A/N: To those, it may concern, the reason this story is titled STRQ is that of the timeline, not the team. When I first started writing this story, I didn't have the outline that I do now. So, forgive me for the misleading title.

Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. Had you asked me two years ago, I'd have wished I did, now Rooster teeth is doing a decent job so I'll let them be.

Beta: Robocop3301

[-]

The ballroom turned out to be rather spacious, with enough room to hold at least a few thousand people if need be. Which is why it puzzled me why there were only a hundred students here at the absolute most. Now granted it's still a huntsman academy, I doubt there are thousands of people lining the street to get in, but only just under a hundred? The canon show made it look so crowded too…

"-and then Bart spilled his coffee all over my skirt!" Raven yelled with a huff. We had been following the future professors through Beacon towards the ballroom, and Raven had been oh so graciously retelling the story of they had met.

"Again I do apologize Ms. Branwen, and I will make it up to you, so you needn't worry!" He said, albeit slower than his Doctoral counterpart.

Raven only groaned, "Just forget it, we'll be put on teams as you said, I just have to make sure I'm not on yours." She said indignantly.

I and James shared a glance, shrugged, and went to go set up our equipment for the night. We'd contemplated shifting teams around intentionally, but that likely wasn't going to happen of our own volition due to us not knowing how team STRQ formed in the first place. We decided to let the R.O.B. handle this one, despite our distaste for the figure.

We set up in the far corner of the room, away from the majority of the students. We, unfortunately, failed in our attempt to distance ourselves from people, however, as a certain white-hooded figure and a blonde approached our set up.

Looking up from his book, and me looking up from my journal, we saw that Summer and Tai had both approached us with little awareness of their surroundings. Summer set her backpack next to my sleeping bag and began unrolling her own, with Tai following suit on the other side of her.

"And why, may I ask, are the two of you set up all the way over here?" I asked with a blank look.

Tai sighed and Summer puffed her cheeks, "You two were over here all alone, I figured since you were the first people we met we might as well sleep together!" She said innocently, before clamping her hands around her mouth, "I-I mean not, sleep together sleep together, I mean… like…"

"Sleeping in the same room?" Tai offered, helping out his shorter friend.

She sighed, hanging her head and pointing to the blonde, "What he said."

I and James shared a laugh. It wasn't exactly a compelling argument, but neither of us really had any reason to deny her, "Why not? We could use some company." I said.

Summer sighed in relief before she finished unrolling her sleeping bag and plopped down onto it, "So, what'cha reading?" She asked pointing at James' book.

He looked up from it slightly, "History of the Great War. It really is fascinating," he said as he turned the page, "Did you know that the king of Vale made an unlimited amount of pardons to any Atlesian soldiers that defected to Vale? All of which now sit in a locked vault beneath Vale city hall?"

Everyone present shook their heads. He simply shrugged, before continuing his reading. I rolled my eyes, even before we got ROBed James had always been a history buff. Not that I was any slouch either, but he'd be able to tell you a whole lot of things a lot of college teachers wouldn't know.

Though the pardons were an interesting tidbit of information.

"In any case, Initiation is tomorrow. Any of you put any thought into teams?" I asked.

"Is it just me or does that sound like we're being inducted into a cult?" James cut in.

Summer rubbed the back of her head, "Well… I mean, there's you two so… wait, cult?"

I facepalmed.

"What's this about a cult? Sounds fun." a black haired future bird person said as she walked up.

"Yes, James was just telling us about his future cult he's going to start." I explained.

Everyone looked to James, who for some mysterious reason had a tinfoil hat on.

"What?" he asked, looking up from his book again.

"Um… what's with the…"

"The heck are you wearing?" Qrow asks.

"The hat protects. Glory to the Hat!" He said ominously.

I and James took a single look at each other before we both burst out laughing, leaving everyone around us quite confuzzled.

"Ok, go get your beauty sleep. Everybody knows you need it." James said sarcastically.

Raven rolled her eyes and started walking back to her sleeping setup, Qrow following close behind her. Summer and Tai meanwhile set up next to us, and we all went to sleep not all that much later.

[-]

The next morning was rather uneventful, with breakfast being served in the cafeteria before everyone headed to the cliffs just like in canon. It appeared as though initiation hadn't changed a bit in the twenty years between now and canon, considering the metal plates fixed underneath us.

Once Ozpin finished his speech - one blatantly identical to canon - we were launched from the platforms, and into the Emerald forest.

James immediately started angling himself, obviously using his semblance. I decided to focus my efforts on not dying here. Drawing my axes, I positioned myself in a position where I could spiral down a tree trunk in a similar fashion to the way Ren did in the show.

Turns out, it was an easy trick to pull off thanks to the absolutely crazy training Hawk put us through, and I found myself on the ground in a few short seconds. Looking at my surroundings, I decided to head in the general direction of the ruins. James and I had decided before it even started that we would be on the same team, but we wouldn't put any hindrance on who our partners would be.

If we got someone from future canon, so be it. If we somehow manage to break up team STRQ from day one, so be it. Us being here probably screwed up any chance we had of keeping canon… well, canon, at all.

Considering we had basically grown up with the Branwen twins, we had probably screwed over quite a lot. Of course, if we had any say in the matter, Raven would never leave Taiyang, and Ozpin would never be a manipulative son of a Grimm.

In any case, I walked through the emerald forest, whistling as I went. It was rather calm, and even after five minutes of walking, I still hadn't seen any signs of Grimm, though it sounded as though several students had come into contact with the beasts already.

I continued to move through the forest, looking for anyone that would be a good partner. My work paid off when I found someone with a white cloak and a bladed whip wrapped around a beowolf's neck. Summer continued her assault, not even realizing I was there. The Grimm struggled as it tried to pull the weapon from its neck, but it turned out to be futile as Summer gave it a good yank, decapitating the Grimm, her whip retracting into a sword form.

She gave a long sigh, before turning on her heel to face me, her face forming a wide grin the second we made eye contact.

"So, we're teammates then!" She said excitedly.

I chuckled, "I suppose we are. That was a good display though, where'd you learn to do that?" I asked, gesturing to the currently fading Grimm.

She chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of her neck, "My uh, my dad taught me." She explained sheepishly.

I laughed, "Well good on him! He must be really good at fighting if he taught you that!" I said in jest, trying to keep my thoughts about Summer's family from showing on my face. The show never said anything about grandparents, though that could just as easily be something that no one considered.

Summer smiled, a slightly somber one at that, "Yeah, yeah he was…" She said solemnly.

Any sense of jest I had felt in that moment died. I had lost people before, long before I ever came to Remnant, and the was Summer said the word 'was' spoke volumes. Her dad was likely dead all things considered, and judging by her fighting skills, he probably died on the battlefield. In any case, I had officially screwed over canon now. Yay.

"Well, I'd guess our best option would be to head towards the ruin. What do you think?" I asked.

Summer shrugged, "I don't exactly have any better idea, let's go!"

And the beginning of a great and terrible adventure began… filled to the brim with conflict, misery, happiness, and memes.

[-]

"You know, I never thought it'd be chess pieces of all thing's that the headmaster would use," Glynda said as she and James stood among the temple ruins, "I mean I guess it makes sense, but why not something else?"

James sighed. It turned out that younger Glynda Goodwitch was apparently much more inquisitive than adult headmistress Glynda. "Maybe our headmaster is a bit of a symbolic type." James states with exasperation.

Glynda shrugged before eyeing several of the pieces. She hesitates slightly before pointing at the queen piece, "What do you think, should we-"

She barely got in a word as James rushed over and picked up the Black Queen piece, stroking it and looking around, a grin plastered on his face, "We're taking the queen." he said.

Glynda blinked, shook her head, and sighed. She correctly feared that she was going to have to deal with this kind of behavior in the future.

[-]

Raven Branwen cursed as she cut yet another branch out of the way. She was used to Qrow's incessant banter, she was comfortable with Markus' ridiculous commentary, for goodness sake she put up with James' absurd schemes! But this!? She was supposed to put up with THIS for four grimm-forsaken years!?

"I must say Raven, this forest really is extravagant, have you ever seen such life!" The green-haired student asked.

"Yes. Yes I have. I grew up in a forest." She said through gritted teeth.

Oobleck gasped, "My goodness! You actually grew up in such conditions? Fascinating! You must have such an appreciation for the wonders of such a place!" He said with a grin.

Raven felt that she may snap and kill the man one day.

One day...

[-]

Taiyang Xiao-Long was a simple man. He had simple tastes, he had simple skills, and his hopes and dreams were simple things. He also took simple joy in the torture of one Qrow Branwen.

"And then I said, wouldn't it be just un-bear-able if I went and killed that Ursa?"

Qrow groaned. He had laughed at the first few puns Tai had made. He even chuckled at the next dozen. But for the love of all that was holy, Taiyang Xiao-Long would not shut up! Pun after pun, bad joke after bad joke, it never came to an end!

Qrow sliced a tree in half, attempting to keep himself calm. He dreaded having to live with Tai at all, let alone four years.

"Look, Tai, I get that you're a comedian and all, but could you lay off the puns? You're making my head hurt." Qrow said with a groan.

Tai blinked, "But I thought you liked my puns?"

[-]

Ozpin frowned as he watched the screen in front of him. It had only been about ten years since he and his host had fully merged, but he still felt some of his thoughts drift from his past. He didn't even remember what his name was in his last life, but he was content with the name he had now. It helped that a friend from his past life was helping him.

"You know Oz, some of these kids might actually make the cut." The woman beside him stated.

Ozpin hummed, neglecting to make a comment of his own. His attention was currently focused on the four Branwen children.

It was obvious enough that they were not all directly related, Raven and Qrow being siblings, with Markus and James being their cousins. Still, the fact that all four of them enrolled at the same time was… mildly troubling. It didn't help that Markus and James had gone for the Black Queen pieces as quickly as they did.

It wasn't strange that they might want to be on the same team as one another, but the fact that James actually went straight for the piece, with Michael doing the same soon after, it made him slightly suspicious. Had she made a move? Were the Branwen's somehow connected to her? He could only speculate.

It was a risk, that much was sure, but until she made a move that would link her to them, he could do nothing. If he did do something and was proven wrong, it could spell disaster for his current reputation. He might even have to wait a century to rebuild it, waiting until the generations had passed enough for him to take a public presence.

It would not be the first time he had done such a thing, but it was never a comfortable decision to make.

In the meantime, however, he had team names to come up with, and a ceremony to attend.

[-]

"Taiyang Xiao-Long, Raven Branwen, Qrow Branwen, and Bartholomew Oobleck, the four of you chose the white bishop pieces, and shall be known as team TRBO, led by Taiyang Xiao-Long." Ozpin said with a warm smile.

The crowd cheered, and Tai himself smiled. Who knew that he actually qualified to be a team leader? As the newly named team TRBO exited the stage, the next four students walked out onto the stage.

"Glynda Goodwitch, Summer Rose, James Branwen, and Markus Branwen. The four of you chose the Black Queen pieces," His eyes met those of the Branwens, "And shall henceforth be known as team GRJM. Lead by Glynda Goodwitch."

Murmurs flooded through the crowd, some tried to start the clapping again, but those attempts soon died out of awkwardness. Glynda and Summer both shuffled their feet uncomfortably, clearly not altogether unsatisfied with the team name, but it was certainly not what they had expected.

But it was not their reactions Ozpin was after. No, he looked towards the two Branwens. Both of whom were grinning from ear to ear.

[-]

A/N: What's this!? A chapter!? Yes indeed! For those of you who only read this story of mine, I am not dead! My time has just been eaten up by my other stories, the Mass Effect Trilogy, and College. You should probably thank Robocop3301 (Your Welcome), as he is the one who pushed me to write this. Had he not done so, I might not have gotten around to writing this for a good while.

Also, the team names are pronounced Grimm (GRJM) and Turbo (TRBO). I and Robocop actually spent a good long while coming up with those, and the former actually just so happened to coincide with some of our plans for the future oh so perfectly!