What Lies Within II

"Blood Fang?" Blake looked at Penny. "They're not called the White Fang?"

"They were but thankfully another change was the White Fang had split into two factions. One carries the group's original idea towards peace while the other still bears their grudge, going by the name Blood Fang." Penny answered. "This splinter faction is led by Sienna Kahn with Adam Taurus as her lieutenant."

Blake looked back, saddened to see Ilia fighting with them but this was likely back before she renounced the violence. Meanwhile Weiss was taking a close look at her mother's fighting style, watching as she easily dodged any attack and fought back with grace and agility and found something familiar about this fighting style.

Like she had seen it before.

"Penny..." Ruby looked at her friend with a conflicted expression.

When she turned to face her best friend, the Fall Maiden continued. "Are you... really a god?"

There it was the question that had plagued RWBY and Jaune since all of this.

After what felt like an eternity, Penny giggled. "Of course, I'm not! I mean, I could be classified as 'god-like' if you wish to be technical, but that doesn't make me an actual god! I'd have to apotheosis."

"... A what?"

"The process in which a non-divine being transcends its physical form to become a divine being, growing and expanding itself to become one with existence itself." Penny furrowed her brow. "Though oddly enough, it tends to happen to those who don't desire godhood before having it trusted upon them."

The five were silent as they watched window showing the outside world through Penny's eyes.

Weiss continued looking at the image of her mother, no longer the drunken recluse she was before. The way she stood tall and proud and she even looked younger than she actually was, given the likely time this battle was taking place.

Then it hit her. "Aqua."

Her friends looked at her while Ruby voiced her concern. "Weiss?"

"My mother's fighting style…It resembles Aqua." Weiss spoke up. "I remember the way she fought against us. It mirrors the same style my mother is using now…Aqua must have taught her."

Penny smiled as Weiss looked at her.

"What happened to my mother? How did she change so much from before? Did she stop my father from inheriting the company?"

"Correction, Jacques Gele is not the man your mother would marry in this timeline." Penny answered.

That threw Weiss for a loop. "…What?"

"Jacques Gele does not become the leader of the Schnee Dust Company in this timeline due to many alterations in the past." Penny said proudly.

"…Then who does?" Weiss asked.

Penny waved her hand and conjured an image of the familiar portrait of the Schnee family that Weiss knew all too well but Weiss immediately noticed a difference.

For one, they were all happy.

Only Whitely had smiled in the original portrait.

And two, the man that took Jacques' place was the other man she had seen in the Ever After when Aqua and Neo returned. He even wore the same dark coat that Neo wore.

"This man…His name is Ansem the Wise." Penny spoke. "Originally not from Remnant, Ansem was actually the ruler of his own world."

"A ruler?" Weiss glanced at Penny. "Of an entire world?"

"Or at least as much of a world that the kingdom he lived covered. The name of this world is Radiant Garden, the City of Light." Penny answered and conjured images of Radiant Garden around the group for them to see. "Aqua showed me when she asked for Ansem to be saved from his wounds."

Weiss looked around and saw a peaceful kingdom, compared to all the other kingdoms. "This man marries my mother?"

"Ansem was reincarnated into Remnant, somewhat similar to Ozma but rather than his soul being merged with someone else's Ansem was born to a random couple chosen by…The Gods." Penny dispelled the images.

Ruby looked at Penny. "The Gods?"

"They saved Ansem and several more on Aqua's behalf." Penny answered. "Ansem would grow up in Mantle during the time of Nicholas Schnee but the knowledge and wisdom he had in his past life as the Sage King of Radiant Garden remained with him and slowly returned. He eventually gained the attention of Nicholas Schnee and eventually became the new head of the SDC, taking it in a much better direction than under Jacques Gele."

Weiss looked at the man that replaced Jacques, seeing he was much different.

She can't believe she thought this, but he actually looked much more handsome than Jacques ever could and he carried an air of deep wisdom.

Hell, he even stood tall and proud like an actual king.

"So, Weiss' mom gets together with a literal king…" Yang trailed off and smiled at Weiss. "Gee and I thought you couldn't be any more of a princess than you are now."

"Quiet you!" Weiss snapped and then looked at Penny. "Does he…Does he treat us better?"

Penny nodded. "Infinitely better. Look at the portrait, Weiss."

Weiss looked again and saw herself along with her sister and brother looking much happier and her mother…

She hadn't seen her smile that much in so long.

"Under Ansem's guidance, the Schnee Dust Company would not just continue distributing Dust but would also expand into other areas, creating subsidiaries such as Schnee Medical Research, Schnee Research and Development, Schnee Charities, Schnee Cosmetics, Schnee Gardens and even Schnee Motors." Penny listed. "Ultimately the Schnee Company becomes even an even greater and successful company."

Weiss was flabbergasted to say the least.

She had become a Huntress with dreams of redeeming the Schnee name but had put those wishes aside to focus on saving Remnant from Salem. When she learned Remnant had been destroyed she had lost all hope and simply tried to drown herself in her sorrow like her mother had done with her…first marriage.

And now, because of these alterations to Remnant's history she now learned the Schnee name retained its honor but the company was even richer!?

"I need to sit down." Weiss stumbled back and Penny quickly conjured a chair for her to all on to.

"So you're saying Weiss is even richer than before?" Yang asked slowly.

"And it's not built on the backs of people who are abused to ensure complete control of the Dust monopoly?" Blake quickly asked.

"Well, given the success of the company yes, the Schnee family is actually much richer." Penny's smile faded slightly. "Unfortunately Jacques Gele did some damage before he was rejected."

Weiss looked up at her. "What?"

"Both Ansem and Jacques were candidates for possible successors when Nicholas Schnee considered stepping down. Ansem had given him great advice on how to direct the company which he liked but Jacques also had advice on maximizing profit." Penny began.

"Of course he would." Weiss rolled her eyes.

"To that end, Nicholas Schnee decided to test them both by giving them a month to find a way to improve function in the Schnee Dust Company. Jacques Gele was given full control of the Dust mines in Solitas while Ansem surprisingly asked to take control of SDC operations in Vacuo." Penny continued.

"Vacuo?" The other three girls asked at once.

"Yes." Penny nodded.

"Why go to Vacuo?" Weiss asked. "Sure, the SDC had factories around that time but the land would have mostly been stripped clean by now."

"True but there was still Dust to be found and Ansem saw an opportunity to perhaps heal the rifts in between Vacuo and the other kingdoms. You are aware that the people of Vacuo have resented the other kingdoms for plundering their lands, correct?" Penny questioned.

"Yes." Weiss shifted uncomfortably.

"Ansem met with many tribe leaders, offering to help make reparations to them for loss of their land exchange for allowing them help him find more Dust." Penny continued.

"Reparations? What could he have offered them?" Weiss asked skeptically.

"Ice." Penny answered simply.

"Ice?" Weiss echoed in confusion.

"It's no secret that ice was abundant in Solitas and with Vacuo being a desert region, water was in high need. Ansem managed to bring a large amount of ice with him and offered to trade with the promise the SDC would send more ice and thus plenty of water their way in exchange for at least hearing out his proposal." Penny explained.

"That's…That's…" Weiss stuttered slightly with wide eyes. "Actually smart."

"It is?" Ruby asked.

"You would need a lot of water in Vacuo." Blake commented.

"If they accepted his proposals Ansem not only promised to ship them ice and water from Solitas but even soil and plants from Mistral and Vale and best part of it is that it's all cheap compared to transporting Dust. It's barely an effort to find and excavate ice and easier to transport and plants and soil brought in they would be able to regrow their oasis's that was lost when the land was strip mined." Penny continued. "Thus the SDC would continue to mine Dust but Vacuo could begin to regain what it lost."

"That's…." Weiss trailed off, amazed by what she had heard. "And my grandfather supported it?"

"Do you believe he wouldn't?" Penny asked.

It took Weiss a few seconds to answer. "Yes, yes he would. He always tried to bring people together…What did Jacques have to say?"

Penny's smiled faded. "…In his test he did the same practices in the Atlas mines as he did when he took over but bribed any inspectors to not report what had happened in the mines back to Nicholas."

"Of course he would." Both Weiss and Blake muttered in contempt.

"I'm sorry to say the abuse on the workers was as bad as before and Jacques used his Gele connections to silence anyone who spoke out against him while cutting the funding for safety equipment." Penny continued. "Including branding the workers."

Blake clenched a fist.

"However, Jacques took things further because he considered Ansem a threat to his future plans. Working with someone else who had a grudge against him, Jacques tried to have Ansem killed." Penny continued, surprising the five.

"Seriously?" Jaune gaped.

"Why am I not surprised?" Weiss muttered.

"He really was that petty huh?" Yang crossed her arms.

"Affirmative." Penny nodded. "A bomb was smuggled onto the ship meant to carry Ansem back at the end of the month and it exploded in mid-air, meant to make sure no evidence was left behind. This was also done because Ansem and Willow in this timeline had become very good and close friends, enough that Jacques was threatened by it."

"So he wanted to eliminate the competition." Weiss shook her head bitterly. "And he failed."

"Ansem's knowledge and memories had long since returned by that point along with abilities he had even when we first met him in the Ever After but he was not a front line fighter. He had anticipated Jacques' attempt to kill him and had him under surveillance when he was supervising the Atlas mines. When the month ended, Jacques returned to the Schnee mansion believing Ansem was dead and he could show Nicholas that he greatly increased profit for the company." Penny's smile returned. "Only to discover Ansem was alive and had already arrived, presenting his report on his work in Vacuo to Willow and Nicholas. Ansem had convinced the nomad tribes in Vacuo and even Shade Academy to consider his proposal to work with the SDC in exchange for the SDC providing them ice, water, plants and soil to begin repairing Vacuo. Jacques protested, trying to convince Nicholas such a practice would bankrupt the company but Ansem showed his own statistics that proved the SDC would not only profit more from this agreement but also help gain the trust of Vacuo back and Nicholas agreed. And then, Ansem brought forth the evidence of what Jacques had been doing in the Atlas mines that horrified Nicholas and Willow."

"So what did they do?" Weiss asked curiously.

"Nicholas formally fired Jacques from the SDC and banished him from the Schnee property. He also released the evidence of Jacques' activities to the public which led to the majority of Atlas and Mantle turning on him. I am sure you know how Atlesians react to scandals." Penny stated happily.

"They quickly wash their hands of anyone connected." Weiss immediately said. "…So he was thrown into the streets?"

"Mostly. He was forced to flee from Atlas and took refuge with another Dust company primarily based in Mistral: the Diamond Dust Company." Penny answered.

"I've heard of them. Not as big as the SDC but they were one of Jacques'…questionable business partners." Weiss recalled and frowned. "Jacques even tried to set me up with the son of the CEO of that company."

"So Jacques still has power." Blake muttered.

"Not nearly as much as he would have as the head of the SDC and his grudge towards Ansem has only grown since he watched the SDC grow and flourish under Ansem. Everything Jacques believed in was exact opposite of what Ansem did and he hates him for that and hates him even more for the fact that Ansem had the idea to expand the company and earned even more profit through the subsidiary companies that were set up." Penny replied happily. "It reached a point that Jacques would do anything to exact vengeance, even hiring people to commit corporate espionage and spy on Ansem, trying to find something that could ruin him."

"I'm guess it hasn't worked out." Yang commented with a small smile.

"Jacques' own treatment of Diamond Dust employees mirrors what he did with the SDC, only now he loses support at a very fast rate, especially Faunus workers who quit and want to work for the SDC because they are neglected. Jacques retains control but with so many workers leaving him his company is not even a shadow of the SDC, with so many workers leaving. Even the employers he hires to spy on Ansem and the SDC turn on him and go to work for Ansem instead." Penny continued. "This caused the Diamond Dust Company to decline to the point Jacques can barely keep it afloat."

"Good." Blake smiled. "I can settle for that."

"Me too." Weiss agreed as she stood up. "So, Ansem became my father this time around?"

"He did." Penny nodded.

Weiss found herself unsure what to think of that.

On the one hand, Jacques Schnee or rather Jacques Gele was a horrible excuse of a human being. He took the Schnee name for himself, made her mother miserable by telling her he only married her for her name and money, abused her and her siblings for the sake of his own petty greed and disowned her and Winter when they wouldn't be his perfect little angels. And that was before he teamed up with Watts just to win a seat on the council and helped doom Atlas and Mantle when Salem arrived. Given Cinder's attack on them it was likely he was killed when Atlas crashed into Mantle but she found herself unable to even remotely care about him.

Why should she when he never cared about his so-called family at all?

And on the other hand, she barely knew this Ansem outside of what Penny has told her. A man from another world, hailed as kind ruler who took the Schnee name to levels beyond anything Jacques could have done.

It almost sounded too good to be true.

Maybe it was the pessimist in her but she wasn't sure about this Ansem…even though technically this happening in a new timeline that she wasn't a part of.

Yet anyways.

"You are worried." Weiss looked up and saw Penny staring at her with an understanding smile. "It's natural to be wary, given all that is happened. Perhaps there is a way to learn more about Ansem's aside from me showing you."

"How is that?" Weiss asked curiously.

"Well, I know what I know about Ansem from what Aqua and Terra told me but unfortunately I cannot see outside of the realms created by the Brother Gods, Izanagi and Erebus." Penny answered.

"Those are their names?" Ruby asked in a surprised tone.

"Well, actually Aqua was the one who named them but they accepted these names after growing to respect her." Penny answered as she glanced at Ruby and then looked back at Weiss. "The only way to perhaps understand more about him would be to seek information from those who have met him."

"Terra and Aqua." Blake surmised.

"And one other, though I doubt you would be happy to ask." Penny stated. "Neopolitan."

Everyone stiffened at that with Yang and Blake scowling the most.

"I know how you see her but remember, Neo went with Aqua into the Realm of Darkness to help restore Remnant and then surprisingly not only did they come back with Ansem but Neo had her own Keyblade and she could talk despite the fact that she was born with faulty vocal cords." Penny explained her reasons. "That suggests that a lot more happened in the Realm of Darkness than we thought."

"Faulty vocal cords?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. Neopolitan has been mute since the day she was born." Penny nodded. "And there is another reason to speak with her. All though, we have begun to see improvements due in Remnant's history, I fear Salem is no longer Remnant's greatest threat."

With a wave of her hand, a new image appeared before RWBY and Jaune. The image was that of an old man slightly hunched over and was bald with a curled silver goatee and golden yellow eyes. His attire consisted of a dark coat with white lines and a black outer lining and red inner lining and white gloves covering his hands over a white button up shirt, dark pants with two thin black belts and calf high boots. He had a dark smile on his face and though he appeared as a frail old man…there was a dark presence about him.

One that was even stronger than Salem!

"Penny, who is this man?" Ruby asked with a wary face.

"His name is Xehanort." Penny answered with a stoic look on her face. "…and from what I have been able to see, he will be an even greater danger than Salem."

This caused RWBY and Jaune to freeze, their hearts almost stopping at the idea of someone being even more dangerous than Salem.

For what were likely eons, Salem had walked the surface of Remnant. A force of nature with the power to control the Grimm and one of last beings who had access the power of magic aside with only Ozpin being able to rival her and even then he was only able to hold her back by relying on his wits, skills and the help of people he had recruited. With the Grimm on her side, her immortality, her powers and her ability to manipulate anyone so easily, Salem was without a doubt the greatest threat to walk the face of Remnant.

What could Huntsmen and Huntresses do against a threat like that?

Even veterans like Professor Lionheart and Raven Branwen chose to either flee or serve her in the mistaken believe they would be spared.

And now there could be someone more dangerous than even her?

"From what I understand, Xehanort wields a Keyblade like Terra, Aqua and Neo do. Only he is much more experienced than all three of them." Penny dispelled the Xehanort image. "And if I cannot see outside of any realm connected to the Brothers I can only see him if he is on Remnant. That is another reason for me to question Neopolitan about what happened in the Realm of Darkness."

Everyone took a moment to digest what Penny had told them before Yang stepped forward with an intense look on her face. "So, not only can you see all these timelines but you can see also see the past of everyone?"

"Yes. I can gaze into anyone's history by simply thinking of them." Penny answered with a curious look on her face. "Why do you ask?"

"Because…I want you to show us Neo's history." Yang answered, surprising everyone. "I thought that girl was a psycho but she had to have been special for Aqua to actually give her of all people a Keyblade."

The rest of Team RWBY and Jaune shared a glance, surprisingly agreeing with Yang.

They knew Neopolitan was a criminal and a vicious one at that.

They only knew her as that and that she had been surprisingly devoted to Roman Torchwick, going as far as trying to avenge his death after Beacon fell. She was skilled, determined and seemingly always knew how to win almost every fight she had been in.

She had tossed Yang around on the train in Mount Glenn embarrassingly easy.

She had Ruby on the edge, literally in both fights and even took her and Blake on at the same time with little apparent effort.

Even now they knew very little about her, even though she could now speak.

So what was it that made her worthy to wield a Keyblade?

"She hates us." Ruby spoke, earning their attention. "She hates people like us because in her eyes we're not the heroes we make ourselves out to be. No one came to help her when she needed…She admitted her parents hated and abused her and that one of them was a council member. Roman was the one good thing in her life, her only friend. That is what she told me."

The rest shared a look at what Ruby had said.

"She said we are awful because we think we can save everyone but we only act when the problem affects us in some way. She said that Roman understood that not everyone could be saved…So he focused on saving her." Ruby looked down at the glass mural. "And that's why she worked so hard to avenge him. She lost the one good thing."

Everyone was quiet now.

"I could show you Neopolitan's past." Penny spoke up. "However are you sure that is what you want to know?"

…

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