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A/N: Hope you enjoy this oneshot XD
In the age before the world of bloody evolution, a meeting was convened amongst the most ancient and wisest of rulers.
"It is as we've seen. That woman has been released from her tower." A king said. "And now things are in motion if we don't intervene. Then Ozma will die of his disease no?" The king continued.
"Yes. We could prevent it, and we would continue on as it has always been. Humanity under the boot heel of foul tyrants." A queen with crimson eyes snapped, furious at the mere thought of the vain arrogant brothers that controlled their fates, and their very souls.
"So then we are in agreement?" A sage spoke up. "If we allow fate to continue on its given path, Ozma shall die of sickness. And Salem in her grief shall attempt to lead an uprising against the brothers themselves." They concluded.
"This is correct. And though we and many others are mightier than some strumpet that was confined to a tower. It would be impossible to fight the creators of magic themselves. But there is a path to victory, that we have all seen my brothers and sisters." The Shaman stated. "To free humanity of this tyranny, it must die, but our legacy will live on in the ritual." The shaman said stroking his beard.
"It's beyond risky. Should anything go wrong, the gods might notice the absence of our souls, unless we create shallow fragments, and splinter them off from ourselves. Though the process would be painful." The queen said in contemplative silence.
"A small sacrifice to pay to finally secure Humanity's rightful place in the cosmos. But we run into the final problem." The King pointed out. "The vessel must be one that is receptive to our power and memories and skills. It must also be one that can continue beyond this old era. And we have seen far enough into the future to know that is unlikely." The King said with a sigh.
"Unless." The Sage spoke up. "I see the key. Silver Eyes. It won't be easy, but I foresee the silver-eyed warriors, a piece of vanity from the god of light. If we can hitchhike onto that tyrant's creation, then from there, we can remain dormant until the time is right." The Council all joined minds and joined in on the future that the sage was seeing. Yes it would be a long wait, and the power would need time to acclimate through the lineage, but it would come in a time when the new humanity's tech was at its greatest peak, and when humanity was on the brink, and in need of unification. Yes, this would be the perfect time period for the power to take hold, and it would be easy for such a simple soul.
"Then we are in agreement?" The Shaman asked once the future was seen. "It only remains to convince as many more of our brethren as possible, we have years before the day of judgment. But remember my brothers and sisters. Be careful the Gods watch, and if we slip up, they will see our intentions, it is hard enough to hide our futures from them with an illusion from their blind spots. Don't underestimate them, do not interact with Salem or Ozma personally yourselves. All must go according to plan." And so it was, over time, the council spread across the land drawing in as many in on the plan, by the time Ozma had died. Only five percent of the population had refused, only to have their memories of the encounter erased, and so the ritual was set, and prepared by the time Salem had finished gathering allies she thought had rallied to her cause. But in truth they despised her weakness, saw her as the lowest of humanity, unable to cope with grief, and were it not convenient for their plans to secure humanity's future for all time, they would have loved to eradicate her once and for all. But she had her role to play at least for now, and when they were ready, they would get rid of her, immortality or no immortality.
Then the gods hurled devastation upon the world, but the ritual worked, billions of fragments danced into the afterlife, fooling the gods into thinking they were complete souls. But the rest joined together, into a single powerful force, hidden from the gods, lurking in the god of light's very own shadow. And when he brought Humanity back from the brink, they bided their time until he created the silver-eyed warriors, and so it was, the collective power incarnated into the lineage of what would become renowned monster hunters. Patiently waiting for the promised day, and then. It happened.
(Promised Day)
Ruby saw it, Pyrrha was gone, she felt a surge of emotion, power, and she cried out. But then something else changed, she cried out, her cry shattering the tower, and the Dragon Grimm sending Cinder flying into the air. The murderous woman was held in place by an invisible force, her aura shattered and there was an audible crunching of bones, but Ruby was convulsing while she hung in the air, the lights flicked in and out of her eyes, as her pupil's vanished, and her eyes became completely silver, with an omnipresent glow, her mind was buckling under the weight, but she fought back hard. Gripping her head, and then the pain ceased, as the memories soon became comforting, until they merged with hers. Ruby was still Ruby, but also no longer Ruby Rose, she was something more. And then she stared directly at Cinder Fall, who was uncertain of what had happened.
"You won't perish yet. Your fate is still beneficial to me for now. You won't remember this. But from now on, as Pyrrha said. Destiny shall exist, because I have declared it so, I shall secure Humanity's future. Farewell Cinder Fall for now." There was then a blinding flash of light, and not only did Cinder lose her arm and eye, but the dragon was completely annihilated, along with every Grimm in and surrounding Beacon, and those on the outskirts of Vale fled away. I could erase them all right now if I wished to, but for now, they still have a role to fulfill. If Salem were to think something was amiss, she would alter her plans. And I won't have it. Things shall be as I decide. Ruby stared sadly at the tower below her, the remains of it. I only wish I had come into this role sooner, maybe then Pyrrha would still… No. It is sad, but her death shall not be in vain. And it will be the last one that I allow to happen unless I demand it.
Then taking care to position their bodies in the right places, Ruby pretended to be unconscious, having wiped Cinder's memory, and placing false memories in her head. And then she was swooped away by her allies, and Ruby was shaken and using an illusion she made her eyes seem normal and looked at her uncle and team.
"Ruby!" Blake sniffled, Weiss was just glad to see her partner alive and well, worried when the tower had collapsed.
"I'm fine guys." Ruby smiled, hiding her true nature. Her team was still here, battered, bruised but alive. She knew that Blake would run, to hide in Menagerie, so subtly Ruby reworked Blake's mind, for she had a grand goal for Blake. The Faunus needed to be brought under one banner, and the White Fang was indeed that banner. Blake would no longer act on fear and cowardice, but instead, she would find herself renewed with strength and purpose. Blake stood straighter and smiled at Ruby.
"You dolt! Why did I help you go up there? You could've died!" Weiss was on the verge of tears, and it made Ruby somewhat happy to see how far the ice queen had come. But she had a role for Weiss as well, The SDC and Atlas were closely linked, and Weiss would need to be capable of dethroning her father, and taking control of the company, so Ruby made her capable, giving her knowledge and wisdom that would allow her to take over the SDC, and greatly influence Atlas. All of these pieces of hers would come to fruition in time.
But Team RWBY wasn't needed for now, but they would reunite one day. So it was that in the following day, Blake had run away, not to hide to embrace the new destiny that Ruby had set her forth on. Weiss stunned Jacques with intense business talk.
It was in that aftermath, that the true beginning of Ruby's master plan began after the evacuations were finished for Vale. Ruby finally set into motion for her grand ambition. Vale would be united under her. In the coming months leading up to winter, she led a crusade against the Grimm, earning the respect and admiration of the people of Vale, but subtly she used her powers to sway them for more than that, even making the murderous Neopolitan into a loyal follower of hers, eventually, after a month had passed, Ruby was declared the new queen of Vale. And without the CCT, no one could inform the rest of Remnant of the odd situation that was unfolding.
And Ruby finally understood why the power had waited so long. Any earlier in Remnant's history before Atlas had reached its peak, then there was no real chance of using it to bolster Humanity. Or if she had arrived before the Fall of Beacon, before Salem's master plan had crippled their communication. It would have made the united Remnant a chore to conquer all at once, but by dividing and conquering as she intended to, it would be much easier.
Following the months after she was crowned Queen of Vale, Ruby used the advantage of her power to keep the Grimm far away from Vale and used her powers to bolster the minds and souls of the people. She was tempted to unlock their magic, but she knew that was a foolish decision, loyalty existed amongst her ranks, but throwing in more magic could upset the delicate future she was engineering for humanity. But with Humanity and Faunus in Vale united under a powerful leader that was influencing them supernaturally without their knowledge, they worked to one goal, to not only rebuild Vale but to also create a great magnificent army.
Using the wreckage of Atlas' tech, and their great focused minds, unified to a singular purpose, and a little dash of subtle time manipulation. By the time Winter had set, Vale had not only risen from the ashes, but now it sported a grand new fleet, rivaling the Fleet Atlas had once used.
(The Crusade begins.)
"Your majesty!" Jaune saluted Ruby as he entered the throne room, Beacon had been restored and converted into a palace, in which Ruby sat upon a throne, though her head held no ceremonial crown, her authority could be felt. Her piercing silver eyes stared into the depths of his soul. Silently she expected him to keep speaking, and so he continued. "The Fleets are ready, the soldiers have finished their training, and the weapons have finished forging. We are ready!" Jaune shouted, clanging his sword against his shield. Jaune's armor and weapons had changed in the following months, once he had been a gangly looking boy, scrawny, dorkish, but now he was full of muscle and clad head to toe in golden armor, wielding a golden sword and shield. Entering alongside him, also clad in golden armor and weapons, was Nora, Ren, Qrow Branwen, Taiyang Xiaolong, and Yang. Though she hadn't altered their genetics yet, the blueprints were still in the process. Yet their armors and weapons would suffice, as they were far more advanced than any other weapon on Remnant.
But perhaps when Remnant was conquered, and it would not be a difficult task, the technological gap between Atlas and the rest of Remnant was severed, and now due to her efforts, Ruby had bolstered Vale's technology to an even higher level. But when all were united, then she could set to work on altering and preparing humanity to be greater.
"Awesome." Ruby smiled her glowing eyes filled with joy and pride. "Now then, the Crusade of Unification shall begin. I shall make sure that the world doesn't discover our subjugation of Mistral. But remember when the time comes for us to arrive at Haven, I alone shall enter. Understood?" Ruby asked, and everyone nodded, and then Glynda entered.
"The smiths have finished your weapon empress," Glynda said with a humble bow. And Ruby nodded, and then she set forth, and so it was that a new weapon had been forged, Crescent Rose had been a reliable weapon, but Ruby would need a new weapon to bolster morale and to strike fear into the hearts of enemies. It was still a scythe, but it was simply massive, with her powers Ruby could wield it, but no one else on Remnant not even Penny at the peak of her strength could hold such a massive weapon.
Stepping out to look over the crowds gathered. She spoke.
"PEOPLE OF VALE! YOU HAVE ENDURED! YOU HAVE TRIUMPHED! BUT FROM TODAY ONWARD, YOU ARE NO LONGER THE KINGDOM OF VALE. SOON MISTRAL, VACUO, AND EVEN ATLAS SHALL BE WITH US AS ONE. AND TOGETHER WE SHALL BE THE IMPERIUM OF MAN!" She shouted and raised her new weapon, the blade blazing with a silver fire that bathed the whole kingdom in its light, and everyone could feel its warmth though it wasn't harsh or scorching, it was inspiring and comforting, and everyone cheered loudly in joyous fervor, they were ready to serve their Empress!