CHAPTER 8: MELTING FROZEN HEARTS

Remnant, System Unknown

Kingdom of Vale

Stark Residence

June 2nd, 56 AGW

The next month passed by without anything in the way of world-changing developments. Stark Industries worked closely with the Council of Vale in order to hash out the finer details of the contract that was agreed upon. It would take some time for all the missile shipments to deliver. Due to the small amount of cash, capital, and other various assets available at the moment as well as limited production capabilities, all of the work would inevitably be drawn out. Everything promised would be delivered, but it would take time.

And there was more going on that supplying Vale with weapons.

For the past two weeks, Atlas had reached out with a very lucrative offer. They were willing to pay top lien in order to secure priority handling of new weapons down the line. It made sense for them to make this move. Atlas was the most technologically advanced kingdom in all of Remnant. They always wanted to be ahead of the game in terms of arms. It was hardly surprising that they reached out like this. The question was how much could be squeezed out of them.

Tony had already drawn up the various scenarios and outcomes that he could anticipate in regards to the way the deal would go down. In the early stages of talks, the one who was most prepared would be the victor. The young man was under no illusion that he was going in with the decks stacked against him. Stark Industries for all of its success was still a small-time company in the grand scheme of things. Its main advantage was that it possessed quality over quantity, the ability to bring inventive and innovative ideas into the field. As long as the world was willing to accept that notion, then things would go more smoothly.

Thankfully, there wasn't much trouble on the creative side of things. A multitude of people had been brought in to conceptualize ideas going forward. These ranged from military veterans to scientists new and old as well as people from the public sector. As he had emphasized before, the genius had made it clear that he cared only about the ability to get results. Also, he subtly made clear that everyone who worked for him to be professional and never to take personal feelings into account. They were all here to do a job. Thankfully, he had found zero difficulties in terms of personal differences in his newly-assembled team.

In other news, Tony found his relationship with the SDC going swimmingly. At this point, it would be accurate to say that he and Jack Frost spoke with each other on a consistent basis. Both sides had already begun to fulfill their ends of the deal; Stark Industries supplied blueprints that fulfilled the purpose of making dust refinery that much more efficient as well as introducing some novel methods of making dust more powerful and efficient. The SDC in turn began to ship out its absolute best stocks of dust.

The key to all of this was not giving away too much. The technologies given in exchange for dust were indeed helpful to the SDC, but they were in no way close in scale to the in-house hardware and software that Stark Industries would employ years down the line. If anything, it felt like Jacque was the one getting cheated and the man either didn't notice, didn't care, or had a plan of his own.

Tony shrugged his shoulders. It wasn't like he was losing sleep over what other people were losing. As the old saying went, it wasn't anything personal. It was just business. He was merely aiming to be the number one business in the world.

Today, he had a relatively easy day. Although he was going to be visiting the Schnee mansion, it wasn't for anything business-related strictly speaking. Yes, he and Jacque would no doubt talk about some stuff, but talking to good old Saint Nick was also part of the plan and if he was lucky, he might get to tease Willow.

Getting to know the Schnee family was quite the thing. Not only had it afforded him a window into something rarely seen by the public, but it also gave him a new way of looking at them all and how best to interact with them.

Jacque Schnee had married into the family and he had taken the SDC to new heights. There was no questioning that he was getting results, but the problem was that his methods were questionable, some more so than others. While there seemed to be not a lot to dig up, Tony had found his ways of obtaining information and what he discovered made him just a little bit nervous. Of course, the Stark executive would never voice these concerns directly to his partner, at least not for the time being, but he wouldn't be silent on the issue forever.

Nicholas Schnee was more or less a man that constantly needed to be up and about, doing anything he could to improve himself. The man built the SDC from the ground up and his name meant so much to so many people. It was a shame that he seemed rather oblivious to the people around him. It was almost like he didn't care that his company had been handed to a man that cared about numbers more than people. Even weirder was that Nicholas had willingly made Jacque the head of the SDC.

And there was young and beautiful Willow Schnee. The woman was far too much of a lady to be anything else. Nicholas raised her to be the most lady lady ever. It was like she couldn't conceivably think of a way out of the role that had been placed on her shoulders. Furthermore, she didn't even seem to have any will to do anything more than what she was told to do. Or maybe she was more than she appeared and she was simply playing the part given to her in order to achieve something else.

If there was one thing that the Schnee family lacked, it was a sense of unity. It felt like everyone was on a completely different page. Jacque was a workaholic with little else to do on his plate. Nick appeared to have checked out from his company and his family. Willow was a fool trying to be a socialite. There was little to no happiness to be found anywhere, not that Tony knew much about that either. After all, Howard Stark was cold and calculating, never once saying that he loved or even liked his own son. Frankly, it was amazing that his mother could even put up with the man let alone love him, but she did somehow.

Anyway, while the Schnee family was the most important player in Atlas, they were far from the only ones. There were dozens of critical pieces on the board that he should know at least on a basic level. He would get acquainted with most of them if not all of them one day. Perhaps he would make friends or allies out of a few of them yet. It was hard to have a relationship with high-class people that resembled anything close to a genuine relationship. After all, the rich had a tendency to look down on everyone who wasn't at least in their league. It wouldn't be surprising if everyone was cursing the Stark name in private.

Tony grabbed a nearby cup of coffee and took a swig, not really bothering to take in the taste, not that the taste was anything original to begin with. He usually took his coffee black because when he couldn't be bothered to remember the taste, there wasn't a point in adding extra flavor and incurring extra costs. He was well aware of how cheap he sounded, but at least he was being cheap in relation to his personal finances, not with his actual company.

Getting up from his desk and stretching himself out, he realized that he ought to get ready before he missed the flight to Atlas. If he had his own private aircraft, then something like this wouldn't be a problem, or at least it wouldn't be as much as a problem. One day, he would be able to afford his own private flight. That would be a sign of sweet success indeed. Perhaps then he would be able to rival the SDC.

Tony was under no illusion that one day he would come into conflict with the Schnee name. Ultimately, his relationship with the Schnee family was based purely on a temporary reliance of dust. According to his own calculations, Stark Industries would soon be able to sustain itself without any usage of dust to power its facilities.

The Arc Reactor that he had been working on prior to his arrival on Remnant was currently being housed in a secluded section of the development building of the company where only a handful of people could access it.

There were lots of big plans.

Iron Man - - - RWBY

Remnant, System Unknown

Kingdom of Atlas

Schnee Mansion

June 4th, 56 AGW

Willow Schnee wasn't a woman that cared to make herself stand out. For one thing, she lacked the social skills and proper subject matter to talk about. Merely being in a crowd was barely all that she could manage. It wasn't that she was incapable of being a conversationalist or a socialite when the situation called for it, but she couldn't say that she was particularly fond of the idea of the idea for days on end.

Her husband, on the other hand, was supremely in his element as the new head of the Schnee Dust Company. He was a businessman prior to his marriage into the family and he was very much a practiced socialite. He fit into the role given to him perfectly. From an objective point of view, Jacque Schnee was exactly what the SDC needed to continue on.

For all intents and purposes, the company was the face of all dust-related things. Any businesses, big or small, who were involved in the process of dust in any capacity didn't last long. Many of them were either absorbed or simply dissolved. It was becoming clear that the name Schnee would own a monopoly on dust if things went according to the plan.

Willow knew all of this on a basic level, but frankly speaking, she didn't care to involve herself in her husband's affairs. It might be accurate to say that she didn't have much of a relationship with her spouse to begin with. With everything he was doing, he found very little time to spend with her.

At first, it seemed only natural given the position of CEO of the Schnee Dust Company. After all, the company couldn't run itself if it didn't have a competent leader making sure all the individual pieces formed a whole unit. That had been her rationale from the beginning, but it soon became clear that even with such a full schedule day to day, there should have been at least time for a quick visit, maybe a phone call, something to tell her about what was going on. Having to hear all of the latest news from the servants and her father felt improper.

Willow had far too much time on her hands and usually, she would find herself wandering the garden with only her thoughts to occupy her. To some, that would be a dangerous prospect, but if there was nothing profound to ponder on, then what danger was there to begin with?

She found herself walking to the center of this artificial place, somewhere where she could sit and do whatever she pleased. Maybe today she would sing a song or two to pass the time. After that, she might ponder a bit more about her life and what to expect in the future and hope that things turned out better.

The white-haired woman felt her steps carrying her to her usual spot of peace and quiet, but today, she was surprised to find that she wasn't alone on this day. Of all the people that could be here, the person she couldn't ever expect to find Tony Stark, who appeared to be staring at his scroll and concentrating hard on something.

Watching him from where she stood still, Willow took another look at his face. Unlike the past couple of interactions that he had with her, this was a far cry from those encounters. The previous two times he carried a cool look with a bit of arrogance. It was a look that strangely suited him and it carried with it two feelings. On one hand, she felt a bit annoyed at it; it felt like he was making his arrogance known, but not in a way that could compel a person to take drastic action. Then there was the other side, the part where that arrogance, despite it being annoying, was earned in a way. Most companies in their budding stages didn't get to deal with the SDC like this, so bragging seemed only appropriate.

If she had to describe Mister Stark's expression right now, it was a look of absolute and earnest interest. There was nothing artificial behind it. It was a face that told everyone that he was working on something that he was passionate about. It was the sort of look that could not be faked. When someone became truly invested in something, their face would often show the true emotions a person was feeling. This looked to be that time.

Willow wasn't sure what to do. On one hand, she could try to enter into a dialogue, but that felt unnatural given the situation and her presence. Maybe she ought to sit this one out and look for another time to talk.

So she turned to leave.

"Miss Schnee." Tony called out to her. "Why leaving so soon? Is my company really that bad?"
"No, Mister Stark." Willow took only a breath before regaining her senses and replying back. "I just felt that you were too absorbed to talk."

"Well, I wouldn't be doing this if I had company." Tony switched off his scroll, then looked up at her. "Your father stepped out to get something for me, but I'm guessing something else came up. He doesn't strike me as the type to get distracted easily."

"Not at all." Willow affirmed this assumption. "My father is very focused on what he does and is not one to waste a person's time, especially not a person he respects."

"Well, I can afford to wait a bit, but you might as well stay." Tony's face became calm and collected. "It looks like you've got nothing better to do. Why don't we stay and chat for a while?"

"I appreciate the offer, but I wouldn't want to interrupt you." Willow tried again to turn him down. "Besides, I believe I can find something productive to do."

"Is ten minutes really that much to ask for?" Tony wasn't the least bit dettered by her rejection. "Or how about just five minutes? Then I'll leave you alone."

Willow gave him a look. "My father could be coming back in less than that time."

Tony didn't look away. "Then we can talk until either he does come back or until five minutes are up."

She continued to meet his eyes, searching his eyes for any signs of an ulterior motive. Usually, whenever someone wanted to speak with her, it was in regards to how they could get closer to the Schnee family. Everyone wanted to be close to either her or Jacque, but when it came down to it, most would prefer the latter. Regardless, she had enough experience to know when someone was looking for something from her.

But was Tony Stark looking for something from her. Willow couldn't say for sure what exactly he wanted. If anything, his face, his posture, his slight smirk all threw her off. It almost felt like he was saying that he already had what he wanted and that her time wasn't really all that valuable to him.

That made her irritated internally, but she kept herself composed.

"Five minutes." Willow took a few steps forward. "Was there something specific you wanted to talk about?"

"Well, since you asked, let's talk about you." Tony retained his small smirk. "I get all the business stuff from Jacque and your father, so a change of pace would really do wonders."

"Alright, then. What about me do you want to know?" Willow placed her hands in front of her.

"What does Snow White love doing in her spare time?" Tony jerked his head slightly towards her.

"I'm sorry?" Willow felt confusion.

"Dammit, I did it again." Tony looked to his side, then spoke. "Sorry, old movie reference, should've known that would go over your head."

"A movie reference?" Willow was now even more perplexed.

"Forget about it, Snow White." Tony's head refocused on her. "I'm just going to call you that from now on. Think of it like a nickname, and I only do that to people who are either my friend or who are interesting."

"Oh." Willow wasn't sure what she was feeling, but she was feeling something. "Thank you."

Out of all the men she had ever met in high-class society, Mister Stark was the most unusual she had ever met. He walked, talked, and acted by his own set of rules, but those rules didn't necessarily clash with the established rules of the wealthy and influential. He understood those just fine. However, his quirks set him apart from everyone else by a longshot. He learned to work with the rules while also following a set of rules that applied only to himself.

In short, he marched to the beat of his own drum.

She wouldn't pretend to think that she understood him that well. She might very well spend this entire conversation and get nothing out of him as far as she could see while he might get the whole story from her.

That also didn't sit well with her.

RWBY - - - Iron Man

Remnant, System Unknown

Kingdom of Atlas

City of Atlas

June 5th, 56 AGW

Ironwood had gotten his work done for the day, but instead of simply finding more work to do that was not on his official list of things to do, he found himself sitting at a secluded bar with some very interesting company.

Sitting beside him was the businessman who had single-handedly turned turned so many heads in Atlas as of late. It was as if all the people of the high class couldn't get enough of the name Stark.

James had some mixed feelings on the matter. On one hand, there was no denying that the inventor was good at building weapons. He possessed a high degree of technical knowledge that couldn't be fully explained by pure education alone. Many times, the rising star had described himself as a genius, but now it was beginning to become a reality rather than just being mere spoken words.

On the other hand, Captain Ironwood wasn't one for arrogant types. To him, boastful types tended to be overcompensating for something and that seemed to be exactly what the CEO was doing. What was being compensated for was anyone's guess, but it was likely something personal. It wasn't any of his business to know, but it was a detail that he noticed.

"Mister Stark." James took a small sip from his drink. "Why are we here?"

"Why else?" Tony held his drink and did a little shrug. "To relax, take a load off. As for why you're here with me, well let's just say that you remind me of an old friend. He and I went to the same school together, knew each other for most of our lives. I wonder what he's doing now. He always did say that he wanted to join the military as an officer."

"I see." James focused his eyes on his opposite's expressions. "So I remind you of your friend."

"In a way. I think you two would get along well." Tony sighed as he raked a hand through his hair. "I just wish I knew where he was, but I've got no idea where he is and no clues as to where he could have gone."

"You two were close?" James wasn't sure what he wanted to get out of this question.

"He was my best friend and if he were here, I'd still call him that, but I don't know where he is." Tony stared out the window. "Or if he's even alive. If he's alive, then I can only hope he's making something of himself. If not, well, it's a shitty world we live in, right?"

It felt best to not pry any further into this topic. Based on the feeling surrounding those words, this was a rather sensitive topic, something that should not be pursued further. Whatever had happened in the past with Mister Stark and his best friend wasn't any of Ironwood's business and the captain had no reason to ask for further details. This didn't affect his life nor his career, so whatever idle curiosity he had would be left as it was.

"So, how about we be best buds?" Tony abruptly switched the discussion around. "I take it that military life doesn't afford you much in the way of personal time."

"It's a busy life, but it does have a purpose." James fully believed that. "And my position isn't necessarily tedious."

"Oh, I'm sure it isn't." Tony rolled his eyes lightly. "I mean, when you're in cahoots with good old Oz back at Beacon, your life is sure to be not uninteresting to say the least."

"On that we can agree." James couldn't agree more with that sentiment. "Ozpin does keep some interesting company."

"Don't even get me started on that." Tony took another swig, letting out a small sigh of satisfaction. "I've got his number one team on my payroll so to speak. Let's just say that the results that I'm getting back are amazing and completely nonsensical all in one."

"Team STRQ." James knew who they were. "I am familiar with their accomplishments. Ozpin has a particular fixation on making them into the best huntsman team of this generation."

"And for the life of me I can't figure out why though." Tony said. "Not to discount their skills and talents, but they're just four kids. What exactly are they going to do against entire armies of Grimm?"

"A miracle according to Ozpin." James recalled a few words he heard from the headmaster of Beacon. "He's searching for diamonds in the rough and he's hoping to find one that'll help him turn the tide."

"It's a nice thought." Tony snorted at that very notion. "But it's stupid not to mention unrealistic and naive. If huntsmen were enough to turn the tide, then the Grimm should've been long gone."

"And Grimm are not the only threat to this world." James mused out loud. "But I'm sure you already knew that."

"Hey, what can I say?" Tony gave him an amused look. "I deal in the business of death. You know, the media's already giving me a nickname. 'The Merchant of Death.' It's got a nice ring to it."

"The media will say whatever it needs to in order to remain interesting and relevant in society." James relayed. "However, you don't seem at all intimidated by their presence."

"All publicity is good publicity to me." Tony finished off his drink. "If I spent every waking moment coming up with all the screwups I've committed in my life, I could fill a dictionary with the definitions of all of them."

"Yet here you are."

"And here I am."

A pointless conversation this was, but it wasn't unpleasant by any means. It was a nice change of pace, being able to simply not be constantly thinking about the next project to complete or the next order to fulfill. The captain didn't mind the more monotonous tasks of his job nor did he complain when he received tough missions and duties, but when he finally got a chance to relax, it was then that he appreciated how much he needed a break. It was something he rediscovered every time he took a breather after many days of nonstop action.

James knew that he was something of a workaholic, although not quite to the extreme of Jacque Schnee. Still, there were years that he could count the number of days he had taken off on two hands. Because he had no family to support and no outstanding hobbies or interests outside the military, he could afford to work this much.

He couldn't even remember why he was here to begin with. When trying to reach into his memories to recall his reason for being here, he came back empty. It was like he had forgotten the call he had received from his companion.

"Why the long face?" Tony looked him in the eye. "Let me guess, you forgot why you came here."

James laughed slightly. "Among other things. I was sure that this conversation was going to be businesslike in nature."

"I need my drinking buddy and you're the man for the job, Tin Man." Tony patted his self-appointed friend on the back casually. "So get used to the idea."

"Again with that calling." James produced a dismayed face.

"Just roll with it, okay?" Tony shrugged off any potential scolding. "You're my friend, so you're going to be subject to nicknames."

This was hardly the worst thing to be called. When it came to the military, shit-talking was an expected thing. It was a sort of test to see who was the big bad alpha in the group. When putting trained killers in the same room, the most obvious outcome was a fight to assume dominance. Sometimes that meant fighting with fists and weapons, other times with words and insults. The latter often could venture into dangerous territory, but that was irrelevant; the one who could withstand the pressure and fire back was considered strong. It was like a simulation of the battlefield. The variables and situations were not always fair, so the only thing to do was to take whatever action necessary to win.

And there was absolutely no doubt at this time. Tony wasn't a man who liked to play fair. He was playing to win. Whatever method could be utilized that didn't break social rules or laws, he would use it. However unconventional, however questionable, however absurd, the genius inventor wasn't one to discard a potential tool if it could be used to further his goals. It wasn't exactly along the lines of 'the ends justify the means,' but it was closer to that than moral righteous.

Maybe there was a lot more to talk about between the two of them than meets the eye. This little detour from the normal routine could have just provided a new outlook that would be very useful in the long run.

Captain James Ironwood didn't have many men outside of the military that he could call a true friend, but there was a possibility right here.

Iron Man - - - RWBY

Remnant, System Unknown

Kingdom of Atlas

Polendina Laboratory

June 7th, 56 AGW

Pietro Polendina had been a very busybody ever since meeting fellow scientist and engineer Tony Stark.

Ever since the talk about A.I., there had been a constant flow of information between the two of them. Exchanges of ideas, criticisms and critiques, evolutions, the works. Anything that could assist the two of them in the completion of a true artificial intelligence was taken into consideration.

While Tony provided a very strong foundation, Pietro was able to fine tune the details into the most advanced systems that Atlas had to offer. It was hard for the two of them to find time to work together simultaneously, even with a remote connection. As a result, the best that they could do was send each other updates as to what the other had accomplished and use each communique as a building block.

Without a doubt, to get to the point that they were going for would take time, but with the two of their minds combined, they could see some potential as early as in a few months, but realistically, the end of the year seemed a far more appropriate deadline. They might be able to shorten the necessary time for completion if not for the swarm of other higher-priority work that needed to be accomplished.

Alongside the things that the Atlas Military needed done, there was also the walk-in appointments that he needed to attend to. These street-level jobs, while paying far less than a contract with the military and government, were rewarding in their own way. With all the complicated things that went on in the world, it was easy to forget more simple and happier things.

A ring told him that he had received a message. Temporarily putting down his tools, he made his way to his console, tapping a few icons before opening up a message. It was a message from Mister Stark informing him about new adjustments he made to the programming in order to allow for more human-like tones and conversations.

This could prove to be either a really good thing or a really bad thing. Considering the glass-half-full side, a more approachable interface would do wonders in how people interacted with their technology. It might make people more receptive to new advances. On the glass-half-empty side, it might be a really uncanny experience, interacting with a voice that was so realistic, yet not quite living.

All personal tastes aside, Pietro couldn't see this as anything but important. The ability of an A.I. surpassed anything that a human or faunus could accomplish. Trillions of calculations and tasks could be done in a fraction of the time it would take the average person to do the exact same thing. This would greatly assist in the ability to further discover new scientific discoveries by many times. In less than half a century's time, there could be more inventions and innovations than in the past several hundred years combined.

What would the future look like in ten years?

Twenty years?

Fifty?

A hundred?

Doctor Polendina couldn't say for sure.

Hey, I managed to get chapter in within a month. That's something that's been getting increasingly harder for me as time goes on. I've no doubt that I've missed a fair share of grammar errors, but I will fix those for sure.

Perhaps the most important part of any story is the character dynamic. The protagonist has to have a wide pool of friends, acquaintances, and the works to have a intersting story. Sometimes, that's all you need to be excellent, even with a sub-par plot and story.

The next step to the story is moving the plot forward. Over the course of the next few chapters, I will be highlighting critical moments and character development, all with the intent of serving the overall plot. I have a rough map of how this will all end as well as the very important stops along the way. I just need to fill in the details.

As always, reviews and feedback is greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoyed this installation of The Remnant Reactor.

"There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination, and wonder."

Ronald Reagan