STRQ (A RWBY fanfiction) [Book 1]

Chapter 21

"Summer! Are you okay?!"

My eyes flew open and I saw my teammates standing around me.

"We heard you scream, so we came to see what was wrong," Raven said.

"I... had a bad dream," I whispered.

"Was it another vision?" Tai asked.

I shook my head. "No... this was different. It wasn't a dream necessarily. I didn't see anything. But I heard a voice. I heard her..."

"Who?" Qrow asked.

I took a deep breath before answering. "Salem."

"Wait. How do you know it was really her?" Raven replied.

"She said so. She wanted me to join her, but I refused. I tried not to listen. Her voice was like poison. But she did tell me that I would meet a fate worse than death if I tried fighting against her..."

I put my face in my hands and sobbed. Qrow sat beside me and held me close.

"I won't let anyone lay a finger on you. I promise. Tai and Raven are here to protect you too."

"Yeah. I'll cut Salem in two before she has any chance of hurting you," Raven said.

"We promised to protect you, Summer. And I plan on keeping that promise," Tai replied.

"You three are too good to me," I whispered.

"Now... are we going to discuss what Ozpin wants us to do? ...I think I've made up my mind," Raven said.

I looked up at her. "Are you sure? You have a week before the semester ends. There's still time to think it over."

Raven shook her head. "No. I know what I want to do. I want to protect you, Summer. As well as the rest of my teammates of course. I think I can do that if I go through with this magic thing. I don't trust Ozpin much, but if it means keeping you safe... I'm willing to do it."

I nodded and turned to Qrow. "What about you?"

Qrow shrugged. "I'm fine with it if you are. Plus it sounds really cool."

Raven glared at him. "Qrow... this isn't a joke, okay? This could be one of the most important decisions we've made so far."

"I get that, Raven. Lighten up a bit."

"Okay, okay. So we're all in agreement with this then?" I asked.

Raven and Qrow nodded. Tai shrugged.

"Okay. We should tell Ozpin our decision."

Raven shifted uncomfortably.
"I guess. The sooner we get this done, the better."

After we got showered and dressed, we headed towards the elevator and reached Ozpin's office.

"Um... don't we need an invitation to be let in?" Tai asked.

"I'm sure he'll make an exception for us," I replied, pressing the fancy buzzer that was beside the door.

"Who is it?" I heard Ozpin ask.

"It's team STRQ," I replied.

"Come in," Ozpin invited.

We walked in slowly and saw Ozpin sitting at his desk as if he was waiting for our arrival.

"Good morning," he greeted. "Have you all
made your decision?"

I nodded. "We have."

I gestured to Raven and she slowly stepped forward.

"I... have agreed to help you gather information about Salem," she said.

Qrow nodded. "Me too. And if it will help keep Summer safer, I'm all for it."

Ozpin smiled. "Wonderful. Then I shall start making the necessary preparations—"

"Wait," Raven snapped, interrupting him.

Ozpin stopped. "Yes, Miss Brawnwen?"

"I have a few questions first. Will this magic hurt us at all?"

Ozpin shook his head. "No, it shouldn't. I'll try to make the process as painless as I can."

Raven looked skeptical. "What about after we have accepted this magic? Will there be any negative consequences using it?"

"All I intend for this magic to do is to turn you and Qrow into birds. Now... you may feel tired after doing so, but that's going to be normal. You will be straining your bodies in order to use this magic."

"That sounds... intense," Qrow said.

"Which is why you'll need training in order to control it. I'm sorry Summer, but I'll need to put off your training for the time being," Ozpin explained.

I nodded. "That's fine. I understand, Professor."

"I must admit, you made this decision faster than I had anticipated. Thank you for accepting my offer. I'll make all the preparations needed tonight. Will you be ready by tomorrow?"

Raven and Qrow nodded.
"Yeah... we will," Qrow replied.

"What do you want me and Summer to do, Professor?" Tai asked.

"You two can return to your regular classes tomorrow. This is a very intensive process, so I'll need to ask that you and Summer don't come to my office at all tomorrow just in case something awry happens," Ozpin explains.

"That makes me feel so much better," Raven muttered.

I put my hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure everything will be fine."

Raven looked down and said nothing.

"Well, it seems you all have a lot to discuss. Thank you for meeting with me this morning, team STRQ," Ozpin said.

"We're sorry to have bothered you," I said.

"Not at all, Miss Rose. It's been my pleasure."

It was around afternoon once we returned to our dorm. Raven and Qrow seemed especially quiet after our visit with Ozpin.

"Um... are you two doing okay?" I asked.

Qrow nodded. "I'm fine. Just a bit stressed. And tired."

"I still don't trust Ozpin," Raven said.

"You've made that clear for a while now," Tai replied. "Although I don't see the reason why. He's done nothing to make us distrust him."

"At least not yet. But I know he will. He's hiding something."

"Raven... you're probably just stressed about this bird magic stuff. Remember that we aren't doing this for just Ozpin. We're doing this to keep Summer safe too," Qrow said.

Raven nodded. "I know."

"How about we take this time to hang out with one another? Since we may not get much time to do so for a few days," Tai suggested.

"That sounds good. But... what do we do?" I asked.

"We could go on a double date," Qrow suggested.

"That sounds like it could be fun. Great idea," I said.

"I've never been on a double date before," Raven replied. "What does it entail?"

"It's when two couples go out to eat or something. It would be a good opportunity to bond as a team too," Tai said.

"Where are we going to go?" I asked.

"There's a nice restaurant not to far from campus. We could go there," Qrow suggested.

"It's a settled then. Double date it is!" I said.

"This... should be interesting," Raven said.