(Author's note, this story has been edited from how it originally was by my dear friend panda, who is far more better and making stories with better grammar than I am, I give full credit to her for making my or should I say, "Our" story more enjoyable for the readers who happen to cross upon my story on . Arigato Panda for you are the bestest friend a person can ask for. Chapter two and three will be edited and made even better possibly before new years if she has the time to do so. The story will continue on but it has been delayed because of the edits so thank you to the readers who read the story before it had been edited by my friend as the story shall continue on! Anyway with that said, please enjoy the story that has been edited so far and please be patient for like it was said in the third chapter, that me and her are quite busy irl and it would be troublesome and rude if I bugged my dear friend to edit the remaining two chapters before we continue on. Thank you and enjoy the chapter below)

The Dragon Within Us

Prologue: Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust(Edited Version)

[12 years ago]

The fire crackled as it worked to consume the fresh wood placed into its hearth. It was the only thing illuminating the room, casting long shadows that formed from an elder on a rocking chair with a young child on his lap. "Damien have you ever wondered how the Grimm, both aura and even semblance came to be?"

The boy looked up to his great great grandfather upon hearing the question, his head tilting slightly. "No, Grandpa Ash, I haven't. Why? Are you gonna tell another story?" Damien smiled at the thought of another of his grandfather's stories. They tended to be different from the typical nursery rhymes and the like that were generally told to children of his age.

"Yes, Damien..but not before you hop into bed. It's getting quite late and your new baby sister will be coming home soon from our villages doctor with your mother and father." The child rocketed out of his lap and ran to the bathroom, getting changed into some pajamas with his dark blue dragon-like tail hanging out and his small wings tucked behind his back. The little boy ran to his bed and quickly got settled in as he waited for his grandfather to come over and tell the story.

The old man grabbed his wooden cane, using it to help push himself from his rocking chair. He slowly walked over to Damien and sat on the edge of his bed. "All settled in?" Damien nodded eagerly to Grandfather Ash, hardly able to keep still while waiting for the story to be told.

"Long ago, when men first came into this world from dust, the creatures of Grimm ruled the world. These men were brought into a great long lasting battle with two colossus creatures. On one side was all of man and faunus kind, where born was a golden dragon known as, Sembaura. She was the origin of many different kinds of semblances, as well as she was the first living being to harness the power of aura, which is said that Sembaura's wings were even made of that raw power. Her aura caused her golden scales to shine so brightly and produce so much light energy, that the thousands upon thousands of people who were born into this world could feel the love, warmth, caring, and light within her heart. They knew that they had nothing to fear of her for they knew she was protecting them from the great darkness the second colossus was producing." Little Damien's eyes widened, feeling the story was far surpassing any others he had been told.

"As for the other side, grimm of different species, both big and small, stood next to the second colossus. Grimm Soul, a colossus with three hydra heads whose darkness created the creatures of grimm and ravaged the land with never ending darkness and destruction. The battle the two colossi fought went on for a thousand years, both day and night, but on the day we faunus and humans came to be, Sembaura knew she had to end this battle once and for all. For the sake of all of us to live on in this world. She knew that if she was going to end this, it would come with a heavy price...losing her physical form and becoming one with both the aura and semblance energy she possessed within her. Her aura flared, causing her entire body to change. Golden and white aura and semblance energy engulfed her physical body, creating their own form of pure energy. When Grimm Soul saw this, the heads knew they had to stop her before it was too late. They channeled all of the dark energy they had within themselves. The three heads, each with sanguine glowing eyes, had the dark energy within its body travel up their necks to their massive heads. As the energy built up, the hydra reared its heads back. Their great maws opened from the pooled together energies releasing the concentrated darkness, the essence of Grimm, towards Sembaura. Sembaura retaliated by firing her own energy blast. When in her aura mode, there's three powerful spells she can use. Two of the spells cost her a wing each, the third costing the last of her body. So when Sembaura used her aura blast, the amount of aura she fired engulfed her left wing due to its sheer power." Grandpa Ash's arms flew wide open to emphasis its size, though their actual size would be beyond larger than that.

This caused Damien to giggle in delight as he did enjoy his great great grandfather. He may have been very old, but he still had considerable strength and was filled with wisdom since he was the village's greatest sage. These qualities considering his age, encouraged him to show or act out things in the stories he told to Damien, earning the child's admiration.

"What happened then?" Damien exclaimed with sparkling eyes as though he were in an enormous candy shop.

"As soon as the two blasts collided with one another, they created a massive crack like the sound of a thousand booming thunders. The two blasts pushed the colossi back despite them trying their hardest to get at one another before one another could recover, but the tides had turned greatly when Sembaura activated her aura mode. Her blast began pushing back more forcefully against Grimm's Tri-energy blast until finally it made contact with the colossus's massive body. When it did, the blast separated Grimm's body from its soul, casting the dark spirit to the side while its physical being was blasted high above into the night sky. Sembaura had blasted Grimm's physical form into the moon to seal it inside. This did cause a chunk of the moon to be destroyed, but it was for the greater good so Grimm would not be able to get his physical form back."

Damien quickly sat up, alarm evident in his wide eyes. "Is that really how the chunk of the moon broke?!"

"Why yes, Damien, it's true! My great great great great great great grandfather and grandmother were actually there when this all happened."

A grin spread over Damien's face. "Wow! This story is the best."

Ash smiled and ruffled Damien's head causing him to giggle. "Why thank you, Damien, you're too kind. Now then, after Sembaura sealed Grimm's physical form away within the side of the moon, all that was left of Grimm Soul was a dark apparition made of impure aura, essence of Grimm. The dark apparition showed only the three necks and heads of Grimm Soul, connected to one another. Naturally, the middle neck of the shadowy Grimm Soul, being the main one, was the longest, while the left and right necks were shorter as they were back up heads. However, they were still very important to Grimm. After Grimm had realised what she had done to him, he became seethingly furious. He made a desperate attempt by flying towards Sembaura in this weak form of himself, but Sembaura used the second spell causing her right wing to disappear. Grimm continued to press on, so Sembaura waited for the perfect moment for Grimm to foolishly come closer to her. As he got into position, three circles appeared in front of him to which Grimm's heads foolishly went through, one head for each circle. The holy circles tightened around the necks of the hydra releasing a painful burst of electricity. Screeches escaped it as the heads were forced apart. The locks held tight as the necks of the hydra's heads tried to break free, but all for nought. The people watching the vicious battle were truly amazed by the power she showed before them. The grimm creatures could only watch in horror as their master and creator was defeated before their eyes."

Damien rocketed from his sheets and bounced, unable to contain his enthusiasm. "GO SEMBAURA!"

"Hush, Damien. People are sleeping. It's getting terribly late. I won't be able to finish the story if you continue to interrupt." Despite his serious expression, his tone slithered out in a tease.

Damien quickly hunkered back under the covers, his apologetic gaze peering out at his grandfather. "Sowwy, grandpa."

Ash's expression melted into a smile as he rubbed the soft forehead of Damien. "'Tis fine. Now let us continue the story. It's almost over, okay?"

Damien nodded slowing, the steadily encroaching exhaustion beginning to slur his speech. "Okie."

"Anyway.. Sembaura began chanting a spell consisting of words we're far from knowing the meaning. I assume some godly language that mortals will not be able to understand until their borrowed energy returns to the great pool that all aura is borrowed. Her words echoed across the land, the rings glowing brighter until the smaller locks holding the lesser heads of Grimm turned into an item called 'The Hydra's Eye'. This sealed the spirits of both heads within and sent them to a secret location to never be discovered. As for the greater head, Sembaura transformed the spirit into the very thing grimm are well known for; the mask of the grimm, in the form of Grimm's skull. The mask was sent to the very tomb the creature had emerged from, the place the strongest of grimm lived, the Grimm Wastelands. Sembaura placed a spell on the tomb to prevent the grimm from destroying the seal and releasing the mask. Using that much energy caused her aura to fade. She could have transformed back to her physical form, but the raw power of her wings was what was preventing the hydra from returning. Destroying the remaining grimm there would do nought for they multiply quickly, but the good creatures of the land needed protecting. So she did what she could.

Using her final spell, her entire body began to evaporate in soft golden streams, each stream of light touching people so they would be granted the gift of being able to control their aura, as well as obtain the power of semblance. Another light came from her though. A blue one touching every being either granted the gift or not to wipe their minds of the battle to keep the secret of Grimm's souls hidden. Except for the dragon faunus. She intrusted our kind with this knowledge before fading away to become one with the aura pool. It appeared almost as if she had never been there." Ash paused as he noticed tears sliding down the small boy's cheeks. He calmly wiped the tears away and smiled softly.

"Do not cry, nor worry… Before she returned to the pool, she told us that she would be reincarnated into a child pure of heart, a dragon faunus, when the soul was released from its forbidden tomb. He or she would love and protect us no matter the cost, even if it cost their life, both in form and essence. If the soul were to never escape though, she still lives within everyone, as a part of our aura for she was the one who granted this gift, little Damien."

Damien smiled, satisfied and to a point reassured that the mighty creature was still with them. He wiggled further beneath the warm covers as he was tucked in properly. Ash leaned in and placed a soft kiss on the child's forehead "Goodnight, Damien. Sleep well for tomorrow, your new sister will come home." Ash then stood and began making his way from the room, his dragon cane in hand.

"Goodnight, grandpa." A soft yawn escaped the young faunus before his eyes finally drifted closed, sleep almost immediately overtaking him.

[Present day, Damien being 19 years old]

Damien's eyes opened to reveal his dark blue irises. The slitted pupils dilated as they scanned the area. A metal dragon helmet hid his face, except for his mouth which could be seen through the rows of metal teeth. Two glowing blue orbs shifted with his gaze, a view on screen located on the outside of the helm meant to show where he was looking. It was apparent Damien was no longer the small child from 12 years ago when his grandfather told him the story of Sembaura.

The two meter figure stood in a burnt waste land. It had been a time since the tragic day, but it had been vicious attack. Light from lingering fires glinted off his dark blue chest plate, almost seeming to belong there among the cybernetic dragon scale pattern. Debris of burnt wooden buildings still had smoke rising from their cores, making Damien have to flap his no longer shrimpy wings to chase the acrid smoke away from his sensitive nose. The plates protecting the delicate canvases clanked together softly as he folded them against his back, taking care not to let the razor sharp blades along the main frame of his wings slice anything. Everything had been burned, both wildlife and man made structures. Damien searched the place he stood, his heart beginning to swell with regret as he fought back tears. He took uneven steps as he walked through the destroyed village until he finally came upon a half destroyed house. He entered warily, pain seizing him upon seeing some of the surviving items were an old rocking chair and chimney, both of which having clearly seen better days. Damien slowly walked towards the two holding back the tears attempting to burst forth, the hefty knee guards he wore suddenly seeming like a burden. His gaze remained locked on them both for a long moment before noticing his great great grandfather's most prized possession. Seeing the dragon cane broke Damien.

"Grandpa Ash..." Damien took the cane into his grasp, the metal plates of his clawed gauntlets sliding smoothly against one another. His grip tightened around it as he brought it close to his chest. "By Sembaura's strength, I swear to avenge you, my parents, my baby sister, as well as the entire village." Damien walked off holding the cane Ash had used all the time, his armored meter long tail lashing violently at the power of his conviction.

He didn't take notice as the blade at the end sliced through a weak column, causing the unsteady building to collapse further. Once beneath the open sky, Damien kneeled before taking to the air at blinding speed. Whether through the force of air pushed away with his wings or some other device, the legs of the rocking chair began to steadily sway forward and backwards.

(So that is chapter 1 or should i say the Prologue of my rwby oc story! Do not worry for the only reason why i type so long paragraphs is because of how grandpa ash was telling a story within a story! So hope you dont mind! Please tell me what you think of what my story has to offer so far! There is already a shipping happening but i will not say who or tell who it is until the next chapter for damien will meet the girls and become part of the team of team rwby until the team mates of the future team Team DRCO will appear! Which may happen around when it gets to season three since we are starting off in season one of rwby okay! Anyway see you all in the next chapter for the story will have a cover showing what damien looks like by tomorrow hopefully 030 anyway ENJOY!)