A/N sorry this took so long, and sorry if the story is a little rushed or unorganized this is my first time writing, and I'm not the most patient of people so when I have an idea I just want to get it out there. I might just start writing lengthy one-shots instead of longer stories because I forget to write or like in this case where I was studying for a midterms.
And now I give you: Shifted Rose: A Roses Thorn.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own RWBY that honor belongs to the genius Monty Oum may he rest in peace. And for those who haven't heard, Stan Lee has passed, a dark day for the superhero world indeed.
Speech: "heyo"
Thought: *heyo*
OTHER speech: "heyo"
OTHER Thought: *heyo*
vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv
Outskirts of vale, in a infirmary camp…
As dusk fell of the lost city of vale, and the constant flow of medical staff began to wane, the remaining members of team JNPR sat around a dying fire, locked in an unsettling silence as they each stewed in their thoughts of the events that had occured the past weeks.
As the minutes drew on a voice was heard, meak and uneven, a far cry from its usual exuberance its owner used to hold.
"What will we do now?" Nora asked her distressed teammates.
"I don't know." was the silent Ren's meager reply. Jaune scoffed, his eyes hardening before looking up at his teammates.
"I'll tell you what we are gonna do, we are going to avenge Pyrrha."
"How we don't know who-"
"Yes we do!" he said standing up with a start, "I'm going after Ruby with or without you, we all heard what she said in the stadium, and we all know what Weiss told us she said. I'm going tomorrow, either you follow me or you don't." his voice lowering near the end of his statement, he spun around and walked away, toward the tent they had been given.
Nora and Ren sat there in uncomfortable silence for many minutes after their leaders departure, watching as the last of the embers died in the fire in between them, before agan the hammer-wielder spoke.
"Do you really think she did all this?" she stated gesturing to the wounded civilians around them.
"I. I don't know. What I do know is that we won't find out staying here." was the ninjas reply.
"So what should we do, I don't think I could k-kill Ruby even if this was all her doing." Nora shakily asked as she wrapped her arms around herself gripping her collapsed hammer and chewing her lower lip.
It pained Ren to see her like this, again. She should be bouncy and smiley, and constantly bothering him about pancakes, not scared and shivering. He stood up and walked around the fireplace and sat down wrapping his arms around her, she leaned into his embrace, grateful for the comforting gesture.
"I think we should follow Jaune, just not necessarily his goal, and when we find Ruby, we find the truth and make our decision then, ok?" he softly whispered to the shivering girl, rocking her softly.
She just nodded into his chest and closed her eyes. And so they stayed like this in silence until the sun's light vanished beneath the horizon and they joined their leader in the tent.
On a cliff with a lone grave stone….
Ruby stood, with her eye, closed and tears leaking from it, but nary a sound was heard. As she slowly started to open her eyes and look upon the grave before her.
Summer Rose
Thus kindly
I Scatter
"It's been awhile mom, probably shouldn't call you mom anymore, I don't deserve you, not anymore." she softly said in a clearly broken voice, unaware of the dark figure slowly approaching from behind her.
"It's funny, I thought I was doing the right thing, I thought I was gonna be the hero who saved the world from monsters, hehe, guess in the end, I do end up stopping at least one monster."
She lifted her hand to inspect the dust pistol she had taken from her house, checking the magazine, and making sure the safety was off.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry for everything, but sorry isn't really enough is it, I have to atone, this is probably the best way, goodbye, mom, I probably won't be seeing you again."
and she slowly brought the weapon towards her head, and pulled the trigger, as the dark figure behind her leapt at her.
Neo ran as fast as she could trying to follow the slowly fading trail of rose petals, she was worried, very worried that Ruby would do something stupid before she could find her.
She glanced angrily at her travelling partner, who was clearly as distressed, if not more so, than herself.
After Ruby had sped away from the house Neo had gone after her, until she heard the slam of a door, and a loud 'Wait!' from the cabin behind her.
As Yang ran through the forest after her sister she ran into a familiar face, and her eyes turned crimson once again.
"YOU! What are you doing here!?"
Neo just scowled and picked up one of the floating roses and shook it angrily at the blond. And didn't fail to notice the way the girls eyes faded back to lilac and her shoulders drooped.
Neo stomped up to the girl and shook the petal in front of the brute with a questioning look. So Yang hoarsely recounted the prior events. Neo's eyes widened before she glared at the older sister, barely restraining herself for flaying her alive, but she knew, Ruby came first, and so she ran.
As they started approaching a clearing Yang's eyes grew pained in realization for where they were, before the ice-cream girl could raise a questioning eyebrow, a gunshot was heard, and two sets of eyes widened, before they started desperately sprinting toward the origin of the sound they hoped did not mean what they thought it meant.
Yang and Neo entered the clearing to see Ruby with a gun in her hand, next to her head, smoking, but that was not what made them pick up their pace and call out to the red cloaked girl, it was the Beowulf directly behind her.
But before they attacked the creature they stopped shocked, when they realized the monster was not moving an inch, only making growling noises, but not out of anger or hatred, but of of pain.
And they could only stare horrified as 'Ruby' turned around, slightly, to look at them, but not with beady silver eyes, like there were used to, but the deadly, sharp, singular eye that was pitch black darker even than the night itself, with a pupil as red as blood, staring unnervingly emotionless at the pair.
But not even that eye, that could only be described as Grimm, was the reason for their horror, no, it was the twisted arm that once was the claw of the Beowulf, completely covering the right side of her face, all that could be seen was her mouth and left eye, everything else was covered in the stretched out, bent, or crushed shape, of the Beowulf arm. With the bullet from the recently fired gun inbedded in its side, blocking it from reaching Ruby's head.
And even as they watched the Beowulf began to change, thrashing and growling and whining in pain, the Beowulf's body shrunk down, crushing in on itself, with horrible, cracking and squishing noises, with blood constantly dripping from its every part.
And slowly, as the cries of pain died out, it became a shape, that could only be described as a bastardized version of crescent rose, dripping with Grimm blood, with a blade of Grimm armor.
And she smiled, the 'not Ruby', smiled at the two gawking girls before her, and said, in a voice much like Ruby's but with a second deeper raspier voice at the same time.
"Well, well, well, isn't it just the bestest sister ever, Yang Xiao-Long, you happy now, if she wasn't so broken right now, she would be dead, ironic isn't it." she sneered.
Before she could respond, Ruby's eye went back to its normal silver, and tears started falling from it.
"Why, w-why, I can't even get rid of the monster, after all of this, why, why can't I die?" she sobbed
Before either of the girls could react, Ruby collapsed, unconscious.
Ruby's mind….
Ruby looked around, she stood in the middle of a barren field, with dead trees scattered as far as the eye can see, and a singular red rose in front of her, only it was wilting slightly with some of its petals lying on the ground, and with thorns a solid bone white.
She looked at a figure that looked almost exactly the same as her, that was leaning against a tree, not ten feet away, staring at her with a singular Grimm eye.
it had armor covering it from top to bottom with a face guard that showed its eye and mouth, and the armor was seemingly dripping dark liquid.
most of the armor was black as Grimm, with parts being boney white.
"Hello, little rose." it said with a strange sense of softness you wouldn't expect to hear, from such on ominous figure.
"Wh-who are you?"
"I'm you of course, or at least, I was."
"W-what do you mean, was?"
"Your soul broke, split in half, between all your guilt and sorrow, and all your pain and anger."
"Is that why I feel so, broken?"
"Most likely."
"If you are all my pain, why, why did you stop me, I just wanted to die."
"Because, not only am I your pain and anger, but also your empathy. You are lost and broken, but I will protect you, even from yourself. I will protect the rose." she said gesturing to the rose.
Ruby chuckled darkly, "I can't even kill the monster that is me, instead I'm stuck with an unwanted protector."
"You are not a monster Ruby, you are a manipulated pawn, used by salem."
Ruby shook her head, "does not change what I have done. But if I am to be stuck with you, I can't just call you 'Ruby' now can I, miss 'protector of the rose'.
The other Ruby smiled at her and said.
"Call me Thorn."
A/N I honestly don't know what to think about this chapter, I have had writers block for the better part of the past month and my brain decided to start working at 2 am, so I'm kinda wiped,
But as usual reviews are welcome.
I also might in maybe 2 or so chapter put this story on hiatus for the rest of season 6 to come out, and maybe start working on some oneshots.
Anyhow, hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading.