A/N: Welcome to Gold Means Everything, the Pirate AU! I think it's safe to say that the rule of one story at a time has been thrown out the window. Anyways, enjoy!
Prologue
"Alright, lads. We'll give you Team ARKS's honest opinion!"the man in shadow said to the whole tavern, resting his feet on his table, before sitting up straight to reach for a bottle of rum nearby. "You ask us if these new captains can offer you a lifetime of prizes, plunder, and adventure? Aye! For amongst all the men and women of fortune sailing these here seas, they rank among the most clever."he continued, leaning back and uncorking the bottle. "There was a time when we thought ourselves the deadliest scourges of these seas. But these three, are fearsome dogs that feed off trouble and turmoil. We've seen them clear the deck of an Atlesian galleon like it were nothing. Fighting like devils, dressed as women. And they're canny ones, know their way around every crag, and crevice of these islands." Sitting back in his chair, he continued onto the last part of his story. "So if it's fortune and adventure you seek, then Captains Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long are your gals! Only..."he said, stopping to swig his drink before finishing with a serious glare in his eye, "Don't meddle in their private affairs. For there's more mystery in those three, than even I dare ask..."
Funny that the man in shadow said that, as just at that moment, miles away, a frigate flying nothing more than a black swatch of cloth with a shield and two axes on it was sailing away from a bunch of burning vessels. All that was heard were the screams of the poor sods who had injuries so severe they were attracting the sharks and were devoured, and the singing of the crew of the ship sailing away.
"Full sail, lads! I'd like to be back at Beacon by this time tomorrow!"the red wearing captain bellowed, passing the wheel to the woman on her left, before vaulting over the railing and landing on the deck, turning on the spot, and entering her cabin. On entering, the woman saw the chest full of the stolen riches she had garnered the past few weeks. Smiling at how far she'd come, she decided to get some rest for the night. Laying her head down on the makeshift bed, she quickly dozed off.
It was extremely early the next morning, before the whole ship was woken by the bell, and there was a cry of "Land ho!" Looking over the railing, the captain saw a huge tower piercing the sky, with a small town at it's base. Smiling to herself, she was caught off guard by the shship's third-in-command Blake placing a hand on her shoulder and saying, "Well, Captain Rose. We made it. Welcome back to Beacon..."
CHAPTER 1- The Ice Queen
"Weigh anchor!" Ruby ordered, her crew immediately doing so, while she worked the wheel of her ship to make sure that they were aligned with the dock. A few seconds later, her sister Yang shouted from the bow of the ship, "Anchored!", which allowed Ruby to easily manoeuvre the ship to a stationary position. As the whole crew applauded, as they did every time one of their captains managed it, Ruby released the wheel, before stating to her crew, "My gratitude at your adoration, friends, but I think that we should all have some drinks. Who's with me?"she asked, the whole ship roaring in agreement. With that, the plank was lowered, and the ship was quickly disembarked.
A few minutes later, Ruby, Blake and Yang were heading to the local tavern, where they saw their old friends Team ARKS, consisting of: Ryan Clougherty, who could certainly be as charming as he was deadly, Kayleigh Murphy, who certainly looked cute, but was just as likely to dismember someone in a blind rage as she was to shake their hand, Shannon McCafferty, who was a superb shot, claiming to have shot the wings of a fly one time, while the insect still lived, but no one believed her too much, and, last but not least, their leader, who also happened to be both the founder of the settlement of Beacon, as well as the most feared pirate in all the waters of Remnant, Adam Robertson, who could silence a whole room by simply entering it. This was the power of the raw fear that exuded from the man. Luckily, Teams RBY and ARKS had been good friends before they turned to pirating, so they all got along well, meaning they wouldn't be subject to Adam's "gift", as he liked to call it. Ryan, Kayleigh and Shannon didn't hear them enter, as they were too immersed in a game they were playing.
Looking at who was approaching, Adam's face was solemn for a second, before it cracked into a wide smile, as he stated, "Well, aren't you three sights for salty eyes. In you come and have a drink!", snapping his fingers to get the bartenders attention. "Get our friends some drinks, will ya? Put it on my tab!"he said, chortling as the man leaned underneath the bar and withdrew three bottles of rum, passing them over to Ruby, Yang and Blake, whispering, "It's on the house!"as he did so.
"So, word around here is that you three took on the Schnee Company. Destroyed at least 3 of their frigates, if I heard correctly. Care to explain that?"Adam asked, as the three girls sat down. Smiling, Ruby took a swig of her drink before replying. "That we did, Adam. Hit them hard and hit them fast, like you taught us. We managed to send two to the depths, before we boarded the last and looted the lot. That resulted in a nice little bit of plunder for Beacon's coffers, if we do say so ourselves."she said, causing Adam to smile before there was the blast of a horn heard throughout the town. "Sail Ho! Unknown flag sighted!"was the accompanying cry, which caused the group at the tavern to jump to their feet.
"Damn it, this is the third time this month! This is getting ridiculous!"Adam said out loud, before turning to the rest of his group, which now had Ryan, Kayleigh and Shannon with them. "Right, you lot, get down to the dock and get ready to fight!"Adam ordered, his friends nodding and quickly dispersing. Heading to the top of the tower at the centre of town, Adam took the spyglass from the lookout and peered through it. He then saw the ship that had been sighted, noticing that it's flag was a light blue cloth with a twelve pointed snowflake on it. "Oh, shit! Schnees!"Adam said, causing the lookout to pale in the face.
And understandably so, as the Schnee Company were notorious for not only being prejudiced against Faunus, which were people with animal characteristics, but also selling them as slaves, as well as leading the charge against piracy. This made them a prime target for the Pirate Republic in Beacon, as they took every opportunity to make life difficult for ocean-goers. Now, while the inhabitants of Beacon were stereotypically portrayed as amoral, murdering, slavemongering bastards, most, if not all, of them were actually good hearted, as was the case with Ruby, Yang and Blake, or were open to helping others, which is why Beacon was founded.
Turning his attention back to the intruding ship, Adam noticed something disconcerting. "The ship's not turning to fire. Odd behaviour for a Schnee vessel, don't you think, considering they usually shoot on sight?"he asked, handing the spyglass back before heading out the room without waiting for an answer.
After putting his legs through hell to reach the docks, Adam shouted to every pirate that was present, "Do NOT fire unless ordered to! Understood?", the whole crowd of men, women and Faunus pirates murmuring confirmations. "Good."Adam stated, turning back to the dock, before the Schnee Company frigate slowed to a halt, and a figure slid down a rope to the dock. Expecting it to be a regular run-of-the-mill Schnee Company captain, he was pleasantly surprised to see it was instead a girl who looked around the age of Ruby, 20 years old, give or take a year or two. He couldn't place his finger on it, but the girl looked awfully familiar to him in some way. It wasn't until the girl took off her hat, revealing a bunch of white hair kept back in a ponytail, that he realised who she was.
"Well, this is a pleasant surprise! Miss Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Company, as I live and breath!"Adam said, most of the gathered pirates raising their weapons and stepping forward, before Adam held up a hand to stop them. "What can we do for you, Miss Schnee?"Adam asked, the girl pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket in response. She then cleared her throat, and began to read:
To be read by whomever carries it,
This declaration is an offer to all pirates of the settlement known as Beacon to renounce their criminal lives and take up the lives of privateers. Also, their criminal records would be expunged, resulting in complete anonymity. Any pirate who refuses this pardon will be hanged by the neck until dead.
Please make the right choice.
Yours sincerely,
Bartholomew Schnee
Head of the Schnee Trade Company, Grand High Treasurer of the Atlesian court, and Guardian of the Seas.
As Weiss finished reading the announcement, the gathered pirates burst into outrage, before quickly being silenced by Adam firing a pistol into the air. Turning back to the heiress, Adam smiled, while saying, "I'm afraid there's our answer, so you can run along and tell your father where he can shove his pardon." He was surprised to see Weiss smile, before ripping the parchment into many equal sized pieces. "I'm not planning on returning to my father any time soon."she stated, catching the pirates off guard. "Sorry, I'm a little slow here, so correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that count as disobeying a direct order?"Adam asked, Weiss nodding. "Yes, it would be. That's the plan. I'm sick and tired of being used as nothing more than a bargaining chip by him. I want my own life, to live my own way."she said, Adam quickly catching on.
"Ah, so you took the job of delivering the pardon, but also had an ulterior motive to coming here? Based on how calm you're acting, I can hazard a guess as to what that alternative motive is..."Adam said, knowing that he was somehow bang on with his deduction. Unsurprisingly, Weiss ended up nodding, stating, "I know you won't believe me when I tell you, but it's true." Taking a deep breath, she composed herself and revealed her true intentions...
"I want to join your Pirate Republic..."
A/N: And there we go! This story will focus on Adam and his friends trying to keep Beacon running, while coping with the results of Weiss joining them. I'll post chapter 2 after I upload this. Also, this story will be combing elements of both Pirates of the Carribbean, and Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag.