Their Finest Hour

by Skrubstar

To some a photo is just that, a picture. To others, a photo can embody a thousand words. This is about the photo of Team STRQ and the story it represents.

As per usual, all rights to RWBY belong to RoosterTeeth, I'm just playing around with their characters for a bit. Also Summer's weapon is a Halberd Rocket launcher and Tai-Yang's will be rocket gauntlets because they both haven't been confirmed. (Hopefully the spacing edit works).

Qrow stared hard at the picture of Team STRQ. To so many others, it was just another picture of their team, albeit one that was showed off most often. But for the four people inside the picture, it represented so much more. To them, it showed Team STRQ's finest hour.

The entire mission had started routinely, just a minor extermination mission for a village. The few surrounding Beowolf packs were quickly cleaned up yet finding each one proved to be a pain. Still, the Grimm population was nowhere near the "endless horde" that the villagers had communicated.

Team STRQ relaxed, content with the fact that this would just be a simple extermination mission and that they could return to Beacon the next day. It was thus a very unpleasant surprise when night fell and the klaxons signaling a Grimm invasion started ringing.

Team STRQ collectively groaned yet readied their weapons anyways. Groggily, Summer called out, "Ammo check!" Raven reply came first, "Full standard blade set Captain." "I thought I told you to stop calling me that! Ugh, we have more important things to deal with. Tai, Qrow, what's you two's ammo looking like?" "I've got twelve Dust Boosters remaining, eight Burn and four Gravity for my Gauntlets." "Thanks, Tai, and what about you Qrow?"

Qrow pointedly avoided Summer's gaze and mumbled out something. "I'm sorry Qrow I didn't hear what you said, could you please repeat yourself?" "...half" Summer exploded at the response, "How do you only have half of your ammo left?! Clearing out the Beowolf packs shouldn't have used anywhere near that much and I gave you plenty of time to prepare for the mission!"

As Summer continued to rant at Qrow, Tai-Yang smirked and whispered to Raven, "10 lien says he forgot to buy ammo because he was blackout drunk." Raven gave a small smile in return, "No deal, I know for a fact that you were helping Brother dearest over there nurse a hangover this morning. And speaking of headaches that won't go away, Summer, Qrow, quit flirting and let Summer tell us how many rockets she has."

Summer and Qrow sputtered out denials for a moment before Summer cleared her throat and tried to regain composure, "Ahem, baseless accusations aside I've got six burn rockets and one HEAT rocket." Summer glanced around and upon seeing each of her teammates in combat gear, she nodded once before she heading to the disturbance. The other members of Team STRQ quickly followed in pursuit.

—

Team STRQ arrived at the village walls only to stare out blankly in shock. Whereas during the day, there were only a few scattered Beowolf packs surrounding the village, there was now a veritable horde of Grimm outside.

Qrow was the first to come to his senses, as he shook himself for a moment before speaking, "I'm sorry I just gotta ask, is this village built on some old nomad burial ground or a natural gas source or something? Because there's no way all of this could've spawned in just a few hours."

Upon seeing all of the villager's upset faces, Summer smacked Qrow in order to try and get him to shut up. "Ahem, why don't we just pretend this idiot didn't say anything," "Hey!" "and continue on. How long do you think it will be before reinforcements can show up?"

A nervous looking man stepped forward to answer the question. "It's currently the dead of night Huntress, I doubt there's anyone that could hear our emergency broadcast right now and even if they could, I don't think there's anyone out there who'd be willing to land in zero visibility during a Grimm invasion." The man's declaration sent the entire village into a panicked frenzy and the howls of Grimm in the distance only added to the chaos.

Admits the chaos, Raven leaned in and whispered to Summer, "You know I could portal the four of us out of here and into Beacon."Summer gave her a hard look in response and whispered back, "Of course I know you could portal us out of here Raven. But if we did, we'd be leaving all these people to die and that's an outcome I couldn't live with."

Summer then stepped away from Raven and tried to get the attention of the crowd. When it became clear to her that the crowd had no intention of listening to her, she deployed her Halberd and slammed the shaft into the ground. The loud bang drew everyone's attention and upon seeing the irate Huntress with her weapon deployed, silence quickly fell over the crowd.

Summer quickly glanced at the crowd and only once it became clear they had fallen silent did she speak. "Thank you all for quieting down. Might I remind you all that panicking will only serve to draw the Grimm." Embarrassed shuffling followed her declaration and after a moment, the entire crowd had calmed down. "Thank you all for that. As the gentleman before me said, backup or evacuation arriving is currently impossible under our current conditions. If we all stay calm, my team can help both, to fortify and exterminate Grimm in anticipation of backup. All it requires of you guys is to stay calm and fortify one position in order to be able to evacuate quickly when backup arrives. How does that sound?"

Cheers sprung up following her statement as the entire village rushed to do just that. Summer's smile quickly faded when she saw the faces of Qrow, Tai-Yang, and Raven. They all shared a look between them before Qrow spoke up. "This isn't going to be easy Summer." Summer just glared in return, "Does that make a difference to you Qrow?" Qrow simply laughed in response and tried to placate her. "Easy now, just trying to remind you of the odds. But if this is what you want to do, then I'll be right alongside you, partner." Raven looked at the two of them before sighing, "I guess that means I'll have to come along too if only to make sure our sweet little Summer doesn't get corrupted by brother dearest over there." "Hey!" Tai-Yang just smiled at his teammate's banter and replied, "If you all are going then don't count me out. Plus it would look awesome on our resumes."

Summer gave her teammates a watery smile before she forcefully introduced them into a group hug."Summer, you're crushing my ribs…" "Quit whining Qrow, but yes, a little less on the hug would be appreciated." Tai-Yang just laughed and joked, "I may be the team's hard hitter but you're certainly giving me a run for my money right now." Summer gave them all a small glare that turned out more cute than threatening. "You guys! That was supposed to be a touching moment! I give you all loving hugs, and all you guys do is tease me." The other three members of Team STRQ snickered at Summer's indignation before they all joined the group hug. After a moment, each of them separated with a smile. Content with the hug, Summer then called out to her team, "Alright Team STRQ, rollout!"

—

With the village secured, Team STRQ was now free to join the battle. Still, standing on top of the wall didn't allow for much hope as they gazed upon the endless tide of black and red. Even upon seeing the odds, they didn't falter, they had a job to do after all. Summer simply gazed on the horde for the moment before giving her commands. "Alright Team, we're using Shock and Awe. Take them out fast and remember to save ammo, we have no idea how long until backup arrives."

Always one for a good fight, Tai-Yang gave a quick nod before he deployed his gauntlets and jumped into the fray. Raven looked resigned to her partner's actions but drew her the red dust blade of her sheath and jumpd down after him. Qrow stared at the two of them for a moment before he remarked, "You know, if we survive this, I'm buying drinks."Before he deployed Harbinger into sword form and jumped down as well.

Summer stared at Qrow's retreating form for a moment before she sighed. "The rest of us don't even drink Qrow." Still, a small fond smile appeared on her face as she watched Tai-Yang, Qrow, and Raven fight despite the incredible odds. Yes, this was her team. And it was high time she joined them.

Summer flipped off the wall while deploying her halberd before dashing into the fray. Tai-Yang and Raven were already tearing through the Grimm hordes. Tai-Yang's punches were designed to cripple, each of his strikes was directed to various vulnerable parts of the Grimm. Bones crunched and snapped under the force of aura and gauntlet empowered strikes. Tai-Yang left a trail of crippled broken Grimm in his wake. However, even a crippled Grimm will try to rend and kill to its dying breath.

That's where his partner came in. If Tai-Yang was a berserker, crushing everything in his wake, then Raven was an assassin. Slipping quickly from target to target, she struck out with precise lethal blows to any spot that could be considered fatal. Throats were slit and Grimm corpses were strewn about as Raven ghosted after her partner, finishing off the crippled Grimm Tai-Yang missed as well as protecting him from the Grimm he didn't notice.

While Tai-Yang and Raven represented precision, Summer and Qrow were more akin to forces of nature. Summer used her halberd to devastating effect, tearing through the Grimm with brutal slashes and deadly stabs. Beside her was her partner Qrow, who's spinning stabs and brutal cleaves cleared the way for his partner to use her polearm. With the two of them working in tandem, they were like a cyclone, creating a dead zone where ever they went. It was only inevitable, however, that as Team STRQ was clearing all of the lesser Grimm around the village, that something much more powerful would rise to their challenge.

—

A low ominous chittering sound was the first sign something was about to go amiss. Team STRQ regrouped and searched for the source, back to back. The earth began to rumble and shake as if it was the wrath of an unseen god. Not expecting this sudden change in the earth, each member of Team STRQ stumbled and fell. They then watched as the earth and rocks gave way with a mighty crack as a large, glowing golden stinger pushed its way out of the ground.

The rumbling and shaking of the ground stopped as the stinger swung around hypnotically, getting used to its newly found freedom. Once it seemed confident in its ability to feel the open air, a loud reverberating crack sounded. A titanic Deathstalker emerged from its place in the ground. It was very old, tremendously powerful, and incredibly angry. Most importantly of all, however, it had found prey

after so many years. Its eight red eyes obtained a laser like focus on the first humans it had seen in decades. Then it charged, intent on destroying the four humans standing in its path. Summer's eyes widened as the behemoth charging their way served to remind of reality. "Team, Scatter and Shatter!" Summer, Tai-Yang and Qrow all dove and ran out of the path of the Deathstalker. Only Raven remained, hand on sword preparing for the perfect moment.

As the deathstalker drew closer and closer, Raven tensed and prepared herself. In one smooth motion, Raven summoned a portal, shattered her red dust blade on the Deathstalker, and portalled out. Only moments later, a rocket flew through where Raven once was and exploded onto the Deathstalker. The explosive force of the rocket reacted with the newly formed dust crystals to form a thick rolling cloud of fire and smoke.

The Deathstalker roared out in agony, its thick carapace had been formed by years of pressure yet it was unused to the pain caused by heat. Team STRQ panted for breath as they watched the ancient Grimm thrash around in pain before Qrow quipped, "It turns out they really did build their town somewhere cursed. How else would you explain the hordes of Grimm as well as the ancient Deathstalker." The rest of Team STRQ stared at him blankly for a moment before Raven slapped the back of his head. "Ignoring Qrow's unneeded comments, the Deathstalker's carapace is incredibly strong. My sword didn't even put a scratch on it and I shattered it trying."

Raven's statement caused a bit of a shock as her blades were designed to be sharp enough to slice through nearly everything with contemptuous ease. Summer thought for a short moment before given out her orders. "Qrow, Raven, I need you two to transform. Qrow, I need you to take out the stinger. Raven, try to gouge out the eyes. Tai-Yang, you'll be taking out the legs. Any objections?" Upon no objections from her team, Summer enacted her plan. She fired another rocket at the Deathstalker's face.

The Deathstalker, having already experienced the pain that came from those explosives, blocked its face with its thick pincers. This was exactly the opportunity Team STRQ was waiting as Qrow and Raven transformed into their respective avian forms and took to the skies, circling and waiting for their opportunity. Summer and Tai-Yang capitalized the lack of vision created by the Deathstalker blocking the rocket and ran in.

When the Deathstalker raised its pincers, the first sight it was greeted to was of Summer charging in with her halberd. With a mighty swing, Summer managed to slam the pincer with incredible strength, forcing it out of its collision path of herself and Tai-Yang. Tai-Yang soon followed with a gauntlet boosted strike straight into the joint of one of the Deathstalker's legs. The leg broke with a horrifying snap and the Deathstalker roared in pain once more.

It then tried to kick and slam the pest that was doing its best to take out every single one of its legs. Qrow then dove on to the stinger and tried his hardest to hack, cleave and shoot the stinger off. Raven dove soon after, attacking the Deathstalker's face in an attempt to stab out its eyes. Under the four-sided assault, the Deathstalker thrashed and shook, trying to take out all four of its attackers at once. Then, Raven managed to stab out an eye at the same time Qrow managed to detach the stinger.

If the Deathstalker was shaking violently before, it was now thrashing around with everything it had. The jerky, pained movements sent Qrow flying off of the tail and knocked away Tai-Yang with the sudden movements. Now with two of its attackers gone, the Deathstalker was free to kill the two humans in front of it. Upon seeing the seven remaining eyes of the Deathstalker glaring at her and Summer, Raven lunged in to stab the Deathstalker in the eye as well as grab Summer and portal to Qrow and Tai-Yang's location.

The entire situation looked a whole lot more manageable now that the ancient Deathstalker was missing several legs, two eyes, and its stinger. Seeing the swords still stuck in the Deathstalker gave Summer a devious idea. "Raven, how many burn and air dust blades to you have?" Raven raised her eyebrows at the question. "One more burn and two air, why?" "I'm seeing a massive explosion, does anyone else see a massive explosion?"

The remained of Team STRQ stared with wide eyes at the possibility of what a high payload rocket could do with all the dust Summer wanted to use. "I'll need time to prepare the shot. Just stick the swords and get out as fast as you can, I do not want any of you caught in the blast radius. Team STRQ prepared itself to carry out Summer's plan. Tai-Yang and Qrow burst into action to distract the Deathstalker long enough for Raven to do her part.

Raven danced around the Deathstalker attempts at killing her and punished it by stabbing out an eye every time it missed. As the Deathstalker lost more and more eyes, every attack became less and less accurate until the point to where it was functionally swinging at nothing. Still, the Deathstalker wasn't dead yet and while its swings weren't accurate, they still had the power behind to smash buildings. When Raven used up her last sword, Tai-Yang, Raven, and Qrow fell back to watch the fireworks.

A dangerously glowing red rocket shot out towards the Deathstalker and in its dazed state, it failed to see the danger right in front of it. When the rocket struck the Deathstalker, the first explosive payload went backwards, turning the rocket into a bolt of molten metal. The force of the metal impacting the Deathstalker's carapace was enough to finally shatter the extraordinarily strong amour. The rest of the explosion immediately followed, with the explosives reacting to burnt dust and the air dust only fanning the flames. A jet of flame shot into the sky as the Deathstalker let out its dying screech inside the chaotic cloud of fire and smoke.

The jet of fire also acted like a flare for the Bullheads that could now land due to the increasing light. With the help of the Bullheads, the remain Grimm were quickly cleared out. Safe in the knowledge that the mission was now completed, Team STRQ laughed and cheered at their accomplishment. In the dawning morning sun, they took a photo of the four of them after what was their hardest mission so far as a victory dance. When a pilot learned that Team STRQ, a team of hunters in training, managed to kill the ancient Deathstalker all by themselves, all he could do was stare at them in shock. "What the hell are you guys?" "We're the best damn Team Beacon has to offer!"

—

Qrow stared at the photo once more. Those were the glory days of Team STRQ. Before Raven left and Summer died and the whole team fell apart. Still, though, his statement still rang true. Team STRQ was the strongest team to graduate Beacon even if now Team RWBY and JNR might be given them a run for their money. He just hoped the teams didn't end the same way theirs had.

Congratulations, You've made it though! As always, reviews and/or advice is always appreciated.