Save the world? Fuck that, I want to make money! (RWBY SI) ch 31 (Patreon)

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As Atlas had such little space, the design of parks had to accommodate lots of things while having so little space. Olympia Park was one such place, a Mistrali style fountain at the very center with a stylized warrior statue striding on it. All around, families played and gathered before food stalls, colorful streamers connected to and fro iron lamposts. A carousel had been set up as well, letting parents watch as their children played pretend on fanciful horses. A tall flag stood on grass, the Atlesian Spear flying proudly under the peaceful gathering, a quiet reminder that even in this little space, everyone eventually had to return to their duty.

Emerald's eyes glittered brightly as she near dragged me across the pavement. "Those look delicious," she drooled, eyeing a stall selling a meal I was sure plenty of Atlesians would be familiar with. Currywurst was made from sausages cut into bite-sized pieces and served in a ketchup sauce mixed with curry, with a choice of potato wedges or fries. The story goes that a Vacuan soldier had disliked the stale food of Mantle and asked a sausage stall to mix his ketchup with some curry powder. 

"Are you sure? That's rather spicy," I mused. Growing up, I had to go and renew my tastebuds to the more spicier dishes I enjoyed in my previous life. 

"Please?" Emerald asked, eyes pleading. I sighed and held up my hands in defeat. "Go wild then. Not too wild, there's still plenty more of stalls to go.'

"Okay!" Emerald brightened immediately, rushing to the stall. I glanced back to the corner where one of our maids in disguise nodded and quietly positioned herself to watch over Emerald who excitedly went up the queue for that stall. Hell, there were plenty of people both our household staff and Silver Shields all positioned in certain places to make sure that both her and I were protected. Not that I needed it. If push came to shove, I had my own skills to rely on and I could quite literally pull bullshit out of my soul. 

I yawned, walking lazily to a table where a man in armor sat, arms crossed, and grumpy. Some people have him a wide berth, noting the intense look on his face and furrowed brows. 

"Still upset, Land?" I asked, crossing my legs. 

"No shit," he replied gruffly, still upset. "To think that an Eisfalk would stoop so low and steal....and....and!" He let out a cry of frustration and buried his face in his palms. I gave him a supportive look, patting his back. 

Land was a walking traditionalist, what with his mercenary get-up and everything. Knowing that the Imperial Heiress had tried to steal from the company and was also a blazing moron had broken the old man. "I served in her grandfather's armies with pride!" bemoaned the Doppelsoldner. "I was raised with the stories of Carolus, of how Mantle united broken Solitas.....and the sacred line of Carolus the Great has been reduced to a self-righteous asshat!" 

"And that's why you're going with them, big boy," I said, still patting him on the back. "Set them straight." 

"Damn right I will!" he muttered, withdrawing his face from his palms and looking forward with determination. He had all but volunteered to be their handler and taskmaster as they were sent to Vacuo. Of course, it would rob me of a talented bodyguard but since it was decided that Robyn was more useful to us alive than broken like a Volume 9 Ruby, we had to protect our investment while also giving her and her cohorts sufficient punishment. As Land continued to grumble under his breath, "I will be asking Cheng permission to make those four morons run the gauntlet. They need to know that they fucked up and being an asshat will have consequences," 

"Cheng wanted to cut off their fingers," I said casually, making Land freeze. "Or was it a nose? Something about the Five Punishments from Mistral's penal code."

"Absolutely not! Nothing that harsh!" Land proclaimed with volume, earning strange looks from other patrons but he just glared at them until they looked away. Shaking his head, he resorted back to crossing his arms and look like a grumpy old man which he was. "I will think of something." He swore, inwardly putting his grumpiness aside as Emerald rushed up carrying a tray filled to the brim with currywurst. I graciously took my share from a smiling Emerald and Land took his, munching quietly. 

"Thank you, Emerald," I said to the beaming girl. Her cheeks grew dark, happy from the praised, as she set the tray aside and sat between Land and I. She then took a toothpick, stabbed a fat sized sausage. She noted how much it was still steaming. I did the same thing, blowing on it slightly then popped it into my mouth where an explosion of flavour burst. 

God bless Vacuo and its curry. 

Land yawned as the laughter of a child filled his ears. Emerald was on one of the carousel horses, her hands gripping her ride as carnival music played. Alexander stood behind the metal divider, scroll in hand, as he recorded the scene. A few parents were eyeing him idly, probably scandalized about how open he was with his emotions. Personally, he felt those people were too damn nosy and let a man enjoy spending time with his daughter...sister...cousin...whatever. Land had suspected and had been told by both Alexander and Gerard that Emerald was related to them. Her eyes were a plain dead give-away. 

And to make it even more official, one of the maids had been tasked to take a genetic sample from Emerald while she slept and the results had come in. 

She was related to them. 

Gerard mused that she was far too young to be his sister and suspected that one of her parents was his sibling via Old Wayland's bedroom conquest. Something might have happened to them which left little Emerald homeless. 

Thank the gods then that Alexander happened to be in the right place at the right time and rescued his cousin. It was only a matter of time until Emerald would be officially adopted by the household and turn from Emerald the Street-urchin to Emerald Wayland. Then, she would have to attend a proper school befitting her new status and as she grew, her future was basically secured. 

Not bad for a pipsqueak. Well, she was less a pipsqueak with each passing day and growing fast, her penchant for eating was helping in that regard. Land also suspected that the girl was also trying to grow as fast as she could to make herself useful for her cousin...father....whatever. 

Speaking of useful girls, Land could not help but scowl as his mind thought of Robyn Hill and her happy idiots. Gods, how far the Eisfalk family had fallen to allow its scion to be...that. Then again, her grandfather had listened to that insane plan of forcing people to suppress their emotions to avoid the Grimm so making bad decisions that ruin everyone's lives was already present in the blood. The only thing left for him to do as someone still gave a damn about the bloodline was to mold her and her idiot team to be proper damn huntresses. He had done that with Alexander and he was a snide little shit growing up and he turned out alright. If he could do it before, he could do it again. Four huntresses were a challenge but Doppelsoldner such as him were built different. 

Besides...Gerard was entertaining the idea of returning the Wayland family to prominence with a restoration of the monarchy. Land did not know the specifics of how he was going to do that as he himself did not care for politics and its specifics. He was a soldier, a damn fine one, and he was going to mold the little shits known as the Happy Huntresses into damn good ones.

​He would do his duty or die trying. 

"Land!" Alexander called out to him, startling the old mercenary. He turned to see that Emerald had finished her carousel ride and was enjoying ice cream with her father/cousin (or whatever). "Come get some ice cream!" 

Well...he was going a long time away and deal with the Happy Huntresses. It couldn't hurt to spend his last few moments with his lord...no, boss, Land corrected himself. 

Old habits die hard, the mercenary chuckled. 

Emerald could never be happier. She ate good food from the stalls, got to ride the carousel while Red Eyes recorded her, and ate ice cream with grumpy Land and Red Eyes. Now, they were going to wander around the district and she was doing so while holding Red Eye's hand!

She hummed happily, walking with Alexander's hand holding her own on the smooth streets of Atlas. Sure, it wasn't as...what was the word? Cultured, Emerald recalled, like Vale, but it had its charm too. There were street sellers trying to call for people to check out their wares. Some looked a bit too much for Emerald, too shiny for her or too big for her. She could always get those when she was bigger. And she was getting bigger with each passing day. She would know, she checked everyday in the bathroom and recording her height with a colored pen. 

One day, she was going to be tall and big and Red Eyes would no longer have to go with that white-haired lady. Emerald had to admit that white-haired lady, Winter, looked pretty. She was tall too. But she had white hair and only old people had white hair therefore, she was old unlike Emerald who while young would still be tall. 

Nothing could ever ruin this day.

She found a seller that caught her attention. He had a scarf held by a black cord on his head. He was selling jewellery, the likes Emerald had never seen before. Gold, silver, gems and stones. They were beautiful. And thus, Emerald rushed ahead, her eyes settling on a particular bracelet made of onyx beads. In her previous life, she could only really watch and look as girls her age had parents that would go with them to buy things. If she wanted things, she either had to beg or steal from them. 

But not anymore, not here as she was chosen by Alexander Wayland, Red Eyes. Eyes there were red as hers. She quickly produced the lien needed to buy the bracelet, something the merchant was more than happy to sell to her. "Do you need me to help put it on you, little lady?" 

Emerald smiled, shaking her head as she turned towards Alexander and held her hand out. He raised an eyebrow at her request but understood what she wanted immediately. "Hold your hand out, Emerald," he ordered, something which she dutifully complied with. 

He had took her from the streets and given her a life that other street kids could only dream of. Because of him, she ate the most delicious food, dressed in actual clothes that she did not have to steal, and she even had her own room and money! As his hands secured the bracelet on her hand, she pulled it back to examine it. 

"It looks great on you, Emerald," Alexander praised her, patting her on her head. "Make sure to clean that regularly, alright?" 

"I will," she nodded, walking up to his side then tugging his hand along. 

​Alexander had given her a life and asked for nothing. For that, she was thankful.

And she was willing to do anything, to repay that back. 

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The craft landed with a thud. Outside, he could hear it, the roaring and cheering crowd. It lifted his spirit in ways that he once thought was impossible. 

The decision for the Council to downsize the SDC had been a surprise. Many in the White Fang had believed that it was impossible. Atlas had their propaganda boost and rescued the faunus. Humanity would be content in doing the bare minimum and business would return as usual. But not, Atlas had proven that there were still Councillors in it that believed in justice and it was only proper for Menagerie to thank that. 

​It was a long journey that took Ghira Belladonna from Menagerie then to Vale then finally, to Atlas. Kuo Kuana still did not have a airport for its own but he was confident that while he was in Atlas, he could surely find people willing to invest in his people's nation. If there was one thing Atlesians loved, it was money. 

And he was not alone. 

By the airships window, little Blake watched in fascination the bright lights and shimmering spires of Atlas. Blake had been born in Kuo Kuana during their initial colonization of Menagerie. She was a bright star since the very first day, providing much life and light for him and Kali, now resting against his shoulder with a satisfied smile on her face. 

​"Woah," Blake whispered, awe in her eyes. "When can we go inside those big buildings, dad?" she asked eagerly as she turned to him. Kali chuckled.

"Maybe if you act properly, Blake, we can tour one of those buildings," she said, eyes glinting mischievously. 

"I will! I promise I will!" Blake vowed, nodding enthusiastically. 

"Then stay close by my side when we walk out of the airship, okay?" Kali asked to Blake nodding over and over. 

"The world is changing," Ghira sighed. "Atlas shattering the SDC, Jacques Schnee in prison and now...us here landing it Atlas." He turned to his wife, kissing her gently on her forehead. She purred demurely, smirking at him that only made Ghira fall for her over again. 

"Maybe Blake won't have to grown up like us...or how her grandparents did," Kali remarked, watching the innocence in the eyes of her daughter. 

"With Atlas rising to its values, maybe she won't," Ghira agreed. There was an adage popular among the faunus regarding their different generations. Their grandparents studied war, their children studied law, and their grandchildren studied the arts. And that adage was true with each passing day. Their fathers and mothers fought in the Faunus Rights Revolution, he and Kali had studied hard in how to run a country, and hopefully, Blake would grow up to be interested in kinder things such as arts. She was already becoming a fan of books from Mistral and Cartoons from Atlas, particularly that series they released about the talking robots. 

Freedom was the right of all sentient beings indeed. 

"Well then...time for history to be made," Kali said as a bright ding echoed around the airship. 

"Do I look decent?" Ghira asked. His wife tapping his chest was the reply. 

"You look more than handsome for the cameras," Kali laughed as they all stood up. 

The doors opened, beholding them to a cheering airport. Not only was Ghira and Kali there but other leaders of the Fang too. The Albain twins, young faunus but more than capable of replacing their father. It was a united show of support, proof that the Belladonna way of peaceful negotiation and protest worked. The only one lacking was Brown and Sienna, his former lieutenant. Thinking about them only made Ghira frown, something his wife noticed. 

"Thinking about those two again, are you?" she asked. 

They had all but cut off contact from the rest of the White Fang, busy in their crusading in Mistral. They had grown violent, far too violent to the point that Ghira had to direct the Fang to be distant to them. Last he heard, they were due to storm a stronghold of bandits of some far off tribe. He was sure it had a name but they had been so soundly beaten with the disappearance of their leader that they were pretty much going to be forgotten soon. As soon as they were done here, he was going to try and reconnect the Mistral White Fang. In a new and peaceful world, their radicalism would serve no one.

"I am," Ghira sighed. Again, Kali placed her hand on his chest, smiling.

"Here we are, my love. Non-violence triumphing over violence. The whole world will see us," Kali said lovingly. "Best to let them see how handsome you are instead of you frowning, right?"

"Right," Ghira laughed. Brown and Sienna, he could deal with later. This was a joyous day. So, time for them to be joyous too.

And thus, the Belladonnas and the rest of the White Fang leadership walked through the terminal, to a cheering crowd. They were still cheering as they rounded through for the airport's entrance where multiple vans were waiting to take them. 

Ghira lead the way, Kali at his side with Blake clutching her hand. 

They were two steps close to the van when Ghira noted the driver suddenly opening the door and running away. 

He was about to call him out, to ask why he was running, when the world suddenly became white. 

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​Jacques had been fuming in his cell, the news of the Council vote having reached his ears when suddenly, the doors to his cell opened and in came no one other than the tinman himself. Jacques barely got a word out when General Ironwood's hand curled into a fist and slammed into the table inside his cell. Wood burst forth from the crack as Ironwood gave him a glare that would have killed Jacques a thousand times over if it could. 

"Did you do it?" Ironwood asked calmly. "Did you order the assassination of Ghira Belladonna?" 

Jacques thought about being snide but the furious stare coming from Ironwood, the sheer fury in his tone, and the way his men held their weapons behind him convinced Jacques that he should cooperate. 

"I did not order the assassination of Ghira Belladonna," he replied quickly. "Why on earth would I do that?" 

"To send one last message? To show that there is a price in gouging the Schnee Dust Company?" a new voice joined. Clover Ebi had walked in, just as furious as Ironwood was. Blinking in confusion, Jacques repeated himself. 

"I did not order anything!" Jacques said again, his voice rising both in offense and confusion. "Why would I alienate the faunus? The Schnee Dust Company is finished with your vote, General," he sneered, turning to Ironwood. "There is nothing to be gained with some final revenger plot."

"You nearly starved Atlas of dust by your false blockade, Jacques," Clover hurled. "Do you really expect us to believe that you do not have a sufficient ego and give the world one last spiteful act?" 

"Unfortunately for you, yes," Jacques continued to sneer, his gaze sardonic and judging towards the Specialist. Clover stared at him and fury bubbled inside but Ironwood held out a hand. Clover glanced up to the General who only motioned for him to leave. He did so hesitantly, offering Jacques one last furious stare before he left. As he did so, Ironwood turned back to Jacques.

​"Thirty minutes ago, Ghira Belladonna, his family, and the White Fang leadership was struck by a dust bomb," Ironwood informed him. 

"Pity," Jacques shrugged. 

"You are the one that needs that, Jacques, when you are the prime suspect to this. For your sake, pray that you have enough money to hire the even more lawyers," Ironwood said before turning on his heels, his men following after him, before they closed the door to his cell shut. 

​He had been having a pleasant day in his office, wondering how best to steer Atlas's military into the future. General Conrad was a fossil but he had at least kept a full inventory with the military not ever having to fear making do without supplies. There was a reason why they had responded so quickly to the SDC mine collapse after all. With his logistics organization, it had allowed the military to spend as little as possible while focusing its budget on research. Ironwood had thought about how to use the logistical gift left to him by making a military large enough to benefit from it. 

​He had thought about introducing a bill that would have Atlesians undergo basic training to make sure that the average citizen would be fit and strong enough that actual military service would mean training them less as it was already part of their everyday life. Nothing too shocking to Ironwood's opinion at least. A standardized physical examination test that would include sports, shooting lessons, and outreaches with the military which would, in Ironwood's mind, familiarize the average citizen with army life. The expansion of the military would need talented minds too and such, opening up and increasing salaries to attract men and women of talent would be needed. New bases, new logistics chains would be set up thus needing cooperation with the workers unions. 

It was a wonderful bill. 

Then Atlas had a blast in its very heart. 

"General....did he do it?" a familiar voice croaked. Winter Schnee stood outside the jail cell, eyes red despite her standing at attention.

"He has not said yes," Ironwood sighed. 

"More a no, apparently," Clover hissed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We will have to increase his guard. There is not other man that is hated at the moment and it is Jacques Schnee." 

"Agreed," Ironwood said curtly. "I will assign the Ace-Ops to be his guard." 

Clover nodded with tired eyes. "Joy," he drawled. 

"Specialist Schnee, with me." Ironwood said as he walked down the corridor, Winter Schnee following him. The Atlesian Military HQ was massive with its own complex to itself but even from there, Ironwood could see the chaos outside. Order was being slowly restored however as he had called for a temporary state of martial law.

"What is the status of the Belladonnas?" Ironwood asked. Winter took her scroll out, shakily pressing onto it. 

"Kali and Blake Belladonna survived," Winter read aloud, her voice faltering. "Ghira Belladonna remains...unconscious." 

The Belladonnas and those with auras unlocked survived it better albeit in terrible condition. Thank the gods for small miracles. "And the rest of the White Fang leadership?"

"...Not so lucky. Dead or seriously injured, sir." came Winter's voice.

​Of the White Fang's council, only Ghira and Kali Belladonna remained. Not only were there White Fang members but members of the government of Menagerie too. And all dead or out of commission. 

"If worse comes to worse, the temporary state of martial law will have to be permanent until time comes it is no longer needed," Ironwood sighed. "All of our forces shall be on high alert. From Solitas to Argus, I want everyone ready to react." 

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A/N: Kaboom.