Leon sat back on his chair, content. His wife made the best lasagna on Remnant and he was willing to fight anyone that said otherwise.

The family dinner went well. Thanks to R&I keeping him and his fellow workers, they wouldn't starve. A chill ran up his spine as he thought of that. The SDC struggling to repair their rail lines was really starting to hit the market. While he and his wife shopped, it wasn't hard to notice a spike in groceries. Food was already expensive in Atlas, what with it being a literal floating city in the sky. An apple used to cost twenty lien and now, it was twenty-five. Increase of cost for transport, the grocer had said.

Leon shivered again. Hopefully the SDC got their act together and fully fixed their logistics otherwise, things would get expensive.

Sheila had already begun taking away the plates for the dishwasher. They weren't exactly poor but that didn't mean his salary wouldn't allow for some luxuries for their little family. He glanced towards his daughter, Louisa, watching something in her scroll. His daughter was twelve, bright-eyed and in school. There were some things she was interested in that Leon struggled to understand but he figured that was eventual. The youth liked new things after all.

And Louisa was animated.

"Seeing something interesting?" he asked, leaning in. He raised an eyebrow when his daughter failed to reply. He first thought that she was being wilfully disobedient, youngsters tended to be as they reached that age but then, he noticed the ear buds in her ears. And so, Leon cleared his throat and repeated his question.

That finally got her attention and with slightly pink cheeks, his daughter smiled sheepishly as she took out her earbuds. "..Yes, dad?" she squeaked.

He resisted the urge to gush. His girl was cute and he was going to fight anyone who would say otherwise. "You look real animated there, Louisa. What are you looking at?"

Her eyes brightened quickly. "Oh, it's just a bunch of new videos that's been popping around. They're made by your company, dad."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Videos? I didn't know that," he muttered. He was a assembly line worker, not a bigshot executive.

At that, Louisa stood up from her seat and took her place at his side and showed off her scroll. Leon glanced down.

The screen showed off the Royal and Imperial Eagle before it shifted to a overhead shot of Atlas, bright and shining under the light of the moons.

"Remnant...our home," a man's voice began to narrate. The scene shifted once more with each word he spoke.

"Prosperity," A long line of skyscrapers roared up to the sky. It shifted again.

"Liberty and Democracy," The screen then showed off the Council in fierce debate, the Councillors dressed in their finery as numerous citizens clamoured with signs and placards. It then changed to a man, the narrator Leon presumed, waving at his neighbour before he turned around to greet his family.

"Our way of life," the narrator finished. Leon thought that he surely had a wonderful life. His family was well-fed and warm and didn't have to fear the outside world. The cheery and upbeat tone of the video then changed as the narrator found a shadow looming over his family. The peace was shattered as a Beowolf appeared. The camera shifted to the man falling to his knees in horror as his family screamed.

By instinct, Leon's hands curled into a fist. Louisa also came closer to him as well.

"But our way of life...does not come free," the narrator's voice spoke over. Leon had to nod at that. If it weren't for the Grimm...then they all wouldn't be forced to live in walls. The camera turned as the narrator walked on screen, blood-stains still on his clothes.

"Scenes like that are happening not just in Solitas but also in other continents, right now!" the narrator asserted. Leon could believe that.

"You could be next," the narrator continued, his eyes certain and expression alive. Leon did not like the sound of that. Then, the screen fizzled. The uncertain music which had plagued the video slowly vanished as a certain tone played.

"That is unless you made the most important decision of your life!" Leon watched as the narrator clicked his fingers and was suddenly clad in a uniform not too similar to what Alexander Wayland wore. Right behind him, the flag of the Company waved proudly. "Prove to yourself you have the strength and courage to be free!"

The narrator marched forward as a Defender rifle was handed to him. He punched a magazine in and cocked it. With eyes as a hawk, the narrator proclaimed. "Buy...Royal and Imperial!"

The music swelled, triumphant and glorious. The scene shifted to a squad of R&I armed Frontiersmen letting loose on Grimm with their arms. And the Grimm died with each blast! "Use arms proven and tested since the settlement of Solitas!"

The Frontiersmen all advanced, firing. Grimm were attacking their town, it seemed. The Defender riflemen shot with semi-automatic precision, supported by a man bearing the Buzzsaw machine gun. The scene shifted again to a Ursa Alpha roaring as a squad of Frontiersmen surrounded it. Another man appeared bearing the Deuce and unloading rounds that tore through the Ursa as a scissor would paper. "And defend our homes and our frontiers!"

"No Dust!"

The frontiersmen cheered, bumping onto each other, and digging a flagpole of the company down onto Grimm corpses. Each of whom vanished under the fluttering flag of the company.

"With our Frontier-series arms, you become a HERO!"

The narrator walked up to the men, Defender rifle nestled against his shoulder.

"With our arms, you become a LEGEND!"

The camera zoomed out, the Frontiersmen victorious, their settlement safe. In the skies, the broken moon loomed.

"Buy...ROYAL AND IMPERIAL!"

The screen blackened, the Wayland Eagle fluttering. Louisa quietly paused her scroll, turning towards her father.

"Can we buy one?" his daughter asked precociously.

Propaganda.

I love propaganda. And we as a people made good propaganda. It was blatant, it was on-the-nose, but golly, it just swells people just right. A little investment in a struggling entertainment company allowed me to basically put on absolute and utterly nationalistic trash. Personally, I was aware of what sort of monster I was making with R&I about to drop easily accessible firearms but seriously, we were going to make the coolest shit on the planet, God Bless the Company!

My father had at this point trusted my judgement. The board green-light the production of the Frontier series arms and the Bundschuch were our first orders of guns as well as expertise on how to use them. Now, we just needed more customers.

My ideas for creating an audience were rather unorthodox in his eyes. Essentially, there was no better way to spread propaganda than through soft power means such as movies, video games, and other forms of entertainment. Earth makes good entertainment and I was going to bring it to Remnant and make a big buck on it.

I already had started by co-opting the Helldivers trailer. Now, I was going to get the new Royal and Arms Entertainment to actually make a video game based around Helldivers. To avoid using nationalities, I was going to not use Atlas nor Mantle but have it be Super Remnant as a stand in for Super-Earth, with Grimm as the enemies. The gameplay was to be not to similar to the game and with Royal and Arms weapons as stand-ins.

As I said before, now was a time of incredible peace and growth for Remnant. The SDC may have started a shit-show with its Dust shortage but people still were making good money. Peace makes a society needing something to do and by golly, I was going to capitalize on that.

Speaking of capitalize, I was going full echo on anti-Grimm propaganda. R&A Entertainment mission was to make cool-shit and cool-shit it will get. Attack on Titan but against Grimm and set in a pseudo-technological age Remnant, why not? Mass Effect but RWBY-fied? Let's go. The shorts they were uploading on the CCT net was only small fry compared to what I was going to unleash on the unsuspecting masses.

In my hand, I held a paper titled 'Transformers'. Essentially, I had copied the entire 2007 movie but set in Remnant. It shall start with an Atlesian base getting attacked and wiped out then the plot continues on. The humans and faunus here would be much more effective however, Remnant not exactly a pushover when it comes to Technology.

This was not the end of my plans, however.

And that was how I found myself leaving my script behind in my room and out, fully intent to head over to my father's office. As I stepped outside, a presence came with me. A fluffy hat one.

"Good Morning, Land," I greeted. The old man hummed, Matilda hanging against his shoulder.

As I was getting into my work seriously, father had decided I needed a bodyguard for my own security. Land himself decided that he needed a replacement and so, he stepped down from his position and attached himself to me.

"Mornin, boy," he said, yawning. "Nice commercials, by the way. Very tacky."

I laughed. "They were meant to be. I envisioned the most blatant, obvious, and utterly unrepentant ads possible." And it was a move to showcase that Royal and Imperial was truly innovating and not shackling itself to sterile and unimaginative language, like the SDC. This was a world with the Color Revolution fresh in people's memories. Expression was core to people's identities.

"Well, I can't go five minutes without hearing that orchestra score in my head," Land said, rubbing the underside of his chin. "Damn nice tune. I kept on humming it to myself while fighting Grimm. Where did you find the fella who did that?"

Back at home, Wilbet Roget had made it. But in here, his stand-in did the work. All I did was merely describe what I wanted and he was more than happy to do it down to a tee. Hell, was it actually copyright when your doppelganger made it?

"RIE made it. The composer is very good," I hummed. "And if you thought that was catchy, wait to see what they are cooking."

I'm remaking Pacific Rim and have Jaegers punch the shit out of massive Grimm. And speaking of Jaegers, I better prepare myself to get to making those.

"Hm," he nodded. "So, what do you want with your father, boy?"

Ignoring his infantilizing language, he was my combat instructor so he had right of way, I cleared my throat. "Entertainment won't be enough to spread our brand across. We need practical results too. I intend to ask my father to let us purchase our own private military company, with the intent of having them test out our kits."

And careful review of the law made it clear. Only huntsmen or registered private forces could field heavy weapons.

Land raised an eyebrow. "We already have our own security forces, Mister Wayland," he pointed out. He was very much correct that we did have our own security forces.

However...

"Yes but they exist to protect the Foundry. I need a force of able-bodied men and women crazy enough willing to fight Grimm without needing to rehouse them, retrain them, and so on and so forth," I surmised. Our security forces existed as security guards, not actual fighters. Plus, the PMC's I had in mind were going to field our heavy shit to protect towns and such.

Luckily, I had an idea on who to approach. But before that, I needed to get my father to approve of it first.

His office, we arrived at and I knocked three times as was customary. His voice broke through and bid me to enter. I did so, preparing my pitch. Instead, I found my father seated behind his desk, scroll in hand. I entered, confusion coursing through me as he glanced from the scroll then back to me.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, stopping before him. At my side, Land took his place, yawning.

"Not particularly," Gerard Wayland replied. "I was reading reports from the floor managers when I got an interesting email."

That was his language that we were going to get an order from a important customer. "Oh? Who is it? The Military?" I asked cheekily.

He rolled his eyes before leaning back. "What do you know of shell companies, Alex?"

I replied quickly. "Shell companies are used for legit reasons but can be used for tax evasion, tax avoidance, money laundering, or to achieve a specific goal such as anonymity."

"Well," my dad tapped, expression shifting. "A company called Cambrian Logistics ordered five hundred Defender rifles from us. Normally, I would welcome such a thing but something about the company seemed shifty." He then turned his scroll around, showing to me the logo of a white fish in a orange field.

My father continued. "It's a small company, roughly ten employees and newly established but its strangely wealthy and the owners are supposedly Atlesians but a background search showed to me that they are a retired couple living in Vale."

Mysterious, I thought. I walked up, sitting on the chairs across him. "So what would a retired couple need five hundred guns for?" My father openly questioned.

"It isn't for them then." I theorized. My theory was correct as my father nodded.

"Correct. The previous owners had sold their company to a buyer but the buyer kept them as the owners. The buyer, I found through some digging, is not a human but a faunus. A faunus connected to the Chiefdom of Menagerie." My father revealed.

My mouth widened slightly before I closed it.

Menagerie, the nation-state of the Faunus. Unlike the city-states of Remnant, the Faunus had a whole new continent to itself. Located in the South-East of the planet, Menagerie was still totally untapped, uninhabited, and with little to no Grimm to speak of. It did however have terrifying wildlife that even the Grimm ran away from and was supposedly poor of natural resources. It also was a pariah-state. No nation wanted to deal with them, not wanting to openly associate with the victors of the Faunus Rights Revolution. Personally, I was fine with the Faunus revolting as they did. By my reckoning, it was only some fifty years since it had happened. Before that, the Faunus were slaves.

The living memory of the half animal folk traded like cattle was still present in most people.

"What do you think of the Faunus, then?" I asked my father.

His expression went thoughtful. I thought for a moment that my father, a man who had taught me nobility and duty, would also be a massive gamer. His reply came after some thinking.

"I can get used to them, I think. Your grandfather loved the cow-ones since they had, y'know," He motioned to his chest. I shook my head as Land snorted.

He then continued. "Regardless, they are a potential customer and we aren't exactly in a good enough position yet to refuse orders. They are offering good money but...I am still conflicted."

"It's the White Fang, I presume?"

He crossed his arms, sighing. "Yes, it's the White Fang. They are close to the Menagerie Government. If we sell them our arms, we risk having Royal and Imperial attainted by association."

That was a valid concern, to be frank. However...

"But that's the nature of arms dealing, right? As soon as our guns leave the product line, it's no longer our responsibility. It's not like we can control who our guns go to," I reasoned. There were methods to make sure our buyers were legit. One, there existed law that we only sold to licensed purchasers such as governments or registered private entities. The Chiefdom of Menagerie itself was indeed a recognized government but...

Faunus. And at this point of time, Fort Castle was still in everyone's mind.

"I want you to go to Vale," Father suddenly declared. "I want you to follow this trail, see if it is legitimately by their government and not a White Fang front. If it is truly legitimate then I will approve a sale. With one condition."

And there goes my plan of asking his approval for a mercenary company. I thought about it a little and realized something. If I did pull a deal, this would be good money in the end and my target mercenary company usually operated in Mistral or Vacuo but at the moment, they were in Vale resting.

I nodded. "Three questions. What are the conditions, what is the extent of my authority, and who is coming with me?"

My father looked surprised. He probably thought I was going to protest. Shrugging his shoulders, he spoke up. "The faunus must take this order through a clean company, not a shell one. I don't want us to be accused of arms smuggling. Secondly, you are acting as my heir but final decisions must be run by me. Thirdly, Land is going with you."

I listened impassively then stood a little bit straighter. "Understood. I will be leaving quickly then."

"Good luck," he said before pausing. "I thought you'd not like to do this task."

I smiled. "I will never say no to money, dad."

After all. A thousand lien is still a thousand lien, no matter who it came from.

In one second, I was at Atlas and in the next, on a flight to Vale.

Vale was a interesting place. At the end of the Great War, the Kingdom was arguably the strongest power left in Remnant. Mantle's armies were spent, Mistral was engulfed with chaos as its Imperial Dynasty found itself struggling to deal with its own rebelling citizens. Vacuo was on the winning team but its king had died, the members of its royal family scattered and its armies and economy near gone. Vale?

Its territory remained intact, its economy on the drive, and its armies invincible. The King of Vale could have declared a global empire cantered around Vale but...he did not. Instead, he did not place any restrictions or other power-reducing constraints on Mistral and Mantle, the ones who had started the war in the first place and he disbanded his army to the four winds, allowing Huntsmen to take their place.

In other words, this would be like France disbanding its military after World War 1 and letting the Germans and Austrians off without even a spank to the hand. The chaos and punishment the old world had was self-inflicted by its own people, the common folk banding together and overthrowing the last remnants of old feudalism.

I supposed that a reason the King of Vale had for doing the things he did was to prevent resentments from brewing. By being magnanimous towards Mantle and Mistral, it would allow them to re-integrate back into the global system without them muttering about repayments and such. The disbanding of armies...I supposed it happened due to the King of Vale not really feeling the need for them as the other countries had no military left.

It was still a mind-boggling decision when the Grimm were around and Mantle merely rebranded and rebuilt its armed forces to be bigger, better, and even more dangerous than its previous incarnation.

"Have you ever been to Vale, boy?" Land suddenly asked, disrupting my musings. I looked up to see the old Doppelsoldner leaning back on his chair, arms crossed, and Matilda laying on his lap.

I shook my head. "I spent most of my life in Solitas, old man. My mother, she was from Vale. She told me stories of how her home was like. Green and fertile unlike Solitas."

Land nodded, grinning. "You got it!" He said with a click of his fingers. He then explained. "That was the reason why Mantle invaded the north of Vale in the first place; establish colonies that weren't in a frozen hellhole."

"And the Valeans took exception to that," I said, snorting.

"It wasn't as if he was using them, you know? They were just a bunch of islands," Land grumbled. Even if he no longer wore the gray of Mantle, he was still a loyal soldier at heart.

"No nation will tolerate others from stepping foot on their land even if that land is unused, old man," I said, shaking my head.

"Bah," Land said dismissively. I shrugged my shoulders, letting the old soldier stew in his resentments.

"Anyway, Vale. What to expect?" I asked, changing the subject. Land harumphed, rubbing his chin with a gloved hand.

"Nothing too bad. Your 'customers' are going to be the one who will come to us, not us to them. We'll be meeting them in the hotel at, erhm, seven in the evening." Land surmised. As they were the ones who wanted to buy from us, the Faunus were going to have to come out to actually meet us. Me going over to Vale was courtesy enough already. They were going have to finish the rest.

"So, I assume I still have time to loiter?" I asked, my mind thinking about exploring the city. Atlas was a futuristic city, with its gizmos and gadgets. Mantle was Birmingham but Central European instead of Chav. Vale on the other hand was built like a classical European city with relatively intact architecture, safe as it was from the war. I never got to visit Europe in my old life so I was going to go enjoy myself in my new one.

"You do," Land said carefully, his eyes narrowing. "You do realize that I have to follow you around and shadow you, as your personal protector?"

"Mhm," I nodded.

"Have you seen what I look like?" Land said again, gesturing to his clothes. I snorted at his bright colors before looking down at mine. Presently, we both looked rather anachronistic. The reason I wore such clothes was to be a walking advertisement for the company and honestly, I liked the pseudo-Prussian look of the uniform. Land on the otherhand was dressed as his namesake, a Landsknecht, with fluffy clothes and extremely bright colors. It was gay in the happy sort of way. While this was perfectly legal to do, the company talking to faunus would be controversial to say the least. And having the heir and his bodyguard walk around in public would raise questions. Keeping everything low-key was important.

"Although would it matter though? Huntsmen dress however the fuck they want," I pointed out.

"Huntsmen don't go wandering in the center of Vale in its richest district. We will get people taking pictures of us and VNN will have your face plastered around," Land deadpanned.

"Why the hell would they do that? I'm a spoiled brat that makes guns," I said, confused.

"Have you not paid attention to the CCT net?" Land asked, genuinely shocked. "Boy, I was born in a time when men thought that the carrier pigeon was the hottest technological feat a civilization can have and I am better in technology than you."

He then took out his own scroll and showed it off to me. It was a video of my speech at the foundry with the Helldiver's theme playing.

"Your ads are getting wild all over Atlas, boy. Eventually, it will spread to the other continents soon," Land predicted as he turned off his scroll.

"I reckon we can go and dress up as normal folk," I suggested. I noted with interest as Land's face soured.

"I am not dressing up other than this nor am I leaving Matilda behind," Land muttered.

"Why not?" I asked with amusement.

He glanced up. "I made a vow to my fallen comrades that we would live and die as Doppelsoldners. I am going to be keeping that vow until I die."

Ah. My eyes widened in sympathy and I gave him a respectful glance, unaware I was of the significance of his gear. "If it's going to be difficult for you, Land, then I shan't go out in public. I don't want to make this hard on you," I offered.

He looked at me in surprise.

"What?" I asked.

"I forget you aren't a spoiled shit," Land muttered. My eyes widened in surprise before I laughed.

"Hey man, it's alright if you can't. I won't make your job way harder than it has to be," I snickered.

"Now you're making me feel bad, boy," tutted Land. He leaned in. "Tell you what, do your thing in the city. I just will be watching from afar."

"How the hell can you keep hidden with your bright colours? Your hat is the size of fuck you?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I have powers beyond your comprehension," Land said mysteriously.

"Really?"

"No, you fool. I'll be watching from the roof-tops!" Land revealed with a laugh. "You'll be surprised how much the average rube doesn't look up!"

Our craft landed at the airport in a out of the way area reserved for the genteel and affluent. I was not going to deal with the stress of going through a packed airport with screaming children and unruly passengers. After getting off, it was a mere private ride towards the hotel. You best believe I consumed the architecture and layout of the city. While Solitas had a Central European Theme, Vale certainly hogged the best that France had to offer.

Sue me. I grew up poor and never left my home-country. I was going to enjoy every moment of the trip even if at the end of the day, I had to go negotiate with potential unknowns. Honestly, it was a little surreal to see places on the screen and now, you were living in it.

As soon as we arrived at the Hotel, it was a quick matter of checking, changing into more casual clothes, and walking out of it. True to his word, Land had vanished from sight but I could feel his eyes on me.

At this moment, I was not Alexander Wayland, the heir to a arms company. I was just some rich tourist from Atlas enjoying the sights of the city.

And by god, it was.

The hotel we stayed at was only a short walk away from one of Vale's many plazas. It was a massive courtyard surrounded on all sides by traditional marble buildings, a far cry from futuristic Atlas. In one end of the plaza, a marble statue of Vale's last king astride a horse, eyes gazing onward to the east. At the very middle, an obelisk of pure white flanked by two sparkling fountains. Crowds walked the stones; families, couples, and groups of friends enjoying the sights, helping themselves to street vendors, or merely just passing their time there. It did not take much for me to melt with them, breathing in the city air as the river next to the plaza flowed quietly with boats prowling its waters.

I found a good food stall, bread and other treats made available. I readily purchased some good bread, found a corner to sit in, and allowed myself to relax.

There was a simple pleasure to be found there, munching on fine crunchy bread, and letting the sun fall upon my face. Just as I was about to take another bite of my baguette, I felt a hand touch against my pocket. My reaction was swift as my head turned, mid-bite, to watch a tiny tanned girl with red eyes trying to steal from me. Her body was thin, very thin, and her hair was green as emeralds. The girl froze as we locked eyes.

So this was the Paris experience.

The girl gulped, mouth trembling as I bit into my bread, chewed some more before swallowing. My tone, I kept calm. "You are lucky that I did not try to break your hand, girl."

"I-I'm s-sorry," Emerald Sustrai stumbled. She moved to run but I stopped her.

"Stop," I said and she did. She trembled, her back turned against me. My pocket trembled as my scroll rang. Picking it up, Land's voice came through.

"Boy," his voice rumbled. "I saw that. She tried to nick you?"

"Yeah," I replied, making her shake some more, guilt and fear coursing through her.

"You want me to do something about it? Call the police?" he asked.

"Nah. I got this," I said before turning off the call. I slipped my scroll back in and turned my attention back to her.

"Turn to me," I asked her and she did, turning around. Her eyes were brimming with tears, fear glinting in her eyes. This was not the cold murderer in future events but rather, a scared orphan. Now, I did not really care much for Emerald. I was a proud Weiss and Winter enjoyer, with occasional Glynda related thoughts. But now, I was forced to deal on what to do with little Emerald. To start off, her semblance was useful. Very, very useful. In short, she could put hallucinations in people.

"You hungry, girl?" I asked, holding out my other un-eaten baguette. She glanced towards it, her mouth watering, before looking back to me.

"N-no..." she lied weakly.

Her stomach rumbled, loudly. I snorted as I took out the decently sized baguette and bid her to sit next to me. "Come on. This baguette ain't gonna eat itself, you know."

And just like that, Emerald Sustrai sat by my side and carefully took the bread from my hand. It did not take a single second until she wolfed it down like the starving urchin she was. A few other folk saw what was happening and tutted to themselves. I gave them a look and that made them walk away.

I shook my head, looking back to the hungry girl.

"What's your name, girl?" I asked. I already knew who she was but from her perspective, I was a literal stranger.

"E-Emerald," she stammered after long bites. It did not take long for the baguette to vanish. Emerald looked satiated but still quite hungry.

"Hungry?" I asked gently.

"Y-yes...?" Emerald replied, unsure of what to say.

"You want more food?" I asked.

She nodded quickly. And just like that, I unintentionally adopted Emerald Sustrai.

Hunger.

That was all Emerald ever knew. Ever since she was forced into the street, memories of her family vanishing, she was forced to survive on her own. She wasn't big enough to work in the shops, she was still a little girl after all. No one was willing to hire her and what could she do?

So, she stole.

She stole to sell. She stole not to give herself riches but to buy even the smallest loaf of bread if only to drive away the hunger that gnawed at her soul. The sellers were unfair most of the time. They saw her poor clothes and charged her double. Something about her status making it hard to sell or something. She did not understand what they meant but she wasn't dumb enough to not see the injustice at that.

When she couldn't buy, she would have to steal from private gardens. Her hidden power...it was useful. She could sneak in, steal fruits or vegetables, before she had to leave. In fact, she just feasted on some potatoes the night before. She couldn't stay too long in one place however, people would find out that their produce was getting stolen.

And so, she would have to go without food. She had her own private corner in a alley. She would curl up into a ball, shivering as she tried to warm herself up with a half rotten blanket. As she would drift into sleep, her mind would think back to near-forgotten memories of a warm home and a woman's voice humming her to sleep.

She would see that sometimes, other kids like her but they had mothers and fathers.

She hated it.

What did she do to not have a mother? A father?

Why did she have to be alone?

But now, she was no longer alone. She was seated on a chair before a table filled with food. As soon as they arrived, she dug in. Warm cheese melted in her mouth, soup tasting of beef and onions warmed her soul and bones. And the big juicy steak, oh she just ate and ate and ate.

She ate until she couldn't anymore.

She wasn't the only one eating though. The Red Eyed Man was eating too albeit slowly, with manners. He muttered a few things in a language she did not understand, making motions with his hands, before he ate. He watched her with amusement, as if she was playing a joke.

Emerald did not know why the man did this for her. She did try to steal from him after all. Normally, people she stole from would go and smack her badly. But instead, he...fed her.

A swelling in her chest rose.

It made her feel uncomfortable.

And so, she focused on other things. He looked rich, very rich. His clothes were simple but finer compared to what most people would wear. He also lien too, lots of it. Inside his wallet.

If only she could steal it...

"You want my wallet, don't you?" his voice broke through.

She froze as he spoke. Was she too obvious? She glanced up to see the man eyeing her with amusement. Seeing his look, despite the fact she wanted to steal from him...

Her lips trembled.

"Listen kid, don't worry about why I did this. You looked hungry, I have more than enough money," Red Eyes said, his voice kind and warm.

"But...why?" she squeaked. After what she tried to do, she surely deserved to get hit, not to get fed. Emerald blinked in confusion as she saw him speak in that strange language again.

"I don't u-understand," she admitted.

His laugh filled her ears. "Because I know what it is like to be hungry, to be in rock-bottom. To be friendless and alone. And I do not want that for anyone, let alone a kid like you." He spoke truthfully, sincerely.

He...knew what it was like? To be hungry?

"Do you hate feeling hungry?" he asked again.

She nodded.

"Would you like to come with me then? Not feel hunger ever again?"

At that, Emerald balked.

She had seen many times kids like her get approached by those wanting to give them a better life. Some from the big government people that placed them all in small houses. Others by people who...who liked to do adult things to children like her.

At this point. what did she really have to lose? Would she go back to the streets to steal and shiver in the cold?

No.

She couldn't.

Not after tasting this, having all the food she could have.

At this point, she did not care if she was going to be forced on.

She was never going to be hungry ever again.

And just like that, Emerald found herself adopted.

An hour ago, Emerald feared she was going to be surrendered to the police for stealing. Now, she was trying her best to look presentable in a room she could have only dreamt about in her wildest dreams. Seated on a fine fluffy chair, she winced as the fluffy hat man spoke with the red eyes man.

"You know, boy. When people of your caliber go to amuse themselves, they go and buy cute souvenirs from the little shops. Not pick up street urchins," he spoke. Emerald didn't like fluffy hat man. He sounded harsh and rough, like he had been shouting most of his life. He was also old too, grey-haired and leathery.

"She's not just a street urchin, she's Emerald," the red eyes man said, his voice smooth and amused. Emerald liked him the most. He had red eyes, just like hers. Albeit with white skin and hair. She had a thought that she and him could be related in someway but her skin was tanned.

"The old fart's name is Land and I am Alexander Wayland," Red Eyes man introduced himself. No...Alexander introduced himself.

"As you say," rumbled Land. He looked towards Alexander, eyes narrow. "What do you plan to do with her?"

A spike of fear shot up through Emerald. Was he really going to...?

Instead, Alex's face blanched in disgust. "Absolutely not!" he snapped. Taking a breath, he calmed down as he massaged the bridge of his nose.

"I could use an assistant in my work. Emerald here is capable, her semblance can be beneficial with proper training, y'know." He explained.

Emerald sat up a little bit straighter at the praise. They were talking about her power, her semblance. She could talk about that! "I..." she hated her voice sounded weak. Red eyes man and Fluffy hat man spoke properly. She needed to learn how to speak like them.

"Speak up, girl," Land rumbled.

"I can make images!" Emerald cried out. Her cheeks reddened when she realized she had yelled it out and the two other men looked at her with surprise. She sorely wished that she could curl into a bowl and die. Instead, Alex laughed and Land smiled slightly.

"Well. Looks like you got lungs on you, eh?" The old soldier praised. He nodded. "You have a voice, girl. Don't let it be silent."

"...Okay," Emerald muttered, crossing her legs.

"Anyway," Alex's voice spoke up, earning a look from both her and Land. "Land and I must be heading off now for business."

He gave her a smiling look. "Emerald, I want you to stay here and enjoy whatever stuff this hotel has to offer. There are clothes in the closet and you can go and take a shower in the bathroom. If you are hungry, there's a menu book there that you can look at. Just dial up the front desk and say it's a room charge, okay?"

Emerald thought of what she could do. This really was happening, was it? Well...he did say she could sleep and change clothes, and order as much food as she wants.

She nodded.

"Good," Alex nodded. "We'll be right back."

As the two left, Emerald waited until their footsteps vanished. Then as it did, the girl immediately ran towards the aforementioned menu. She could read...a little. Not well but...it could pass. And so, she found the notebook that contained the menu. Her mouth watering, she opened it, ready to see the delectable treats she could feast on. Except she found no pictures that showed off what she wanted. It was all words unlike the place Alexander had taken her too.

Emerald's expression turned into a frown, frustration bubbling in her as she scanned the menu book. All very complicated names!

Her eyes landed on one particular dish. She did not know what a cordon bleu was but she did know chicken. And chicken sounded just right...

And thus, we left Emerald behind in the hotel room to do as she pleased. I had no doubts in my mind that the girl was going to order as much as she wanted from the room service. Honestly, I had checked the room service and they were making some good food. It was a pity there was little rice dishes there. My mouth craved for it. Perhaps when we'd return to Atlas, I could go and make some good ol fashion garlic rice. My rice related thoughts weren't shared by my erstwhile protector however. Land kept on looking at me as we walked.

I gave him a look. "What?"

Land was quiet, expression set. "You took that kid off the streets. Why?"

My look hardened. "Because she can be useful in time. Her Semblance lets her induce hallucinations in people. That sort of semblance comes every once in awhile, y'know?"

Land looked at me as if he didn't believe me. He then continued to stare, eyes like daggers into my soul.

I relented, stopping.. "I saw her eyes, Land."

"Eyes?"

I nodded as I turned back to him. "They were tired. They were afraid. She looked like a thin reed. When faced with suffering, how the hell could I in good conscience, let her go?"

Really, I could just gave Emerald some money and let it be. I didn't have to go take up extra responsibility by bringing her into my household. But looking back into my previous life where I was nothing, where I had nothing, I knew what it was like. And now, I had both money and status aplenty. I lose nothing by being generous. And so, I muttered a half-remembered phrase I had read in a lifetime ago.

"We are the highest, and people like Emerald, the lowest. It is our duty to raise them up, as high as they will go. Anything less is not worthy of us."

The car ride continued in silence, until Land sighed. "Your mother would have been proud of you, eh?"

I smiled. "I am glad you think so."

The hotel had conference rooms to meet with people. They were paid for their discretion and we needed much of that. Again, this wasn't exactly illegal per se but then again, meeting with Menagerie representatives was a slippery slope. I sat at the head of the table, a gendo pose at the ready, while Land stood next to me with crossed arms like a proverbial fixer.

"They're late," Land grunted.

I checked my watch. They were late by five minutes. Honestly, I didn't mind. In my old life, being late was the norm as traffic and the trains weren't exactly the best.

"Give them time," I yawned.

"We already giving these animals that. They could reply by being on time," Land growled.

My eyes widened at that. My head snapped to him. "Woah, Land. I had no idea you had strong opinions about the Faunus."

He snorted. "I am an old man. I am entitled to my prejudices."

I gave him a long look. A look that he deflated at.

"I will keep quiet, sir." He said with sigh.

"There we go, Land," I smiled. He looked uncomfortable, visibly so. His fingers twitched, his eyes eyed the door as if it were a monster about to go and eat him. Inwardly, I had to admit concern. Normally, Land was confident, sure of himself. But now...

"You cannot manage to be here, Land, then you don't have to atte-" I tried to offer but Land cut me off.

"No!" he cried out. He then took another breath and forced himself to calm down again. "It's just...old memories, is all. The Great War took my friends. Fort Castle took what was left of them. This is a old pain," he admitted. His eyes narrowed in determination, his posture rim-rod straight as he looked towards me.

"My discipline is stronger than my prejudice, sir. You are my boss. You say we talk with them, we shall talk with them. I will be good, I swear it," he said with finality.

Well...if he was so insistent on it.

"Very well," I nodded. Then just as if on cue, the doors opened.

We turned.

I stood up to greet them. There were three people that entered. The first one was to my surprise, human. He was a old man with a beard, tall and hale. His clothing was humble, a brown coat over frontier-like clothing. His eyes were the most striking about him, with a fierce and passionate fire that nothing could ever douse. Then came two other people, faunus, and with thick hoods draped over them.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mister Wayland," the human introduced himself. His voice was throaty, the consequence of a life of constantly shouting over battle. "My name is John Brown. I bring with me Kali Belladonna, Chiefess of Menagerie. And the other is Miss Sienna Khan, her protection for today."

The faunus took their hoods off, revealing two pairs of cat ears. The first were black and white, just like the rest of Kali Belladonna. She was way younger than her Volume 4 counterpart but her eyes spoke a story of struggle and victory. An easy smile was on her face, an air of charisma and warmth flowing out of her. A joy to look at unlike her fellow feline. Sienna Khan oozed barely-restrained rage and passion. Her eyes were bright and predatory like her tiger-name sake and her lips, they were curled into a frown. An indication that she didn't like being here.

I felt Land move and tug at my shoulder. He leaned in, whispering. "Be careful. The faunus may have Ghira as their brain but Kali is their heart. She might put a trick on you, sir."

Sienna perked up, tiger ears twitching. "We can hear you, human," she growled. Looking forward, Land invertedly took a step forward, ready to give a piece of his mind and Sienna would have done the same but then, Kali stepped Infront of her

"Sienna!" she admonished her subordinate. The tigress bristled at Kali's tone. She forced herself to calm down, taking a step back. Land did the same as well, his expression guarded. Kali turned to me and looked apologetic.

"I am so sorry about Sienna. It's been a long journey," Kali explained.

"And the hotel wouldn't let them in through the front, they had to sneak in through the back door," Brown explained with some trepidation. I raised an eyebrow at that. No wonder they had to wear the hoods. I understood Sienna's agitation. What I did not understand was why the hotel wouldn't let them in.

"Why wouldn't they let you in?" I made my curiosity known.

"The front carpet needed to be cleaned," Sienna snorted, doing air quotes.

"That's a bullshit reason," I blurted quickly. The three guests of mine leaned in at that.

"You think so, Mister Wayland?" Brown asked with interest.

I nodded. I was well aware that Remnant had a bone to pick with the faunus. Before I got dragged into this place, I had thought that the racism against the faunus was stupid. What was the rationale? Getting dragged inside however, it was easy to grasp. In the official books, the faunus did grow alongside humanity in recorded history. Their different visible traits marked them as different from humanity, literally, and people started to enslave them. No matter where, humanity is the gift that keeps on giving.

"I like to consider myself as a bit more accepting," I explained. "I see no reason to discriminate against the faunus when we all live in this world under the Grimm. We need to band together; one people, one kingdom, one Remnant."

For Super Ear-Remnant, I corrected myself. Fuck, I should stop getting taken by my own propaganda.

Brown however, he nodded with my words, approval in his eyes. Sienna's angry look vanished a little bit as she listened to my words. Kali however, her eyes were glistening with praise.

"It's refreshing to hear that, Mister Wayland," Kali gushed.

"A pity then that justice has ossified to utter uselessness in the hearts of men," Brown muttered, shaking his head. "They cannot grasp sharing this beautiful world with the faunus."

"Well then," I said with a clap. "Let this meeting be a start towards that!"

And so, the meeting began with us taking our seats. I sat at the head of the table, Land at my side. On the other end, Brown and Kali sat together, rather symbolic to be frank. Sienna took her place at Kali's side, the dutiful bodyguard.

"Allow me to start by thanking you for meeting us, Mister Wayland. Most companies wouldn't," Kali began.

"Royal and Imperial is unique, Madam," I replied deftly. And we needed the money. A fact that I was quite sure the faunus were aware as well. Our stock score was more than visible in the stock market.

"Oh please," giggled the Belladonna Matriarch. "Madam makes me feel old. Call me Kali!" she insisted.

I thought about it then nodded. "Pardon, Ma-Kali," I corrected myself. I continued. "Old habits."

"To introduce, I am the true owner of Cambrian Logistics. Madam Belladonna is here to represent to interests of Menagerie," Brown cleared his throat. "Cambrian Logistics requested to purchase five hundred of your Defender rifles, Mister Wayland. What exactly is the problem of purchase? Cambrian is a good company, certified in Vale and Atlas. The owner is human, sir."

I struck a Gendo pose. "The issue, Mister Brown, is that my father is aware that Cambrian Logistics is a shell company. The owners are human yes but looking into the background...it is sketchy. He is afraid that our arms will be used for...less than savoury purposes."

"They aren't, I assure you, Mister Wayland," Brown attested. "They are going to be used as you intended them to be, protecting people."

He then took something from his coat pocket and pushed it towards me. A scroll, I realized, as I picked it up and glanced inside.

There was a video playing. Inside, a group of Faunus lead by Brown advanced forward through a town or rather, what remained of one. There were bodies everywhere of faunus. Some had no heads left, others fell with a struggle. My expression blanched as a few bodies looked...assaulted. Land leaned in and watched the video with me.

And he growled.

"Grimm did not do that," Brown said gravelly.

Land looked up. "People did?"

The man nodded, making Land even more upset.

"Searchlight was a town of faunus in Mistral," Kali sighed, her voice was pained. Call it human decency or I was just sympathetic, I felt for her. "They were peaceful, good. They made a living trading with the city then..."

"Scum of the earth attacked," Sienna finished, her eyes glowing with rage.

I paused the video and let the scroll land on the table. I considered the information present to me. The Faunus Rights Revolution may have won them freedom but it did not mean that it won them true respect. Faunus as slaves was still within living memory and people were still trying to get used to the idea that the faunus were well...people.

"Was there any information found about the attackers?" I asked.

"The Branwen Tribe," Brown supplied. "They're a ruthless band of cut-throats, brigands, and thieves. They kill, they rape; human or faunus. They are monsters in wearing the skin of men and women. As soon as this is over, I am returning to Mistral to find these monsters and end them. They are a threat not just to faunus, Mister Wayland, but to humans as well. With your guns, we have a chance."

My mind went immediately to that Ronin looking woman, Raven Branwen and her gaggle of cut-throats. It was hard to respect her when one, she was a massive fucking coward that ran from Yang and the world. How could I respect someone who talked mad shit about strength when she hid in her hole? Then, there was the fact she lead a band of rapacious vandals.
No profit to be found in raping and pillaging. Taxes was where the real gains were at. The damn Mongols resorted to taxation and they were horse-lords from the steppes. The Branwen tribe and Raven were just idiots.

"In light of this, I personally see no reason to not sell you arms," I muttered. "However..."

I locked on in shock as Sienna marched forward, slamming her fist on the table, cracking it. Her expression was of pure rage as she threw an accusing finger at me. "Even despite seeing this, you are still hesitating? Every single second we waste here, more people die! People!"

I stood up, leaning in, my expression locked in at her. "Miss Khan. I sympathize with you. I really, really do. But this is not a simple matter of just signing off guns. It-"

"Because we're Faunus, is that it?" Sienna challenged me, glaring back.

My lips went thin. To be honest...it was because they were Faunus. Atlas had laws in place, bullshit laws to be frank, that restricted trade with Menagerie. It was justified as difficulty in trading with far Menagerie. Furthermore, we needed licenses, certifications, and other paperwork magic to get things moving. In reality, it was way of punishing them for their victory in the Faunus Rights Revolution. Humans are vengeful and some people are more vengeful than the others. Mantle had been the center for faunus slavery before the Faunus forcibly ended their bondage.

"Some people are upset that your people won, Miss Khan. Some are holding onto that grudge," I sighed. I looked up at her. "However, Royal and Imperial does not hold that grudge, not in this new world. We are willing to trade with you and your people on the condition that it goes through proper channels, not through backdoors. The Council would be very very interested if the guns we sold to a Valean Company would end up in Mistral. No shell companies. He wants it done as clean as possible."

"Then in that case, we shall," Kali nodded with finality.

"I am glad we have come to a compromise," I smiled.

Instead of Cambrian Logistics, they were going to use an actual company run by faunus instead of a human, a Mistrali corporation jointly owned by a human and faunus. I honestly was puzzled why my father was so adamant about selling to them directly when the settlement with Cambrian was certainly fine. But I suppose the embarrassment of being found out was worse than openly doing it. They would have wanted to purchase more but they were interested in seeing the effectiveness of it before going full in which was rather fair. For payment, it was with Lien, to be paid with each successful transfer of rifles. There were other things that the Faunus wanted as well. Expertise in how to use and maintain the rifles as well as their own means to produce it. That was something that I would have to discuss with my father however. Lastly, they asked for a interesting product.

"So, there's actually a request that my husband would like to ask of you," Kali asked, expression demure.

I leaned in with interest. "Yes?"

"He would like to ask if Royal and Imperial is thinking of manufacturing other things for the frontier?" Kali asked. "For example, is your company willing to make a vehicle that is just like your guns?"

I grasped on quick to what she was talking about. "So, something that is reliable, easy-to-maintain, and dustless?"

"That's right!" Kali clapped happily. "You see, the less dust we use on vehicles, the more it could be used for other things. And with how far Menagerie is and with how difficult Atlas makes it for us to buy Dust, it would make such a massive difference."

That...was something I had to look over. I was so focused on guns that I neglected to think of other things. However..."You understand, Kali, that Royal and Imperial is a arms company firstly?" I pointed out.

"Oh, I do!" Kali nodded in understanding. "But as I understand it, your family are artificers, right? I have confidence that you, of all people, can figure out a way to make one."

I laughed, blushing slightly. Praise is praise, no matter where it came from. "I will try then."

"If we are satisfied with your guns, Mister Wayland, you can best expect us again," Kali said with a comforting and assuring smile.

They left not to soon but not before Land and Sienna glared at each other.

I leaned back on my chair, cracking my knuckles. "Well, that was certainly something. Madam Belladonna is rather charming, don't you think?"

"Right," harumphed Land. "Her subordinate needs to relax otherwise she will grow up old and gray from all the stress."

"Like you?" I snickered.

The doppelsoldner snorted. And as he did, my scroll rang. Puzzled, I took it out and scanned it.

"I didn't order five Chicken Bleu's?" I muttered, puzzled.

The car drove off quietly. Outside, people were rushing to get into cover as the sky darkened and rain fell. Under the torrent of water clashing against metal, Kali Belladonna allowed herself to finally relax after a long day of worrying.

When Royal and Imperial had freezed their order, Kali had feared the worst. Was it going to be just like another company who would sneer and look down on them for being Faunus? With that assumption in mind, Kali had went to the meeting fully expecting the worst. If it had, she was ready to use Cat's Eyes, her semblance. It would have allowed her to nudge his emotions to a manageable level of reason. The more negative a person's emotions were, the more draining it was for her to use her semblance. Hate, prejudice, scorn, this had made her a very tired woman especially when it came to dealing with unsavory humans. With the Wayland Heir however, it wasn't as bad a strain. The boy held no hate towards her or her subordinate but rather, curiosity and amusement to her surprise.

She was glad it didn't have to come to that. It did make her feel a good amount of shame that she herself was prejudiced about Alexander, and she hadn't even met him before.

It was humbling, she had to admit.

"Well," the Belladonna Matriarch said with a clap. "That went well!"

Sienna rolled her eyes as she leaned against the car window. "A single deal done does not mean out mission for equality has succeeded."

Kali turned towards her. "Ah, but one small step marks the start of a great journey. Give it time. Eventually, time will heal all wounds."

The Tigress sighed. "It's just...tiring, Kali. We've tried so hard to work with their system and people still reject us. Look at Menagerie, for example. We proved our capacity to govern ourselves when we carved Kuo Kuana out of the wasteland they awarded to us. We fought and won our freedom. We...we earned our damned dignity."

Menagerie's situation was certainly better than in the past years. It had taken herculean effort by her people to carve a place for them in the new continent. When the first ships landed, the site that was Kuo Kuana was overgrown with thick plants, and fierce reptile creatures stalked the jungles. They had lost much to the Great War, the Revolution, and even more to the plant and reptile monsters. She thought she had seen everything but seeing a Sea Feilong getting torn in half by a swimming reptilian thing was another.

"Hopefully time will prove you correct, Kali," Brown muttered after much silence. "You know how my fellow men are, they are all talk. Talk does not help the victims of injustice, human or faunus. I admire your husband for believing that talk would win faunus equality. There was very much a time that I thought that justice could be done with talk. However, the faunus earned their freedom with blood. I am now quite certain that injustice cannot be purged away from the kingdoms but with blood."

At that, the car settled into a silence. Sienna listened, and listened well. That was...disconcerting, Kali had to admit.

"I...I admire your zeal, Mister Brown. But if my husband had listened to such advice, we would have went and stormed the defenceless Kingdoms after we destroyed Lagune's army," Kali replied. "And in turn, it would have inflamed humanity to organize an even bigger army to strike back with vengeance. And instead of having Menagerie and slavery abolished, we would be watching helpless as infants as slavery would grow to be an even bigger monster."

Kali shook her head. "No, Mister Brown. I thank very much that cooler heads prevailed. We have won our freedom. Now, we must win the peace. But never, ever, at broadsword. That time is over."

"I pray to the God of Light, that such a time will never come again." Brown replied tersely. Kali would never run out of praises for Brown. Despite being human, he fought with a fire of righteousness, as if his own soul was pierced by slavery. John Brown's zeal in the cause of justice was infinitely superior compared to his fellow men. Their spirits were taper light; his was as the burning sun. They could live for the oppresed.; John Brown could die for them.

"Changing the subject, Kali," Sienna coughed. "Is this outing finished? I am needed in Solitas."

"It is," Kali nodded, her mind thinking of what Sienna was talking about. Then, she remembered. "Oh yes! Some miners were worried about conditions there. Which mine was it, again?"

The tigress shrugged. "The miners call it The God of Darkness's asshole. The SDC calls it Courrières."

A/N: Fully brought to speed with the QQ and SB versions.

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