Chapter 1: Rebirth

The shattered moon shone overhead, illuminating a black temple in a vibrant green forest. Dark grey metal doors split and creaked open for a man clad in dark armour and a red cloak that swayed behind it, to enter the temple. A sword dangled from the man's side as he walked down the dark hallway. He passed several items like banners, statues of creatures that were long extinct, and several artifacts centuries old or more. The man took another left down a larger hallway that led up to a set of double doors. As the man approached, the doors creaked open to reveal a throne room. The walls were adorned with several old weapons, armours, and several other trinkets. The room looked like it hadn't been dusted or cleaned for a millennium. The black armoured man strode confidently to the middle of the room and looked up at the throne that was against the back wall. The throne was constructed on a base of skulls and bones. It rose in height to half the room. The bones and skulls blackened and seemed to blend in with the dark and dismal room. At the top sat a figure but seemingly cloaked in darkness. Arms and legs emerged from the shadows and pulled itself forward. The man kneeled before it as the figure spoke with a booming but raspy voice.

"A huntress in training, fifteen years old, will meet her end tonight. Your role is to retrieve her body and bring it to me. So I can resurrect her and have her taste the revenge she will crave." The man nodded quickly as the figure sat back on its throne. The man took a breath and looked up at the figure. "What is her name, my Lord?" The figure tapped its fingers on the arm of the throne and thought about it for a moment.

"Ruby Rose. You will recognize her by the red hooded cloak she wears. She will be with her friends on a camping trip in Emerald Forest. Be quick, I feel her end is fast approaching." The man nodded quickly, stood and turned swiftly around, which caused his cloak to fly over his shoulder. He left the throne room and down the hallway into the darkness. The doors to the throne room slowly closed and with a dull thud that echoed down the hallway.

Emerald Forest is known for its unrivalled greenery and lushness. But it still held the hidden danger of the Grimm. In a small clearing sat three members of team RWBY. Only the W wasn't present in their outing. Yang walked back into the clearing with an arm full of firewood and dumped it on the pile close to her sleeping bag. She took a seat on one of the logs that were on two sides of the fire. Yang was next to Blake while Ruby sat by herself on the other log. All three stared into the fire and made casual conversation. They talked about school, their current assignments and the test that fast approached. The three girls didn't pay much attention to their surroundings other than the fire and each other.

Ruby stretched and yawned and looked at her sister and Blake. "Well, I think I'm going to go to bed now. Night you two," Ruby said as she stood up and walked her sleeping bag. She unzipped it and laid down, pulling the flap over herself. She zipped it up while Blake Yang sat and talked for a few more minutes. Unknown to them someone watched from the treeline. The white ponytailed hair girl whipped around to face four guys and one red-haired girl, then nodded to them. They surrounded the clearing and quickly prepared. They watched as Yang and Blake entered their sleeping bags. Weiss slowly crept into the clearing with Cardin and Russel. They quietly crept up to Ruby's sleeping bag.

Cardin swiftly lifted Ruby up and Weiss used her speed glyphs to escape the clearing quickly. It took a few seconds for Ruby to fully grasp what happened but when she did she screamed. Weiss, Cardin, and Russel ran full speed and away from the clearing. Ruby squirmed in Cardin's grip but to no avail. Sky and Dove stayed behind to keep Blake and Yang occupied while the other three escaped. The red-haired Spartan stayed a certain distance away from the fleeing group but kept pace with them. After a certain distance, they stopped and Cardin dropped the squirming sleeping bag. Ruby finally climbed out of the sleeping bag to be met with a boot to the head.

She spiralled across the ground and slammed into a tree. She wobbly stood up and used the tree for support. She looked at the three with blurred vision. Then out nowhere, a spear fired from above them and pierced Ruby's cape and pinned her to the tree. Weiss took the initiative and pierced Ruby's leg with her rapier, the blade piercing all the way through. Ruby fell to the ground screaming and clutching her leg. Cardin walked up and picked her up by the arm and pushed her against the tree. Weiss stabbed her rapier into Ruby's chest and punctured one of her lungs. Cardin dropped her and stepped away. Then Ruby looked up at Weiss with choked gasps.

"Why?" Ruby choked out as Cardin and Russel moved around her. Weiss lowered her blade to her side and looked down at Ruby. The hatred burned in Weiss's eyes as she weighed her words. "You weren't meant to be in this school. You were only accepted because you were pitied. I suffered through your leadership because I was forced to. This plan took time, to put you out of my misery. You're an insufferable little child trying to be an adult."

Ruby looked at Weiss, defeated and betrayed. Then Russel moved in and dug his daggers into her arms. He tore the muscles while Cardin smashed her legs with mace. All the while she screamed, her punctured lung made it difficult to make any noises. After they were finished and backed away, Weiss walked forward and plunged her rapier into Ruby's chest. She spun the cylinder and pulled the trigger. Fire Dust exploded from the muzzle and travelled down the blade. The flames made contact with Ruby's chest and entered her it. The flames burned through her chest and spouted out of the puncture wounds. Her chest became charred and black. The life drained from her eyes. Once satisfied, Weiss pulled her rapier from Ruby's chest and flicked the blood off with a sideways swipe. Weiss turned on her heel and left the site, with Cardin and Russel following behind her. Pyrrha dropped from the tree she hid in and walked up to Ruby's mutilated corpse. She resisted her urges to vomit and pulled her spear from the tree and Ruby's cape. She quickly left the corpse and ran through the forest.

The armoured man rode his horse passed the clearing where the trio had camped. The dishevelled sleeping bags and the charred logs are strewn about. He only stared at the camp as he passed, headed for the corpse in the forest. Twigs snapped under hoof as he went deeper in. When he finally reached the body, he dismounted and kneeled beside it. He brushed aside some hair and looked at the face. The one side of the face was charred black while other showing her pale complexion. He sighed and picked up the body. He secured it to the back of his horse, just behind the saddle. He then mounted and rode off into the night. He rode through the forest, going through underbrush and passed creatures of the night.

The man rode his horse to the large dark grey gates of his master's temple. He stopped off to the side and dismounted from his horse. He unstrapped the body and picked it up in his arms. He turned and started towards the doors. And as he got closer, the doors groaned as they slowly swung open to allow passage. He walked through the threshold and down the long dark corridor. He followed it to the end and to the left. He walked down the corridor to the set of double doors that creaked open as he approached. He walked into the throne room and walked to the table that was placed in the middle. Four candles, one at each corner, sat on the table. The man laid the body on the table and walked back to the entrance of the room, taking post beside it.

The figure from the throne stood and walked down the steps. As he descended, their body became visible. He was a tall man. He wore a black cloak with a hood pulled over his head, his face still shrouded in darkness. Bandages wrapped around his knees and went down to his ankles. More bandages wrapped around his arms from his elbows to his hands. His cloak went from his head to above his ankles, covering his body. Only his arms and legs were shown as he walked to the table. As he stopped, he waved to the man to leave. The man nodded and walked out the door, as they slowly started to swing closed. The man stood over the corpse on the table and placed his hands on the table.

He placed a hand on the girl's chest and the red of her cape and dress changed to black. He then took part of the cape in a clenched fist and focused. This his powers, he turned the cape into a nearly indestructible piece of cloth. No blade could ever pierce it, nor could a bullet. Very few semblances could break it. But only he would be able to completely destroy it. He let go of the cape and looked over the charred skin of her body. He snapped his fingers and the charred skin fell off like dust. Revealing the blackened muscle underneath. A second later, plates of black steel formed around the muscles and molded to her body. A synthetic skin molded itself over the metal to conceal her appearance from prying eyes. He then took the rose emblem on her belt and squeezed it as hard as he could. After a couple seconds, it changed to a wilted and decaying rose. He placed the emblem back on the girl's belt and looked at her weapon. He placed his hand on the scythe and watched as the red turned to black.

He turned and walked back to the stairs up to his throne. As he approached, he snapped his fingers again. Behind him, the corpse spurted and thrashed back to life. The girl sprang up from the table and looked around the room that she was in. Her gaze became fixated on the man climbing the steps up into the darkness. As she watched, he became cloaked in darkness. He turned and lowered himself onto the throne. He stared down at the girl as she swung her legs off the table and stood up. The girl looked around the room once more before she looked up to the man. "Where am I?"

"You are in my temple," the man boomed, which caused the girl to recoil in fear. "Ruby Rose, you have been brought here because you were given an undeserving death," the man continued to boom as he watched her. He watched as her hands scrambled across the table while she faced him. And when they made contact with her scythe, she brought in front her. She entered a combat stance with it and looked at him, still with fear in her eyes. He laughed as he looked down at the girl, "You have not lost your fighting spirit. I'm glad to see that."

"Who am I?" The girl asked as she seemed to calm her shaking a bit. With a snap of the man's fingers, her mind filled with images and memories. The adventures she shared with her sister, her friends from Signal and her team from Beacon. Right up until her partner mutilated her and killed her. Just because she got into Beacon early unlike the rest. She had dropped to her knees and cried from the pain of the memories forcibly flooding into her mind. The man watched as Ruby staggered to her feet and struggled to stand.

"Ruby, you were brought here because you deserve vengeance against those that wronged you. I have revitalized you body and rebuilt you into one of my instruments. Oh yes, one more thing," With one final snap of his fingers, he altered her semblance. Ruby took a deep breath and righted herself as she looked up at the man. Several seconds passed before she asked, "What did you do?"

"I've simply made your semblance more powerful," the man said to her and watched her squirm under his gaze. Ruby couldn't understand what he meant as she pondered on his words. She looked around once again and then walked around the table. She observed all the old weapons and armours that stood on display. She was amazed by some the intricate designs on the weapons and armour. When she finally snapped out of her daze, she turned to face the man on the throne.

"What do you mean that you made my semblance more powerful?" She asked as she leaned against the table in front of her. The man sat forward as he examined her further. He then sat back on his throne before breathing deeply. "Your semblance is speed. The ability to most faster than the eye can track. Well, I've altered it where you move even faster. Covering more ground in less time than before. You could be back to Beacon in mere minutes or less now. If you chose to do so. But for now, you should train to get used to your new abilities."

After the explanation, the man clapped his hands and the massive doors opened to the hallway. In stepped the other man in black armour and red cape. "Paul, take Ruby and train her. So she gets used to her new abilities." Paul nodded and turned to leave, with a motion for Ruby to follow him. Ruby turned to follow Paul, but before she crossed the threshold, the man on the throne spoke again.

"Ruby, two more things. Do not worry about the Grimm. They're at your beckon call. And one of the people that wronged you do feel remorse. She couldn't stand the leader's heinous plan. But she was forced to cooperate with them," the man said as he watched her leave after he was done speaking. "Go my Little Rose. Show them what revenge means."

Author: Hello everybody and welcome back to The Blackened Decaying Rose. Well, I've started the rewriting process. And I hope you all like it so far. And I am going to remain committed to this story and my one other one. Leave a review to let me know what you think. Until next time, see ya.