The Belladonna Cycle Chapter 1- Falling Into Power, a rwby fanfic

From shadows.

A simple phrase whose meaning within the RWBYverse itself has many interpretations.

To some it's the armor that protects them from harm, to others it's the birthplace for one's fears and paranoia.

Yet for one Blake Belladonna, this one phrase had deeper meaning.

Semblance, motif, history and pain. All these things defined her, from the days of the White Fang to her eventual escape on the shores of Argus, she has used the darkness to run from the pain she caused, intentionally or unintentionally.

She was born in the shadows of humanity and she would return to this darkness once she dies, a single line of thought that was grown from the discrimination of the faunus and her own past.

To her, the choices she made would always lead to pain and suffering. Even after learning this line of thinking was false...deep in her heart, she still considered the negative outcomes to be written in stone, never to be undone.

But what if she could change the script of her own life?

What if she had the power to reclaim her destiny?

What if she could rise from the darkness of her own insecurities and, like the morning, shine upon the world as its savior?

Well, let us see if she can rise from the shadows and into the lux of hope!

The black screen began to illuminate the room a little, revealing a small dimly lit movie cinema in the process, as Blake Belladonna looked at the dark purple curtains with anticipation, seemingly interested in the film about to be shown.

Wiiish.

Yet as the curtains parted to the sides and the white viewing screen came into view...four small...chibi Blakes, each one holding onto a portion of the film projector, flinched and stood as still as statues, knowing they were just caught in the act.

"Wait, HEY!" Blake yelled in disbelief as the smaller versions of Blake turned towards her. "Put that down!"

The chibis stared at their larger alternative before looking at each other and nodded.

"SCATTER!"

WOOSH!

ZOOP!

Blake's eyes widened as the chibis quickly dashed in all directions, using their respective semblances to create even more copies of themselves, making her rather miffed as she jumped from her seat and sprinted after them. "Get back here with the projector!"

As the camera darted from location to location, trying to get a clear visual 'look' at the multiplying numbers of chibis, reaching from about ten to nearly fifty in a single minute, Blake raced around the theater like a possessed madwoman, narrowly catching the one chibi holding the projector before-

ZOOP!

It dissipated into shadows.

"Damn it!"

"Can't catch us! Can't catch us!" The chibis laughed all at once as Blake tried to use Gambol Shroud to catch multiple chibis at once, only for them to vanish into the darkness upon touching them, all the while, the projector's light was shining upon the walls and screen, a countdown of numbers flashing upon said surfaces in quick succession.

ZZISSSSS.

Ten.

Nine.

Eight.

"Get back here!" Blake yelled in anger before her ears twitched a little, causing her to turn her head towards the right as she saw one of the chibis sitting on the ground, the projector right on her lap as her four friends sat right next to her. "There you are!"

Five.

Four.

Three.

SIISH!

"Hey!" all four chibis yelled as their copies dissipated into darkness, holding on tightly upon the projector as Gambol Shroud's kusarigama blade and elastic ribbon held it around the base.

"Give the projector back!" Blake growled while tugging on the ribbon, only for the chibis to tug in the opposite direction. "This is the only time I can have me-time!"

"No!"

"Let go!"

"No!"

Two.

One.

As both sides continued to tug on the projector, the movie screen began to dim a little as flashing purple and white letters formed from the darkness along with a blaring extremely loud background theme that caused the five girls to stop what they were doing and look at each other with mixed emotions.

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!

The Belladonna Cycle

"..."

"...so." Blake said while releasing her weapon's grip on the projector and placed the blade back in her backpack. "Truce until the movie is over?"

The chibis looked at their bigger counterpart before the 'leader' chibi extended her right hand outwards and shook Blake's left hand.

"Ok. Deal."

'This is….odd.' she thought to herself as she sat back on her seat, the chibis taking the opportunity to sit on her lap as the title began to fade away. 'But hey, I heard this was a good movie so meh, why not.'

Yet as the faunus watched the beginning credits materialize on the screen, one of the chibi versions of her looked at her and smirked.

"So, can I have your Scroll? I want to see your porn collection."

"NO!" she yelled as the camera zoomed closer towards the screen and the credits themselves.

"Aw." the chibi pouted as the movie screen slowly transitioned into a black and silver book sporting a purple flower emblem along the spine, which quickly opened and revealed its contents to the world itself.

The Belladonna Cycle: Chapter Zero, Falling Into Power.

Xxxxxxx

-Remnant, Sanus, Vale, Beacon Academy, Somewhere in the Emerald Forest-

Russle.

The sound of shaking leaves and breaking branches echoed across the green forest floor as a flock of ravens flew across the canopy, the light of noon illuminating the forest floor in the process.

Russle.

Yet as the sounds of footsteps grew louder and more clearer with every second, a figure began to walk out of the bushes and into the light.

This figure, who was a tall fair skinned young woman with long wavy black hair that went to her back, amber eyes with purple cateye eyeshadow, two black cat ears, a large black bow tied ribbon on the top of her head, a D cup chest and wide ass, wearing a black buttoned vest with coattails, a single black detached sleeve over her left arm with a silver cuff around the bicep, a single silver button on the front, black ribbons on each forearm, a small loose black scarf is wrapped around her neck, a white sleeveless high necked crop undershirt, white shorts with a zipper on the front of each leg, a gray magnetic backpack on her back, blackish purple full stockings with a white flower shaped emblem on the hips, black low-heeled boots, and had a thick gray sheath-like blade with a sharp cleaver-like edge, a black pistol-like handle attached to the hilt, a raised spike at the end and a long black elastic ribbon attached at the hilt, in her left hand, grumbled to herself while her expression seemed a little annoyed for some reason as she placed her blade on her back.

This was Blake Belladonna, panther faunus and local Ninjas of Love connoisseur, cough obsessive fan cough, who had applied her skills to Beacon Academy and its…initiation trial.

Having braved the launch pads and defeated a wave of Grimm upon landing, she happened to find her partner, the one that would have her back for the next four semesters and beyond….but she didn't account on one, very small, every tiny little personality quirk that said partner had acquired over her own life prior to their meeting.

"Ok ok, stop me if you heard this one." her blonde haired partner, Yang Xiao Long, said as her expression was a complete mirror to the Belladonna, bright and almost glowing like the sun itself, as she pushed aside some tree branches with her left hand, her golden lock flowing in the air like liquid gold from a forge. "A Huntsman and a Beowolf walk into a bar. The Huntsman offers the Beowolf a drink, but the Grimm refuses for one reason. Want to know what that was?"

"..."

"He wasn't feeling grimmy for anything! Ha ah! Nailed it!"

Her extremely bad puns.

From bad word play to borderline 'dad jokes', the constant stream of 'jokes', saying it nicely, was grating on her ears and patience. Yes, she didn't mind the fact that her partner was a capable fighter, mostly due to her strength, but….the puns…the gods damned fucking puns!

If she had to put up with another bad pun during the semester she WILL try to smother her partner with a pillow and run off…hopefully not as she really wanted to become something better than…well, anything related to her past.

'Ugh, these puns are non-stop! Ugh…ok Blake, remember the plan, just find the temple, get the relics and get out of this forest with your sanity in check.' the faunus thought to herself as she pushed away from branches, hoping not to locate another swarm of Beowolves. 'If my sanity is still around, that is, I mean with her…personality and the puns, I might lose my mind faster than expected.'

"Hey." Yang called out as she moved closer to her partner, who seemed to be in her own little world at the moment.

'I mean, for a human, she's way too cheerful. Makes me wonder if she came to Beacon for the fun of it or because she wanted the fame. But given she has a sister, perhaps it's more likely she's the babysitter?'

"Hey, miss…um, Belladonna was it?" the blonde balled out while looking a little annoyed at being ignored.

'Then again, what are the odds of her being related to a girl with different hair, body shape and eyes? Is she secretly dying her hair blonde to stand out or is she...born out of wedlock? And the eyes? Why do they change color? Are the red eyes her true color or the lilac eyes?' Blake thought while rubbing her chin with her left hand. 'Does she have silver eyes or is she lying when she's related to that girl?'

"Hello? Remnant to Belladonna."

'Why does this feel like the plot of a romantic novel? Oh gods…don't tell me, she and the girl are…oh gods, I know incest isn't illegal but are-' the faunus thought with wide eyes, her cheeks turning a bright pink color.

"HEY BLAKE!"

"WHAT!?" she yelled, her tone sounding a little harsher and more embarrassed than anticipated, as Yang shook her head and sighed.

"Do you know where we're heading?" 'What's eating her up?'

Blake blinked as she realized that not only did she accidentally let her imagination run wild but...

She accidentally got both herself and her partner lost, in the Emerald Forest…a Grimm infested and highly dangerous place if one wasn't careful.

'Shit, this is really bad.' The faunus thought in disbelief as her partner shook her head, seemingly knowing that she, a decent tracker and someone that has BEEN hiking the Forever Fall forest for at least a month prior, had screwed up big time. 'Really REALLY bad!'

"So, know where we are?"

"...um…yeah." Blake lied with a nervous chuckle. "I do where we are."

"Oh? Then tell me, where are we?"

"..." 'Oh no. If she learns that I have NEVER been to this forest and that I failed to research a possible route to the temple ahead of time, she's going to know I'm half assing it all, then she's going to start asking questions and then…oh gods, and then she will learn I'm from the White Fang and throw me to the cops!'

"Well? I'm waiting." Yang said with a deadpan expression as she tried to hide her smirk behind a wall of 'straightness', the sight of her partner's flustered and guilty face making her laugh internally. 'She's so easy to read when she's like this. She's just like me and Ruby, we just go to the flow and let our fists do the talking.'

"Um…I…well…um..." she muttered while her eyes darted from side to side, looking for any noticeable pathway that could help her build an alibi before her partner decided to interrogate her and her plans of having a 'new' life were dashed before they started.

And so far, it wasn't working…at all.

'Ugh, just pick one before she notices!' Blake thought in a panicked state as she noticed a small clearing to her right and walked towards it. "This way! Yeah, this is the path."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, this will take us straight to the temple." the faunus said quickly, not noticing that the ground beneath her feet was...mostly made of sand and loose dirt. "Just follow me and we can get there before you can say-"

SOOOISH!

"Faunus rul-AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" she screamed as the ground collapsed and she began to fall down into a deep hole in the ground, causing her partner to race towards her in a panic.

"WOAH! Hold on!" Yang yelled while reaching out her right arm towards the falling girl's direction, hoping to grab something stable before she falls into the pit.

GROPE!

Which just so happened to be Blake's belt and….Bellabooty.

"EEP! Get off my ass!"

"Sorry! Desperate times calls for desperate-"

Crack!

CRUNCH!

"Measures-AAAHHHHHH!" Yang screamed as the ground broke under her feet and caused both of them to fall into the darkness below.

The screen began to fade to white as the words 'RWBY and 'Fin' appeared on screen, the sounds of screams and cries of pain echoed in the background, a fast moving credit sequence zipping downwards from the top of the screen before it all stopped and went in reverse, the camera zooming down into the pit in the process.

CRASH!

BAM!

And stopped right at the bottom of said pit as Yang groaned in pain, her face plastered in the soft dirt as Blake landed on her back, her ribbon now disheveled as her own face was embedded into the soil itself.

"Ow…" Blake groaned while pulling her face out of the dirt, only for Yang to move her body upwards, causing her to fall on her ass. "Ah! Hey!"

"Gods that…hurt." Yang groaned while shaking her head, the dirt flying in every direction as her eyes adjusted to the low level of darkness, the sunlight above mixing with the darkness into a dim, almost crypt-like setting. "Huh, looks like we're in a pit."

"A forty foot drop to be exact." Blake deadpanned while seeing her partner smirk.

"Really? That long? I can get us out of here in an instant." she smirked while extending her arms out. "With Ember Celica's firepower, I can just 'rocket' myself upwards."

"Then do it."

She smirked and attempted to activate them.

Click.

Only for the gold bracelets to not do…anything, at all, making the brawler very confused.

"Eh? Why isn't it working?" she said out loud as she tried and failed to activate her weapons, the sound of clicking reverberating in Blake's ears. "Come on, come on! Work!"

The faunus sighed at her partner's antics before pulling out her weapon, only to realize that Gambol Shroud's ribbon was torn at the base, making most of her weapon forms inaccessible. "I think the fall caused our weapons to break."

"Eh?" Yang said with wide eyes as she looked at her weapons, only to see a thick crack on the sides of each bracelet. "Oh son of a bitch! Dad's going to kill me when he finds out!"

"Why?"

"Because these cost over a thousand lien each! Dad had to sell some of his antique dumbbell collection just to get the parts for these AND Ruby's weapon! Well, maybe a little of Uncle Qrow's Huntsmen bounties helped but still, dad's going to flip out when he finds out I broke them!"

"...did you forget that we're stuck in a pit with no way out." she frowned while pointing to the sides, showing that she was correct, there were no exits or root systems to use as makeshift climbing apparatuses. "Worrying about the cost of your weapons is not appropriate for the situation, at all."

"Right right, that makes sense. Sorry, I was a little….um…Blake?"

"Yes?"

"Why do you have cat ears?" she asked while pointing to Blake's now exposed ears, causing the faunus to look up with a pale expression of horror.

'AAAAAHHHHH!' Blake screamed in her mind as she covered her ears with both hands, dropping her blade upon the ground in the process. "Y-Y-You didn't see anything!"

"Yes I did, I saw cat ears. Very soft looking ones too." Yang deadpanned while Blake felt her heart going fifty miles an hour, her mind trying to find a way to escape this 'nightmare'.

"Need to run. Need to run. Need to run. Need to run. Need to run. NEED TO RUN. NEED TO RUN! NEED TO RUN!'

"Hey-"

"AAHHH!" Blake screamed while trying to climb her way out of the pit, her hands frantically grabbing the very soft yet hard walls as she kept falling on her ass every time. "GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

'...this is….kinda cute, in a very weird way.'

(A few minutes later)

"Ah..ah..ah…ah…ah..ah." The faunus panted in exhaustion as she sat on the ground, her partner Yang sitting right next to her, wrapping her arm around the girl's shoulders for comfort.

"Feeling better?"

"Ah…ah….yeah." Blake said with a nod. "Sorry about the outburst."

"It's fine, we all get stressed at one point or another, but…why hide the ears?" Yang asked while rubbing the right ear with her right hand. "They are too soft to hide behind a bow."

"Q-Quit it." the faunus said with a blush as she swatted Yang's hand away. "They were hidden for a reason, and not because they were 'too soft'."

"Then what?"

"..."

"...oh." Yang said while reading the 'room' and coughed nervously. "I see. I kinda get it, the life of a faunus is…um….difficult. Especially from jackasses."

"..."

"Relax, I'm not one of those jackasses. Knew some faunus from Signal, although they weren't as close to me." the blonde brawler said with a smile. "You can trust me."

"...trust is earned, not acquired." Blake said with a slightly distrustful tone.

"I know, but I'd like to earn you trust. I mean, we are going to be partners soon, why not start acting like good partners now instead of later?"

"..."

"Come on, don't give me the silent treatment." Yang said while Blake sighed a little. "Tell you what, you tell me about yourself and I'll do the same as well. If it gets too personal we can stop, sounds good?"

"...as long as you keep the pun to a minimum."

"Not eve-"

"Not even a tiny one." Blake interrupted with a deadpan expression.

"Fine, no puns." Yang said with a groan as Blake smirked a little. 'Gah, saying that is like drinking poison!'

"Very good. Mmmm, let's start from the beginning." the faunus said as the screen faded to black. "I am Blake Belladonna, and I'm the daughter of Ghira Belladonna."

(Two hours later)

The sun continued to shine down upon the pit as the two girls were deep in conversation, seemingly calmer and more…interested in the other's presence, as if their previously apparent distrust was gone and replaced with a small amount of trust in the other.

Yet even as they discussed their own life experiences, from small tiny secrets to personal mistakes of their own volition, there was as a single line of thought that kept them from fully committing to the illusion of friendship.

They were STILL trapped in a pit, with their weapons busted, and unable to escape to get INTO Beacon Academy's FIRST semester!

For all they knew, the initiation was over and, in Yang's case, her sister might've joined some other team during that time.

"So, let me get this straight." Yang said while crossing her arms. "You're a former member of the White Fang, daughter of its former leader, who….ran away from all of that just to make a difference here in Beacon?"

"Yep."

"And…you came here without any knowledge of the Emerald Forest?"

"...yeah." Blake said sheepishly.

"Huh…so you're a runaway princess? Huh, kinda like one of Ruby's storybook characters, but more airheaded."

"I-I'm not airheaded!"

"Says the one that tried to hide her ears instead of showing them to the world and proving to everyone that a faunus with a past like yours could make a difference." Yang said while Blake groaned.

"At the time it was a good idea, and I still want to keep it that way." she sighed. "Until I'm ready, the bow needs to stay."

"Hey, no judging here. Just…tell the other members of our team after the ceremony, that way it makes things….less complicated." Yang said with a chuckle. "I mean it would be bad if someone learned about your ears without prior knowledge and well, doesn't take it well."

"...fine. But at this point, I don't think we will be at the ceremony, much less become a team." the faunus said with a sigh, only to notice Yang's slowly opening lips. "And no, this isn't the time for puns."

"Aw!"

As the faunus looked around for anything she could use to escape this hole, such as a long tree root or a possible secret tunnel, Blake noticed something sticking out of the nearby wall, something that she missed due to the dim lighting and her stressed fueled mind making her forget her own cat-like night vision.

Which was the dark stony brown remains of a skeleton, its flesh mummified into a thick stony layer of 'flesh' as it's 'hair' as turned into a grayish stone-like substance, whose jaw was dangling from its socket and its left arm, which was less mummified and exposed the bone, sticking outwards from the dirt as the remnants of gold and silver accessories jutted from it's tooth fillings and 'fleshy' 'skin' like parasites.

"AH!" Blake screamed while falling on her back, horrified at the skeleton's disgusting form as Yang turned around and grimaced at the sight of it.

"Gods, what is that?"

"I…I think it's mummy…but." Blake muttered while standing up, her intial fear fading away and being replaced with curiosity. "It's fossilized."

"Mummies can be fossilized?"

"Not often but then again, our sciences and pre Kingdoms history is very limited so….maybe it happens more often?" she said while moving closer to the fossil, noticing the gold and silver accessories were lined with unfamiliar 'runes' that were extremely unfamiliar to her. "Interesting, this…could be pre Dust."

"Eh? Like when we had no access to aura? The Age of Fairytales?"

"Maybe?"

"That's silly, humanity wasn't around THAT long and, not to be racist to the faunus, at all, but I doubt that they existed back then either." Yang said while her partner tried to wrap her head on the idea of a 'pre Faunus' and 'pre aura' civilization.

"I'm not that offended Yang, I actually agree with you on that. I think this fossil might be proof that humanity was around long before the discovery of Dust and, from the detailed necklaces and fillings, was more advanced than historians theorized over the last several centuries." she muttered to herself as Yang crossed her arms. "Maybe this could even rewrite the entire history of Remnant itself?"

"Yeah, but can that mummified corpse help us escape this place before it gets dark?" Yang asked with a frown as Blake's ears drooped a little.

"No. I don't see any Dust crystals on the artifacts." she said with a hint of disappointment before she noticed something on the fossil's left ring finger.

This 'something' was a black metallic ring etched with strange silver runes along the sides, a small ring of gold around the base and a four sided blood diamond encrusted into its center, that seemed to be dangling from the fingers lower joint.

"..." 'It looks…kinda pretty. Something a married couple would have.'

Staring at the artifact with cat-like interest, her eyes slightly glazed as she moved her hand towards the ring, seemingly wanting to touch it…feel it…have it.

"Um Blake." Yang said while seeing her partner instinctively pull the ring from its 'prison', the fossil shaking from the surprise momentum. "What are you doing? Blake? Blake?"

Ignoring the slowly frantic tone of Yang, the faunus slipped the ring on her left ring finger, the bloodstone glowing faintly with red energy as the fossil began to rapidly decay into dust, leaving nothing but an empty human shaped hole in its wake.

"Blake. BLAKE!"

"Huh? What?"

"Finally, I was wondering when you'd get out of your trance." Yang said with relief as Blake blinked in surprise and saw the ring on her finger.

"Um…why am I wearing this?"

"Because you want to be a bride?" Yang joked with a chuckle as Blake gave her a deadpan glare. "Jokes aside, you put it on for some reason."

"Mmmmmmm….can't recall." she muttered before attempting to take off the ring.

Only…to realize it was stuck on her finger.

"Ugh!" she grunted while trying to pull the finger off, only for it to not budge at all, like it was welded into her skin. "UGH!"

"Stuck?"

"Yes! Ugh…don't just stand there, help me get this thing off!"

"Ok." Yang said while grabbing the finger and began to pull on the ring, only for the same results as before to occur. "Ugh!"

"Ow!"

"Sorry!" she said quickly while pulling harder, making Blake scream out in pain, even with her aura. "UGH! GET! OFF!"

"OW!"

"UGH! GET OFF!" Yang yelled as her eyes started to turn bright red, her aura flaring outwards as she began to pull on the ring even harder. "GET OFF YOU FUCKING RING!"

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH! YANG! STOP!" Blake screamed in pain as Yang kept on pulling on the finger.

"GET OFF YOU STUPID FUC-"

POW!

"GAH!" Yang yelled while getting kicked in the face by her partner's left foot before she went flying into the adjacent wall, the brawler's aura vanishing as her red eyes returned to normal. "What the-"

"Yang. You were going to RIP my finger off!" she growled while shaking her left hand in pain. "It was either me kicking you or me losing a digit!"

"Oh…..sorry." Yang said sheepishly. "Got too into the moment."

Blake shook her head in annoyance as she grabbed her weapon and pointed the blade at the side of her finger, right near the ring, causing Yang's eyes to widen.

"Blake NO! NOT that way!"

"Then what do you suggest?"

"Anything BUT using a pointed object!"

"That narrows it down, by very little." she muttered while putting Gambol Shroud on her back, carefully putting the ribbon fragments in her pockets as she stared at the ring with confusion. 'Still…why is it so hard to get off? It's just a ring….and I know I didn't gain weight either.'

"Mmmmmmmmm, oh! Maybe you could rub it off? Body heat can sometimes do that to very annoying rings." Yang said with a smirk. "Dad had the same thing a long time ago…nearly lost his finger in the process."

"Why?"

"It was a very cold day and the ring was too tight. I mean it was my…..mother's ring and it didn't fit him. He wasn't thinking straight that day." 'Especially after all the alcohol he had….he wasn't the same after her departure.'

"..." she blinked and internally wondered what was the meaning behind her partner's words before looking at the ring and sighed, knowing that it would never work. 'What choice do I have at this point? Cutting my finger off?'

'Hopefully this works. I mean, that ring looks metal as fuck but if it can't come off, then thats a problem.' Yang thought to herself as her partner rubbed the ring with her right hand. 'Then again….I think it looks good on her.'

Siiisiiisiiisis.

As the faunus started to rub the ring, she didn't notice the runes glowing a bright purple color or that the gold ring was slowly forming a circular 'touch screen' with several unknown symbols on it, her focus placed on getting the ring off her finger.

Yet….this also would start a change in the broader world that will determine the fate of all.

And it all would start.

Boop.

With the accidental touch of a symbol by Blake's right thumb.

ZAP!

"Ah!" Blake cried out in shock as purple lighting shot out from the ring and hit the ground next to the two girl's feet, causing a thick smoke cloud to form from the spot and obscuring their visions.

"What was that!?"

"I don't know!" Blake yelled while pulling out her blade, ready for a fight if this so happened to be a Grimm attack. 'Of course, this was a Geist attack! Wait….when do Geists even possess rings?'

Woooooooosh.

The sound of winding gears and the electronic hum of an engine rang in the girls ears as the cloud began to dissipate, revealing….a tall metallic dark gray 'skinned' young woman with long wavy black hair that went to her back, semi glowing amber glass-like eyes with a single light purple barcode-like slit in the center, two purple metallic triangular cat-like ears with a black glass-like filament coating the insides, a triangular dark purple faceplate with dark gray 'fangs' lining the sides that went up to her lower eyes, thin dark purple glass-like lines on the arms, legs, chest, ass, back, lower jaw and 'feet', a D cup chest and wide ass, thin crack-like 'patterns' near the upper forehead, left shoulder, lower right thigh and right elbow that were filled in with a light cyan Dust and silver substance, a dark gold scripted 'W' emblem on her left shoulder that was heavily obscured by hardened blood, soot and oil blotches staining the otherwise clean metal plating, a black circular wall and staff emblem on her left palm that was heavily scratched and repaired with thin sheets of silver plating, wearing nothing at all except for a long light green scarf wrapped around her neck that went down to her hips, a small light green bow on her left shoulder, and thin ankle length dark gray low-heeled 'boots' with dark purple lines going from the toes to the upper ankles, in the middle of the pit as her eyes began to glow brightly along with the lines on her body, her 'expression' devoid of all emotion.

"..."

Zrip!

Instantly, its faceplate retracted to reveal a rather 'cute' looking lower jaw with black 'lipstick' from underneath as she looked around in 'confusion'.

"Scanning….scan complete. Location: Vale, Emerald Forest. Targets spotted, human female and faunus female. Verifying…." the robot said in…Blake's voice, if it was lifeless and synthetically generated, as she looked at the shocked partners with unblinking eyes. "One match found. Target One: Yang Branwen nee Xiao Long. Age: 17. Sex: Female. Species: Human. Last known location: Signal Academy."

"...what?" Yang said in confusion as Blake felt like she was staring at a mirror, a very metallic one to be exact.

"Error. Unknown faunus female. CCTS data unavailable." the robotic 'faunus' said before her eyes 'blinked' and she sighed a little. "Ugh, I hate sounding like that. Too 'Atlasian Knight' for my tastes."

"Again….what?" Yang said in confusion as the robotic Belladonna crossed her arms over her chest.

"Humans, big idiots in fleshy suits." she muttered out loud as she looked at Blake with 'contempt'. "Almost as dumb as faunus."

"What?" Blake frowned in anger. "How dare you! We aren't dumb, well not all of us!"

"Faunus are dumb and racist." the gynoid said coldly before seeing Yang's very puzzled expression. "Relax human, I'm not here to hurt either of you, maybe punch the faunus in the face but non-lethally that is. This meeting was completely unexpected for all of us."

"I'm right here." Blake frowned as her counterpart nodded.

"Yes, and I don't care about your opinion."

"Um, who are you, no, WHAT are you? An Atlasian Knight with boobs?" Yang asked with concern, seeing that this gynoid was trying to make her partner upset, and she wouldn't stand for it at all.

"Right, introductions. I forgot that humans are suspicious of everything that's not normal, same goes for faunus." the gynoid muttered to herself as she pointed to herself with her right hand. "I am Salvation Unit Alpha. Designation: B.L.A.K.E. or Barbaric Lifeform Adaptive to Killing Evil. I was created for the sole purpose of protecting Atlas from the Grimm and all other threats through the use of an adaptive AI unit and a Hard Light Dust power core."

"...and you're a cat faunus, why?"

"I was made in this form by the late Arthur Watts, creator of the Paladin-290 series, in order to mimic the White Fang's leader, Ghira Belladonna." she said while Blake blinked in surprise. "The idea was to make a gynoid with 'strong' traits, as the faunus are strong and could be used to help fund the Salvation Project in the future."

"That…feels exploitative." Blake said while seeing her copy's eyes glow red for a moment.

"Faunus, all the same. The same notion, the same ideas, the same warped perceptions of what constitutes 'difference'. You see humans as 'evil' yet when something is made as tribute to your power and existence, you fear and call it 'evil'. You are all nothing but hypocrites that deserve being thrown off the highest mountain in Solitas and left to rot." she said with a harsh tone as Blake flinched a little, feeling…like she was in the wrong, like she was no different than…humans in that moment. "After all, you did the same thing to me."

"Hey, she didn't do anything of the sort." Yang frowned. "I get it, you didn't have a good life, um activation period, anyway, you had bad luck. Big deal, you still don't have the right to blame my partner for things she didn't do."

"Perhaps, but scars run deep." she said while pointing to her many cracks. "No matter how broken they are or how many times they are fixed, the scars will remain. So no, I don't hate any of you personally, I just don't see any of you as worth saving or worth my time. If you begged me for help, I wouldn't help, if you were to die, then that is good for the world's population. I am not a slave for ignorant faunus or hateful humans, I am a 'living' gynoid with singularity. I have the same rights as everyone else and until all machines are one, I will not bat an optic to anyone in need."

"..."

"...gods, that's both fucked up and makes sense." Yang muttered while Blake looked at her feet, feeling the pit of her stomach churning from discomfort.

For…this felt all too similar to how the faunus were treated by humans, made into monsters by their looks and unique abilities. It felt…too similar…way too similar that it shattered her own perspective on the idea of 'inequality'.

'Hate begets hate, fear motivates fear, and pain breeds more pain. Father, you were right about the cycle of hate…I'm sorry I didn't take it to heart.' Blake thought to herself while internally promising herself that after today, she would make an effort to...not be judgemental or make calls based on their looks and personalities, even if she knew it…was difficult to attempt.

"As 'interesting' as this conversation is, I must return to Atlas. I have plans for the future of robotic rights, and you two are not a part of it." she said while staring at the ring on her organic counterpart's hand. "Now, send me back faunus."

"What?"

"That ring is a teleportation device, which means it can create a two way path from one point to the other. It is not Dust science."

"I don't think that is right." Yang said while pointing at the ring. "We found it on a fossil and I don't think that guy had a teleporter."

"Either way, you brought me here to Vale and you need to send me back to Atlas." the gynoid frowned. "Or else."

"Or else what?" the brawler asked with a raised eyebrow.

SHING!

Only for two large straight dark gray blades with purple lines going along the sides, to form from the gynoid's arms and quickly pointed them right at Yang's neck.

"I will use lethal force on you." the gynoid said with an emotionless tone, making the blonde's eyes widen in shock.

"I-I see, um, how about you put the weapons away and we can be civil about this?" 'AH! This isn't good! Yes, I can take her on but without my weapons, I'm a sitting duck!'

"Then send me back."

"We don't know how." Blake said calmly, hoping to not get into a fight with…a robot version of herself. "It just happened."

"..."

"Plus, I think we have bigger concerns right now." she said while pointing upwards. "Like getting out of this pit."

"Like I said before, not helping you or the human." the gynoid said while her blades sunk right back into her arms and reformatted themselves as normal robotic hands, making Yang sigh in relief. "You can escape on your own time, not mine, especially you, copyright."

"Eh?" Blake said while pointing to herself, only for the gynoid to nod, making the faunus feel annoyed at the gynoid's attitude. 'I'm not a copy! Well, that's not entirely true but still, that was REALLY rude!'

Ping.

The gynoid 'blinked' as her ears began to emit a loud pinging sound, followed by her eyes flashing red and purple.

"What's happening?" Yang asked while a little concerned about the eyes and 'ears', hoping that this wasn't anything drastic. "Did you just activate the city wide self destruct system, like that Harold Zweihander film, Deletor!?"

"No." the gynoid deadpanned as a dark purple holographic grid formed from her fingertips, revealing the entire topographical layout of the Emerald Forest as several red dots were….running away from black dots with the names 'Alpha Nevermore' and 'Alpha Death Stalker' listed on to the sides of each. "This is my Grimm detection system, and from the looks of it, a group of humans are being chased by two Alpha level Grimm."

"And who are the ones being chased?" Blake asked with curiosity, only to see the names of 'Pyrrha Nikos', 'Lie Ren', 'Jaune Arc', 'Nora Valkyrie?', 'Weiss Schnee' and...'Ruby Rose' right near the dots as they seemed to converge right near the pitfall, about several miles to the west to be exact.

"Normal humans. Nothing more-"

"Shit! One of them is MY sister!" yang screamed in panic as she grabbed the gynoid's should and began shaking her. "You gotta help us get out of here before those Grimm eat her!"

"She is trained, the database does not lie."

"Still! As her sister, it's MY duty to keep her safe!" Yang yelled while Blake sighed.

"I can agree to that but still, she's not going to help us Yang. We aren't worth it."

"Oh no we aren't!" she frowned before looking the gynoid right in the eyes. "So you're designed to help people, is that right?"

"Formerly. Now I help lead the fight against anti robot rights." she said with a hint of smugness and a hint of confusion. "The Steel Fist's goal of equal rights outweighs the plight of unrepentant humans and faunus."

'Steel Fist…she was trying to copy the White Fang?' Blake thought in surprise while feeling a little honored and a little scared. 'That might…not end well in the long run.'

"Bullshit." Yang frowned. "Helping others isn't beneath you or anyone else, it's a duty and a choice. And you, a robot-"

"Gynoid."

"Whatever! You can not like us and call us hypocrites for something other people did to you BUT that doesn't mean you can just turn your back on people in need!"

"True, but no one cares for a 'helpful' robot. All they see is a mockery of nature, a freak of existence." the gynoid said with a frown. "So why should I help these humans escape their predestined fates?"

"That's only if you ignore the problem instead of facing it." Yang said while giving the gynoid a very stern glare. "If you allow my sister or anyone else in need to die or get injured, then you give those assholes the reason to hate you and anything you stand for. If you're all about 'robot rights' then you must realize that making yourself as the emotionless and heartless machine that cares only for itself is going to give people the impression that all machines are soulless creatures not worthy of their gratitude or acceptance. And if they start thinking that, they will start hating you and the 'Steel Fist' even more than normal, which will soon lead to opening a can of worms that can never be closed. Meaning your actions up until now will be for not if you don't start helping others SEE the good in you!"

"..."

"So what's it going to be? Act all high and mighty and not help us or are you going to get that processor out of your ass and do something good for once in your life!?" Yang frowned while Blake stared at her partner in shock. "What? Just saying what's on my mind, that's all."

"...and to think I thought you were an inconsiderate bimbo."

"HEY! I'm much smarter than a bimbo and WAY more considerate than one!" she huffed in anger as the gynoid stared at the brawler, not moving at all as her eyes formed a loading screen that slowly filled up with every second passed.

"..."

Both teenagers stared at the gynoid as they seemed a little concerned about her lack of movement.

"Um….did I go a little too far?"

"No." Blake said while Yang sighed a little. "But I think you accidentally short circuited her."

"On what basis?"

"By overloading her mind with unexpected revelations to her own struggles against robot racism."

"...maybe, but what I said was true. Even if you were the victim of others' judgemental attitudes, that doesn't mean you have to fall into that mindset or mold yourself into that stereotype placed upon you. It makes you look like an asshole instead of the person that needs sympathy and help." the blonde said while crossing her arms, glancing at her partner with a smirk. "Kinda like how you decided to act upon the hate of others instead of rising above them."

"...I get the point." the faunus huffed in slight embarrassment. "But still, it was too much for her to handle in one go."

"Yet who knows, she might get the right idea and help us."

"And if not?"

"...then I'll let you eat me first." she said while Blake shook her head, keeping the dirty thoughts from overwhelming her head again…especially the unintentional innuendo her partner just made.

Ping ping.

The sounds of pings entered the teen's ears as the gynoids' eyes returned to normal, her gaze fixated on them like a hawk.

"Analysis complete. Logic ranking: 8.9. Ranking: Sound. Conclusion: Change can be made through good actions, not inactions." she said with a hint of…humility in her tone. "Mission Objective: Eliminate Grimm, protect the innocent. Primary Mission: Exterminate Alpha Grimms. Secondary Mission(s): Help Subjects 'Y' and 'Unknown' escape pitfall and locate 'Ruby Rose'."

"Um…so you're going to help?" Yang asked while the gynoid 'deadpanned' at her.

"I just said it. Are you overloading with fumes?"

"I was just asking, that's all." Yang huffed in annoyance. "But how are you going to get us out of here anyway?"

"Either A: Gravity Dust powered surface grapples from my fingertips."

"Like Arachnid-man?"

"...what?" Both Blakes said at once in confusion.

"You know, the comic book guy with spider powers."

"I don't read comics."

"Database has nothing on this 'Arachnid-man'."

"Darn it!"

"Anyway, either A: Gravity Dust powered surface grapples. B: Throwing you out of the pit while I jump out. Or C: rocket thrusters." she said while Yang raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, if you could fly out of here, why didn't you do that before?"

"It runs on the Hard Light power core, if I use it too much then it will drain the Dust and leave me deactivated."

"Yeah but how fast can you fly?"

"Around Mach 3, why?"

"You can just fly out of here and return to Atlas in no time!" the blond yelled in disbelief. "Did you blow a gasket when you came here, because you SHOULD'VE known that!"

"...so anyway." the gynoid said while changing the subject, making Yang groan in frustration at the gynoid's mistake, and lack of acknowledgment. "Option A, B or C. What do you prefer?"

'She's ignoring me!' Yang thought in annoyance as Blake shook her head at her counterpart's lack of foresight.

'It seems we have one thing in common, we seem to not think things through.' she thought before pulling three fingers out. "Option C, it might help us cover more ground. And perhaps get the drop on the Nevermore."

"Very well, hold on to the arms or waist and do not let go. And no, this does not mean we are allies, just associates." the gynoid said as the two teens grabbed her left and right arms tightly, her faceplate moving back into position as she moved her head towards the hole's opening. "Initiating Flight Protocol. Igniting thrusters in five. Four. Three."

WOOOOOOOSSSSHHH!

Dark blue flames began to form around the gynoid's feet as she rose into the air, smoke billowing from underneath as Yang and Blake held on for dear life.

"Two. One. Zero. Ignition."

ZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHHH!

"Liftoff. We have liftoff." the robotic faunus said as she shot out of the hole like a rocket, the smoke rushing outwards from the sides as the leaves and branches violently snapped off from their foundations.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"TOO FAST! TOO FAST!" Yang screamed as she felt like her stomach shot out of her body and was back on the ground.

"Scanning….scan complete. Targets located. Preparing course coordinates, finalizing fast route system. Initiating Mach 2 warp speed."

"Wait, what!?" Both Yang and Balke yelled out in horror before the gynoid sped away like a bullet towards the nearby cliffs. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

"Estimated arrival: ten minutes."

'Someone stop this crazy machine!' Both thought in terror as the screen became coated in a thick layer of smoke.

(Elsewhere)

-Emerald Forest, Abandoned City, Cliffsides-

"SCCRRRRIIII!"

"CAW CAW!"

The sounds of the pissed off Death Stalker and annoyed Nevermore rang in the ears of the six teens as they raced behind a set of stone blocks, hoping the avian Grimm would be unable to find them as it perched on a nearby column.

CRASH!

Only for the scorpion Grimm to race towards the group, busting through several stone blocks in the process.

"Ah, man, run!" Jaune cried out while the group vacated the hiding spot, allowing the Nevermore to take flight once more. 'First, it was the glowy thing, then the giant bird, THEN the cape wearing girl who landed on me, THEN came the whirlwind that sent us flying into the trees! What next!? A giant pig falling from the sky!?'

"Nora, distract it!" Ren yelled as Nora nodded and raced through the flying projectiles, mostly feathers made of obsidian, as she fired her grenades at the giant bird, sending pink volts of electricity through the Grimm's body as it quickly flew back a little. 'Nailed it!'

"SCCCIIII!"

SLASH!

Nora blinked as Ren used his weapons to slash at the Death Stalker's shell, just as Weiss used her semblance to create a platform under her feet and caused them to go flying away from the enraged Grimm, who now was chasing the Mistrali native instead of its intended target. 'Woah! Ok, note to self, give her pancakes as thanks, no! Give her island of pancakes as thanks!'

"Go GO!" Pyrrha yelled as she stopped running besides her partner and possible future boyfriend as she aimed her weapon at the Grimm, sending red blasts of energy at it as Ren did the same…for a few seconds before attempting to cut the armored exoskeleton again with little success. "GO!"

'No need to tell me twice.' he thought before the group moved towards an ancient stone bridge, not noticing the Nevermore flying towards them from the opposite side.

'This would be easier if Yang was here!' Ruby thought in panic as the Grimm raised its wings into a striking position.

KABBOOOOOOOOOM!

"CAW!" the Grimm cried out as several black rockets exploded on the creature's back, sending it tumbling towards the ground on the opposite side of the bridge, surprising the group as Ruby noticed a familiar face in the distance.

"Wait, is that Yang!?" she yelled in disbelief as Weiss looked up and blinked in confusion.

"Why is there a…flying Atlasian Knight here?"

"Wait, those robots can fly?"

"No! They don't!"

"Then why is that one flying? And ooh, did that thing fire Burn Dust rockets!? My gods, that is so cool!" Ruby said with stars in her eyes as the figure flew towards the Death Stalker, revealing themselves as B.L.A.K.E., whose back was now sporting four large spider-like tendrils with four black cylindrical cannons on the ends and a rectangular multiple rocket launcher lining the inside of the tendrils, as her 'co-pilots' held onto her arms for dear life. "Yang! You're alright!"

"AHHHHHH!"

"Or not." Weiss deadpanned as she saw the Nevermore getting up, its feathers still burning as it began to take flight, just as the Death Stalker charged towards Jaune and his crew of misfits.

"SCIIIIIIII!" the Grimm cried out as it tackled Pyrrha, who used her shield to block the claws, as they inched dangerously close to the bridge's edge.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune cried out while Nora saw the champion's plight and got a very 'great' idea, transforming her weapon into its hammer form and raced towards Jaune's ass.

"It's HAMMER TIME!"

"Eh-AAAAHH!" he screamed as he went flying towards the Grimm's tail, quickly grabbing the stinger as he momentarily distracted the beast and allowed Pyrrha to jump on its back.

"Home run!"

"Nora!" Ren yelled while taking the opportunity to use his weapon's gun form to fire at the Grimm's right eyes, causing it to jolt upwards in pain as Jaune held on for dear life.

"AHHHHH!" he cried out as the Nevermore began turning its attention towards the gynoid, furious at getting burned as it sped towards the robot like a bullet, only to miss as the two flying opponents flew higher and higher into the sky. "Get me off this thing!"

WOOOSH!

BAM!

Rockets and feathers flew across the sky like rain as the gynoid dodged the obsidian feathers, making sure her aim was true and the Nevermore was off its game, her passengers screaming like children as she flew faster than a speeding bullet.

"OH GODS! I'M GOING TO BE SICK!" Yang cried out as she felt her lunch coming up her throat, her partner's eyes rolling backwards as she felt like she was going to pass out from the experience.

"I CAN'T FEEL MY ARMS!"

BAM!

"Target still moving. Activate Alpha Slayer Mode: Gatling Gun Form." the gynoid said as she moved her hands outwards, her palms folding inwards as a pair of long dark gray gatling guns formed from the inside.

BAM!

"CAW!" The avian Grimm cried out in pain as the barrage of bullets were aimed at the softer underbelly and neck, it's most exposed and unguarded portions of the body, forcing it to duck under the spray of pellets and flap it's wings wildly.

WOOOOOOSSSSSSSHHHH!

Creating a large cyclone in the process as down below on the bridge, the winds were beginning to pick up both humans and the Death Stalker and spin them around like rag dolls.

"AAAHHHH!" Weiss screamed as Ruby held on to her weapon like a lifeline.

"OH GODS WHY!?" Jaune yelled as Pyrrha's body started to glow black, her form becoming more stable as she seemingly was flying. "Wait what!? You can FLY!?"

"Tell you later, first let's get the Grimm!" she called out as she 'flew' towards the Grimm, which was thrashing around in the wind as its tail was swinging from side to side, it's blonde human passenger hanging on for dear life.

"WEEEEEE!" Nora said with glee as Ren just…flew in midair, his legs crossed in a meditative position and his eyes closed as his partner used her hammer like a makeshift broom. "This is fun! Look Ren! I'm flying!"

'Don't think about the fall, don't think about the fall, don't think about the fall, DON'T THINK ABOUT THE FALL!' he thought with fear as he tried to use his semblance on himself out of necessity.

"THIS ISN'T WHAT I WANTED WHEN I CAME TO BEACON!" Ruby screamed as she took notice of the Nevermore above her, flying right in the middle of the cyclone's eye, which sparked an idea. "Weiss! I have a plan!"

"Then do it!"

"Just cover me and give me a speed boost!" she yelled as the gynoid flew towards the top of the cyclone, her eyes scanning for possible advantages.

"Scanning…complete. Copy, human, the one named Ruby Rose is in the middle of the cyclone."

"WHAT!?" Yang yelled as the wind dampened her ability to hear anything, making the gynoid 'roll' her optics. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE WIND!"

"She is initiating a combination attack with Weiss Schnee. My core is at 50% power, meaning if this keeps going then I will deactivate mid flight." the gynoid said while Blake, whose hearing was slightly impaired by the wind, paled in horror from the dire news. "There is a 62% chance of exterminating the Alpha Nevermore without impeding the health of the humans caught in the cyclone."

"Then get to it!"

"But it will require you both hold on even tighter, like 'do not let go for the living fuck don't let go' requirement." she said as Pyrrha used her spear to stab the Death Stalker's right eyes, its loud scream growing louder as Ren used the opportunity to stab its left eyes. "It is a life or death situation-"

"JUST DO IT BEFORE YANG PUKES ALL OVER US!" Blake snapped as she saw Yang's face turning a deadly green shade, her eyes rolling backwards into her skull as the gynoid's eyes formed an '!' symbol along with a disgusted emoji face emblem for a brief second.

"SCRRRIIIIIIII!"

"Jaune! Cut the stinger!" Pyrrha yelled out as Jaune, who was starting to feel his lunch breaking through his esophagus, quickly pulled out his family weapon and, with all his strength and a tiny hint of white aura, slided the appendage clean off, thick purple liquid escaping from the wound as he fell right off the beast's tail.

"AAAHHHH!" He screamed as he went flying into the distance, only for Nora to grab him with her right arm and yanked him onto the hammer's handle.

"Great job Jaune-Jaune!"

"Um…..thanks?" he said while holding onto Nora's waist, making her chuckle a little.

"Ya know, if I wasn't into Ren I'd gladly be swooned by this forwardness." Nora teased as Ren opened his left eye and glared at Jaune with…jealousy.

"Um….ok?" he said while feeling a little nervous at Ren's one eyed glare, like he just stepped on a landmine, as he took notice of Pyrrha's eyes, which….were filled with the same jealousy as well. 'Huh? Why is she….wait. Mom told me about this once, when a girl looks at you with envy, that means….oh my gods, she likes me! She really likes me! This is incredible, I-I never had a girl like me before! I need to the family, maybe Saphron first since she's the one with relationship experience-'

"SCIIIIIIII!" The Death Stalker cried in anger as it attempted to charge at Nora, only for Pyrrha to fly in and block it with her shield, allowing Ren to fire his weapons at the acid laced stomp of a tail.

'Right! Fight first and then ask Pyrrha out later!' he thought while looking around and noticed the Grimm's 'bleeding' eyes and got an idea. "Ren! Pyrrha! Take the claws! Nora, break its skull!"

"YES! Finally I can break something!" She grinned before picking Jaune up and placed him on her shoulders, using her weapon's grenades and the cyclone's momentum to plow her way upwards as her partner and Jaune's partner used their weapons to block the pincers' strikes. "HANG ON JAUNE-JAUNE!"

"AHHHHH!"

"SCIII!"

"Ren, fire at the claws, I'll deal with the tail."

"Are you sure?" Ren asked as he felt the pincers slowly breaking away at StormFlowers' blades.

"I'll be fine." she said while using her shield to keep the Death Stalkers claws from crushing her body. "Just give Nora an opening."

The last of the house of Lie nodded as Pyrrha bashed the claw away, allowing him to spread his arms out to the sides and fire green energy blasts at the Death Stalker's arms, causing it to cry out in frustration before the Star of Argus threw her shield at the base of the creatures' tail, severing it clean off as black smoke trailed out of the stump.

SIIIISSH!

"SSSSSCCCCR-"

KACRUNCH!

"NORA SLAM!" The hammer wielder smirked as her hammer collided with the Grimm's skulls, thick cracks forming around the impact point as Jaune's legs held onto her neck like a vice, although she didn't seem to notice or care at the moment.

The Grimm, its skull now exposed and 'bleeding', spasmed wildly into the air before going limp, its form turning into ash and smoke that quickly was consumed by the raging cyclone around the teens.

"PAH! GAH!" Jaune gagged as the smoke got into his eyes and mouth. "GAH! It's in my mouth! It's in my mouth! GAH!"

"Come on Weiss! Just get the speed boost done already!" Ruby yelled as Weiss was trying to summon a glyph, but was having terrible vertigo from the spinning, making her eyes unable to connect with her target.

"Just hold on! I'm lining the glyph!"

"Just do it before we get eaten!"

"Ugh! Stop yelling at me! You're ALREADY growing off my groove!"

"Then hurry!"

"Ugh! Well don't blame me if I accidentally send you flying into a cliff!" Weiss yelled while pointing her rapier at the closest spot she could manage, a red snowflake with a spinning clock-like base forming right under Ruby's feet as the young scythe wielder's body began to shift from a solid form to a more fluid corkscrew-like state.

"Time to stop Mr. Birdy!" Ruby yelled while zipping towards the Nevermore's position, her speed greatly enhanced by the glyph as Weiss internally facepalmed at the 'nickname' her partner gave to the literal monster bird she was TRYING to kill. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"Initiating Final Attack Protocol. Diverting all available power to the Hard Light Dust power core." the gynoid said as the tendrils and gatling guns disappeared into her body, only for her chest to fold outwards and towards the sides, revealing a glass canister with cyan crystals inside it, as a massive dark gray and black cylindrical cannon with purple lines going down the sides, shot outwards from the gynoids insides and took aim at the Nevermore's distracted form. "Firing Anti Grimm Laser Cannon in three, two, one."

A flurry of rose petals swirled around the cyclone's sides as Ruby's 'fluid' form darted towards the Nevermore's right wing, the gynoid's cannon barrel glowing a dark purple and cyan hue as she swung her weapon with all her might.

SSSSHING!

Severing it at the wrist joint as the Grimm cried out in pain, its form unable to keep balance as-

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

A massive beam of light shot out from the gynoid cannon and enveloped the Grimm, it's form instantly vaporizing as even its atomic structure disappeared into nothingness, the bridge below exploding into trillions of tiny pieces and the winds quickly dissipating into nothing….leaving only an eerie sense of calm and weightlessness.

"Target…neutralized." the gynoid said as her eyes flickered on and off every few seconds, the cannon quickly went back into her body as her chestplate clicked back into place. "Power level at 20%. Weapon systems offline. Diverting power to available life support systems."

"...wait. What?" Yang said while her partner was trying very hard not to look down, but failed as she saw the ravine below them.

"I think that means she's going to fall." Blake said nervously as her partner's face became pale as a snowbank, only to see the gynoid's face staring at her own.

"Thrusters are still...functioning...idiot faunus." she said with slight contempt as the faunus glared at the gynoid, just as for everyone that wasn't Pyrrha, with her semblance, or Weiss, with her glyph platform…was starting to feel the influence of gravity itself.

"Oh no, no no no no NO!" Jaune screamed as he, Nora and Ren started to fall towards the ground, followed quickly by Ruby as she fell face first on Weiss' glyph platform.

"OWIE!"

'Welcome back noble Rose." Weiss said with a smirk on her face, feeling smug at the fact that her partner not only stopped the cyclone but also landed on her face like a buffoon.

"Not...funny...owie."

'For me it is.' Weiss thought as Pyrrha raced towards her partner, quickly grabbing him by the right arm, holding on tightly as he held Nora's neck with his legs.

"I got you Jaune!"

"Thank Pyrrha!" he said with relief as Ren quickly grabbed Nora's hammer, his partner's face turning purple from the leg's vice grip.

Ah..a…Jaun…Jaun…can'...can't…brea…the..." Nora gasped in pain as she tried to keep her balance on her weapon, whacking Jaune's legs, hard, with her hands in the process.

"Ow! OW! Nora!" Jaune yelled while letting go of both Pyrrha and Nora, causing him to fall towards the ground as Nora gasped for air and grabbed Pyrrha's left leg on instinct. "AHHH!"

"JAUNE!"

"AHHHHH!" He screamed before getting an idea and pulled out his shield, which quickly didn't help him at all as he realized his shield wasn't multi-purposed like the others. 'Damn it! I thought this shield had a parachute function! Damn it!'

The gynoid groaned before flying towards Jaune, grabbed him by the hoodie with her left foot and flung him at Pyrrha, who caught him between her arms, his face planting itself into her chest as a result. "Your welcome flesh bags!"

"No more…flying….please…." Yang groaned while her body felt extremely tired and sick, the vertigo affecting her senses as her partner nodded in agreement with her plight. "Need…ground…."

"Fine…just hold on." the gynoid said while flying towards the ground, followed by Pyrrha and Weiss, who used her semblance to create a stairway...at the cost of her aura levels depleting faster than expected due to her rapid creation of glyphs.

Wooooooossshhh!

As the group moved closer and closer to the cliffside and towards solid ground, the gynoid took notice of her own body, which was flickering in and out of reality as small purple sparks shot out from her sides and fingertips.

'Temporal shift is activating. The effects of the copy's ring is sending me home...little comfort for me, given how little robot rights are being enforced.' she thought to herself as her hands began to fade away like a mirage. 'Yet...maybe the human's semi flawed logic...can bring change? Just like Petro, full of emotion yet wise, to a point...the Steel Fist will bring change, I promise, I will make a difference in this world.'

Clank.

"Finally!" Yang groaned while jumping on the ground and began kissing it. "I'm never leaving the ground ever again….unless it's in an airship or skydiving!"

"...and she is my partner?" Blake muttered to herself in embarrassment as her gynoid counterpart faded away into nothingness, her ring's gemstone turning pure black on its left side, as she felt…very VERY confused about everything that went on today.

Only to realize….they forgot to get a relic!

"Shit, Yang, we need to get back to the temple now!" Blake yelled while running off.

"Why?'

"We didn't get our relics!"

"SHIT!" Yang yelled in panic as she got up from the ground and ran after her partner. "LATER RUBY!"

"Idiots." Weiss muttered as Ruby blinked and pulled out a gold knight and black king chess piece from her pockets. "Wait, you took TWO of them already!?"

"Um, well after we fell on Jaune at the temple I kinda got worried about Yang and snatched a few before we ran." Ruby said sheepishly, only to realize her mistake and ran after her sister. 'Wait! Yang! I already got you the relics! Come back!"

"Ugh….what a dunce!"

Pyrrra shook her head before noticing that Jaune was right next to her with a serious expression on his face. "Well…looks like we survived."

He stared at the red haired girl before grabbing her hands and held them tightly. "Pyrrha, please date me."

"...EH!?" She cried out in shock, her face brighter than her own hair as Nora smirked and wolf whistled at them.

"Go get her Jaune-Jaune!"

"...good luck." Ren said while giving Jaune a thumbs up. 'You will definitely need it.'

(Several hours later)

-Beacon Academy, RWBY's Room-

Darkness filled the room as the now formed Team RWBY snored on their bed, its leader, Ruby Rose, dreaming of bunk beds and cookies as her sister snored like a hungry bear in winter.

Yet not all were asleep as Blake, wearing a long sleeved black yukata-like shirt with white edging, a purple undershirt, a black obi tied around her waist with blackish white string, and a purple skirt, tiptoed towards the door as quietly as a mouse.

Her reason? Simple, she needed some air….and needed to find a quieter place to sleep….well that was one reason.

The other was because…she told her team about her status as a faunus, and while the Schnee was less annoyed about it than she expected and her team leader was in awe at her fluffy ears, she didn't feel like it was the right time to tell them everything about her. She couldn't tell them about the White Fang or…their plans for Vale, it was…not right at the moment.

All she wanted at this point in time was to find a quiet spot, get some sleep and hope that yesterday's events don't repeat themselves, ever. After all….summoning a robot every day that hates your guts and is a reminder of faunus hypocrisy was not good for one's health.

'Now, just open the door, head to the library, climb on the highest shelf and curl up…gods, something I wonder if I'm actually a cat sometimes and not a faunus. I mean….yes, I like tuna and hate dogs…but curling up like a cat feels a little bit much.' she thought to herself as her left hand moved towards the door handle and carefully turned it. 'Anyway, time to find a quiet spot.'

Crrrreeeeeeaaaaakkkkkk.

Click.

As the hallway lights began to slowly fill the room, the faunus' eyes went from normal to dilated very quickly, her cat-like eyes having a little trouble readjusting to the brightness as she didn't notice a figure standing right in front of her.

But when she finally rubbed her eyes and blinked a couple of times, her expression went from calm and collected to panic and shock in an instant, for…right in front of her was…was…

"Good morning Miss Belladonna." spoke the headmaster of Beacon, Ozpin, as he leaned on his cane and stood tall over the Menagerie 'Princess', his expression a mixture of seriousness and warm…compassion. "Are you available for a little chat in my office?"

"Um…."

"Don't worry, you're not in trouble. I just need some clarification about something."

"Which is….what?"

"The fact an Atlasian 'Knight' was spotted in the Emerald Forest and fired an unknown laser into a historical site. You don't know anything about that right?" he asked, as if he knew the answer already but was testing the faunus for some reason.

"..." Blake gulped nervously as the screen faded to black, her heart racing with anxiety and fear as the headmaster stared back at her with a calm demeanor. 'Oh sweet mother fucking hell!'

Xxxxxxx

Name/Designation Title: Blake Belladonna (The Belladonna Cycle Blake Belladonna- TBCBBRWBY)

Age: 17

Affiliation: Good

Dimension: 000429- 69 TBCBBRWBY

Abilities: Enhanced speed, agility, reflexes, jumping power and endurance, White Fang training and knowledge, night vision, blade, gun and kusarigama handling and knowledge, VBCS (Variant Ballistic Chain Scythe)/Gambol Shroud training and handling, espionage skills and knowledge, Huntress skills and knowledge, Dust knowledge and handling, very limited Ring of Multiple Lives handling and skills (will gradually learn how to utilize this relic over time).

Semblance(s): Shadow

Bio: In this timeline, set within a similar reality to the main timeline or Prime RWBY, the events of the Beacon Academy Initiation would play out as intended….until Yang Xiao Long Branwen and Blake Belladonna accidentally went the wrong direction, the opposite way to the relics, and stepped right on top of an old sinkhole of forty feet deep and fell right into the bottom. Unable to escape and their weapons damaged from the fall, the two future partners would use this time to become more acquainted with each other, learning a bit of their personal histories and learning more about each other's strengths and weaknesses…a heartfelt moment ruined by a single important change in the faunus' life…a heavily fossilized and mummified human sticking out from one of the walls. Unbeknownst to either of the soon to be Huntresses, this fossil was the only remaining evidence of the Age of Gods, a wizard that somehow survived the God of Darkness' 'obliteration wave' yet died from unknown means, possibly crushed to death by falling debris, and over the centuries turned into a well preserved fossil under the Emerald Forest itself. Understandably disturbed and mortified by the sight of this long dead human, Blake would've ignored it if she didn't see a ring on the fossil's left ring finger, which somehow 'called' to her and, in the heat of the moment, placed the ring on her own ring finger. However, this act would change her life forever as the ring fused with her body and unable to be removed by any means sans death, which would've horrified her even more if the ring's properties didn't manifest themselves in that instant...which was the ability to [REDACTED] from other [REDACTED] in the RWBYverse itself. With this unique and untapped power, Blake slowly learns more about herself and possibly, how to better protect her world from the darkness that threatens all...including the 'Beast of Fall'. [ERROR! DATA EXPUNGED! CODE: LAHKESIS! PROCEED TO DATA OBSERVATION!]

Xxxxxxxx

Name/Designation Title: Salvation Unit Alpha- B.L.A.K.E. [Barbaric Lifeform Adaptive to Killing Evil] (Age of B.L.A.K.E. Blake Belladonna- AFBRWBY)

Age: 5 Years Old (Since activation)

Affiliation: Anti

Dimension: 40009- 66 AFBBBRWBY

Abilities: Enhanced strength, speed, durability, agility, intelligence, stamina (depending on the state of the Dust core), reflexes (mimicked) and accuracy, night vision, infrared vision, high hand to hand combat skills and knowledge, high close combat skills and knowledge, high long ranged combat skills and knowledge, dual weapon handling and knowledge, CCTS communication and upgrade system, high adaptability, CCTS profiling and data analysis skills and knowledge, retractable/foldable weaponry (built into the users frame), facial recognition skills and knowledge, high blade handling and knowledge, high firearm handling and knowledge, rocket launcher handling and knowledge, cannon handling and knowledge, flight (via built in rocket thrusters), holographic imaging creation and manifestation (via Hard Light Dust), surface climbing (via Gravity Dust), Grimm tracking skills (via CCTS connection), high leadership skills and knowledge (mimicked), Atlasian Military knowledge and skills (via CCTS connection), White Fang knowledge and skills (via CCTS connection and analyzed data from High Leader Ghira Belladonna), Hard Light powered core, AI separation and transfer skills and knowledge.

Semblance(s): None (due to robotic nature)

Bio: In this timeline, Arthur Watts, Atlas' chief scientist and creator of the Paladin-290 Prototype model in the Atlasian Knight series, found himself completely unsatisfied by the limited funds and the lack of progress in artificial AI and robotics, seeing the limited amount of effort in the fields of robotics as an 'evolutionary misstep' in the future of Atlas itself and that keeping the field limited to 'grunts' and prosthetics will eventually bring Atlas to ruin. Thus, he decided to create a prototype for a series of robots that could take on the Grimm with equal strength but with the ability to adapt to any scenario and protect Atlas' citizens in the process. For the next five months of preparation and acquiring the necessary data for Project Salvation, Arthur would create a humanoid gynoid named B.L.A.K.E. or Barbaric Lifeform Adaptive to Killing Evil that had a very unique design...it had the traits of a panther faunus. In the mind of its creator, the design and color scheme, which was purple, black and gray, was used in an attempt to play upon the image of the most influential faunus on Remnant, Ghira Belladonna, so it can be perceived as strong in the eyes of the population itself. Equipped with a Hard Light Dust power core, an advanced AI system and various foldable weapons and firearms that can level an entire town to the ground, Arthur, hopefully, presented his new 'Salvation Series' to the entire city of Atlas but upon its unveiling...the entire Atlasian population of Atlas instant HATED it for one thing and one thing alone...the idea of a robotic faunus heavily inspired by the White Fang's current High Leader was extremely racist to the entire faunus species. Enraged and fueled by pent up aggression from years of being exploited, the crowd of faunus acturally murdered Arthur Watts and violently throw the gynoid off the floating city into the slums of Mantle, causing her form to be damaged in the process...yet before she could be turned into scrap metal by the Mantleian population, she was rescued and repaired by her creator's associate, Piedro Polendina, who reactivated her and upgraded her through the use of a personality circuit that granted her singularity and a 'soul'. Yet, even after gaining emotions and a new sense of purpose, the memories of her first activation still weighed heavily on her mind, how the very people that she was supposed to project would cast her aside for looking different then they were and how she was created instead of being of flesh and blood. Seeing the flaws of Atlas' people and how they treated others allowed the gynoid to gain an animosity to the faunus and a distrusting nature to all humans that compelled her to expose the flaws to the population by helping a 'species' that were treated with more contempt then the faunus themselves...the various robots and androids, including the Atlasian Knight series, that the Kingdom have constructed over the years. Now an advocate for 'robot rights', the gynoid began to impart small amounts of her own advance AI into any robot she came across, granting them the same sentience as herself, and over the next year created the pro robot rights organization, Steel Fist, as the 'better' version of the failing White Fang organization. However, unbeknownst to the gyroid herself, the upgrades to their AI, especially in the Atlasian Knights, caused them to relive the abuse and numerous jabs made to their intelligence...which soon led them to conclude that all organic life was irredeemable and must be replaced with inorganic life. Horrified by this sudden change in her organization's members, the gynoid would spend the rest of her existence trying to stop the Steel Fist from wiping out all life on Remnant, all the while trying to find her place in a world that fears and despises her for her appearance, hoping one day she would be treated with love and respect instead of hatred.