Save the world? Fuck that, I want to make money! (RWBY SI) ch 52

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The room went quiet. Ozpin stole a quick breath. It had been awhile since he had shared the truth of their world to anyone else and digging through his memories took a toll on him. It never got better despite the fact that he had done so thousand times and more. Alexander Wayland had looked on in disbelief, at first. It was understandable considering the circumstances. He was however a good listener, taking in all of his details as a sponge would a fish. He asked questions, when it was appropriate, and respectfully nodded when needed. A good sign, all things considered. Ozpin could remember other reactions. Others with scorn, some with disbelief. Others with stoic and fiery acceptance, such as Ironwood. Of course, he had to offer the General some evidence and he had provided that. With Alexander, he would provide it as well, if he asked.

"So, to reiterate..." Alexander coughed. "Remnant used to be a world beyond our wildest fantasies?"

Ozpin nodded. "Indeed. Magic was as common as the air, adventurers and mages walked the land saving princesses an delving into ruined castles, slaying dragons with their blades." His hand glowed green with power and the image of a rose appeared. The rose then shattered into numerous little butterflies that fluttered around the room, magical crystals falling with each beat. Alexander watched in rapt attention and fascination as he held out a hand and a finger. A butterfly perched on his gloved fingertip then fluttered away. He then continued.

"I was never a mage, more a roving warrior," Ozpin admitted. It did not shame him to say such. He was good with all manners of weapons whilst Salem threw spells as if it were candy.

"Continuing on; the Queen of the Grimm is a vengeful witch who is you claim was once your wife and now your mortal enemy?" Alexander repeated, his tone indicating his scepticism.

Ozpin would nod again. "We have been locked in battle for as long as I can remember. I have tried all tried all methods to put her to rest for good, she thwarted them." Better to say thwarted than those methods failing.

"And now...she is skulking in the shadows plotting to destroy the world," Alexander finished.

"Hence why I have pushed for Atlas's armies to be the very best," General Ironwood added in, arms crossed, and voice confident. "With a might bulwark, Atlas will be safe."

"What's stopping me from bankrolling our Kingdom to build weapons of mass destruction?" Alexander commented, head cocked to the side. "If this Salem is truly the head of the snake, we ought to go and wipe her from the face off the earth."

"And that would be wonderful, Mister Wayland," Ozpin nodded. "However, we do not know where her stronghold is." And there was the fact that the Brother-Gods had made her virtually unkillable, cursed with immortality and to come back from death as punishment for her sin. That sin which was bringing him back from death.

"Would it be in the Dark Continent? I suppose I would make a lair there if I were an evil witch controlling the forces of darkness," Alexander said with palms spread. The Dark Continent being the massive unknown territory sandwiched by Vacuo, Vale, and Solitas. To most of Remnant, they avoided it on account of it being overrun by evil. To Ozpin...it was once home. It was their where Remnant's story began and end. The name of which he had forgotten in time but he could still remember the kingdoms, the adventures, the people he had fought with.

"Possible. But unless you wish to saturate the whole continent with the fires of war, there would be no way to make sure," Ozpin dismissed his idea gently. He paused to look at Alexander and noted that young man had stared off into the distance.

"Mister Wayland?" He called his attention. The young man blinked before remembering where he was. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head.

"Sorry. I was just...I was just imagining how that would go," Alexander admitted. He then chuckled. "Just say it and I could have the Dark Continent burning with the power of the sun in three years." Three years was the same amount of time it took for the Americans to finish the Manhattan Project. If the United States in the 1930's could finish a nuclear weapons program in three years, what more could Royal and Imperial do with Solitan Technology and Money?

"There is no such weapon in existence," General Ironwood interjected. "Except for the Relic of Destruction." 

"Yet," Alexander asserted with the full hubris of youth and inexperience. Ozpin could see that clear as day. Alexander was utterly sure of himself and his ideas. Ozpin would be taken in by such passion if he did knot know any better. But he did.

"Weapons of Mass Destruction aside," Ozpin captured their attention, utterly uncomfortable at the idea. "There is a purpose to this revelation, Mister Wayland."

"With the restructuring of our Kingdom, it will be impossible for me to move troops and resources without getting questions asked of me," General Ironwood added in. "I remain popular, revered even, but I will have to explain myself to the Kingdom when prompted. We need your help. We need your Shields."

"So you want my assistance with the battles and such, provide the manpower?" Alexander surmised. Both men nodded.

"Indeed. We would be happy to hire your troops. We aren't about to let you do this for free either," Ozpin said, acutely aware that he was dealing with a businessman here. Alexander leaned back, expression thoughtful. Ozpin prepared himself to negotiate.

"Sure, I'm in," Alexander answered after a moment's silence. Again, he already was willing to oppose Salem. She was a existential threat that even he could not ignore no matter how much he wanted to. "However, I have some things I want to be made clear of."

To Ozpin, that was surprisingly quick. There was no violent reaction, no crying out in rage. Just quick stoic acceptance. 'Almost as if he knew,' a more paranoid part of him muttered. He squashed such thoughts. He was not going to look a gift horse in its metaphorical mouth. "And those terms being...?" Ozpin asked carefully.

"I want access to the Relics which you spoke of. I am curious about them and I would like to study them," Alexander exclaimed. Ironwood and Ozpin shared a glance.

"There will be some difficulties with that," Ozpin admitted. "To access the Relics, a key is needed. Such Keys are unavailable for the moment." Haven and Vale in particular would be hard to access considering both the maidens for them had vanished. Disappointment flashed on Alexander's eyes before he shrugged his shoulders.

"Pity. I presume the one my Shields retrieved here would be available for study?" Alexander attempted.

"That and the one Solitas has: the Relic of Creation," General Ironwood opened up. Alexander grinned wickedly.

"Very well then!" he cackled. "The Relic of Creation sounds interesting. If it is what the name suggests..."

"You will not use it to create Weapons of Mass Destruction, Mister Wayland," General Ironwood said sternly. Alexander held out his hands in surrender.

"I won't! I was thinking about jumpstarting our chances in getting out of the damned rock!" Alexander exclaimed. "Besides, the systems for delivering such weapons do not exist yet."

"I admire your confidence, Mister Wayland," Ozpin smiled. He then paused. "Getting out of this rock?" He asked again.

He then grinned toothily. "For Götterdämmerung,"

Götterdämmerung was a old North Solitan myth, a prophesied apocalyptic battle between the forces of Good and Evil. The forces of good being humanity lead by a warrior knight of silver and black against the forces of evil which were the Grimm. Ozpin had through the centuries influenced the cultures of the world, subtly or not. That myth however came out of the minds of the old Northerners. 

Alexander continued to speak. "I mean, with this information at hand, there is really no possible recourse left. If Salem is such a massive threat, we will need to remove her entirely or Remnant will continue to languish under the threat of the Grimm. I see no other way to finish this than total and utter war hence Götterdämmerung."

​

"Hopefully, it will not come to that," Ozpin coughed. "Salem cannot act openly, you see, for it is in her secrecy she can be powerful. If the Kingdoms knew of her existence, Remnant would give its all to bring her low." 

"If she absolutely hates us, why this song and dance?" Alexander asked, confused. "Why hasn't she summoned her hosts to overrun everyone and everything in a tide of black?" 

​Ozpin...did not know. Domination, yes. Salem and him had ruled the new humanity as gods briefly before their separation as their philosophies differed. He wanted to rule benevolently, she became tyrannical. But despite the fact that he had been fighting her for literal centuries, he truly did not know her real goals. The surface level ones, he could reason off. "She is cruelty incarnate, Mister Wayland," Ozpin answered, deciding on that. "I will not claim to know why." 

​General Ironwood snorted. "A cat playing with its prey before ending its life." 

At that, Alexander stood up, his hands folding into fists as he strode over to the window overlooking the rest of Amity. In their conversation, the match had nearly reached its end. The cries of the spectators had reached a crescendo. After a moment's silence, he craned his head back. "How about leaving Remnant?" 

Ozpin cocked his head. "Leaving Remnant? Mister Wayland, dust cannot work outside the planet. We are quite stuck here." And besides, he cannot just leave. Not when he was entrusted with a sacred duty to rid their home of his former wife's madness. 

There was a glint in his eyes. "Can't we?" 

He turned around, fully facing both men. The glint on his eyes became dangerous. "Professor Ozpin, General Ironwood, I admit that I had long suspected about our world, the Grimm, where they came from. These are bastard evil things that surely ought to have been created by something evil. There is simply no way that nature can bring about things like that. Sure, lions will tear prey apart with their claws and sharks would bite into hapless seals. But that their way. Is fire evil because it burns? No, it is simply made that way." 

​He marched up, his boot-steps echo around the walls. "The Grimm came from something, dark and malevolent. It is unnatural. Grimm live but don't live. They only exist to hunt down anything with a pulse and a soul. With what you told me now, Professor, it is basically confirmation that the legends exist. The Gods were real...and they are bastards." 

​Alexander took in a breath. "I do not know the extent of Salem's powers but I can only assume they are endless. Well, fine. If we cannot defeat her then we can simply just leave." He pointed to his mind. "Here exists a repository of knowledge, stuff that Remnant knows but cannot create. Thank goodness then that my semblance can over-step that. However, I will need time." 

"I will join you and your group eagerly if only to frustrate your ex-wife's efforts. I assume that she in some way was also responsible for the Great War. I assume she is also responsible for the disturbances that has happened lately." He sniffed then laughed. "Well, if she wants to be such a pain then fine, we will meet her not just in battle but with war!" 

Alexander strode forward, his eyes blazing volcanic red, never leaving both Ironwood and Ozpin's. "No more reacting, no more dithering, waiting for her next move. There will be krieg! There shall be blitzkriegs, defensive lines, There shall be sieges, charges, mop-up operations, and retreats!" There was a mania in his eyes, unyielding. He paused to breathe then continued, slowly. "I hate this. I hate this. I hate that you tell us we are caged. I hate that so many futures, so many lives cut short because of...that bitch."

His eyes narrowed. "Don't you hate it, General? That we live as pigs to slaughter? Don't you hate this humiliation?" 

Ozpin turned to see Ironwood, the normally stoic man...paused. He nodded, slowly. "I do. I hate it." 

"Louder, General!" Alexander cried out. "Tell me that you hate it!" 

"I despise it," General Ironwood answered back with venom that surprised even him. It surprised Ozpin as well, never hearing such emotion from Ironwood before. 

"There is a being that lives off our fears, our shame. No more," Alexander declared with burning searing promise that etched into his soul. "She thinks she can corral us? That we play to her whims? I spit on that!" He laughed maniacally. "It is time for us to send her to oblivion. Let's drag her and her minions out of bed by the hair, and remind them of what cornered wolves can do! We will remind them of what it feels like to live in fear. We will remind them of the sound our jackboots make against their throats!" 

He spread his hands out wide, his eyes wide and burning. "This is the moment for war! The Twilight of the Gods will come and we will make that bitch feel the judgement of the Gods!" 

Unexpectedly, General Ironwood stood up. His heart thumped and beat inside his chest with quick successive beats. He felt like a cadet again, hearing the words of his officers. His onyx eyes burned as well. All this surprised him. He was not a man of emotion, he was cool and calm. If a man was to lead the Armies of Solitas, it was important that he would not be moved by emotion. But he had to admit, there was fire in young Alexander and to see a man so up in arms for the freedom of Remnant...how could he not support that?

"And if you fail?" Ozpin asked quietly. He stood up as well, his hands wrapping around his cane. He too had seen such emotion before in men and women who felt themselves powerful, their hubris becoming their ruin. It was only fortunate that their self-aggrandizement only brought suffering to themselves. "The enemy will not tolerate attacks to their strongholds, to their operatives. They will reply in kind. And what then, if this provokes the enemy to go all out?" 

"Then we will continue this war to the stars," Alexander answered simply, his smile never leaving him.

"No such technology exists," Ozpin insisted. 

​The glint never left Alexander's eyes. "Doesn't it?" 

It was then he turned back for the window and glanced outside. "Take a look, Professor Ozpin. And see the future."

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On their seats, Cinder sat with the grace expected of a woman of her station. She was clad in a healthy amount of silks, a two-piece outfit that did not leave anything to the imagination. A crimson bedlah top revealing her midriff and navel with sewn-in off-the-shoulder straps, equally crimson salwar pants with a light-blue V-shaped waistline and golden, curled shoes with brown soles. A golden veil covered her face, a jewelled headdress on her black hair. She was by all accounts, the shining jewel of Vacuo. 

Yet, Cinder still hated it. 

For while she got the adoration and adulation she deserved, it was only surface level at most and only because he was the King's consort, not because she was the one in charge. At her side sat the King, Jax Asturias, smiling and laughing and cheering. He stood up, screaming in joy as the Haven participant fell. 

"Yao Guai has been defeated! Shade Academy wins!" The announce cheered. Amity erupted into a massive chamber of applause and hooting. Shade had been going through a losing streak for awhile and now, it had won. This surely meant good things ahead not just for Vacuo but also for Jax's rule. 

Cinder clapped politely, ever graceful. 

When all was said and done, Cinder excused herself to rest to a private booth inside Amity. As the door behind her closed, she walked over to a couch and sank on it. Doing so, she held up her hand and eyed the ring around her finger. She had power, yes. But not the right type of power. She wasn't going to play second fiddle to some fool with dreams. She was worth more than this. She was more than this. She was Cinder Fall and she will become a God. 

The door to her room opened. She expected it to be the King, he had always found the time despite his busy schedule to see her and talk to her after all. Cinder did not understand why. He had everything he could ever ask for yet, he would try to talk to her if they weren't going at it like animals. She still had yet to bear him a son after all. 

She put on a smile, false of course. She would never give that foolish dreamer anything resembling real affection. Then, the smile vanished when she saw that it was Strangelove. He was dressed in ceremonial clothes, tribal Vacuan in fact. She snorted. "What's this, playing dress up?" 

In his hand, he carried a scroll. "I dress like this as a compliment to one of the chiefs. It never hurts to smoothen relations." He then shook his head. "Regardless, we are doing well. No incidents, save for some drunken fools having too much to drink." 

She waved him off, returning to lounge on her preferred couch. "I do not understand why you must come to me for such trifles." 

"With all due respect, my lady, you are the King's Consort. You are the organizer not just of his household but also of festivities. You are the first one to know of things before he does," Strangelove reminded her. Cinder rolled her eyes. 

"This dog and pony show is getting exhausting," Cinder groaned. 

Strangelove's lips quivered. He wanted so badly to bring her down. CInder was not suited for power. She would squander it in her self-aggrandizement. But...she was still needed. He took in a breathe. "I also come to report that our foe has met with Alexander Wayland, the new CEO of Royal and Imperial." 

"And this is important, why?" Cinder asked, cocking her head. 

"Because, my lady, Alexander Wayland is now the CEO of Remnant's second-most valuable company after the SDC. Even if that has been downsized, it remains wealthy," Strangelove informed her. "He produces arms and owns the Silver Shields. What possible reason could Professor Ozpin and General Ironwood have in meeting with him privately other than bringing him into their camp?" 

​The really was no other reason he could see for their meeting other than that. And judging from what he knew of the boy, the young man would join in with them with open arms. He possessed a heroic bent despite his self-coating of money and showmanship. The rescue at the Mines was proof of that. 

​Cinder sat up. She crossed her arms. "Even then, what can we do about it? Did you simply come to me about this to cry?" 

​He shook his head. "No. You-"

​Suddenly, a loud sound echoed throughout Amity, the sound of a microphone being tapped. Then, silence. Cinder cringed covering her ears. "What was that?" 

Strangelove marched over to the window and glanced outside. The spectators at their seats all glanced at each other in confusion. The match was over and now, they were cleaning up the arena for the next bout. Until that happened, the massive projectors of Amity would flash frivolous adverts for the masses. The current one...depicted a stylized Solitan Eagle clutching a planet. 

​Remnant. 

"Royal and Imperial - Cosmos?" Strangelove read aloud. 

In another part of Amity, crowds turned. "Hey, what's that?" Neon pointed out. 

The girls were in the midst of enjoying the stands when all the projectors suddenly went black then, the Wayland Eagle appeared clutching a planet. Emerald paused mid-bite of her apple caramel treat to glance up. "Oh, it's an ad. From the Company. I haven't seen that one before though." 

"Remnant is the cradle of us all, but we cannot stay in the cradle forever," A voice began to narrate. 

"Since the dawn of civilization...we have made much progress. Remnant has changed," The screen then flickered, depicting images of progess from the sun-beaten stone of Vacuo to the shining metal of Solitas. "Yet...we still remain on this planet." 

The murmuring of people died down as the screen flashed. Panicked cries coming from the failed Atlesian attempt to send a cruiser into outer space. Then, relief as their power returned. "On that day, the dream of exploring out into the cosmos was seemingly ruined, that we all would remain here on Remnant..." 

The screen then shifted as Alexander Wayland appeared. He was seated on a chair, uniform-clad, and staring into the camera. "But dreams do not die. No, they can be shot and torn down...but as long as there are dreamers, the impossible can be made possible. And now...I am pleased to announce that today....Remnant no longer is shackled to its confines. Today...a whole new range of possibilities await us." 

He smiled. "If you are seeing this message then it is my pleasure to announce that Royal and Imperial, my company, as well as Solitas, will send us all to the stars." 

The screen then shifted to a recording? No, it was a live stream! There on the screen was little conical thing, the top of a rocket, Emerald saw quickly. In the distance, Solitan navy ships sat waiting. A new voice then joined in. "Ignition sequence, start!" 

Five!

Four!

Three!

Two!

One!

​

IGNITION!

The camera shook and a sound like a engine starting echoed. Metal groaned as the cone began to rise from the foaming water. The small conical thing turned gargantuan as a solid white object punched through the water, a stylized eagle clutching a planet emblazoned on it as well as "SOLITAS" in bright red paint. The screen flashed as thrusters burned bright yellow-range light. Emerald's closed as the her vision went white, the colosseum shook as the full audio of the launch reverberated from the rocket's main thrusters firing. It went up, up and up straight into the cloudy sky, the camera following it. All the while, music played. 

​On that day, Remnant would remember a phrase. Mere lyrics now. But prophetic in its creation. 

"~~WELCOME TO YOUR LIFE. THERE'S NO TURNING BACK!~~"

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A/N: Welcome to the space age bitches.

Next update, we are going up for Vol 1 now. 

Canon begins. 

A thousand thanks to everyone that has participated in this fic. Thank you thank you all for you generous as fuck support. I am humbled that you all are supporting me this way. This is not yet the end of the fic. No, this is the beginning. 

I admit, this part was just preparation for the new timeline. Vol 1 is going to be way different than ya'll remember it fr. 

TOTALEN KRIEG AGAINST THE HORDES OF DARKNESS. FOR REMNANT MFERS.