what will you do?" Ansem asked.
"Huh?"
"Well, you two seem to believe there might be a bit of trouble around here." Ansem commented as Willow sighed but smiled. "Well, what are you going to do?"
"Darling, please tell me you are not encouraging our children to go snooping around." Willow sighed, closing her eyes.
"I have said nothing of the sort." Ansem quickly replied.
"Good, because I had enough of dealing with that kind of behavior from you." Willow remarked.
"What do you mean by that, Mother?" Weiss asked. "You don't mean to say Father would-"
"Always meddle in something he shouldn't and look where trouble where trouble isn't supposed to exist. Both him and your grandfather did the same thing before we were even dating." Willow opened one eye, throwing a sharp look at her husband. "It was…annoying."
Ansem laughed softly. "Yes, but I had good reasons."
"Such as?" Whitely asked.
"I was a scientist, still am even with my duties as CEO of the Schnee Dust Company." Ansem answered. "I had to do research out in the wilderness and your mother would tag along-"
"I tagged along with my father." Willow interrupted, looking annoyed. "And I had to save the both of you more than once."
"I did appreciate it, and your father was very proud." Ansem chuckled.
Willow said nothing, merely giving a light glare.
Whitely leaned and whispered in his sister's ear. "Perhaps we should sneak off and see if there is anything actually wrong."
Weiss looked like she was seriously considering it.
Nearby, Lisa Lavender received an alert on her Scroll which she answered…and her eyes widened immensely.
"Everyone!" The news reporter shouted, earning everyone's attention. "We must leave now! The police are on their way!"
The party guest all shared glanced, not seemingly believing her until a window was smashed open, causing many to cry out in surprise as a man landed in the center of the room. He had black, spiky hair, faded red eyes, and slight stubble along his jawline. Along with a red, tattered cloak, he wore a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants and black dress shoes. In addition, his hair seemed to look like it is composed entirely of feathers.
Ansem and Willow immediately stood in front of their children, hiding them from view.
"At ease, folks!" He held up an ID card. "I'm a Huntsman and this place just became a crime scene. If you all would kindly head to the exit, the police will be arriving soon."
The party guest immediately started moving towards the exit, but Ansem and Willow were moving slower.
"Weiss, Whitely, please head outside with the others." Willow instructed with a frown. "Your father and I will get to the bottom of this."
"But mother-" Weiss was silenced by the ice-cold glare Willow gave her. "Yes, Mother."
Both siblings knew better than to argue with their mother when she gave them the look.
"To think I was about to head back to Patch."
Qrow had only stopped in Vale to report Ozpin about his latest findings out in the far edges of civilization. He sure as hell didn't expect to be ask to look into the Vanille family of all people. Then again, Qrow had looked into Vanilles before, having suspected them to be part of the kingdom's criminal underworld but Jimmy Vanille was the City Manager and had a seat on Vale's Council, thus making him hard to pin down.
Imagine getting a call from a friend in Patch and them telling him that they got a call from someone who had evidence that implemented Jimmy Vanille along with his wife as key members of both the Hei Xiong and Spider syndicates.
The last thing Vale needed was two crime families running the show.
So here he was, in bird form discreetly watching as a big party was being thrown for whatever reason these rich people felt like celebrating about. He could have snuck in but he wasn't…dressed for the occasion and honestly he hated these kinds of parties. He perked up when he noticed a certain family arriving.
The Schnee family.
The image of a beautiful young woman with eyes and hair matching the color of blue seas appeared with a smile…
'Aqua's family…Or rather her family in a past life.' Qrow mused.
That's right.
Aqua had been married into the Schnee family and to Nicholas Schnee of all people.
The one who built the Schnee Dust Company from the ground up and was hailed as the most powerful Huntsman of his generation.
How lucky she had been that time.
And then there was Ansem Schnee, also known as Ansem the Wise.
Or Sage King of Mantle.
There had been a few titles to describe the current patriarch of the Schnee family and all of them were appropriate given the man's feats. He had transformed a single Dust trading company into a multi-national company that had reaches to all four kingdoms and he was still working to build his company up by coming here to Vale.
"Ladies and gentlemen, tonight is a special night. A night of happiness for my family that I am glad you could all attend to see." Qrow perked up at the sound of Jimmy Vanille's voice. "First off, I would like to extend a warm welcome to some potential new friends from out of town."
Jimmy gestured down to Ansem Schnee and his wife.
Maybe that's the big celebration they were talking about. A chance to mooch off of some other suckers they had sweet talked.
"And warm welcome home to my daughter," Jimmy then gestured to the girl next to him who stared back with a surprised face. "Celebrating not only a chance to meet new friends but to celebrate her engagement."
Strangely enough, the daughter didn't look so happy when her engagement was brought up. If Qrow had to guess, it wasn't a happy engagement. Then his Scroll beeped, the Emergency Alarm going off. He opened it and looked at the screen:
Lady Browning's Academy a front for an assassin training camp.
Suspect of having deep ties with the Spider Gang of Mistral.
Confirmed Active Suspect: Carmine Vanille
Oh…shi-
"Everyone!" Someone inside shouted, earning everyone's attention. "We must leave now! The police are on their way!"
The party guest all shared glanced, not seemingly believing her and he took that as his que. He jumped off the branch and smashed through the window, causing many surprised cries as he landed in the center of the room.
"At ease, folks!" He held up an ID card. "I'm a Huntsman and this place just became a crime scene. If you all would kindly head to the exit, the police will be arriving soon."
The party guest immediately started moving towards the exit, but Qrow noticed the woman in the purple dress running up the stairs.
"God damn-it, what part of 'kindly head to the exit' didn't she get?" Qrow mumbled to himself.
"Don Corneo, as promised, your new bride."
Neo's eyes went wide in shock and revulsion at the sight of her so-called betrothed. She had been dragged into the dining room away from the party by her mother, presumably to meet whoever she had been engaged to.
Why couldn't it have been the Schnee boy?
Her 'betrothed' happened to be a crime lord and was a middle-aged man with a short and portly build. He had fair skin, sports a thin mustache, and blond hair shaved on the sides. He had the word 'Love' tattooed on the side of his head. He wore a red, three-quarter length coat with fur trim on the collar and cuffs, an open white pocketed-buttoned shirt, blue jeans, a dark brown buckled belt, and white dress shoes. He also wore an assortment of jewelry, including stud earrings, a medallion necklace, and several rings on his fingers.
The man turned and lecherously gazed at her, smiling. "Hello my dear."
Neo took a step back, but her mother grabbed her by the shoulders, and she felt a jab in the back of her neck. Neo's entire world spun before blacking out.
She fell into her mother's arms and was lifted up, being presented to Don Corneo.
"Exquisite." The criminal grinned, running a hand along the girl's hair. "She is perfect."
Carmine nodded as one of Corneo's henchmen, rather a henchwoman stepped forward. She was a younger middle-aged woman with a slender physique. She had light skin, black hair pinned up with elaborate golden hairpins, dark brown eyes, and sports purple eyeshadow and red lipstick. She wore a black kimono with a golden flower pattern secured by a patterned orange obi tied in the front, rather than the traditional way. She left one shoulder bare, wears a pair of black geta sandals, and carried a fan that matches her kimono.
"She is rather small, but petite and athletic at the same time." She held up Neo's arm. "Strong and flexible, no abnormalities."
She was Madam M, someone who runs a reputable massage parlor in the Wall Market district of Vale. She is also a member of the Trio—a group of high-profile figures who act as scouts for Don Corneo's nightly bridal auditions, approving candidates.
"Good, good." Corneo nodded and turned to Jimmy and Carmine. "With this, I can safely say-"
"Hold on." Madam M frowned. "This girl, she's received Huntress training."
"What?!" Corneo spun around with a surprised face.
"There is no doubt her Aura has been activated and this kind of physicality comes from years of experience and training." Madam M continued. "The kind of which only a Huntress would have."
"Yes, she was trained at Lady Browning's but-"
"How dare you?!" Corneo snarled, cutting Jimmy off. "When you offered me your daughter as my new bride, you didn't see fit to mention she was in anyway trained as a Huntress."
"Lady Browning's school is not a Huntsman Academ-" Carmine again but was cut off like her husband.
"I know it's a front for the Spiders who use it to train little girls into high class assassins!" Corneo shouted.
"It's what?!" Jimmy gaped, turning to his wife. "You…you graduated from Lady Browning's school…You're an assassin for the Spiders?!"
Carmine paled, her secret having now been revealed to her husband.
"Oh, so you had no idea at all." Corneo laughed. "Poor Jimmy. I always knew you were a moron but I never thought you were stupid enough to marry an assassin from the Spiders. I wonder what the Queen and the rest of Vale's council would think of this if the scandal went public."
Jimmy now paled, his mind racing with the thoughts of his image and lifestyle being destroyed by the revelations.
His wife, a member of Spiders, a Mistralian crime syndicate.
If the public were to learn of this-
SMASH!
The doors were suddenly kicked open and in walked a man black, spiky hair, faded red eyes, and slight stubble along his jawline. Along with a red, tattered cloak, he wore a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants and black dress shoes. In addition, his hair seemed to look like it is composed entirely of feathers. Behind him was a woman with gold-brownish eyes and pale white hair with purple hues at the tips and wore a purple evening gown.
"Jimmy and Carmine Vanille, you are both under arrest for child abuse, endangerment and human trafficking." The man said, holding up an ID card that showed him to be a Huntsman.
And worse, the woman with him was Lisa Lavender, holding a Scroll that was recording them.
"It seems our day has become rather sour." Don Corneo sighed. "Well, even if he didn't show up, I would have cancelled our agreement and the engagement anyway. I prefer a healthy woman, sure but I don't want one that can kill me in my sleep. However, it seems she'll be useful as insurance. Madam M?"
Madam M passed Trivia to one of the other henchmen and pulled out a fan. Corneo then tapped the floor with his cane and there was a shaking sound.
"Always leave your pets outside." Corneo grinned before a roar was heard.
SMASH!
CRASH!
And just like that, the floor beneath Corneo and his gang gave out and they fell down a hole that went down the ground floor and underneath the mansion.
"Come back!" Jimmy shouted down the hole. "You can't leave me like this!"
Before he could say anything else, the hole was suddenly covered by a sheet of ice that appeared out of nowhere. The atmosphere turned cold as Qrow and Lisa turned to see none other than Ansem and Willow Schnee, both of them looking very displeased.
"So, you both are criminals, one an assassin and the other who sold his kingdom out to criminals and even tried to sell his own daughter to save his own skin." Willow's tone had taken a very sharp tone.
Calm, yet cold.
Ansem stayed behind, wisely stepping out of his wife's way. Willow Schnee was not just unhappy; she was downright furious and highly murderous toward the scummy parents who had sold off their daughter to that horrible excuse of a man Corneo.
"If-If-If you do anything to us, then the council will-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Jimmy was cut off as his body was suddenly encased in ice, leaving only his head.
"I don't care what you think you can get away. The only thing you're not getting away with is what you almost try to do to your daughter." Willow stated sharply.
Carmel pulled out a hidden knife from her side hip, moving behind Willow to stab her in the back...
Except the matriarch of the Schnee family was faster, twisting and breaking Carmel's wrist she and ice appeared, reaching to her elbow while getting colder by the second even after Willow released her.
"An attempt to kill is a good reason for me to defend myself and disable you to not do that again, and be thankful all you possess is a freezer burn. Your husband is just in case, just leaving immobile for the meantime. So, you better stay there and don't make anything else worse for yourself either." Willow demanded. "You both will cooperate and help the Huntsman here save the daughter you tried to bargain away or jail will be the least of your worries."
Meanwhile, Qrow was silent, staring in silent awe and even a little fear of Willow's actions.
How she gracefully moved and easily incapacitated the Vanille couple with little movement.
The glare though…
He had seen it before.
Replace Willow's white hair with blue and her eyes a little darker in shade and they would look exactly like…
'Oh man, she really is her daughter.' Qrow had a slight shiver now.
"You." Willow said, turning to face Qrow, shaking him from his musings.
"Yes?"
"Perhaps you would like to help find the poor young lady that these two selfishly abandoned." Willow offered with a small smile.
Oh yeah, she was definitely her daughter.
