All Hail the Red King VIII

"Well, I can't say our trip wasn't an eventful one. Still though…"

"I hope our next trip will be a little quieter, Willow."

The Schnee family made it back to the manor, and they were only expecting Klein or any staff members to open the door.

Unexpectedly, General Ironwood opened it in their stead. "Ansem, Willow, welcome home."

"General Ironwood?" Willow blinked. "I knew you and the Ace-Ops would be stopping by in our absence, but I wasn't expecting a personal welcome home."

"And the company with you." Ansem noted, seeing Robyn Hill waiting inside by the door.

He also noted that both Ironwood and Robyn looked rather anxious.

"I heard about what happened in Vale." Ironwood stated. "Along with the events at the Vanille estate and thought I should be here to ask for a personal statement if that was all right. Of course, I also wanted to ensure you were all fine."

"Oh, we're all fine. We weren't in the middle of that mess for the most part." Ansem replied, seeing Klein coming down the stairs. "Klein, would you help Weiss and Whitely with their luggage, please?"

"Of course, sir." Klein nodded, smiling as he greeted Weiss and Whitely warmly and they returned his greetings with equal happiness.

Meanwhile, Ansem and Willow led Ironwood and Robyn to a corner of the Schnee mansion's main lobby.

"It seemed that Jimmy and Carmine Vanille were involved in some rather shady dealings." Ansem began once they were out of earshot.

"That is rather simplifying things, Ansem. One man, on the council of Vale running an illegal Dust trade through the kingdom that supplied most of the criminal underworld and the other one a confirmed spy for the most dangerous crime syndicate in Mistral." Ironwood noted. "Then there was the fact they were trying to establish a gang war between two kingdoms. And this was all thwarted simply because they mistreated their own daughter?"

"Now you are simplifying things, General but that is also accurate." Willow stated. "I was present in the courtroom when the girl faced her parents. To say there was bad blood would be a gross understatement."

"At the very least their plans were stopped, the crime lords in Vale lost the Dust trade and are locked up with the Spiders…At the very least their leaders will be using a lot of money to post bail. Luckily only the higher ups will be able to do so, leaving the streets of Vale and Mistral clean for a few months." Ironwood sighed.

It was twisted yet brilliant and their scheme would worked if they hadn't been so petty and desperate, especially after what they almost did to their own daughter, followed by DiZ informing everyone, and that preppy school getting destroyed by the Gullwings who had also infiltrated and it exposed the full truth of how the school had been turning the students into spies to gather information and assassinate targets that would become problems and loose ends. Luckily, it was all in vain when Vanille's plans fell into ruins because they mistreated their own daughter. They would have been sentenced to more than 50 years in prison, except somehow, the husband did something very foolish that got him and his wife killed in the process. It was a gruesome fate for those two, being defeated not only by Willow but also by their own daughter.

"I imagine if they actually succeeded in their plans to partner with the SDC, they would have attempted to gain access to the information on your Limit Break Theory, Ansem." Ironwood noted.

"I suspect that was part of their plan." Ansem nodded in agreement.

The leader of that gang, Malachite, must have gotten wind of the Limit Break Theory and had hoped to power up her gang, those who follow her and try to sell the information on the black market. This is not a very good idea it may lead to rival gangs and creating new gangs to an all-out underground war.

Those criminal groups do not care who gets caught in the crossfire, even if they are innocent bystanders.

Before anything else could be said, Klein rushed down the stairs towards them. "Apologies for interrupting, everyone."

"Klein, are you all right?" Willow asked, noticing the head butler was breathing heavily, and he had run fast to reach them.

And the look on his face made them think it must be an emergency.

"I am fine, Lady Willow. It's the Ace-Ops. I'm afraid they are in trouble right now." Klein answered upon catching his breath.

"Trouble?" Ansem and Willow asked.

"That's something else we wanted to talk to you about." Robyn stated.

"The Ace-Ops continued their training since you had been gone for the last week. They were continuing the drills you had set up, Master Ansem to further evolve their Semblances and gain a Limit Break when someone volunteered to help." Klein began explaining.

"Who volunteered?" Ansem asked, now following the head butler.

"It was Sir Nicholas, Master Ansem." Klein answered.

"My father?" Willow blinked.

Klein led them into the living room that now looked like a miniature hospital. Ansem and Willow were shocked and Ironwood and Robyn still could not believe it with their own eyes. The Happy Huntresses were trying to nurse the bruised-up and greatly exhausted Ace Ops.

"What happened to them?" Ansem blinked, noting the numerous but light bruises on the Ace-Ops as well as their torn uniforms.

Ansem had made sure that the program could never done something in this overdramatic state with the group.

"This would be the result of sparring with Sir Nicholas." Klein explained with an exhausted face of his own. "It began with individual sparring, but Sir Nicholas was disappointed in their performances, so he challenged them all as a group. Despite their hard efforts they still stood no chance against him."

Willow facepalmed. "Of course he did."

She knew that her father volunteered to help the rest of the Ace-Ops acquire Limit Breaks, but she was still quite suspicious.

"I should have suspected this. Father is always trying to prove that he still has it, and he always has been. But he didn't have to go overboard not only toward himself but toward those who are the defenders of the kingdom." Willow sighed.

"I suppose it can't be helped. He's always been like this." Ansem chuckled weakly. "Even since he was a wee lad, from working in the mines and fighting off Grimm, he strove to become the strongest."

"Especially after meeting my mother." Willow rolled her eyes. "Then he trained day and night to become as strong as her after she regularly bested him in sparring. The man just wouldn't stop…It's times like these I'm amazed he ever convinced her to marry him."

And then came the laugh as the man himself appeared on the stairs of the lobby. "Willow, my dear child! You have returned! And you brought my adorable grandchildren home safe and sound!"

Willow spared her father no glance as she simply rubbed her head, feeling a headache coming. 'Mother, give me strength.'

She remembered her mother looking like she was feeling right now from time to time, while Willow as a little girl just laughed at her father's antics.

How the times had changed.

Fiona Thyme still couldn't believe what she had seen.

Like the Ace-Ops, she and the other Happy Huntresses had been invited to the Schnee Mansion to train and unlock a Limit Break much like the one that Ace-Op member Harriet Bree had gained and the possible one that General Ironwood had gained. It had been tricky since Ansem's theory of gaining a Limit Break was centered around the idea of a Semblance pushing against the limits in a situation that forces an evolution. From what Fiona had heard, Bree had absorbed a large amount of electricity that her own Semblance had produced, supercharging her own body that allowed her to literally break the previous limits of her Semblance.

Hence the words: Limit Break.

While the rest of the Schnee family had been away in Vale, the Ace-Ops and the Happy Huntresses had been left to train with none other than Sir Nicholas Schnee who gave a real good show for the Ace operatives by being their opponent. The Happy Huntresses were not excluded from the training either and they quickly realized why Nicholas was so renowned even in his old age.

'Good googly moogly. Despite Nicholas's age, he really knows how to bring the pain.' She thought, rubbing her shoulder. 'I know you respect your elders, but Nicholas takes the cake. He still fights like in his prime.'

Fiona was still rubbing the sore spots on her back. Not only did she feel the pain but she kind of felt a blow to her pride much like Harriet who despite her limit break upgrade, was no match against Nicholas, even in the last few dozen rematches. Nicholas literally crushed her in each match and left her stunned from how easily she had been defeated. Fiona had to admit to herself, it was just amazing to see one of the greatest Huntsmen of his time and the man to start the Schnee Dust Company as he stared down his opponents.

Unless it was her as she and her friends had been paralyzed when he gave them that ice cold look…

He truly was the Knight King of Mantle.

Fiona continued strolling along, wearing casual clothing instead of her usual Huntress outfit. Training time was over, and she just wanted to relax so she wandered off into the Schnee Gardens, not sure where she was going. She felt slightly exhausted from all the training. After graduating from Atlas Academy, she thought she had been ready, but this new training made her school years feel like a simple playground brawl.

Shaking her head, Fiona decided to focus on the Garden and honestly she wondered if she was dreaming or even inside a fairy tale. The Schnee Garden looked absolutely radiant in the morning, but during the night hours the gardens literally became a whole different world that has been glowing at night. Even some of the structures in parts of the garden begin to light up at certain times.

No matter how many times she walked through this garden, it still felt like she was waking up in a dream realm. Except somehow, with every part of the garden, she cannot help but wonder if the structure and landscape of this garden were almost exactly like one of the fairy tales she knew long ago: The Girl Who Fell Through the World. She always admired most of the characters within that fairy tale, including the Rusted Knight and the Red Huntress along with the other characters.

But one of them, her personal favorite, was none other than the Blue Queen.

She cannot always help but think that this garden resembles this fairy tale, specifically. The layout and the locations. It was almost like she was in a miniature version of the fairy tale. She didn't know it, but the whole area was mapped out that way. Almost as if she was literally within the fairy tale itself that was never a fantasy to begin with.

She continued exploring the gardens but came to stop when she came upon a large, beautiful fountain with four unicorn statues in different poses surrounding the fountain. The moon shined down on the fountain, casting an ethereal glow that lit up the garden, the same glow Fiona had seen from rest of the garden.

Fiona gasped at the sight before her. "The Unicorn Fountain?!"

Just like in the story, the favorite location of the Blue Queen. And to top it off, a woman sitting before the fountain, her feet touching the water. Fiona noticed the woman was wearing a very beautiful blue dress that glimmered from the moon light shining down on her. Fiona tried to rub her eyes every time she saw the woman, thinking she was seeing the Blue Queen herself.

She begins to shake her head and try to pinch herself again, convinced that she must be hallucinating. The woman turned around and stood up, facing Fiona, her features slightly obscured by the light shining down on her.

"Your majesty…I mean, the Blue Queen…is that you?" Fiona finally asked.

"You flatter me, young lady, but I'm not the Blue Queen. It's me, Willow." The woman answered, stepping out of the water and her features became clear, showing it was indeed Willow Schnee.

She found it quite amusing that the Happy Huntress mistook her for a fairy tale character. Except she still doesn't like to be called a queen. She behaves dignifying and possesses good moral character. The present time of royalty was no longer needed since they were just figureheads these days.

"Oh, oh, oh, so sorry about that. I'm guessing you must have come for a little stroll as well." Fiona spoke sheepishly, feeling embarrassed of her actions toward the Schnee matriarch.

"It is quite all right. I know you were just caught up in the moment. My mother's garden always seems to bring out the fantasy in everyone. And you're not the only one who has mistaken me for the Blue Queen." Willow replied with an amused smile. "My own children did the exact same thing when they were little. In fact, when I was a little girl, I did the exact same thing, mistaking my mother for that character, too."

Fiona slightly giggled, hearing Willow's story of her and her family having that exact same misconception.

"By the way, did your mother always tell you the story about this garden?" Fiona spoke curiously toward Willow.

"Long before I was born, when my father finally convinced my mother to go out with him, the Schnee Mansion would be built thanks to their exploits across Remnant and building the SDC. After they were married, my mother became pregnant with me, and she wasn't able to go on any missions or any dangerous areas while I was yet to be born. She enjoyed crafting, but she wanted to do something a little bit more physical, too. Soon enough, she developed a hobby of gardening and set up her own personal area. " Willow explained, smiling at the memories of spending time in this garden with her mother as a child. " Over time, she thought of certain places in areas, but over time, it became similar to a fairy tale. Throughout that time, my mother continued to remember certain places and areas that she had believed she went too long ago. She used to think they were simply dreams but she became convinced they more like forgotten memories."

Fiona watched as Willow turned around, staring at the fountain that resembled the one from the fairy tale…

"So, this is the marketplace."

"Yup. It looks exactly the same as before."

"You mean before you ransacked the place with Jabberwalkers?"

"Before anyone showed up in general, Freckles."

The market in question was located in the Garden's Acre which had many floral mushrooms and glowing flora. This acre also contains many massive trees inside of it. The Garden's Acre contained some kind of grass or moss at the floor. Towards the center of the Garden's Acre was the Garden which was named after the very acre it was in.

This garden has many Afterans found within, such as the Hawker who sells mud cookies, a 'Teapot Lady' offering a variety of goods, and even some Afterans from other acres. The group arrived on a giant lily pad that had taken them through the lake that surrounded the Garden.

"Anyway, the disguises seem to be working just fine."

"I got to admit, Neo. This is an awesome disguise." Ven said, looking at his new appearance.

Since they were now wanted fugitives, the Keyblade Wielders realized they needed to disguise themselves, except for the Gullwings who fit right in and hadn't caused any trouble.

That was where Neopolitan's own Semblance came in.

Terra resembled an anthropomorphic warrior lion with blue eyes, much like he did when he was still human while his armor remained the same. Ven's appearance matched his blonde hair and his arms and legs similar to Terra's, covered in green and gold armor.

Oscar had the same alteration to his body as a lion, his mane matching his hair color while his fur matched his skin color. Oscar more than once had looked at his reflection in the water, seeing he still had his hazel eyes in this new appearance. He even checked his face and the muzzle of a lion's mouth, even taking his teeth and mouth.

It all felt so real.

He could even feel the fur and his claws, especially when he opened and closed his mouth. It felt just like a real lion's appearance. Even Terra noticed something about his disguise. When he became a living suit of armor, he no longer had any senses and could no longer eat or breathe.

However, in this form that Neo created for him, he was able to feel, and smell, and he picked up one of the pieces of potato chips of an appetizer placed on the table and picked it up and tasted it. He can taste the crunchiness, tenderness, and salt within the potato chip. Terra began to realize Neo's power must have gotten stronger not only after Aqua's journey in the realm of darkness but when she was forcefully transformed into that creature under the Red King's control, it meant her semblance had gotten some sort of evolution that she was not even aware of.

Lastly Neo had transformed herself into a feline but not as a lion. She was more like a duchess cat with white fur and ears and tail. Somehow, it allowed her to be more uniquely styled, and she wore a long white Valian (Victorian) dress with prink frills and a white bonnet over her head with pink frills..

"Hey, why don't you turn yourself into a lion-like us? You would have been a good lioness in our group." Ven pointed out, noticing how different Neo looked.

She looked more like a girl/cat of nobility than a warrior.

"You're right about that but I chose this appearance to make me look like some sort of important person of nobility. That you guys are like fierce lions makes it perfect for you guys to pretend as guards to me that I hired. We don't know what will happen here so it's best to come prepared." Neo explained as they stepped off the lily pad.

"Honestly, she has a good point." Everyone turned their attention towards Oscar. "Because some of the people here are dressed in high class and the others are of different status. If I recall, Neo is capable of being a high-class lady while the rest of us don't know how to be noble gentlemen."

"She was able to create imitations of high-class furniture, tables, and chairs. Not only that, she was able to create an elegant teacup, and how she was able to drink it was almost exactly what nobility would do with fine manners." Terra remembered the fine etiquette during his talk with Neo. "If we are like guards to a noble figure, we should attract less suspicion, and we would be able to find things much easier, not only by getting supplies but make it easier to get information while searching for within the marketplace."

"That is the idea. And you catch on fast Bronzy. Not only you're a capable fighter You're also a very great strategist for finding all possible outcomes." Neo complimented Terra on easily figuring out her plan.

"Well now. Not only did you think this through, but you thought this far ahead, too. You're very creative not only altering one's appearance but especially the proper plan needed to achieve what needed to be done." Paine said affirmingly, her and the other Gullwings hovering around Neo's head. "I'm starting to like you more and more."

"Me too," Yuna agreed.

"Goes double for me" Rikku pitched into the conversation.

The Gullwings seemed to like Neo's character moment by moment.

"Okay, just how long will these disguises last, Neo?" Terra asked. "And will they fall apart if we're too far from you?"

Neo shrugged. "They're probably fine."

"Probably?"

"I know my Semblance evolved enough that I could make clones more realistic than anything before I fell here but I never disguised anyone or anything and let them wander around here." Neo explained. "Take a few steps away and see if it holds up."

Now Terra and Oscar felt less confident about their disguises, but Ven seemed to roll with it as he walked several feet away and his disguise did not fade away.

"Seems to work." Ven shrugged.

"See, nothing to worry about." Neo smiled. "So, Banana Head is around here somewhere huh?"

"Banana Head?" Ven looked confused now. "I thought his name was Jaune."

"It is. Just ignore her." Oscar sighed as he walked past Ven. "She likes to give out silly nicknames like that."

"Like you weren't thinking the same thing when you saw that hair style, Freckles." Neo retorted, calling after the farm boy. "I know everyone who saw it was thinking that."

Oscar sighed as he chose to ignore Neo and looked around the place. Meanwhile, Neo and the Gullwings decided to find out if there was any kind of treasure they could…buy, leaving Terra and Ven to search on their own.

"So, what this Jaune guy look like?" Ven asked, looking around and see the many stands and tables with unique items.

"Supposedly he'll be dressed as a knight in rusted armor. Hence why he's called the Rusted Knight." Terra replied.

"You mean like that?" Ven pointed forward.

Up ahead was someone at a fruit stand. Judging by the armor, it was obviously male, between Ven and Terra's height. He wore chest and shoulder armor that were bronze colored over a dark blue tunic with black pants. He wore bronze armored knee pads and gauntlets with a shield attached to one arm and a sword sheathed on his back.

"Is that him?" Ven asked.

"I think so." Terra said but didn't sound sure.

"What do you mean? You've met him, right?"

"Actually no. I met the other girls who were stuck in the Ever After, but I never met this Jaune." Terra shrugged.

"Well, one way to find out." Ven stepped forward. "Excuse me, are you Jaune Arc?"

The man turned around, revealing himself to be a young man, around eighteen years old with blond hair and…green eyes.

He looked surprised to see them. "…How do you know my dad's name?"

Ven blinked. "Your dad?"

"Wait a minute. That armor…" The young man stared at Terra, seeing a lion's face but recognized the armor. "You're…Terra, aren't you?"

Terra 'blinked'. "Yes…Yes, I am. How do you know my name?"

"My parents told me all about you."

"Your parents?"

"Treasure my wings. They are selling nothing but junk."

Yuna was pouting, her arms crossed as she sat on Neo's shoulder while looking around the market for anything good.

Only they hadn't found anything that would be considered treasure.

"Maybe we'll find something, Yuna. This market's a big place." Rikku commented, her and Paine sitting on Neo's other shoulder.

"But all they are selling is worthless junk." Yuna groaned.

"From what I remember, the stuff being sold at the Garden was always something of emotional and sentimental value." Neo remarked, remembering what she had read as a child.

"That's even worse." Yuna complained. "It's one thing to have a treasure that no one else but if it doesn't a kind of value that everyone shares, it's not treasure at all."

"True, not much to take." Neo smiled. "Now I'm liking the way you fairies think. Too bad you didn't show up on Remnant. I think we could have all sorts of fun."

"Know any places with lots of treasure?" Yuna asked.

"I know of a few places. Roman was always the one to come up with the plans and he was the actual visionary. I only went along with them because I got to have fun." Neo answered with a nostalgic smile on her face.

"Sounds like you two were a pair." Paine commented.

"Not the kind of pair you might be thinking. He was my best and only friend and the only one to ever treat me like…Like there was nothing wrong with me. Everyone else, my parents had a problem with me, whether it was my eye color or colors, my inability to speak at the time or my Semblance." Neo sighed and closed her eyes. "Roman…He never talked down to me for any of that. In fact, he encouraged and praised me, said my Semblance was a gift that other people should be jealous of."

"Your parents hated you?" Rikku asked, unable to believe such a thing.

"Not sure if hate is a strong word or not…They claimed they loved me but hated everything I ever did and hated everything about me. They couldn't accept my vocal cords were damaged or faulty even though I doubt I ever even made so much as a loud whimper as a baby and forced me to wear a contact lens over my pink eye." Neo pointed to said eye. "And no matter how much they think they loved me, once they shipped me off to a boarding school, they never made any effort to contact me and acted like they never had a daughter."

"That's horrible!" Yuna gasped.

"Yup." Neo simply said, walking past another table. "It's no wonder I never thought of them in years. The irony is, they probably would have had everything they ever wanted if they had treated me right. Of course, that would imply they had actual brains."

Even after all this time, Neo still felt bitter towards her parents for how they had raised and treated her.

"I wonder how Ruby and the others would feel if they were here." Oscar mused as he looked around. "In fact, I wonder why she, or rather Penny didn't travel back in time with us."

That had been on his mind ever since they had come to this point in time.

Did they travel back with them?

Or did something stop Penny from being affected by the Stopwatch Fruit?

Given Penny's connection with the Great Tree, perhaps she couldn't travel back in time, but wouldn't she have known that?

"Oscar!" Blinking at the sound of Ven calling his name, Oscar turned around to see him along with Terra and…

"Jaune?" Oscar blinked.

No, wait.

Jaune's eyes were blue, not green.

Not to mention he wasn't dressed like Jaune, even as the Rusted Knight.

Oscar noticed the shield attached to the boy's arm was smaller and circular…

It almost reminded Oscar of…

A round bronze shield attached to the left arm of…

Pyrrha Nikos?

Oscar shook his head, noting it was impossible even if the boy before him somehow reminded him of the Huntress he hadn't even met.

Yet, he also noted that the boy looked even younger than Jaune did when Oscar had first met him.

"You're Oscar Pines, aren't you?" The boy dressed as a knight asked.

"Yeah." Oscar slowly nodded. "Who are you and why do you look so much like Jaune?"

"Well, I guess look like him on account of him being my dad." The boy shrugged.

His…

Dad?

Did Oscar hear that right?

"Dad?" Oscar gaped.

"Yup, he's my dad." The boy smiled. "I'm Jaune Junior but you can call me J.J. for short."