AN: Well, here is the first chapter of the final volume of Team Ozpin! I already have most of the story for this volume mapped out and it's exciting. If you guys have seen RWBY Volume 3, you shouldn't be shocked my most of the content in this volume, but I feel I should tell you that this one is darker and more intense than the first two, but I can also assure you that there's a light in the darkness, even in Ozpin's most desperate moments that you get to read about in this volume. Have fun!
*Credit goes to Elfin Maid for being my editor and to my personal friend Poul for being a storytelling consultant to craft the story with me.
There was darkness, piercing, vibrant, and screaming. Ozpin could feel it embracing him like a lover after a long time of being apart, gripping him tightly.
"I'm not gone Ozpin. You know this."
He stepped backwards, his feet abruptly meeting empty air.
He fell.
Ozpin's eyes shot open, his chest heaving hard as he tried to regain his bearings. He expected to find himself in bed, but he was sitting on a stool. He looked around, and realized he was in a bar. The rough sounds of harsh laughter rattled his eardrums; a fight was brewing in one corner. A half-full glass of beer was in one of his hands.
"Hey, you've barely drunk enough to get a hangover," someone said next to him. Ozpin looked to see Qrow Branwen with his own glass - on the rocks.
Oz shivered slightly and then sighed, thankful that any recollection of his nightmare had drifted away. "Why do you push me to do this to myself, Qrow?" Despite his words, Ozpin took another sip. He felt like the liquid was threatening to burn a hole through his throat and leak out.
"This is what every Headmaster does at some point. You just don't see it much because you're always up in that tower," Qrow replied, waving a dismissive hand.
Oz searched for a defense, knowing full-well Qrow was right. He did spend a lot of time in the tower now. One year had passed since Onyx's death and Signal's disappearance. Once in a while Ozpin would still wake up from a nightmare - bathed in sweat, panic tinging his vision - of watching the body of his former mentor Gray dissolve into dust, the very substance that formed him, after being killed by Onyx.
"Just finish that up. You'll thank me later," Qrow said, and tossed the remaining contents of his glass down his throat.
Ozpin allowed his drink to swirl a bit as he immersed himself back into his thoughts. Everything was becoming blurry, memories that were usually painfully clear beginning to fog over.
As thoughts and memories alike danced wildly, he found himself remembering Glynda.
Glynda, he thought, and a thorn of pain lodged itself in his chest. Come back. Please.**
*The two Huntsmen moved faster than the speed of light. Steel clashed, grunts broke out, and a variety of colors exploded over their heads.
It was Qrow and Taiyang Xiao Long duking it out in the practice arena at Beacon Academy.
Qrow's large sword had transformed into a scythe, and he twirled it blindingly fast, Tai backing away and lifting his own sword in in a weak attempt to parry Qrow's deadly moves. Qrow was relentless, swinging for Tai's feet, which he avoided by leaping up, then performing a flip in the air to slash down at Qrow's head.
Qrow quickly reverted his scythe back into a sword and lifted it, feeling the violent rattle as Tai's sword collided with his.
Qrow did a back flip, kicking his feet up Tai's chin and sending him flying backwards.
Seizing the opportunity, Qrow launched himself at Tai's fallen body and started fake-stabbing him with his sword.
"Stab, stab, slash, you're dead," he said, sounding almost bored. He returned his sword to his back and stuck out his hand. Tai took it, allowing Qrow to lift him to his feet.
"Damn, you have got to stop scaring me with that scythe," Tai said, shaking his head.
"I'm scary all over, Tai," Qrow said calmly. "You should be used to it by now."
The lights finally soared back on all the way, brightening up the room and revealing the students that sat in the booths watching. Ozpin and Summer Rose stood beside the stage.
Oz stepped forward, clapping as he went. "Excellent work. Was that entertaining enough for all of you?" he called out.
The students clapped and cheered enthusiastically.
"And I take it that you all want to be that powerful some day?"
The students all cheered again in response, the roar of their combined voices quite possibly louder than the previous one.
Ozpin sighed and held up his hand to settle everyone down. The room immediately hushed and Oz could feel dozens of students leaning forward to listen.
"I don't mean to ruin the mood, but in the last few years, I have made many mistakes, and I am not a perfect Headmaster—or a perfect Huntsman for that matter. I want you all to succeed. You're all my responsibility, and I will see to it that you are trained and readied to be the best Huntsmen and Huntresses our world has ever known. Just know that I have made mistakes - and I'm going to make more. But if this school continues to value equality and treat everyone with the honor and respect they deserve, then you will not mess up like I did. If there's one thing that I will be able to teach you successfully before your graduation, it is that."
For a moment, the students worked on absorbing what he said. It was an odd thing to bring up now, especially after a one-on-one fight between two professional Huntsmen, but Ozpin was desperate to speak his mind. If he was going to be able to stay as Headmaster of an academy, then he needed to do it right.
The students stood and clapped, some of them grinning widely.
Glynda, if only you were here now.
A hand brushed his shoulder, the touch soft and sure. He turned to see Summer smiling at him. Her silver eyes glowed.
"Well done, Ozpin," she said.
"I do my best," Oz replied. He glanced down at Summer's stomach, now considerably rounded. She was pregnant, and was expected to deliver within weeks. She was married to Taiyang now, who had almost recovered from missing his first love, Raven.
There was a lot that Team Stark and Ozpin were going through. Past pain and regret chewed away at them like maggots devouring a dead corpse. Onyx's situation and tragic end had done a number on Qrow and he had lost the girl Blake that he was supposed to protect. Ozpin had lost Signal and Glynda, and Taiyang had lost Raven.
There was so much loss, and yet they pushed onwards, as if they knew when their last breaths would be.
Right now, there was something far more important to discuss, and Ozpin was running out of time.
Immediately after the students were dismissed, Ozpin asked Qrow and Taiyang to meet him in the tower.**
*Ozpin stood in front of his desk, surveying his office and making sure to get a good look between Taiyang and Qrow as they stood with their arms folded waiting for him to start talking. Oz had both his hands on the top of a cane with a gray handle. He had created it shortly after Glynda left as a way to distract his mind from everything that had happened with Onyx and Signal and Glynda.
"First of all, congratulations. I don't need to explain why I'm saying that to you," Ozpin said to Taiyang.
"Thank you, Ozpin," Taiyang replied with a small bow.
"There is an important matter that must be discussed about Summer, however. Something that I've neglected to talk about, until now."
Taiyang and Qrow glanced at each other, frowning in confusion.
Qrow shrugged and took a swig from his canteen, liquor sloshing within. "What would that be?" he asked.
"Summer Rose has a special—trait about her that has caught my attention. She is in possession of silver eyes. That is not something that can just be overlooked. Have you ever heard the legend of silver-eyed warriors?" Ozpin asked.
"Can't say that I have. Sounds like merely a legend," Qrow said, sounding unimpressed.
"Yes. And for a while, I thought so too, but Summer's powers somewhat resemble the powers of silver-eyed warriors, which were much more common before Huntsmen and Huntresses were even an idea."
"What are you saying? That my wife is some kind of overpowered witch?" Taiyang asked, his words tinged with the slightest hint of offense.
"Not a witch - at least, I don't believe so - but she is powerful, and she has abilities that I don't believe any of us here have even been able to witness yet. It is said that silver-eyed warriors were even feared by the Grimm, and that a simple glance at one of these warriors can send creatures of Grimm fleeing. But Summer's possible connection to these "legends" is only part of the puzzle," Ozpin explained.
Taiyang's eyes widened as he realized what Ozpin was referring to. "Are you saying that the child within her may be born with the same traits?"
Ozpin didn't answer. He didn't have to.
"You must understand, Taiyang, that I am not proposing that Summer or your new child is any sort of threat to us. My fear is that a threat will rise up against them," Ozpin said.
"Sounds like a lot of crap to me, but I don't believe that you would tell us these things if you didn't believe it," Qrow said.
"Maybe you should start at the beginning. Tell us about these legends, and maybe we can find a way to protect Summer," Taiyang suggested.
Ozpin leaned against his desk and sighed. "Very well. There's a lot that I learned about them. As I said before, silver-eyed warriors came before Huntsmen and Huntresses. They were the protectors of Remnant. They fought the Grimm, but unlike Huntsmen and Huntresses, victory was handed to them every time without incident because of their power.
"Their power is described as something that can be unleashed from their bodies, threatening to either freeze enemies in their tracks or complete decimate them until there's nothing left. They were so feared that they were hunted down by normal people, who were afraid that some would grow reckless with their power and they would be next."
Qrow scoffed quietly, took another swig from his canteen, and shuffled his feet. Ozpin ignored him.
"Now, only a few remain, and the locations of most are unknown. One thing, however, is certain: if a Huntsman or Huntress is smart enough to find one and defeat it in battle, there is no telling what could or would happen if they found out how to transmit that power from the warrior to him or her self." **
*Signal Belladonna looked up from the book she was reading, heart beating slightly faster than normal. It was thick and black, the binding still strong despite its age. She had taken it from Ozpin's underground library a long time ago and had managed to keep it with her throughout the years. She stared off into the distance for a moment, then shifted her gaze back to the print, eyes glowing in anticipation as they roved the pages.
She was now the leader of her own group of selected members of the White Fang radicals called the Lioness's Pride, and she was seeking out ways to grow in power. She wasn't confident in her appearance, mainly due to her youth, and without that power, she wouldn't get respect from those who were meant to fear her.
She wore a sleeveless burgundy velvet fighter's dress with a black belt worn tightly around her waist to keep the lower half of the outfit close to her legs. She also wore black greaves for her knee caps and ebony plated armor over her chest and stomach, and in two coal-black sheaths fitted on her back were her daggers, one of which was broken thanks to the terrible incident long ago that changed her life.
Her long hair was gone, replaced with a military cut, and a tattoo of a lion's claws, the symbol of the Lioness' Pride, was branded on her forehead. Her image was meant to display her beauty, but not to the extent where others would lust after her and ignore her words. She wanted people to know that she was beautiful, but she also wanted people to know that she was to be feared and respected.
Yes, thinking about Onyx cracking her head against the wall for the billionth time is brilliant.
It's almost sad.
It's horrendous.
I like it.
The images spurred her on to push harder to achieve her goal. To wipe out the human race that had been hurting her people for too long.
Behind her, two of her most trusted members of the Lioness' Pride entered the room. One was larger than the other, with a bull's ears and solid scarlet eyes. The other had a bull's horns, but one of them had its tip broken off. He wore the tip as a necklace wound around his neck.
"You called for us, my lady?" the large Faunus asked.
"I have a job for you two," Signal said calmly, coolly. "And this time" - She paused, watching as their faces stiffened slightly, then continued - "failure is not acceptable."