Black, White, and Red (RWBY SI) (Patreon)

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Seeing the Atlesian Army at work gave me a stroke. 

The defense that they had put up during Salem's attack in Vol. 8? It sucked ass. It made me puke. The very core of my being made me want to vomit onto the floor and roll around as the sweet coil of death releases me from remembering the Atlesian Army existed. I wasn't a military man by any means so it seems baseless for me to even criticize the performance of Atlas when Salem's whale vomited a bumfuck huge army to give Atlas forced love without any lube. 

Still, even an idiot like me has to wonder why Atlas deployed its forces in static lines like in Napoleon's time while their mechs stood around showing off their asses to the incoming Grimm. At least, give them static defenses at least like trenches if you were going to let them slog it out with the Grimm. And where the fuck was the artillery? The aerial support to make the Grimm's lives hard for every step of Atlesian soil they would take? 

I thought before that episode that Atlas was a flexible force that would deploy its robot armies to slog it out with the grimm, dumb robots as they are, while the human elements and the mechs would deploy in strategic areas to harass the grimm from a distance, supported by their massive aerial fleet. 

Not that Jena tier disaster that was the defense of Atlas. 

It was with these thoughts that had taken me out of my home to grumble in the privacy of my thoughts. A walk to the park would be good to calm my nerves but it never left from thinking about the Atlesian performance. With that, Atlas should kiss its power projection abilities good-bye. 

I was just thinking about the shit that Vol. 8 had when I felt something metallic poke me in the back. A mugger I realized, as the guy reached for my pockets. "Don't you fucking move," the man warned me as his fingers wrapped on my wallet. For a moment, I went still as my brain processed the pistol placed right on my spine when I heard a gasp from a woman who saw us. 

The mugger panicked and then, the loudest bang I ever heard boomed in the air. I felt nothing for a moment but then, it hit me like a brick as my brain screamed at me that I was shot, in my spine. The last thing I remembered seeing before passing out were people crowding me before darkness took me. 

To be honest, I was afraid of death. Losing consciousness is a scary thing, you know. But strangely enough, I was still quite aware that I was still 'there' in a sense. Not in feeling things physical but being there in a lucid sense. 

Then, I felt warm. And soon, I heard it. Screaming, by a woman. 

Holy shit. 

I was a baby being birthed. 

This experience, I did not consent not one bit. I joined in the screaming as well, in sheer and absolute terror. Then finally, I felt myself getting plopped out and then, I heard voices. 

 "Congratulations Mr. Schwarz! You have a son!" cried aloud a voice.

"It's a recruit!" cried another.

Then came loud cheers as I felt myself being wrapped around a blanket. When I opened my eyes, I found myself staring into the face of a blue eyed and black-haired man.  "A son...." he whispered, voice cracking with emotion, blue eyes watery with tears. "I have been blessed with a son!" He grinned at me. "Whatever I have and will have...now belong to you. My boy...My heir..." He lifted me up for all to see.

"My little Frederic!"

From then on, I focused entirely on growing up. I already went through this once and I was pretty confident I didn't need any coaching. My new parents and family however thought it was hilarious. I would admit, seeing  a one year-old try to stand by himself and walk like an adult would be pretty funny. I remembered when my mother and another woman I learned that was my aunt watched over me as I tried adulting from scratch. 

"Oh he is so cute!" Victoria Schwarz squealed as I forced my body to remember that it was once a man. I looked up in protest at dear old Aunty Vic who squealed even more at the glance of my chubby as fuck cheeks. 

"Oh calm down," tutted my mother, Alena Schwarz nee Petain. "He will soon lose his cuteness and become just as ugly as his father." 

Wow. Thanks for raising my confidence, mom. Upon hearing that, Victoria went up to me and snatched me up from the floor, bringing me deep within her boundless valleys. A part of me protested at the indignity while another told me to let it be as Aunty Vic's enormity consumed me. Then she started rubbing her face against mine as if I was a cute little puppy. "Aw, don't listen to your rude and uncouth mother. I think you'll be cute no matter what age you are!" 

Alena however smirked as she leaned back on her couch, a glass of wine held up in her hand. "How smothering you are. Are you perhaps interested in raising him yourself?" 

Stars shone in her eyes. "Can I?" she asked eagerly. 

Mother leisurely took a sip from the wine then promptly answered. "Absolutely not. Get your own."

Victoria then started to wail as she hugged me even tighter. "Nooooo! Give me little Freddy!" 

Mother then started to hum, as if she was considering my aunt's request. Her face brightened as an idea seemingly came to her. "Fight me first then. If you win, I will give him to you." 

The color of Victoria left her as she gulped. "But when we spar, I never win! I'd never get little Freddy!" Mother then took another sip of wine before levelling her gaze onto my aunt. 

"And you never will," she said with a smirk. 

I listened mutely as my aunt once more wailed as mother promptly ignored her. I zoned out their hijinks as I thought about my family. The Schwarz used to be pretty high-up back when Mantle was still a thing. As much as I could ascertain, the family held significant sway in the old Kingdom, primarily for the fact that we alongside some others produced the one thing that made countries eager to dish out beatings to weaker states. 

We made weapons. 

Guns, swords, armor. Anything and everything, our factories fueled the Mantlese war machine. The symbol of our company, a familiar looking eagle, was stamped on every arms and armor that left the assembly line. If something had that logo, one could be assured that it was made with quality and precision. 

Weapons aside though, I knew for a fact that RWBY took a lot of things from the world and transplanted them into Remnant. It did not take me long to figure out that we were this world's Hohenzollerns with a Krupp and Mauser twist. 

And just like the Hohenzollerns, we were facing some rather familiar looking scenes. Presently, the Schwarz family alongside the other nobility found itself side-lined as Mantle and Mistral lost the Great War. With that, many found themselves going out of prominence as their services were no longer needed, the old Mantlese monarchy was dissolved and Atlas rose from Mantle's dead and broken corpse. The only reason why my family and some others was able to stay afloat was the fact that we produced a common commodity that would never be out of demand and Atlas needed weapons for its rising war machine. 

Ah, Atlas. Father, Mother, and dear aunty Vic were quick to adapt to the changing world. But some did not, like good ol Grandaddy Willie. 

I was three years old when my parents finally introduced my to the Schwarz patriarch. Technically, I had already met him but I still a young baby with a poo-poo brain. Now, I would get to meet him properly now that I had a semblance of consciousness. I was told, in certain terms, to speak only when spoken to and address him as Sir. And so, dressed in a ridiculous sailor's uniform, I presented myself to grandpa Wilhelm who looked exactly just like everyone's favorite Kaiser. Except this time, he wasn't the Kaiser and simply a powerful man that enjoyed the good ol times. 

"He'll be a good recruit," remarked Grandpa Willie, eyeing me up and down. He then glanced back to father, nodding. "You have done well, Louis," 

"And mommy too," I spoke up, with respect to my mother. "Papa couldn't have made me without mommy as well." 

I hated having to sound like a kid but I didn't exactly have a choice now, did I? At least it gave me plenty of lee way to say ridiculous shit for my amusement. 

Grandfather raised an eyebrow at my words as Father cried out my name in shock. "Frederic!" For her part, mother simply elbowed her husband. 

"He's right, you know," she whispered. Father then turned to her, scandalized. "Alena!" I played my part, the mischievous little shit that I was. What's the point of being a cute little thing if I couldn't use it to my advantage. "Grandpa, my mama and papa are very good," 

Grandfather leaned in, interested. "Is that so?" 

I nodded, pulling the cards out as I excitedly explained. "Yes! They like to cry out the Brothers name every night!" 

"Frederic!" cried out father once more. Grandpop however, laughed. I think it was less of my joke or rather, it was seeing his son getting embarrassed and worked-up. I smiled, enjoying my family's company. Despite dad's warning, grandpa was actually pretty alright. 

Then, I was ushered out of the room as Grandpa stopped laughing and told my parents that it was time to discuss business. Before I left the room however, my ears perked as sweet Grandpa Willie began to angrily rant about how my parents should stop associating with the "dirty, sniveling, and Lien grubbing upstarts." 

It took me quite some time to realized that Grandpa meant the Schnees. 

It turns out that mother and father dearest maintained a degree of cordial relations with everyone's favorite white-haired familia. Remember what I said about the color revolution, how some families lost much of their positions and new ones took it? The Schnees were one of those new families who arose in prominence, mostly out of the sacrifice of Nicholas Schnee who braved the wilds of Solitas to find rich deposits of Dust and the business acumen of his son-in-law, Jacques Gele. 

He was pretty tolerable at first, my parents told me. Nicholas was brave and good but in terms of business, he was pretty shit at it. Jacques was the one that provided the direction of where the company should go while Nicholas built it. Then, Nicholas died after a period of illness and instead of the company passing to his daughter, it instead went to Jacques. 

I found out the cunt had been keeping Nicholas lucid enough in his final years to convince him to hand the company to him instead of his daughter, pretty much gaslighting good Nicholas that he was the best man for the job and would take care of his darling baby girl. Nicholas, believing him, signed it in his will much to the shock of Willow.

Afterwards, things changed. The SDC became much more cut-throat and corporate, racking up a healthy amount of workers rights violations in the name of profit while Jacques injected his influence in the Atlesian business world. Hostile takeovers here, not quite polite prodding there. With her kept out of the loop and her own family's company taken from her, Willow was a woman with little to look forward to in life. She wasn't as bad as was in the show though, still trying to keep herself sane for the benefit of her daughter Winter and her incoming baby that I was pretty sure was going to be Weiss.

Speaking of Winter...

I willed my breathing to calm as I held my blade (A stick) against my chest, like one of Vale's old knights. Standing straight, I then slashed at the air, smirking at my fierce opponent. "You are too late," I projected menacingly. "The bomb has been placed and you are too late. Atlas will burn,"

Winter's eyes narrowed as she entered a combat stance. "I will stop you, you faithless fiend! Your evil plans will not damage my home today!"

"Let's see you try," I mocked her. An annoyed tick overcame Winter as she roared, rushing at me with her saber (A thinner stick). We met in a great clash, our strikes echoing in the air. Our wills battled for dominance, each one of us knowing the stakes. Whoever won would determine the fate of Atlas. With that in mind, Winter grit her teeth as she poured all her strength against me.

"Atlas will live on and will never fall to the likes of you!" she declared with surety and confidence. Her confidence wavered slightly as I then nonchalantly blew a gust of her hair into her face. With her distracted, I then pulled back and held my blade against her neck.

"I don't think so," I said with menace. It took the girl quite a few minutes to realize what was happening. When realization hit, she frowned at me. "You cheated," she accused.

"I was going to blow up Atlas, I don't have to be nice with you," I explained as I dropped the stick on the floor. Winter on the meanwhile, pouted.

Winter as a child was incredibly butch, a tomboy fall all intents and purposes. Whenever she visited thanks to Willow bringing her along in her jaunts to our manor, she would find me and drag me to play war games with her.

"You still cheated!" she protested, stomping her foot on the ground. "You're supposed to monologue your plans while I fight you!"

"Not this villain," I deftly replied. "And besides, no real villain works like that. They don't follow scripts."

Before our argument could go on further, I could hear my mother calling out for me from the family gazebo. With that, I sent Winter one last smug look before leaving. Winter followed shortly behind, her aura clearly indicating that our argument was not over. We went from the gardens of our house, a beautiful place adorned with flowers and hedges then on a path that lead me and Winter to the gazebo. There, pleasant orchestral music played from a phonograph as Mother and Willow lounged on couches. Mother was dressed in her usual clothes, a matching Valean green suit and pants worn over high-heels. Willow for this occasion was dressed in a chest-cut summer dress that emphasized her curves. Of course, the unabashed pervert that I was, I did my best to respectfully ogle the visibly pregnant Willow. As if sensing that I was perving on her mom, Winter poked me at my side.

I yelped.

Both women seemed to be animated by something but stopped when they heard my cry. Immediately, mother snapped to me, a ghost of worry on her face. It vanished immediately however when she saw that it was only me getting childish looks of disapproval from Winter.

"Must you dirty your clothes like that? Our staff have to clean that you know," mother remarked, eyeing the creases and grass on my clothing. I faced her to protest, why is she scolding me when Winter was also similarly dirty? Before I could say anything though, she turned to smile at Winter. "So, Winter dear. How has my son been treating you?"

"He cheated," sniffed the girl, the blowing incident still fresh on her mind. "Winter!" I protested as the Schnee sold me out. "How could you?"

Mother raised an eyebrow. "Cheated, eh? Tut tut, son."

"No way to treat a lady," Willow sniffed, shaking her head.

"I'll have to drill some manners into him," Mother remarked, her face brightening.

I paled.

"We were playing a game!" I protested, intent on defending my honor.

"Winter is only a game to you?" Mother whispered in faux-shock.

"Scandalous, scandalous," Willow cupped her face in tears. As if to drive the sword even deeper, Winter then whispered to me. "That's what you get for cheating, you cheater."

I grumbled to myself as I strode up the gazebo, intent to grab for myself some sandwiches that were neatly prepared on the table Willow and mother were sharing. The two women shared a laugh, a musical thing, as they relished in the relentless teasing of me. Winter on the other hand looked rather pleased for herself.

As much as this was an attack on my dignity, I didn't really mind. The world as far as I was concerned was still young and even though I had died as a man, I wasn't going to say no to the peaceful moments of life until shit would hit the fan later on. Hindsight was 20/20 and I was going to take full advantage of knowing what the future held.

Joining RWBY and Beacon, I wasn't going to do that. I was going to be setting my own story and it was going to be here, in Atlas. I hadn't met a great being telling me what mission I had here but I was pretty sure that it was to make Atlas into a proper state with a proper army, not the joke that was Vol 8. Atlas. For that, it would need arms to meet the Grimm, to stand on even footing with Huntsmen. It would need new doctrines, new ideas to bring it out of its stagnancy. It would need bright and vibrant officers to lead the new Atlesian army as well as a support group to keep it fed and supplied.

But first and foremost, it needed to solve an issue that was at first, an innocuous thing. It's separation from Mantle. Who knew that having a floating city in the sky and placing all important bits there would create a literal and metaphorical divide between Atlas and Mantle? I had no clue who thought of that thing but whoever did needed to be shot.

The way I saw it, Atlas was Prussia and Mantle was Austria under the Habsburgs. The former a sick thing of old tradition while the latter was rising a modernizing power. I wasn't going to choose either of them though. Why have one when you could have two? If Atlas and Mantle was to unite, it would need symbols to rally to, to have a shared identity to become one. It was going to be difficult and long but the best things in life are often difficult and the fruits, far far sweeter. Damn the Grimm and Salem. Damn Ozpin and his schemes. The only thing that mattered to me was to make sure that there were no two states in Solitas, only one.

One continent, one kingdom, one Volk. It did not matter if they were human or faunus. As long as anyone desired to be a member of it then the state would welcome them.

For Unity, Justice, and Freedom.

Für das Deutsche Vaterland

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A/N: And here's the remake of Winning with Science and Firepower. It's going to be a hard reboot compared to WSF, with a focus on furthering the goals of keeping Atlas and Mantle stronger together. And of course, making all of this with a healthy dose of seggs and lewds.

So, what do you guys think?