Blake blinked, a woman in a ratty dress that barely covered anything looking around wildly. She was thin, incredibly slow, her hair incredibly dirty as well. Pure fear and anxiety rolled off her, her thin body shaking. She looked so much like a Schnee. Her face was practically identical to that of the younger Schnee sister who was currently attending Beacon Academy. "Can...I help you?" The fear and anxiety were raw and Blake couldn't ignore it. She was so absolutely thin. She has clearly been starved for quite a while.

  "I... Can you tell me where I am? I don't know where I am." Her blue eyes were wide, body still trembling. Blake wished she could comment on how the woman didn't know where she was, but she had no idea where her cafe was going in general. So she could understand that feeling of confusion about not knowing where she was.

  "You're in Vale in my cafe, the Sugar Flower Cafe." She had a feeling she was going to need to close, but, uh, this was fine. "I'm Blake Belladonna."

  "So I'm not on Selia anymore...?"

  "You're on Remnant." Apparently she was going to be a hotspot for weird multiversal stuff now. Best to just keep calm and not freak this woman out. She clearly had had it rough... The scarring... She could see so much scarring on this woman's body. That grey, ratty dress barely covered a thing. It was like a clubbing minidress.

  "So not on Selia..." She slid down the door and crumbled into a little ball. "W-Weiss Schnee." A Schnee from a different world. Well this was going to be interesting to deal with. But she clearly needed help. She reminded Blake all too much of herself when she'd escaped Adam…

  "Can I come over and flip the sign to closed?" She did have one usual that came around this time, but this was clearly a much more dire circumstance than having her one usual. She'd gotten a fair amount of money while in Paris, so she could afford to deal with closing early.

  Weiss looked up and gave a weak nod before dropping her head back onto her knees. Blake came over, flipped the sign to closed, and drew the blinds over the cafe's large windows. "Come on; let's get you upstairs." She frowned. "Do you think you can climb some stairs?" Weiss seriously looked about ready to keel over. She couldn't weigh more than eighty pounds, but she was probably closer to sixty.

  "I...I can try." She hobbled to her feet, body still shaking severely. Blake offered her shoulder and Weiss' eyes flashed, worry rolling off her in tsunamis. But she leaned against Blake after a few moments. Blake could tell she was incredibly weak. What had happened to her? She had no idea…

  They made their way up the stairs to the lower-level apartment (which was Blake's own) and Weiss settled on the couch, rubbing the fabric as if she hadn't touched anything like it in ages. "How about I get some dinner going and you can tell me your story--well, as far as you're willing to tell me." It wasn't like she was fairly open about her White Fang history or any of that with people.

  "I...I don't want to talk about it too much. I was in a war and then I was captured and tortured. But I probably shouldn't try to eat too much... I'm not a physiomancer in any shape, way, or form, but I've heard if someone's been starved, they need to be careful to not take in too much or else their body will go into shock."

  Blake nodded. "That's right; it's called refeeding syndrome. I'll make some soup and tea to be light on your stomach. I don't think a small bowl of chicken noodle soup will hurt." It'd take an hour or so to get there and make it all, but that was fine. She'd already taken chicken out at least... She got the stock pot on the stove and filled it with water. It was a small stock pot and would give her leftovers for a week. Weiss probably wouldn't and couldn't eat much. But seriously, what could a Schnee have gotten into that would leave her like this? She was aware of the abuse Weiss and Winter had gone through due to the leaks of the videos a few years beforehand. Winter was doing her best to erase the family's history of abusing the Faunus by making reparations with the SDC but still... It would take more than that to build new bridges where old ones had burned. "Until then, there's a bookshelf if you want it." Well, several but.

  "Wait, you have physical books?" Blake looked over and saw Weiss' eyes wide. Blake raised an eyebrow.

  "Yes?" She didn't understand.

  "Wow so many... Are you richer than even my family?" She stood up, body still trembling. Blake was honestly worried she was going to fall. She was clearly incredibly weak. She'd mentioned torture... Seriously, who would torture a Schnee like that...? Then again, she already knew the answer.

  Jacques Gele.

  "No. They're just discount books from my previous guardian's used bookstore. He let me have them for half price while I Lived there." She had lived above Tukson's shop for quite some time. She felt bad because it meant he couldn't take in other people like her, but she had her heart dead set on a cafe... She wanted it so badly. It wouldn't atone for her past crimes, but she could at least give back to the community somehow. Once started making a good profit, she could donate to charities. She was considering giving the space after hours to the small Menagerine enclave (about two blocks by two blocks) so people could connect with their native language and everything…

  "Wait, you have bookstores here? And, wait, why do you have cat ears?" Blake glanced up at her ears, tensing, ready for the racism. "I've never met anybody like that before. Can you hear with them?"

  Blake blinked, not having expected that but nodded. She twitched and moved them. "They're absolutely real. I use ultrasonic ringtones for the people I contact constantly. Humans can't hear them. I'm what's called a Faunus."

  Weiss blinked a few times and nodded. "Okay. That's...interesting. Selia doesn't have anybody like that on it. We have several different races, but cities are generally human-only. The others prefer nature."

  "Human and Faunus live together...for better and worse. There's a lot of racism unfortunately." She sighed. She really didn't feel like going into it. It was stupid. Yes, Faunus had a few physical points above humans, but they weren't that different in the end... She didn't understand how and why people saw things so badly. It was obnoxious...but it was why she stayed in Vale.

  "I see..." Weiss sat at the bookshelf and picked up a few books. "Do you have any reference material? Though..." She frowned which Blake could sense. "...are you going to throw me out? I'm..going to need a lot of help."

  Blake shook her head. "I'm not gonna toss you out on the streets. I'm probably better equipped to help you more than most people. I'm no doctor, but I know a few things about psychology and physiology." She would definitely need to consult with somebody that had medical knowledge but... How would she do that? Who would see a Schnee? Well, question was how to get her so her account wouldn't overlap with the actual Weiss' Schnee's... She could easily hack a history in for this Weiss, but she had no idea how to handle it.

  But she would definitely need help of some sort... She frowned and looked at her scroll. She dialed the number Anna had given her. "Hello, Blake~ What can I do for you?" As usual, she was incredibly chipper and forward.

  Blake tucked her scroll between her shoulder and cheek, cooking as best she could while starting the electric kettle for some tea. "Uh, hi... I had to close early today because of a...situation. An alternate Weiss Schnee somehow showed up in my shop. I'm going to need some help. She has nothing and I can't get her into a doctor... Is there anything you can do to help?" Considering Anna had the ability to break the multiverse like she had, it only made sense in Blake's mind to call her.

  "Do you know where she's from?"

  "She said she's from Selia."

  "I know exactly who that is. Give me about twenty minutes." WIth that, the call clicked off, leaving Blake completely alone to cook. She put her scroll back in her pocket and saw Weiss staring at her.

  Blake shifted a bit uncomfortable.

  "S-Sorry... It's just been...a long time since I've been so close to electronics..." She stared at the scroll in Blake's hand.

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  "Do...you want it?"

  Weiss flinched away. "I...can't touch another's personal device. It'd be a massive violation of my ethics. I'd download all your personal data into my mind. I...could be stripped if I did that." Blake frowned. What was she even talking about? Ethics? Stripped? Well, that was definitely talk from another world. Not that she doubted it... Well. The Fang often tortured people, but it wasn't usually prolonged like this. Maybe a couple of days and that'd be it. They didn't want culpabilities. Weiss had obviously been starved over a very prolonged period of time.

  "Okay." She felt it best to not press Weiss too much. So she fell silent while Weiss flipped through her books. "I don't have a lot of reference material here but I can pick up some books from Tukson's tonight probably. He normally closes at five but." He wouldn't mind Blake picking up some stuff after hours. He had cared for her for years after all... They were pretty close at this point.

  After that, the apartment fell silent until a buzz came on the intercom. Blake walked over and flicked the camera on. It was Anna. She hit the buzzer and opened the door. "Come on in."

  Thankfully, it didn't take too long for the woman to come up and knock on the door. She felt Weiss shudder massively but Blake walked over and opened it. Anna had a messenger bag slung over her shoulder. Blake invited her in and Anna handed Weiss the bag. "Here are all the essentials you'll need from Selia and some clothes until you can get over to my shop and pick some stuff up. You should really pick your own clothes but..." She looked at Blake and held up a bag that was clearly from a pharmacy. "I also brought some medications for her that should work. Normally I'd like to talk to people first but..." She shook her head. "Not a lot of time right now. Nightmare blockers, sedatives, and help for calming panic attacks along with some vitamins and such to help rebuild ones. I also have a diet on a piece of paper in there for you to follow too. You can bring her over to my shop tomorrow after you close, be it early or later. I'll be a few shops down."

  Blake raised an eyebrow. "And how much is this going to cost?"

  Anna's eyes gleamed. "Let's just say I'm taking it out of Mister Gele's account. Anything you need for her will be on the house as long as you come to me. Also... She'll need a shower so I brought you a new bottle of shampoo." She sat it on the counter. "Until tomorrow." She waved and left.

  Blake shook her head. "Well, that was easier than I thought it'd be." She looked back over to the kettle which had been on 'warm' and got in her tea cabinet, pulling down some lavender, chamomile, and lemongrass. "Want some tea?"

  "Um. Can I have a shower first...? It's been...I'm not sure how long since I last was truly clean." She looked at Weiss who had a frown etched on her face.

  "Sure, Go ahead. Dinner will be done in about 45 minutes. If you want to go back in after that, feel free." She knew what it was like to not be truly clean. She felt bad for the poor woman. A schnee's hair should be pure white, not the dusty, dingy grey tone that Weiss' was.

  Weiss headed into the bathroom, grabbing the bottle of shampoo, taking the bag in with her. She emerged about 45 minutes later in pajamas with long, conservative sleeves and pants with a housecoat thrown over her. It was only the beginning of January, so it made sense that she'd be in something warm. Without any body fat, she had to be starving. "Um. That bottle of shampoo was definitely needed. I used about half a bottle to get my hair clean..." She rubbed the back of her neck. Blake could see a faint sheen of blue around her hands that looked like fingerless gloves, but it was hard to tell.

  "That's perfectly all right, Weiss. We can always get more. No need to be so bashful about it. Though we should probably find something more specific for you." She knew how important apperance was to people like Weiss and how sensitive skin could be... She still personally needed to be careful with her cleaning and personal hygiene products. She was used to all-natural products due to having grown up in Menagerie.

  Weiss nodded a bit and sat at the table. Blake put a little bit of soup into a bowl for her along with half a glass of water. "Go slow. Take your time. Your body isn't used to drinking or eating consistently anymore." Weiss nodded and drank some water, obviously wanting to guzzle it down right then, but she took small sips between bites of food. "So you said you're from Selia. What exactly was your life like before it went to hell?" Hopefully that wouldn't be too triggering to talk about.

  "I was--am--a technomancer, specifically a datomancer and a hajomancer." Blake raised an eyebrow. What did that even mean? "Basically I can manipulate physical bytes on a drive and absorb, download, and analyse data. I'm glad Anna came because I really needed my inhibitor gloves.. She didn't give me an ethis, though. It has the same functions as an ethis but it's a different form." She pulled out a scroll. "It looks like what you were talking on earlier..."

  "We call it a scroll. What's an ethis?"

  "From what I've gathered, it does a lot of the same things as as an ethis: allows for calls, texting, access to the web, and a bunch of other things. Though, for 'mancers, the main thing is keeping track of our ethics."

  "That's the second time you've mentioned ethics... What exactly do you mean by that?" It would make some sort of sense for them to follow an ethical code of conduct, but she had a feeling it was deeper than that. The word resonated through Weiss' entire being whenever she said it. It was very strange. Ethics could be important to people, sure, but she'd never sensed it go as deep as it did with Weiss.

  "We have deep ethical codes we need to follow. The ethis monitors our ethics and infractions of our codes." Blake's blood ran cold at that description. A device that literally monitored her morality? That...was beyond disturbing. How could anybody live like that? And Weiss didn't make a big deal of it. She acted as if it was the weather. Her soul said that she was completely at ease with it and it was just a normal, everyday part of life. She... She couldn't understand how somebody could be okay with their morality being monitored. Thankfully, it did seem to be helping Weiss relax.

  "So what exactly was your job on Selia?" She wanted to get away from the talks of ethics and ethis violations... That was too disturbing to dwell on. She just... How could somebody be so at ease? And what happened if someone violated that ethics code? She shuddered to think about the potential consequences of a surveillance system that ran that deep into society to the point nobody really seemed to question it.

  "I was a data encryption specialist." Weiss frowned. "Well... That was at least before I got conscripted into the war." She looked down and her soul fell silent. Frigid cold rolled off Weiss. She definitely wouldn't push too much into that. Weiss didn't seem to be willing to talk about it. Not that Blake blamed her... She'd been a child soldier, though Weiss seemed a bit older... Maybe early to mid twenties? A bit older than Blake for certain. But her sunken eyes and hollow cheeks made her look so much older than she likely was. And that haunted look in her eye... Blake knew it all too well from her own flight from Adam.

  "I know a thing or two about computers. Though speaking of that... I'll probably need to hack an ID in for you in the Valian government archives." Yeah, Weiss wouldn't be able to function in Vale without a valid government ID. Blake actually had two separate ID accounts... She had her one in Mistral which was her official one under Blake Belladonna. She went by Blake Fabri in Vale so people wouldn't connect her with the White Fang. For off worlders though? The name wouldn't mean anything, nor could they connect it back to the White Fang. They probably wouldn't even know the Fang existed.

  Weiss nodded a bit. "I mean I could probably do it in about ten minutes flat... The encryption on this scroll thing is well below anything on Selia. There's no magic encryption like I'm used to. It's all just coding. Just coding will be open to me."

  "I know how to get in and out of the government systems without any trace. I don't doubt you're incredible at what you do, but considering I know the systems at this point..." Yeah. Weiss nodded a bit, drinking some of the broth from the soup. She really wasn't trying to demean Weiss or anything. The woman yawned, not even having finished the little bit of soup Blake had given her. Yeah, she was really gonna have to work to expand her stomach again. "I know it's early in the evening, but how about you get some rest?" It was closing in on 830, but with the medicines Anna had given them, Weiss would probably be out like a light. Sedatives and nightmare blockers were a powerful combination. She no longer needed sedatives to sleep but yeah, she still needed nightmare blockers.

  The color drained from Weiss' face. "I..."

  "Are you worried about nightmares?"

  Weiss nodded, squeezing her hands together.

  Blake smiled at her gently. "IT's okay. Anna gave you some nightmare blockers. Nothing will bother you unless it's not the right type. But considering Anna's thoroughness, she probably chose the right type." She picked Weiss' glass up and put some more water in it, then sat it in front of her. She offered her the small cocktail of pills. She could still sense the anxiety rolling off Weiss but she reluctantly took them. "Come on. Let's get you to bed." She helped Weiss up and to the guest bedroom in her personal apartment. There was another one up above her own, but Weiss likely wouldn't have the strength to get up there on her own.

  Weiss laid down and curled up, pulling the covers over her. Blake turned off the light then closed the door behind her. Unfortunately, it only took a few minutes for her to hear Weiss' breathing come rapidly even in the living room. She turned the light on and looked at Weiss. "What's wrong?"

  Weiss looked at her with wide eyes, though they were a little glassy from the sedatives starting to kick up. "T-Too dark..." Her words were a little slurred and she was obviously fighting sleep off at this point. "Too quiet."

  "Okay, relax." She turned the bedside lamp on. "Unlock your scroll for me." Weiss' hands shook and swayed a little but she managed to do it, then handed it to Blake. Blake opened to a noise generator site and selected a soft piano generator. "We can figure out settings tomorrow. For tonight, just stick with this." She put the scroll on the charger on the nightstand and Weiss nodded, closing her eyes again. Blake left the room again. She hoped that would be enough for Weiss to be able to sleep peacefully. She took care of the leftovers then took her own meds and curled up for the night. Tomorrow would definitely be an interesting day...