Ghosts of the Past

I don't own anything except OC's. Rights to RWBY goes to RT, and to OC's creators

Writing credits to Uzumaki Ricky and SlimShady2015

The Dragon's Tomb

Patch: 12 years before Beacon

"Remember Ruby, don't go into the deep woods. It's dangerous." Yang said to her 4-year-old sister, looking up at her with her innocent, stary silver eyes.

"Don't worry Yang. I remember. I'm a big girl after all!" Ruby said with a level of confidence and enthusiasm only someone so young could muster up.

"Okay, but if I have to save you again, I'm telling Dad and Uncle Qrow this time." Yang said with a sigh only repeated exposure to nonsense could create.

"See you later Yang!" Ruby yelled, running off into the woods in the backyard.

With a shake of her blonde head, Yang went back into the house to take care of chores, hoping her sister this time would not get herself in trouble.

Ruby ran off into the woods and began exploring to her heart's content. Over and under rocks and logs, jumping off tree trunks and splashing through babbling stream courses. The woods around her house she knew by heart, but she always wanted to see more. Despite Patch's small, contemptuous size, there was so much for her to explore and see.

Boundaries, it was always boundaries from Yang, Daddy, and Uncle Qrow. They wanted to keep her safe, to prevent her from going farther than they wanted her. What did they know about this island? They haven't seen anything like she had. As she walked the boundary of where she was supposed to be, she looked on to the proverbial greener pastures. What Yang doesn't know will not hurt her right?

"New adventure, here I come." Ruby said triumphantly as he followed a small creek beyond where she should.

As Ruby made her way out of the creek and deeper into uncharted territory, the forest became darker and darker. As the light began to be sapped from the area, a chill began to cover the ground.

Soon the shadows began to stir, and with what little like could peek through, bits of white and red punctured into reality. More and more began to congregate and slowly stalk Ruby as she made her way deeper and deeper, slowly isolating her from any form of help or assistance.

Soon Ruby reached the first unknown area she'd been to in months and found an unusual sight this deep into the forest. In front of her was a black cat, sitting on a flat rock looking at her. Never had she ever seen a cat go this deep into the forest, they liked staying near where mice and friendly people are.

"Hi there. What are you doing out here little guy?" Ruby asked, offering her hand to the animal.

The cat in kind tilted its head in both curiosity and confusion. However, seeing no ill intent in this human, shockingly quick for a cat, walked up and rubbed its head into the little girl's hand. Soon the heartwarming sound of purring could be heard and the fluffy head of this symbol of bad luck was equally loving towards the eager young girl. The cat's eyes then went wide and began to tug at a cheap bracelet on Ruby's arm, as if trying to get her to move.

"Easy, easy. What's wrong little one…" Ruby's voice slowly trailed off as a shadow engulfed her.

Slowly turning around, her eyes were met with a void black mass. Slowly in shock she slowly looked up. Red markings and pieces of bone accented the bipedal void form, before being capped by a wolf skull and two burning red orbs looking back. For the first time in her life did Ruby finally understand why her sister told her to not go into the deep woods.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Ruby screamed as she rushed after the black cat.

Annoyed that its prey ran, it then charged after her on all fours. Ruby ran as fast as her little legs could carry her, with the cat keeping a pace or two ahead of her. Ducking and weaving under and around logs and rocks, she only barely kept the monster at bay. All the while in the distance the braying of further lupine monsters could be heard. Around ruby a crackle of energy started to form, slowly she started to speed up.

However, this sudden change was stopped and destroyed like glass as she tripped face first. Her head hit the side of a large sink hole and she tumbled down painfully to the bottom. A small gash in her head, bruises on her limbs, and a hurt leg to show for her attempted escape.

"Ow…" Ruby moaned in pain, holding her knee, blooded and battered horribly.

She then heard the distinctive sound of purring, as she looked to see the cat purring and snuggling up to her. Though she remembered what Uncle Qrow said about bad luck and black cats, it seemed remorseful toward what bad luck it caused her. With a smile she petted the cat's head.

"Please don't give me much more bad luck today, okay? Now where am I?" Ruby said, after getting herself up from the ground, using the wall to lean on.

"Meow." The cat responded, and began to walk into the darkness, soon disappearing.

As soon as it disappeared into the void of pitch black, light sputtered into life from torches lining long unused stone walls. Ruby realized in that instant that she wasn't in any random hole in the ground. Someone built a passage in the middle of the woods. Curiosity getting the better of her, she began to limp her way deeper into this cavern, the light of the torches guiding her way.

"How did you do that kitty? The torches thing, I mean?" Ruby asked the cat as it sauntered a pace in front of her.

"Meow." Was all the cat answered.

"What answer did I expect?" Ruby muttered to herself.

Soon, the cat stopped and sat down in front of her. Stopping to catch her painful breath she looked up from her view of the feline. Standing solidly in front of her was an ancient oaken plank door. Each side of it had a iron clasp to push on to open it, but the little girl stared in awe of its imposing frame. Even in an uninjured state, she could not have a hope in the world to open this behemoth.

"Great. A dead end. Uncle Qrow was right, black cats are bad luck." Ruby grumbled.

Practically in response to the girl's comment, the cat walked up and put its paw on the imposing frame of the door. Suddenly, a burst of blue light began to draw out a pattern in the middle of the door. In its azure glow was a great image of a roaring tiger head. Then, as if some unspoken command was uttered, the door began to slowly open on its creaky, but still solid hinges. Then, with an air of accomplishment only a feline could possess, it sauntered its way through the ancient door.

"First torches, now opening a massive door. Why did Yang want a dog? Cats apparently can-do cool things." Ruby said in awe.

Hobbling in on one leg, the room Ruby entered was anything beyond her wildest child imagination. Great red tapestries hung on the walls of a warrior clad in great armor and a monstrously huge sword perform deeds only a hero of myth could accomplish. Treasures of an era long lost to time piled into the room, stuffing it to the gills. A great central dious fit for the worship of a god lay in the center of the room, with only a single urn containing various runes on it. As Ruby hobbled closer to the center, she saw a great symbol on that urn. That of a monstrous, imposing dragon head staring right back at her.

"What kind of hole did I fall into?" Ruby muttered in awe.

The cat turned to the door as it heard the sound of footfalls. It knew instinctively what had found them. As the feline looked at Ruby, her eyes were transfixed on the eyes of the dragon urn. Slowly at first they began to glow with a soft ember light, slowly beginning to soar into a flame red, and morphing into a dull crimson.

Part of Ruby wanted her to look away, but, like before, her curiosity got the better of her. The same crackling barrier of energy began to form around her like before, but this time it was different. This time it was like a glow of a fire and produced in her a familiar feeling. The kind that, even if she didn't know who this tomb and urn were for, she still had some kind of connection to them. Soon, both the dragon urn's eyes and the aura around Ruby reached their crescendo of a violent, volcanic glow. A grunt was heard as the glow bounced off the treasure to create a light like a miniature sun.

This noise was enough to snap Ruby out of her trance and turn around. In the massive doorway stood not just the Beowolf that chased her, but several others. All were blinded by the reflected light caused by her aura. She moved about a bit to get a better footing, but she was met with little resistance from her hurt leg. Looking down and moving it, she realized it had begun to heal. Ruby had found her aura, and she hoped now she also had her Semblance to boot.

Shaking off the blindness, the Beowolf's let out collective roars of animalistic rage and surged through the door frame. There were five of them in total, four normal sized ones and an Alpha that stood head and shoulders above the rest. Feeling very nervous, Ruby gulped and dropped into a stance that she had no idea how she knew. The lupine beasts began to circle her like sharks as she put her tiny fists up to fight.

The first werewolf-like Grimm charged in at her, howling with rage as it prepared to attack. However, to Ruby's shock, the rushing beast looked… surprisingly slow. She could easily make out its movements as it ran at her on all fours. Dodging around a claw swipe on pure instinct, Ruby lashed out with a kick without even thinking. To her surprise, the Grimm got the wind knocked out of it as it was sent skidding back a bit. Looking down at herself, Ruby was in disbelief.

"How did I just do that…?" Ruby muttered to herself, looking at her foot that delivered the kick in shock.

However, Ruby had little time to contemplate this as most of the Beowolves rushed in, the Alpha staying back to observe the little girl. Refocusing, Ruby slipped back into her stance, sloppy as it was, with surprising ease. She then began dodging and ducking through claw attacks and snapping jaws as she lashed out with punches and kicks. A leaping uppercut to the jaw from the silver eyed little girl rocked one Beowolf as it staggered back. A midair spin kick nearly took off the beast's head as it staggered back further.

Dodging to the side of another Beowolf's claws, Ruby leapt up and drop kicked it in the chest, knocking it back. Rushing in, she rained a barrage of punches on the beast's lower body with surprising speed as she ducked and dodged around its claws, each tiny fist doing a shocking amount of damage. The Grimm dropped down to all fours in pain, panting as Ruby leaped into the air and delivered a maximum strength falling ax kick down onto its neck. A sickening crunch was heard as, much to the disbelief of the silver eyed girl, its neck was broken.

However, Ruby had little time to contemplate her disproportionate strength as another Beowolf tried to slice her in half with its claws. Reacting upon instincts that were clearly not fully her own, Ruby dodged to the side, letting the clawed hand and arm slip past her as she slid one hand up the tricep of the arm before gripping tightly. Grabbing onto a part of the bicep of the arm above where she was grabbing its tricep, Ruby flipped the beast with all her might. The force of this shoulder throw sent the lupine monster flying into one of its packmates, the two creatures landing in a heap of tangled limbs, roaring maws, and snapping jaws.

'What is going on with me all of a sudden? I could hardly move the cookie jar earlier today, and now I'm beating up Grimm!?' Ruby thought in a bit of a panicked frenzy.

However, she was once again ripped from her thoughts by a howl as another Beowolf tried to attack her from a blind spot. To her shock, she dodged the incoming claw swipe on pure instinct before rushing in close. Once she got in close, she kicked its knee out from under it and punched it where its kidney would be if it had internal organs. Dropping to one knee, this brought the beast down to a level where Ruby could make her next instinctual move. Leaping up with a somersault, Ruby landed a bicycle kick that hit with enough force to rip the Grimm's head from its neck and shoulders, sending it flying.

Landing on her hands, Ruby backflipped back onto her feet and looked at the slowly disappearing, now headless body of the Grimm in disbelief. She then looked down at herself, unable to believe the ridiculous amount of power she now had in her tiny body.

"This is incredible! I can't wait to show this to Yang!" Ruby yelled, starting to get quite stoked over this sudden change of events

As she said this, the two Beowolves from before finished untangling themselves and snarled viciously at the silver eyed little girl. Beginning to circle her again, the two beasts prepared to attack. Ruby, feeling much more confident than before, dropped back into her stance and prepared for battle. The two Grimm rushed at her, one trying to deliver a claw swipe that she ducked under before delivering a barrage of punches into its stomach before dodging a claw swipe from the other.

Punching it three times in a pressure point each, Ruby knocked the Beowolf back with a powerful but sloppy one inch punch. Dodging a claw swipe from behind from the other Beowolf, Ruby kicked it in its side to unbalance it. As the beast dropped down to one knee, Ruby leaped over another claw swipe from it as she did a rolling sideways flip through the air. Lashing out with a spin kick, Ruby hit the monster with a kick to the temple that lopped off its head, sending the skull, jaw, and part of the neck flying as it was separated from the Grimm's shoulders as Ruby landed on her hands and feet.

"Alright, baby! Look out world, future Huntress coming through!" Ruby roared in enthusiasm as the black cat sat patiently and observed.

Climbing back to her feet, Ruby dropped back into her stance as the final normal Beowolf rushed at her with a snarling roar. Dodging a claw swipe, the silver eyed little girl kicked it in the knee to bring it down. Dodging another claw swipe, she lashed out with a one-inch punch to where the kidney would be that knocked the breath from the beast. As the Grimm's head came down, Ruby jumped up and lashed out with a rising uppercut to the chin that quite literally took its head off, sending it flying through the air. As the beast's corpse fell to the side, Ruby began really feeling the high of her newly discovered powers.

"I can't wait to show the others what I can do! They are gonna be so jealous! Especially Yang!" Ruby yelled smugly, puffing her chest out a bit.

Having seen enough, the Alpha Beowolf howled at the little girl in a challenge. Looking in the direction of the towering beast, Ruby let a smirk slip onto her face. Dropping into her stance again, Ruby did a motion she'd seen her Uncle Qrow do to her dad in sparring matches together. The "come hither" motion with her forward open hand.

"Come on, puppers! Time to get your block knocked off too!" Ruby yelled with a devious smirk.

Roaring in rage, the beast rushed in on all fours at high speed. Charging back in at the Grimm, Ruby let out a tiny battle roar of her own in defiance of the Alpha. The two combatants reached each other within moments, Ruby ducking under a claw swipe before landing a one-inch punch on the monster's knee. Brought down, the Grimm lashed out with a claw swipe that knocked Ruby back. Quickly recovering, she rushed in and unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks on the Alpha Beowolf, trying to bring it down quickly.

Each blow Ruby landed slowly brought the beast to its hands and knees. Once it was down on the ground, Ruby unleashed a barrage of kicks on the side of the monster's head. This disoriented the Alpha Grimm enough for Ruby to deliver the final blow. Leaping as high into the air as her now seemingly superhuman tiny body could, Ruby spun like a buzzsaw as she landed a spinning ax kick to the back of the beast's neck. The kick landed and hit hard, a sickening crunch being hard as its neck broke, the beast collapsing to the ground as it began to disappear. Smiling down at the disappearing corpse in victory, Ruby began to jump around and dance with joy.

"I! AM! AWESOME! How did I do that?" Ruby roared before being deflated by the magnitude of what just happened finally catching up with her.

Ruby panted a bit as the exertion also began to catch up with her. Though fatigued, she wasn't as winded as she expected. Slowly she turned towards the black cat, who remained perched on its rock the whole time, its yellow eyes locked on her. With a nod it then jumped off its perch and walked into the darkening tunnel that let the combatants in. Ruby looked around for a bit, not finding a single trace of the cat. With a sigh, she then began to climb her way out of the hole she found herself in.

Even after climbing out, it took Ruby most of the afternoon to find her way back to her house. When she finally arrived back, she panted heavily from the long and exhausting day. Her wounds, while better, hadn't had the proper time to heal, and she still walked with a minor limp. She then knocked on the door. Yang opened the door, and immediately laid eyes on her baby sister.

"Ruby! Are you okay!? What happened to you!?" Yang cried out in concern at the sight of her baby sister, covered in blood, grime, and having an obviously hurt leg.

"I'm fine Yang. Just got into a fight with some Beowolves…" Ruby tried to explain but was explosively cut off by her sister.

"YOU WHAT!? OH MY GOD, RUBY!" Yang screamed as she pulled Ruby into a hug and began fussing over her, checking to make sure she was okay.

"I'm fine, Yang. I found this cool urn that…" Ruby tried to say before getting cut off again.

"YOU ARE NOT FINE! YOU'RE COVERED IN DIRT AND BLOOD, YOUR LEG IS HURT, AND YOU COULD'VE GOTTEN YOURSELF KILLED!" Yang yelled in a lecturing tone, still checking Ruby over to make sure everything was alright.

"But I won, Yang! I even beat an Alpha!" Ruby yelled, trying to get her sister off her.

"I DON'T CARE! DAD IS GONNA HAVE A COW, A HORSE, AND A GOAT WHEN HE HEARS ABOUT THIS!" Yang snapped out, dragging her sister into the house.

"But Yang…" Ruby said dejected, wondering how she was going to explain this…

For those of you who might be confused if you read my story Red Wolf Saga, don't worry I am still doing that one. This is a side project that will be posted more infrequently. Really whenever we have time. However once Red Wolf Saga is done, this one becomes the regularly scheduled one. Regardless of its status in my writing group, I hope you all like it. This is going to be one hell of a ride, and there are no brakes. All aboard! I hope you all have a good day and see you next.