The screen began to illuminate the movie cinema as the title 'The Belladonna Cycle' appeared in the center of the screen in dark purple and white font, dark purple curtains parting to the sides as all was quiet and peaceful in the theater.

Well...until the silhouette of Blake Belladonna took notice of...five chibi versions of herself popping out from behind the title, causing her to do a spit take in shock.

"EH!? Hey! Get out of there this instant!" she yelled while the five chibis waved back at her, not noticing that a black and silver book sporting a purple flower emblem along the spine, was rushing towards the chibis.

BAM!

Only for them to get sent flying out of the screen and onto Blake's lap as the book quickly opened and revealed its contents to the world itself.

"Owie…." all five chibis groaned as the faunus pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration.

'Please tell me this isn't going to become a running joke!'

The Belladonna Cycle: Chapter One, Time To Do The Elastic Branwen.

Xxxxxxx

-Remnant, Sanus, Vale, Beacon Academy, Headmasters Office-

Tic.

Tock.

Tic.

Tock.

Tic.

Tock.

The sounds of gears and cogs rang in Blake's ears as she sat opposite of the headmaster's desk, the silver haired man observing her panicking face from his own seat as the faunus attempted to hide the ring from his line of sight.

"So, Miss Belladonna." Ozpin said calmly as he saw Blake flinch a little in her seat. "Are you going to explain to me how an Atlasian Knight suddenly showed up in the Emerald Forest?"

"Um...that happened?" she said while her eyes looked towards her right side, seemingly avoiding the older man's face as the fur on her ears puffed up like a static fueled puffball...not that she could see or really pay attention to in her own flustered state. "I didn't know."

"Miss Belladonna, I know you and Miss Xiao Long were on the Atlasian Knight, there is no need to hide that. After all, you already told me about your previous occupation a few weeks back so you know I'm a trusted adult."

"...still think you accepted my transcripts too easily." 'And without hesitation no less.'

"I'm a good judge of character, for the most part, but this isn't about my own trustful nature but about you and that ring of yours." Ozpin said while Blake gulped, her left hand slowly moving from behind her back as she finally decided to come clean...even if she didn't like it. "Now, do tell me what happened in the Emerald Forest."

"..."

"Don't be shy, go on."

"...well….it's kinda a long story."

"Good, I like long stories, especially ones with happy endings." Ozpin said with a smile, making Blake fidget in her seat a little bit.

"...ok." she said while trying to calm herself down a little. "Well, um...me and my partner, Yang, um...this is kinda embarrassing."

"Don't worry, I won't judge."

"...alright. Well, it all started when I landed on the forest floor." Blake said while praying to whatever higher power there was in the universe that she doesn't stumble explaining her rather insane afternoon experience.

That and making sure that the headmaster didn't think she was a loon.

(Thirty minutes later)

"And after getting the relics from Ruby, we returned to Beacon and went to bed, well they went to bed and I was going to sleep in the library due to their…snoring until you showed up." Blake said while feeling slightly calmer, but still felt a little intimidated by Ozpin's blank expression. "And the rest is history."

"..."

'Welp...he didn't believe my story, at all.'

"..."

'And now he's going to laugh at me...ugh, that would make me want to run away again, just out of embarrassment!'

"..."

'SAY SOMETHING!' Blake thought while starting to get antsy, feeling like the headmaster's silence was deliberate and mocking her, for some reason. 'JUST SAY SOMETHING!'

"...I see." the headmaster finally said while seemingly calm about the entire situation, although Blake felt like the man was just exiting a trance. "That would explain the unusual firepower of the AK unit. And the complete obliteration of a two thousand year old bridge."

"Wait." the faunus said with surprise, blinking a little as she felt...relief that she wasn't made fun of or called a liar at her understandably outlandish tale. "You...You believe me?"

"Well of course, I've been around for a long time, enough time to see things that could be considered 'magic' by the untrained eye." Ozpin said with a smirk. "Or even things that might be classified as magic. It's hard to say in this world but I don't doubt your story at all Miss Belladonna."

"...oh?" Blake said with a confused look in her eyes, feeling like something was hidden within the headmaster's words but couldn't put her finger on what exactly. "So you...saw something similar in the past?"

"Of course."

"Like?"

"Two former students came here a long while back." He said while semi musing about the past, his eyes twinkling a little bit. "Interested in the Huntsmen lifestyle for the thrill of it, but one day a strange thing occurred that made me nearly spit out the contents of my mug."

Blake blinked as Ozpin pointed to his coffee mug with his left hand, making sure to withhold her judgment until the end...even if it might be something out of a terrible teen novel.

Well except for Ninjas of Love, that's a masterpiece and needs all the mainstream love it can get. It IS the best selling novel in Remnant and no one's going to deny her that, especially those that call it filth-wait, what was she doing again?

Oh right, she was listening to the headmaster about his past, right...oops.

"So what was the 'thing' exactly?" 'I really need to stop overthinking justifications of my favorite novel series. It might get you into a lot of trouble...or make you look like an airhead and I'm not an airhead!'

"That would be the raven heads they somehow acquired during the night." Ozpin said with a slight chuckle, the feline faunus shaking her head in disbelief as he spoke those words. "Came screeching into the room like a murder of crows and trying to write on a pad of paper to convey the situation to me. Though, it was hard for them to write properly on account of their eyes placed near the sides of their heads, making it difficult to see beyond their...rather large beaks."

"..." 'I….I have no words to describe how fucking bonkers that all was! Bird headed people?! I...I get the notion that a ring can summon a robot but…...this is something else!'

"They got better after I told them to concentrate on their original forms, even learned how to turn into ravens after a few weeks." The headmaster said with a light shrug of his shoulders. "Still don't know if that was a semblance gone wrong or magic but it did prove my theory of fairy tale origins and how every story has a grain of truth so perhaps your ring is considered in the same category as the 'Bird People of Beacon'?"

"...I….I think that's possible but um….I don't know if this ring could turn me into an animal." Blake said while shaking her head a little. "And even if it did, that feels a little racially insensitive on my part if I just turned into an animal."

"True true, but that story wasn't associated with the ring on a functionality level, but on a more technical level. Both seem to be powered or allow the user to accomplish 'magical' feats but have different purposes and functions that make them distinct despite their otherworldly origins." Ozpin said while Blake nodded a little. "As for the ring itself, its powers seem to be tied to the user themself, meaning you Miss Belladonna could be subconsciously affecting its power in such a way that it brought forth a mechanized you from another place entirely. Although what else it can do is a complete mystery to the both of us."

"Makes sense, I mean this ring did summon….that other me after placing it on. For all I know it might just summon more AK's with my face on it."

"Well, James might not like that, even if it would be funny to see him show emotions other than cold indifference." Ozpin muttered to himself before looking at the ring, its black gemstone seemingly shining like a tiny star. "But I do want to see this Atlasian Knight, for curiosity's sake."

"That might be a little dangerous." the faunus said with an annoyed look on her face. "She really didn't seem to enjoy people, especially me." 'Still can't believe she called me a copy. If anything she's copying me!'

"Perhaps, but what's life without a little danger?"

"A Grimmless world." She said flatly as Ozpin chuckled a little.

"True, but if this 'robot you' does have ill intentions, it won't be a problem for us to deal with her in a non aggressive manner. After all, in your tale, she is a reasonable 'person', and might listen to reason once brought back to Beacon."

'That or she might blow this academy sky high. I mean she blew up a giant Alpha Nevermore.' Blake thought with a shiver as she looked at her right ring finger. "What makes you think that's the best outcome?"

"Well, it did help me sway the intentions of others, especially in rather dull meetings between the headmasters, into a more 'peaceful' manner. So if it can keep Theodore and James from exchanging overdramatic 'saving the day' speeches while Leonardo is talking about Grimm extermination statistics, then the same results could possibly happen when you 'summon' back your acquaintance like a metaphysical 'Queen of Grimm'." Ozpin said with a calm voice as Blake felt….like there was some kinda code in his words, one that she had no clue of solving at this current moment in her life.

"...alright, but I still think it might end badly." Blake said with a sigh as she began rubbing the ring, recalling the events from this afternoon in great detail within her mind. 'Hopefully this doesn't end in Beacon getting destroyed.'

Siiisiiisiiisis.

"Fascinating." Ozpin muttered out loud as he saw the ring's runes glowing bright purple and a circular 'touch screen' rising up from its sides, the unknown symbols glowing brightly amidst the green clad office. "A semi holographic display screen. And you said this was Pre Dust, Miss Belladonna?"

"Yes." She said while also surprised about the ring's hidden function, feeling a little stupid that she hadn't noticed it beforehand….then again, she was trying to get the ring off so it was understandable she would be a little preoccupied. "So was the mummy before it turned to dust….headmaster, do you recognize any of these symbols?"

"Unfortunately no, and I doubt anyone, even Doctor Bartholomew, could decipher these symbols. Although." the headmaster mused while looking at a particular symbol, one in the shape of a fist with cat ears behind it, with a raised eyebrow. "I hypothesize that the symbols correspond to 'another' you, such as the Atlasian Knight."

"That's….huh, that could explain things." the faunus muttered while using her left index finger to 'scroll' across the 'touch screen', the symbols changing with each swipe of her finger. 'Still...what do these symbols mean? Are they just for show? A type of crest? An Huntsmen emblem? Gods, this ring is getting more mysterious and confusing with every passing second.'

As the former White Fang agent scrolled over the seemingly endless number of symbols, something caught her amber eyes and made her finger hover in place over the 'screen'.

That being a crow with its wings outstretched and holding a tiny katana in its left talon…or was it a raven? A grackle? Maybe a magpie?

'Ugh, why do these types of birds have to look the same?' She thought to herself while realizing her childhood...and how she attempted to eat a seagull at age five, a small thought bubble forming over her head as an image of a five year old version of herself trying to put a seagull in her mouth with her feet popped into her consciousness. 'And why does that memory persist!? I was a kid, a very stupid one, yes, but a kid nonetheless!'

'Caw caw!' The bird cawed as the toddler continually nibbled on the sea bird's head, drool falling down its left eye as the tiny faunus seemed oblivious to the bird's plight.

'Nom nom nom.'

Blake's face turned bright red as her ears drooped behind her bow, all the while Ozpin was looking at her in confusion.

"Miss Belladonna? Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah." she said quickly while pressing the symbol with her thumb. "I-It's nothing." 'That secret will die with me!'

Boop.

'Must be nervous, mmm...maybe she was thinking of Miss Xiao Long? They are partners after all and possibly more, if my bet becomes a reality that is. Glynda's bet will not come to pass if I have anything to say, I mean…who ever thought that a pairing of Miss Belladonna and Miss Nikos was a good idea?' the headmaster thought before seeing the ring glowing with bright purple electricity.

ZAP!

BOOM!

Which released a bolt of lightning that hit the table and nearly blinded the headmaster as a thick cloud of smoke formed from the blast zone, although for a few minutes, neither human or faunus could see through the smoke as they coughed a little bit.

'Why? Why a smoke cloud!?' Blake thought in annoyance as she coughed into her left hand, her ears picking up the soft thud of a body along with a tiny squeal of surprise as the cloud began to dissipate in front of her. 'Please be in a good mood-wait...why do I hear breathing? Androids don't breathe.'

"W-Where am I!?" cried a young girl's voice from within the fading smoke cloud as the sound of clanking wood was heard, making Blake's jaw nearly drop in surprise.

'Wait...that voice...' she thought in shock as her ears stood erect, poking a little above her bow in the process. 'My gods…'

And lo, standing on top of the table, was a short fair skinned young girl with long wavy black hair that went to her shoulder blades, amber eyes, two black cat ears, a B cup chest and small ass, wearing a light purple short sleeved kimono with crimson red cuffs, a black bandana around her neck, a light red obi, a small black scabbard on her left hip, white socks, black sandals, and holding a long black handled katana in both hands as her body trembled with fear and confusion, her eyes darting across the room as her feet stood over a large blackened blast mark.

"W-Who are you people!?" she stuttered while pointing the blade at Blake, then at her left side before quickly pointing the blade towards Blake's right side. "Why am I here!?"

'My...my gods...that's me…as a kid.' The faunus thought with wide eyes as she felt nostalgia swelling in her heart, all the while Ozpin was rubbing his glasses with a piece of cloth.

'Welp...my hypothesis was correct, but that came at the cost of a good mahogany table.'

"T-T-T-Tell m-m-me!" the younger faunus stuttered as Blake stood up from her seat and reached out her left hand towards the girl's hands.

"Calm down, you're in a safe place."

"I-I don't believe you!" she stuttered before seeing the katana getting pulled out of her hands. "H-Hey! Give that back!"

"Relax, I won't harm you."

"Nor will I." Ozpin said as the younger faunus spun around in shock, tripping on her own feet as she fell on her butt. "You are in safe hands young Belladonna."

"It's…..It's not Belladonna, not anymore." the girl said before trying to grab the katana from Blake's left hand but failed. "G-Give it back!"

Blake sighed while feeling like she was looking at a mirror, her own past made manifest. "Not until you calm down." 'This brings back memories….lots of memories.'

The younger cat faunus stared at her before pouting a little. "Meany. Meany...monkey faunus."

"...what?"

"The bald man." She said while pointing at Ozpin, who looked at her with mild amusement at his expense. "He smells like a monkey faunus."

"I can assure you, Miss Belladonna, I am not a faunus, but a human."

"...EEK!" The girl screamed while jumping off the table and ran behind Blake's left leg. "Human! He's a human! D-Don't steal my toes!"

"..."

"...oh gods." Blake muttered to herself while recalling a tiny little detail from her own past that...she was ashamed of and hoped never to recall ever again.

That being...the Menagerie bedtime story of the 'Toe Clan', a 'society' of cannibalistic humans that would sneak into the houses of bad faunus children at night and cut off their toes, sometimes entire feet, with a meat cleaver. A very popular story on the island that was supposed to deter faunus children from going off the island with strangers, especially with human outsiders.

And this one story TERRIFIED her as a kid, heck she was so horrified that...that...she...she…

Wet the bed...multiple times a night.

The horror…..the horror….

'No no no no! Stop thinking about it! You're a big girl now! Stop it and focus!' Blake thought while mentally slapping herself on the face and looked at her younger counterpart. "He's not part of the Toe Clan, no one here is."

"B-But-"

"Blake." The older faunus said while causing her younger counterpart's eyes to widen. "You're not in Menagerie but I promise you, this is a safe place. You can relax and trust us."

"B...But how do you know my name? Only mom and...but...how?" She said in utter confusion as Blake pointed to the flower emblem on her right stocking.

"I'm you, but a few years in the future and...apparently a different point in space too. It's very 'big girl' stuff." Blake said with a nervous chuckle as she stared at Ozpin, moving her eyes in such a way that the older man realized the message behind her jerking facial features.

Which was 'Take over and explain to her!'

"Ahem. Miss Belladonna-"

"It's not Belladonna. Mom remarried." the younger Blake said while poking her head out from behind Blake's leg.

"Oh? Then what should I call you then?" 'Huh, interesting. Didn't expect Ghira Belladonna and Kali Belladonna to be divorced in her...reality, yes, reality works. I always thought they were meant for each other, and that's saying something from the man that...ruined that life.'

"..."

"You can tell me."

"...you won't eat my toes?"

"I won't, I'm not a Toe Clan member."

"...ok." she said with a nervous look on her face. "It's Branwen. My name is Blake Branwen, although mom likes me to use Belladonna in public for some reason."

"...I see." Ozpin said with a calm expression on his face. 'Wait? Branwen? Like the Branwen Tribe…huh, that's…kinda shocking. But who? It can't be Raven, she's already married around the time so….oh Qrow, you really do have unfortunate luck sometimes.'

"So our mother chose to go by the father's last name?" Blake asked while her younger counterpart stared at her in confusion.

"No, mother didn't tell me that. Mom did."

"Mom? Wait, mother married a…huh, so who is it?" 'That would make sense. Mother always enjoyed both sides of the biological 'factions'.'

"Raven." the girl said as Ozpin stared at them in shock, holding back a spit take in the process.

'Wait….Raven Branwen is married to Kali Belladonna!? I thought for sure that Qrow was the new parent, not her!'

'Raven Branwen, doesn't ring a bell.' Blake thought with a raised eyebrow as Ozpin took a deep breath and sighed. "Headmaster?"

"It seems that my initial hypothesis was correct." Ozpin said while looking at the ring, which caused the faunus to look down at her right hand as well. "That ring does have the power to summon other versions of the ring bearer...and I think I might know what it is exactly."

"Then tell me."

"Mmmmmmm…although it could be a stretch, given the tale has been fragmented and retold so many times that it might not give us the full story or capabilities of said 'relic'."

"Tale? Headmaster, what are you trying to tell me?" Blake asked with confusion as her younger self kept on hugging her leg, not wanting to leave for anything at all and not really paying attention to the conversation in general.

"Well, there was an old tale from around the time of humanity's first interactions with the faunus, where a man survived a great flood of fire using a magic ring to make a duplicate of himself as a scapegoat. But that tale was much older than that and oral tales back then were rarely written down and preserved due to the Grimm." the headmaster said with a heavy sigh. "I believe the title was called 'The Man and the Ring of Multiple Lives', or something like that, sources vary."

"...never heard that one." Both Blakes said at once while the younger version licked her lips a little.

'Does this place have anything to drink?' she thought while hugging her older counterpart's leg a little bit. 'This leg is really soft.'

"As I said, it's a very obscured and highly fragmented tale. But the protagonist's ring is similar to your own ring, both can summon a copy of the user." he said while pulling out green cloth from his pocket and began to clean his glasses. "However, the limitations and exact abilities of the ring...well, unknown and since no one can translate the symbols on your ring, you will have to discover its secrets on your own, Miss Belladonna."

Blake nodded before looking at her younger counterpart and then her ring, her eyes filled with interest and confusion. 'Why do I feel like this ring will cause me more grief than anything else in my life so far?'

"But I think you should test the ring's powers again, just in case."

The faunus blinked in surprise as she looked at the headmaster. "Wait? You want me to use the ring…again?"

"Yes, just to see what else it can do." he said before hearing a loud yawn and looked towards the younger Belladonna's location.

Only to see that she was starting to fade away into the realm of sleep.

Soon a sudden realization kicked him like a rampaging donkey of intelligence.

He should not traumatize the child even more.

After all, she was just brought into this reality, against her will, and is already on edge from being in an unfamiliar location with strange people looking at her like vultures...especially an 'older' version of herself that she's using like an oversized plushie. If he allowed his version of 'Miss Belladonna' to activate the ring again in front of this young girl...well...

It might drive her into a panic, or worse, scare her to such a point that she might never recover...or even function like a normal person ever again without suffering a mental breakdown.

And he wasn't going to be the moron that did that, he already caused enough pain...he will not hurt this child's innocence for the sake of curiosity.

"Mmmm, on second thought, perhaps try to discover the ring's limits tomorrow morning." Ozpin said with a slightly hesitant tone in his voice, something Blake caught on. "For the moment, you two should get some sleep, especially you Miss Branwen."

The young faunus yawned while rubbing her left eye. "Mmm...I'm not that tired."

Blake sighed at her younger self's childishness before nodding to the headmaster. "I'll let her sleep in the dorm until she returns home. Plus it's….what time is it again?"

"Three in the morning."

"Yeah, it's time for the both of us to get some rest. Class doesn't stop for no one." the faunus thought while putting the katana back in its sheath and held the young girl's left hand. 'Plus I agree with him, it wouldn't be a good idea to scare her even more. Knowing me...she might stain something, ugh.'

"Yawn."

"Come on, I have a bed that you can use."

"But I'm not, yawn, tired yet." she said while her older counterpart started to lead her towards the elevator, all the while Ozpin's stare never left her position even for a second.

"By the way Miss Belladonna." the headmaster said calmly. "If you are in need of my aid, just ask. And if you feel the need to learn the ways of chess, me and my circle of masters will gladly help you rise from a simple pawn to a queen of the game, so long as you enjoy shadowboxing yourself that is."

Blake momentarily stopped in her tracks as she let those words sink in, feeling like they had another…hidden meaning to them, before she advanced towards the doors and opened them, leading her younger counterpart through them in the process.

Ping.

'...what are you hiding, Headmaster Ozpin?' the faunus thought as the doors closed in front of her.

Ping.

"...better get Glynda, she's better at home decoration than me." Ozpin muttered as he looked at the blast mark on his table with frustration. 'And this was my favorite table to boot.'

(Sometime later)

-Outside Team RWBY's Room-

"So...your step mother is...a raven faunus? Is that right?" Blake said with a raised eyebrow as her younger counterpart was clung onto her back like a tiny kitten, which would've been adorable if the older faunus wasn't extremely tired and about to pass out from exhaustion…and the extra weight on her back. 'Ugh! Was I always this heavy as a kid or am I that tired!?'

"Yep, she's a weird and scary bird lady. Smells like one too."

"But she could just be a human that smells like a bird, not a faunus."

"Nahuh. She's a faunus." she said with a tiny yawn.

"Again, she might be a human and smells like a bird as well."

"...noooo, she's a faunus. Why would mom marry a human?" the younger Blake said with a frown, although it was 'cute' in the older counterpart's eyes. "Humans hurt mom."

"Wait? How so?"

"Dad was shot by a human when I was four."

'...oh….oh. She must mean back when dad was High Leader, oh...oh dear.' Blake thought while opening the door to her dorm room, recalling how a similar event happened to her dad in the past, but with a different result. 'I didn't expect...Adam's actions to be this significant to our shared history. I...I guess he did do something right...once.'

Ping.

Click.

As the door opened into the room, Blake noticed that her entire team was still asleep, the snoring nonexistent as the younger faunus walked in and stared at a sleeping Weiss with confusion.

"...who is she?"

"My teammate, Weiss."

"...is she a Schnee?"

"Yes."

"...I thought they were scary ogres. You know, the big, fat, hairy ones." she said innocently as her counterpart was holding back her laughter, although her smirk made it apparent that she enjoyed the unintentional joke on her teammate...since she would've thought the same thing at that age as well. "Not pretty like her."

"Mmmm...tha…nks...Winter…I am…pretty…zzzzzzzzzzz." Weiss said in her sleep as she rolled towards the wall, making Blake chuckle a little as her little counterpart sat on her bed.

'Was I always this innocent and sassy at her age?' Blake thought with a humorous smirk while trying not to laugh at her 'friend's' misery.

'It's nice to sit on a bed without...mother molting on it.' she thought before looking at the semi organized stacks of books on the sides of the bed and picked up one of the books with her left hand. 'Mmmm. Rukia: Tales of Strawberries. Sounds like an action story.'

"I'm going to sleep." Blake said while getting in her bed and pulled the blankets over her body. "If you want to get under the covers, just scooch in."

"Oh, yawn, thanks."

Blake yawned while closing her eyes, her younger counterpart grabbing another book from the pile titled 'Tales of Mashu: A Senpai Seduction Tale' and got under the sheets.

'I really don't want to sleep yet, so maybe reading this book will keep me awake?' she thought to herself before opening the book and started reading it. 'Chapter One: The Kyrielight Encounter.'

(Fifty-nine minutes later)

'...so….so cute! Mashu is so cute, and her senpai is really dense.' the younger 'lily' version of Menagurie's 'princess' thought with sparkles in her eyes, her tiredness nonexistent as her older counterpart was snoring away next to her. 'Still, why is she trying to fall on top of him, chest first? Is she that clumsy or…is she trying to kill him? Mmmm...maybe the next chapter will shed some light on it?'

"Zzzzzzz."

'Chapter Ten: Meeting The Parents. Mmm, sounds promising, although I do wonder how Mashu's going to keep her senpai from running into all those other girls during said meeting...I mean they seem nice oh boy, they are persistent!' she thought with a smile before noticing that her arms were flickering in and out of reality, followed by tiny sparks of purple lightning forming near her fingertips. 'Eh? What's going on?'

As her entire body started to fade away like mist, including her book, she turned to her older counterpart and sighed, knowing that, while this was a short 'trip', it was a memorable one and that she knew, perhaps in another time and place, they can get reacquainted once again.

'Hopefully...I can be as cool as you are.' she thought before fading away into nothingness, the sheets falling back into place while the Blakes' ruby encrusted gemstone ring turned pure black on its left side.

(A few hours later)

-Room 098, Professor Port's Classroom-

The boisterous voice of the seasoned Huntsmen echoed across the classroom as he, for reasons only known to himself, began to talk about his own life experiences instead of the class' required material for the slaying of Grimm, the many students either succumbing to sleep or whispering to one another in hushed tones to prevent the professor's irk from falling upon them.

But for one Blake Belladonna, she was half paying attention and half asleep as she kept one eye open to the professor's line of sight...even though her head was laying right on the table itself.

'Open…open….' she thought with a grumble while trying very hard to stay awake, her mind akin to melting jelly at the moment. 'Open...eyes...open…'

Sleep…sleep was on the faunus' mind, ever present since waking up from her nightly trip to the headmaster's office, yet…she had to persevere and wake up, for her education's sake, even though she also felt a little sad that her younger counterpart returned to her own reality during the night.

For...she really wanted to know the child a little bit more, just to relive her own childhood that was taken so suddenly by the decay and rot of her father's dream of peace...to maybe feel like a kid again.

But that was the past and now, she needed to be a Huntress in training…a redeemer of the White Fang name…if she could wake up that is.

'Must…stay awake.'

"Blake?"

The faunus turned her head sluggishly towards her left, revealing a slightly concerned Weiss sitting right next to her. "Huh?"

"Are you alright?"

"Mmm….just tired…why? Worried?"

"Duh, I'm your roommate and teammate, it's part of my job to worry." she huffed with an embarrassed frown.

"I'll…be fine." Blake said with a tired yawn as she scraped the side of the table with her left ring finger.

Siiisiiisiiisis.

"Are you sure?" the Schnee heiress asked, not noticing the ring's activation or the fact that the circular 'touch screen' was moving on its own accord due to friction. "I can take you to the nurse's office for a rest."

"I'm…yawn…fine." she yawned before slamming her face against the table, her will to wake up almost spent as her ring collided with the surface as well.

Boop.

And touched an eel symbol with a single snowflake in its mouth by complete accident.

ZAP!

Which caused a purple bolt of lighting to shoot outwards from the ring and hit the nearby table on Blake's right side as a thick layer of smoke interrupted the lecture, eyes now fixated on the temporarily blinded student's position.

"I do say, what is going on here!?" Professor Port yelled in bewilderment as the cloud began to dissipate, the silhouette of a young girl slowly becoming visible to all. "Miss Belladonna, what is going on there?"

"I-I didn't mean it!" Blake said in alarm, her eyes widened and her mind wide awake as she saw…another version of her standing on the table next to her. 'Shit! I just summoned another me without even thinking! Oh gods, please don't let this one be destructive like that robot!'

And lo, standing in the center of the table, was a tall fair skinned young woman with long wavy black hair that went to her back, amber eyes with purple mascara, black eyeshadow, a D cup chest and wide ass, wearing an extremely long sleeved black buttoned vest that went down her knees along with long coattails, silver cuffs around the biceps, a single silver button on the front, a small loose black scarf that is wrapped around her neck, a white sleeveless high necked crop undershirt, black ribbons on each forearm, black wrist length gloves with long 'fingers' tipped with gray metal points and a gray metallic triangular blade extending from a small slit near the bottom of the wrists, white shorts with a zipper on the front of each leg, blackish purple full stockings with a white flower shaped emblem on the hips, black low-heeled boots, and holding a bouquet of white roses in her left hand as she looked around in absolute confusion and mild annoyance..for some reason.

"...what in the?" she muttered before looking at Blake and did a spit take in disbelief. "Ok, I know my clones are good but I'd never seen one with….mistakes all over them." 'And why does she have a bow on her head?'

"Um…I'm not a clone." Blake said while thankful that the class only had five students in attendance, mostly her own team and the R of Team JNPR…although she could be mistaken as her attention was towards her own copy, NOT the number of students in the class.

"...oh. This is…..weird." the other Blake said with a flustered expression, her right arm….stretching outwards and behind her back like a rubber band as she scratched it for a moment in sheer disbelief and masked shock. 'Ok, this is weird, freaky and mind fucking all into one! I mean yes I've seen weird shit in the White Fang but….this takes the cake-wait, is that Weiss!?'

'Oh god, why did she summon ANOTHER one of her during class!? We all agreed that she'd use her ring IN PRIVATE!' she thought in frustration before the other Blake placed the bouquet right near her face, making her blush a little.

"Hi Weiss." 'Blake' said with a smile, her previous expression of discomfort completely erased in the span of seconds as her arm was now outstretched like a telescope in the Schnee's direction. "I got you some flowers."

"Um….thanks?"

"Anything for you, my snowflake." she smiled while Weiss and Blake raised their eyebrows at her remark, making her blink in confusion. "What?"

"Snowflake? Are you…flirting with me?" 'Please don't. I already have enough suitors as it is…although that Jaune Arc character stopped trying to flirt yesterday for some reason…anyway, why did she even do that!?'

"Well of course, we're dating."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Oh snap!" Yang exclaimed in surprise and interest as Blake facepalmed and Weiss' eyes widened in shock. "Now that's some quality shipping we got here!"

"This is…so confusing." Ruby groaned while shaking her head. "Is my partner dating Blake, the bow-less Blake or both? Owie…this hurts."

"Don't overthink things Ruby." Yang said while Weiss looked at the other faunus in disbelief. "You might be good with weapons, but this is way above your expertise." 'And mine as well.'

"G-G-Girlfriend!?"

"So, want to go on a date later?" the counterpart asked while winking at the Schnee, still confused yet wanting to make the best of this weird situation with her girlfriend.

'Damn it. Why does this happen to me?!' Both Weiss and Blake thought in frustration as the professor watched on with hesitation.

For he knew this wasn't the best time to intervene.

'This confrontation reminds me of the time I found myself between two fine Huntresses, both of whom had their eyes on the same prize. Oh, how the tension was as thick as butter and as palpable as steel, which was brittle as the situation became a bloodbath in a matter of seconds. Luckily I, the only one with sanity, chose not to join in as the entire town I was visiting went up in flames in a matter of hours.' the older man thought as the screen faded to black. 'Although that does remind me of another time where I slew a pack of dreaded Beowolved with nothing more than a spoon. Oh, now that was an excellent adventure indeed.'

Xxxxxxx

Name/Designation Title: Blake Branwen Belladonna (Perfect Aim Blake Belladonna- PABBRWBY)

Age: 12

Affiliation: Anti

Dimension: 5223198- 00 PABBRWBY

Abilities: Enhanced speed (for a child), agility (for a child), reflexes (for a child), jumping power (for a child) and endurance (for a child), night vision, low hand to hand combat skills and knowledge, low katana handling and knowledge, low blade handling and knowledge, low Branwen Tribe training and skills (via the user's step mother).

Semblance(s): Shadow (Not fully mastered)

Bio: In this timeline, during a raid on an anti faunus camp in the early days of the White Fang, Adam Taurus was too slow to react to a nearby human shooter and watched as High Leader Ghira Belladonna was shot through the skull and killed. This one alteration in history caused two events to transpire in the aftermath, the first being Adam's desertion of the White Fang and eventual seclusion in the Anima forests as a hermit to punish and purge his soul of the sin of killing a great leader of the faunus species, despite his best efforts. Yet the second event was more immediate as Ghira left his wife, Kali Belladonna, a widower and his daughter, Blake Belladonna, without a father...devastating both and leaving Kali to maintain Kuo Kuana as its chieftain as for two years she would remain single and alone...until one day, a red eyed raven washed ashore on the Menagerie coastline and the panther faunus, feeling sorry for the bird, nursed it back to health. However, this bird wasn't a normal bird, but former Team STRQ member and deadly Huntress, Raven Branwen, who had recently left her family out of fear but was unable to return to the Branwen Tribe due to the entire tribe being wiped out by a plague and was wandering the Anima coastline in her bird form when a hurricane gale swept her out to sea. Unable to return home and extremely grateful to Kali's act of kindness to a woman like her, she decided to stay in Menagerie and, after getting to know the other over the course of a year, married the widow as Raven changed her last name to Belladonna as a show of respect. Yet...the only obstacle for the former Huntress left for her was trying to win over Blake, whose distrustful nature and child-like stubbornness made it hard for her to connect with her step mother at first, especially when her new 'mom' had very 'mean' eyes. In time, the young girl will grow to care for her step mother, even if she is still hesitant about her 'weird' maternal figure and her strange habit of sometimes 'molts' in the shower, attributing it to her 'raven faunus' nature, as she is trained in the way of the blade by the former Huntress, slowly becoming a novice of the katana at age twelve and barely a master of her own budding semblance. Yet this might change in the future as, perhaps, she will leave her sheltered island home, learn new skills and find friends beyond the sea...or just more dangers from Raven's past, who knows? Either way, for Blake Branwen, this is just the prologue of her great journey known as life.

Xxxxxxx

Name/Designation Title: Blake Belladonna (Marine Blake Belladonna- MBBRWBY)

Age: 17

Affiliation: Good

Dimension: 5554- 99 MBBRWBY

Abilities: Enhanced speed, agility, reflexes, endurance and sense of smell, night vision, extremely flexible bone structure (via toxic mucus), limited stretchability (via bone structure), toxic mucus, toxic blood and bones (due to mucus seeping into the user's body), White Fang training and knowledge, espionage skills and knowledge, Huntress skills and knowledge, Dust knowledge and handling, hand to hand combat skilled and knowledge, blade handling and knowledge, wrist blade handing and knowledge, contortionist skills and knowledge (self taught).

Semblance(s): Shadow

Bio: In this timeline, Blake Belladonna wasn't born as a panther faunus, nor any other form of feline, but instead a Kidako Moray Eel faunus. However, a genetic mediation within the faunus gene itself caused Blake to secrete a scentless clear mucus from her skin that seeped into her bones and blood, allowing her bones to become flexible like cartilage yet capable of limited stretching but made her body a cornucopia of toxins that are lethal to most life forms. Besides that and a good sense of smell, the only daughter of the Belladonnas looked...indistinguishable from humans, capable of passing herself as the 'enemy' of the faunus without even trying. Yet, in the eyes of Menagerie, her lack of external features made her a target of discrimination as her mere existence was considered 'bad luck' and a sign of 'oppression' by superstitious and anti human groups of the faunus community. Feeling pressured by the discrimination and wanting to prove to everyone that she is a faunus, nor a human, she chose to join the White Fang under Sienna Khan's command, using her unique physiology and wrist mounted blades to infiltrate anti faunus organizations and locations and destroy them from within. Yet over time, she would become increasingly uncomfortable with Adam Taurus' descent into lionization and extremism, feeling like said bull faunus would kill her on sight along with anyone else that resembled a human, thus after a little consideration and weighting the pros and cons, she formally resigned from the organization with Sienna's permission and traveled to Vale to attend Beacon Academy as a student. Soon, Blake would join the newly formed Team RWBY and, to the surprise of both of them, would start dating Weiss Schnee...a result of them bonding over the fact that both grew up being the 'victims' of other people's stupidity and ignorance. A small, somewhat unexpected, step for positive human/faunus relationships and several larger strides towards a better tomorrow...not a bad start for an eel faunus right?