Okay, So I finally caught up on RWBY. And eh, it wasn't bad, I liked how dark it got. But at the same time, they kind of killed their own shock factor. So was kind of disappointed in that. But at the same time, overall it was good.

Been thinking a lot about the differences between civilian life and army life. And honestly, I realized I didn't hate the army, I just hated all the stressful BS we had to deal with. And as crazy as it is, I actually find myself still waking up at 4 to work out, I'm actually rucking for fun now. It's weird how all the stuff I hated while I was in, I suddenly love doing. But hey, thats in the past. And I've been enjoying my life in the civilian world. Especially since now I can own my guns without having to jump through a bunch of extra loopholes that goes with the process of having them on base.

Overall, I miss some stuff about the army, but I am enjoying civilian life.

Also to answer a question.

Red Dawn will not come back as Jem's weapon, as I decided to try something new.

"Are we there yet?" Nala said as she had long finished all of her books and her snacks.

"Almost there." Jem said as he wasn't annoyed by the question that most parents dreaded.

Mostly because Nala had been very patient, and considering they were driving to Arizona, it was a miracle it took her this long to crack. Especially when they had to stop to switch drivers and start a sleep schedule so they could drive through the night. Jem switched with Winter, Elm switched with Glynda, and Jaune switched with Pyrrha. It was a good thing that they didn't suddenly forget how to drive just because they got transported to another world. Jem remembered reading a fanfic that reminded him of his current situation where for some reason the protagonists even if they came from another world that was just as advanced as his, they suddenly couldn't drive a car.

It made no sense to him, but all he cared about was that he didn't always have to be the one driving.

Besides, he switched with Winter again after he got 6 hours of sleep, so he didn't have to worry about much. Except for the fact that Nala told him that she decided to drive 'Safe' rather than 'fast'

Oh well, can't win them all.

"How do you think they're holding up in the other cars?

"I imagine Nora is probably getting bored of the ride, Ren is trying to calm her down, and if I had to guess, Harriet is the one making most of the commotion with the ace ops." He rolled his eyes as he said that.

"You don't seem to like her?"

"Let's just say out of all the ace ops, she's the one who annoyed me the most." He said as thought it over.

"Elm always seemed nice, Clover was cool, Marrow kind of had a puppy attitude, even Elm who I personally think looks like he's going to murder me and stuff me in his freezer seems ice. But Harriet just always seemed to have a stick in the ass attitude." He said as Winter thought it over.

"Is that why you haven't been following the show as much?"

"Oh no, if I stopped watching a show after seeing characters I hated, I would have never gotten past the first two episodes of Game of Thrones. I just keep forgetting to catch up on RWBY." He paused for a second.

"Well that, and since you guys are here now and have knowledge of the future, doesn't that help alter the future? Didn't you guys say you came from a time before the Vytal tournament happened?" Jem wasn't sure how many times they had talked about this. But somehow it always slipped his mind.

"Yes."

"So shouldn't you have plenty of time to prep?"

"Most likely, unless something crazy happens."

"You say that a lot."

"Well with all due respect I never expected to be sent to another reality where I'm part of a tv show and Grimm don't exist." Winter let out a huff of exasperation as she looked at him.

"...Alright thats fair." He suddenly thought of something else.

"You know, I just realized, if our places were switched, that would REALLY suck." He said as she looked over at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean I used to write fanfics about OCs getting sent to Remnant, and they would eventually become stronger, but now the more I think about it, if I was to personally go to Remnant, that would probably suck."

"How so?"

"Well, lets see, I have no money, no form of ID, and unlike with you showing up and proving you came from a different world with your semblance, Its obvious you're not from earth, whereas if it was the opposite, I would have no semblance, no aura, no place to go, NO WAY of proving I came from a different world, chances are they would see me as some nutcase and lock me up in an institution."

"You could always show your earth ID."

"Yeah, I doubt that would work."

"What about your phone?"

"They would think its a primitive form of a scroll." He scratched his cheek as he thought it over.

"Literally, the only way I could see it going well is If I managed to get a hold of a fake ID and some money right away, but that sounds way too convenient." He had no doubt he would be screwed if he went to Remnant.

"Or if you already knew someone there who could vouch for you and help you out when you arrived." Winter pointed out.

"Yeah, in that case it would be fine. But say I was going in with absolutely no idea what the hell I was going to do. In that case, getting transported to Remnant would suck." He was suddenly glad that kind of sci fi bullshit wasn't possible.

"Oh hey, we're there!" Jem pulled over as he realized they were right where they needed to be.

"...Where is it?" Nala asked as she didn't see any waterfalls.

"Oh, we have to hike the rest of the way there." Jem said as he got his camping pack out from the back of the truck.

"How far is that?" Elm asked as everyone got out of their vehicles.

"Only 10 miles."

"10 miles?!" Harriet was surprisingly the one to complain.

"Really? You're all practically superhuman in this reality and you're worried about a 10 mile hike? It will be great! Its a nice relaxing walk with a scenic view, and from I heard, finally seeing the waterfall at the end is amazing." He said as he was excited to get there.

"You seem awfully chipper." Winter pointed out.

"Hey, I've been trying to go on this trip for awhile. And I'm finally here, so I'm ready to go." Jem said as Nala popped out in her little safari outfit and a Aussie bush hat.

"I'm ready!" She said as she had her little hiking pack and a walking stick.

"See? She gets it!"

"Ugh, you and that kid have the same problem, annoying amounts of energy." Harriet grumbled as everyone got a pack on.

"Just remember, this is a beautiful place to be! Enjoy it!"

The ace ops grumbled a bit as Jem walked further ahead.

"Oh don't be so whiny Harriet!" Jem only addressed the one member of the ace ops.

"Hey! I wasn't the only one complai-"

"I said no whining!"

"But I wasn't the only one-"

"You are now!"

"But...Yeah but...AGGH!" Harriet got frustrated and decided to just let it go.

Winter walked up ahead with Jem as they decided to take point. Nala was just skipping along happy as can be. Winter however had other thoughts in mind.

"Why did you single out Harriet?"

"To mess with her."

"...You're still frustrated with her because of her attitude in the later volumes aren't you?"

"Yeah, this is cathartic in a way."

That moment turned out to be a small annoyance in the trip. Soon the entire group was enamored by what they were seeing. While they hadn't seen much plant life. They were amazed by the rock formations and cliffs they were seeing as they traveled further and further along the trail they were hiking. The ace ops were having trouble adjusting for one reason. When it came to missions, they were used to having to be on high alert to watch out for Grimm activity. So they were jumping at the slight sound of a rock tumbling down thinking a beowolf was stalking them. Only to feel silly when they realized the rock tumbling down was just a rock after all.

Further into the hike they were able to hear the sound of running water clearly. They knew they weren't at the falls that Jem was talking about, but they were coming across little rivers and streams full of fresh water. There was a portion where they had to cross the river. Jem made sure everyone put rubber coverings over their boots so they wouldn't have to go through the hassle of changing boots and socks after crossing the river. But the operatives couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of fresh cool water rushing between their legs as they walked through the river.

When was the last time they were able to just enjoy the small things in life? Had everything really been about work and hunting for so long? Had they forgotten how to relax? This whole adventure started as a rescue mission, but now that the rescue was no longer needed, they had to accept the fact that this was a vacation. And while they were slowly adjusting to it, they hadn't fully grasped the concept at hand.

When you come from a world full of danger, you can't turn off your instincts. It was like that for huntsman, soldiers, police officers, firefighters. And it was hard to unwind from it all. And they were adjusting slowly but surely.

Jem looked back at them all.

"You know, you guys don't have to maintain situational awareness the whole time we're out here." Jem said as the Ace ops caught up to them.

"Sorry, just kind of a habit now you know?" Clover said trying to relax.

"Trust me I completely get it. You're so used to checking your six all the time and trying to scan the room you can't just turn it off when its vacation time." He responded back to Clover as he took a sip of water and offered him some.

"Thanks, most people don't get it. Especially family." He said as he gave Jem back his water after he took a sip.

"When I came back home on leave from the army, I couldn't just adjust to being on vacation, I had to stick with my routine because I had been doing it for so long it was ingrained in my head." He said as he was looking at a map to see how far they had left to go on the hike.

"You don't really strike me as the military type." Clover wasn't trying to be mean, its just that Jem didn't seem to act like a lot of the soldiers back home.

"Well, lets just say American culture and Atlesian culture are different and leave it at that." Jem joked as he really didn't know how to explain barracks parties to him.

"Did you really super glue a dildo onto a new guys head and make him drink whiskey going 'Neeiigghghh, neeiiggghh, I'm a screwnicorn?" That got Jem's attention.

"...Who told you that?" He didn't remember telling anyone from Remnant that.

"Alex said you told him some of the weird stories you had from the barracks, and honestly it sounded too ridiculous to be true." Clover said as Jem facepalmed.

He forgot that he told Alex some of his weirder stories. (1)

"Yes but to be fair he got off easy."

"You call that easy?"

"Yeah, when I got to the unit, I had to avoid guys in the barracks making me drink everclear and then forcing me to get in a tire and roll down a hill." He remembered that all too well.

"...Why?" Clover could not figure out the reason.

"It was to say 'Hi, welcome to the unit.'" Jem shrugged his shoulders.

"They couldn't just come say Hi like normal people?"

"Oh come on, you guys didn't have any weird initiations when you first joined?"

"Not that I know of, General Ironwood is big on discipline."

Jem rolled his eyes.

Give him five minutes with any Atlesian infantry unit and he could guarantee they were more alike then they thought.

(1) That was something we made a new guy do during a barracks party.

One thing I remember vividly was I had a pair of ranger panties on, and a replica of the one ring, and they got two of us in the center of a circle, we were all drunk as hell, and they would put the one ring in the center, and you would have to yell "PRECIOUS" While wrestling over it, you had to win by grabbing the ring and putting it on your finger and then while you had the ring on, you had to find a way to put them in an arm lock before they got the ring back.

...I don't know how we came up with the game, but it was amazing.