STRQ (A RWBY fanfiction) [Book 1]

Chapter 20

We were quiet as we walked into Ozpin's office. Ozpin and Qrow were already sat down. They were silent as the three of us joined them.

"Thank you for meeting with me tonight. I promise I won't take more of your time than necessary," Ozpin said. "Before I begin, I would like you to tell me what happened, Summer."

"Of course. I was at the dance when I saw a hooded figure standing near the back of the dance floor. I followed them outside to the courtyard where it was revealed that he was a scorpion Faunus. He said he was on a mission for someone named Salem and that he was there to kill me. That's when my teammates appeared and we fought him off."

Ozpin nodded and remained silent for a long time.

"Professor... could you tell us who exactly this Salem person is?" Tai asked. "And why they want Summer killed?"

"Not many know about Salem. She is known as the Grimm's master. She's powerful. And I've been trying my best to prepare you all for her attacks. I thought I would have more time, but it appears that's not the case," Ozpin said.

"Okay... so why is she after Summer all of a sudden?"

"Very few people know about silver eyed warriors. Those that do aren't very happy that one has appeared. Salem views Summer as a threat. She'll stop at nothing to see her killed. That's why I asked you all to keep her safe."

"What about that Faunus who attacked her?" Raven asked.

Ozpin nodded. "That sounds like Tyrian Callows. He recently joined Salem's forces."

"Well, he won't be much of a problem anymore since Raven cut his stinger off," Tai mentioned.

"Is that so? Excellent work, Raven," Ozpin said.

Raven looked down a little and blushed. "Thank you."

"With all of this said, I would like to ask a favor from both you and your brother, Raven."

Raven looked up at him. "What favor?"

Ozpin was silent for a moment.

"Do you believe in magic?"

We all looked at one another.
"Not really. It's a silly concept. We have science to explain things. Magic just exists in fairytales," I replied.

Ozpin laughed. "Yes. I suppose that makes sense. What would you say if I told you it was real?"

"That you're crazy and I don't believe you," Raven said.

Ozpin nodded. "I can see why you would think that. The reason I'm telling you this is... well... I want to use my magic to allow you two to turn into birds. I'm going to need assistance in gathering information about Salem and her followers."

Raven and Qrow looked at each other.

"What?!" they both asked.

"You don't have to make the decision now. I would like you all to discuss this as a team and take time to think about it. But I will need your decision by the end of this semester," Ozpin explained.

"Good. We'll need time to think this over," Qrow said.

"Can we leave now? I'd really like to get some sleep," Raven snapped.

"Of course. Have a nice evening, team STRQ. And please... keep this conversation between us."

We all walked back to our dorm in silence. I assumed it was because of exhaustion, but Raven looked to be more stressed than tired.

"Okay... what do you all think about this?" I asked.

"Honestly... I'm too tired to think about all this right now," Qrow replied. "I'm going to bed."

"Same here," Tai said.

Both of them laid down and were asleep in seconds.

Raven and I were the only ones awake. She slowly paced around the room looking lost in thought.

"Raven... are you okay?" I asked.

Raven shook her head. "No. I'm not. This is all too much, Summer. Salem... magic... and now Ozpin wants me and my brother to be able to turn into birds. I don't know what to do..."

"Ozpin said that you didn't need to decide now. You have time to think about this. We can go over it with Tai and Qrow tomorrow. I think it will benefit all of us if you decided to do this," I replied.

Raven stared at me. "How so?"

"For starters, it would allow you to travel further, letting you see more of the world. And anyone who might be working for Salem. It would also provide me with extra protection as well. You would be able to see my potential attackers before they even get near me."

Raven nodded. "Those are good points. That still doesn't do much to ease me. Will this magic have any negative consequences? Will it be painful to transform into these birds? I have so many questions."

"I'm sure your questions will be answered once you've decided. Let's get some sleep, okay? We can get together as a team to discuss this more tomorrow," I said.

Raven sighed. "Alright. Goodnight, Summer."

I laid down and closed my eyes. After tossing
and turning for several minutes, I finally went into a deep sleep.

"Summer Rose," a voice said.

The voice didn't sound pleasant. The sound of it made my insides churn. I tried not to listen.

"Give up this fight, Summer Rose. Do you really believe a silver eyed huntress like you can stop me? You'll end up with the same fate other silver eyed warriors have that came before you."

"Leave me alone!" I yelled.

The voice laughed. "I find it ironic that fool Ozpin is a headmaster. And yet he never seems to learn from his failures. I am your queen, Salem. Join me Summer, and you can have access to unfathomable power. Or... if you prefer, you can attempt to stop me and meet you inevitable demise."

"I'll never fight for you!" I yelled.

"Then your fate will be worse than death..."

Those words rang deep within my ears and I
let out a piercing scream.