Save the world? Fuck that, I want to make money! (RWBY SI) ch 69

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Ruby awoke to a bright white majesty. And she was not alone it seemed for a man stood in front of her, familiar and smiling. Alexander Wayland was just as she remembered him, tall and smelling of machine oil. Then, he started to clap. 

"Ruby Rose," he spoke, his voice taking a turn of godlike. "For your invention, the Grimm Destoyer Nine Thousand, I award you a lifetime limitless purchase from all Royal and Imperial stores." 

She gasped. She was not worthy!

"Also, I award you with a lifetime supply of cookies and milk. Actually, do you want to be hired by my company as well? I would like to make you Chief Engineer!" 

​Yes! Yes! Ruby cried tearfully. Make her Chief Engineer Rose..and...cookies

"Cookies," Ruby mumbled happily, tossing and turning on her bunk. Underneath her, Weiss Schnee slowly opened her eyes, gripped her sheets, and wondered if she could get away with murdering her team-mate and getting that Wayland girl to be her partner instead. The qualification exams bore fruit. Weiss found herself grouped with the hyper Valean and her bimbo sister and awkwardly, the quiet Faunus princess. The Schnee heiress turned on her side, reaching for her scroll. Five in the morning. She sniffed and decided that being the first to shower and change would be optimal instead of waiting for the others. 

Their dorm was certainly not her room back in Solitas but it was decent enough. The shared bathroom was going to be a interesting experience in the Mistrali sense but Weiss already found a way around that by being early. The beds were good enough. Not as comfortable as her bed at home but it made do. Ruby, their fearless leader, had called for a vote to turn their single beds into bunkbeds and it was made possible with perhaps the sketchiest engineering of ropes and books she had seen. It would not pass muster in Solitas but Weiss had to begrudgingly admit that she did like the idea. 

​There was a time she and Winter would do bunk beds. That time was cut short when she had to leave for Atlas Academy and her father had taken her away to be on her own. The bunks reminded Weiss of good times when she was with her sister. When everything made sense and she wasn't exposed to the sheer robber baron monstrosity that was Jacques Schnee. 

She sighed, closing the bathroom door behind her and later emerging, now fully clean and ready to start her day. It seems she wasn't alone now as she found Blake seated by her desk, bent over and looking into her scroll intensely. By Weiss's reckoning, it was still five. It was way too early to be nursing looks of outward disdain. 

"Is something on?" Weiss asked, careful to not make her voice too loud as to alert the still sleeping girls. 

​Blake simply turned her scroll around. Weiss squinted and saw that she was looking at the news. 

"Hostages in the inner city?" she read with disbelief. 

"Roman Torchwick held up the Arts display in the museum and stole some pieces," Blake summarized, turning the scroll around to read some more. "He apparently left via Bullhead and escaped. But..." 

"But?" Weiss asked, a single white eyebrow raised. 

"Got chased by something or someone. Ended up pulling manoeuvres at the Royal Palace to escape," Blake finished, scrolling down some more on her scroll. Weiss felt her lips thin. Goodness, it was just the start of the year and already Vale was pulling its punches with record historical events. That was the price of studying here, Weiss thought. If she studied in Solitas, she would have gotten everything handed to her. Here, she would actually have to earn her spurs. 

She took a quick glance back to girl blissfully dreaming in her top bunk and resisted the urge to frown. This though, this little screaming and crass fifteen year old rube...

To think that the Professor would choose Ruby over her as Team Leader was a hard bitter to spill to swallow. What the drats did the Professor see in Ruby? Her pride would have been stung less if Blake got to be Team Leader as she was brought up well, faunus she may be. But Ruby? Ruby??

​

Ridiculous. 

​

If there was anything to be gleamed from this, Weiss would have to be patient and see exactly why the girl was chosen instead of her. She was going to be the better woman and wait, and understand the redeeming qualities Professor Ozpin could have spotted. 

She turned away, back to Blake who was now currently frowning. Weiss took for a moment to observe the girl. Blake had been keeping to herself since they were grouped together. Weiss did not mind that, to be honest. She stayed in her way, Weiss would do the same. But they were going to be a team and frankly, they cannot afford to be little islands. Her mother had taught her that. 

"What's wrong?" Weiss asked, tilting her head. 

"The Fleur are staging a protest," Blake muttered. "Lower members of the group are calling for greater security measures and expansions of the Security Forces. They also want sweeps into Faunus neighborhoods to find the ones responsible for the theft." 

Weiss walked up, glancing at what Blake was looking at. Sure enough, there was a picture of Roman Torchwick there with his weapon trained against the Vacuan Consort's head. Behind him, members of his crew moved to do their grim work. Red circles were drawn to highlight the faunus features of some of the men there. 

"That's rather unfair," Weiss had to admit. "And people are conveniently forgetting the humans of the group." 

Blake's eyes left the scroll and met with Weiss's. The Schnee Heiress swore she saw surprise flicker there before Blake muted herself. 

"I am surprised. I thought you-d...nevermind," Blake shook herself. 

Weiss crossed her arms. "I'd what?" she challenged. 

​Blake froze, aware of the daggers Weiss was sending her way. She sighed and set aside her scroll on the table. "You're Jacques Schnee's daughter," Blake whispered. 

Weiss knew that it was coming. Of all possible reasons a faunus might go give her lip, it was because of that man who had sired her. In one hand, she couldn't blame them. But on the other...

"It's rather unfair for you to make this image of me when you haven't even met me," she frowned. Blake winced. 

"I...can't exactly blame you, though. My father was a monster and I unfortunately share his blood." Weiss sighed. She looked down at Blake. "I am not my father though and my mother has ensured that the Schnee Dust Company is not what it was. I understand why you'd be wary of me but its frankly annoying to get lumped in with a robber baron despite trying so hard to fix our image." 

Blake opened her mouth then closed it. It was true that the SDC of now wasn't the SDC it was years ago. The Snowflake had fallen from the top, replaced with a Iron Eagle with outstretched wings. While it was still incredibly wealthy, it now had to contend with competition at home and abroad. She of all people knew that Faunus workers were treated way better than before. It was still dangerous work. Mining always was dangerous. But they at least had proper equipment, good pay, and respect. 

Blake knew when to admit she was wrong. If she wanted to further the goals of Menagerie, to create a world of co-existence between humanity and faunus, she too would have to do her part as well. "I'm sorry," Blake sighed, her ears drooping. "I...I was wary of you because you were Jacques Schnee's daughter. I thought you'd be terrible." 

"And pray tell, what did I do to earn that image?" Weiss challenged. 

"I am not stupid," Blake snorted. "I've seen how you looked at Ruby when Professor Ozpin made her Team Leader instead of you." 

A burning flushing feeling went up to Weiss's cheeks. She was smart, however. She knew when she felt shame. "Ah...I...I see." 

"Yeahhhh, that wasn't really nice," Blake managed a small smile. "We don't even know how she is like and you looked like you wanted to rip her head off." 

"I have seen what she was like. We were in the forest, remember? She's a competent fighter, that I will admit," Weiss admitted, clicking her tongue. "But she's just so young! And she's just so...so..." 

"Well...I see how it is, I think," Blake declared, her legs crossed over the other as Weiss stopped fuming, turning to her.

"I think...we really did get off a wrong foot and the wrong impressions. I made up an image of you based on your past, you got your first impression of Ruby soured by her energy," Blake said slowly. Weiss nodded, hesitantly. 

"It's the start of the school year. We quite literally have all the time to grow and learn from each other. Whatever issues we have, we should talk to each other about that and learn. You and I, we're fortunate that we have had a headstart. The things that Ruby does not know, we can mentor her with it. Professor Ozpin chose Ruby for a purpose and I admit I am a little curious to find out why." Blake spoke up. She smiled, her eyes sprinkling kindly. "What do you say?" 

​Weiss huffed, crossing her arms. She had to admit that she was still peeved about Blake's earlier chafing and having a younger inexperienced girl made team leader was surely something she would have to come to terms with. But Blake was right and was sensible. "Fine," Weiss sighed. "I'm willing to play ball. But if Ruby does something stupid, I will tell her." 

​Blake managed to let out a small laugh. "I am sure you will. But...put it kindly, Miss Schnee." 

​"Weiss," the Schnee Heiress corrected her. "If we are going to be allies, might as well use our first names. None of that formality among comrades." 

"Blake, then." Blake nodded. 

A sense of understanding and ease settled upon the two girls. In a way, Weiss felt some relief. She had thought that they were going to start this year off with a an argument but thankfully, it was not to be. She wondered what it would be like if her tutor wasn't her mother and was instead her father. How much more needle-like she would be, she did not know and didn't want to know. Gods, was she going to have to apologize to Ruby? She was. Blake on the other hand, inwardly sighed in relief. Her parents weren't idle in raising her. After that horrible accident in Atlas in days long past, their family had only gotten ever closer. She wondered what she might be like if that hadn't happened and the shadow of death did not loom over her so early. How different a person she might be. 

It was then, the alarm clock rang and a ready sing-song voice proclaimed, "ITSMORNINGITSMORNINGITSMORNINGTIMETOWAKEUPTEAM!" Ruby energetically popped up like a machine gun. 

"Urgh," Weiss and Blake groused. Weiss for her strong personality. Blake, an introvert that hated loud noise. The two blinked. Then, they shared a laugh. 

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A/N: So here are the butterflies.

With Weiss not really having her father being a toxic bint, she would likely be much more grounded. Certainly still prideful and all but grounded. And with Blake still staying with her parents and not you know, being a merry terrorist for Adam, she too would likely not be the shit cat lady OTL.

So if anything, a decent family or mentor is the best way to ensure that people develop normally.