Chapter 6: Going on a Trip

"I spy with my little eye, something green." Nash said, swinging his legs from his seat in the bullhead, staring out the window.

Daria groaned. "Let me guess, it's a tree."

"Righto!"

The team leader groaned again.

"Now, now, Nash," Rainier began, voice not betraying the thin smile plastered onto his face. "There are more than trees out here. Perhaps blue. Like the sky. Or white. Like a cloud. Or green. Like a tree."

Daria shook her head again, cold gaze turning away from the Vacuoan. "Gail. Make him shut up."

The archer looked up from her book, eyes flitting between the duo, before looking back down, taking herself back out of the situation, as had been her promise to herself the moment it had started.

Sise watched the quartet in mild interest, blue-green eyes twinkling. He refrained from speaking though, leaning back in his seat and feigning disinterest.

"Daria," he began quietly.

"No."

"Daria, please-"

"No! Stop!" She finally cried, turning towards the window in irritation

Rainier stared at his leader for a moment, before finally sighing, following her example and leaving the bullhead in silence.

"Mom. Dad. Please stop fighting." Nash said, getting slight smiles from both huntsmen.

Sise stared on in interest, nodding to himself.

Shinai sighed as he picked his way along the unkempt trail, Professor Port leading Team SOUL the way a few feet ahead. He turned towards his team, assessing their condition for a moment.

Oracle and Lance seemed to have come together in their mutual dislike for the situation, one hand held firmly on top of her hat, head bowed, while the other hand was at her waist, toying with her gun in what Shinai could only assume was a nervous tick. The swordsman, however, was hunched over, hands buried in his pockets, scowling, and doing his best Ulysses impression at the time.

Ulysses himself was bringing up the rear of the group, heavy trenchcoat slung over his shoulder and hands buried in his pockets. The chain attached to his Avenger continued to wrap around his arm, breaking around the elbow, then continuing upwards, disappearing into the sleeve of his shirt and towards his back. The brooding teen's eyes were closed- and he seemed to just be enjoying the day, surprisingly.

"Professor Port," Shinai began. "Where are we heading?"

"Oh, to the coast of course! There have been a large influx of grimm activity out east, particularly of the marine variety, and it would not do at all if no one had checked up on it!"

The samurai nodded slowly, looking over his shoulder towards his team, looking to see if they had gotten that.

The mention of grimm had made Lance perk up, bright blue eyes twinkling with the promise of a good fight. "Hey, Port-"

"Oh, Port was my father- just call me Professor Port."

That made Lance actually slow down a half-step, staring in dumbfoundment at their leader for the expedition. "…Professor Port, uh… so what'd you do before you became a teacher?"

Port looked over his shoulder, smiling under his rather bushy mustache. "Ah, I was a huntsman of course! A rather good one at that. I worked alone for many years…"

Lance groaned and dipped his head again. "…Mistakes were made." He muttered, getting an irritated glare from Oracle.

The pilot of the bullhead turned over his shoulder. "Here's your drop off point, Tsuki!" He called out to the huntsman, gaining a nod back as the vehicle began to descend amidst a circle of trees, dead grass and leaves thrown up in the air as they touched down.

Sise patted the pilot's chair in silent gratification as he climbed out of the bullhead, Team DRGN quickly following suit. Nash waved at the pilot as he quickly climbed up the back- to where his mech suit sat, strapped to the vehicle. He quickly detached it, the red armor falling to land solidly on its feet, before the bullhead began to ascend again, soaring off back in the direction of Vale.

"WOW I'VE NEVER BEEN THIS FAR BEFORE!" Nash yelled out excitedly, climbing up onto his suit to stare out at the seemingly endless ocean of trees.

Rainier reached his hands high above his head and stretched languidly, murmuring contently. "I vaguely remember this spot on the flight over. Perhaps it was another stretch of these endless forests, they begin to blend together after a time."

"Vacuoan, right?" Tsuki asked, peering around in the forest, face hidden in shadow.

"Why, yes. How could you tell?"

He held up his Scroll without looking back to the students. "Ozpin gave me your information. I just wanted to confirm that you were the correct one. Son of Leonardo Platina, correct?"

"…Ah, yes."

"Good man, your brother as well."

Daria sighed, cutting into the conversation. "Where are we going?"

The veteran huntsman turned back to them, curiosity filling his eyes. "Further south. It's a short march."

"Why?"

"Grimm activity…"

The team leader and Rainier shared an instinctual look.

"And…?" The faunus said slowly.

Tsuki shook his head. "...Rumors of White Fang activity. But that's not your problem."

"Oh." The duo said in unison, before Daria scoffed, turning away.

The quintet went silent as Sise looked around for a few more moments, before nodding to himself, gesturing with a hand for the students to follow him.

"And that is when I knew it was time to strike! The beast, limping back into the woods it had come from was at its most vulnerable and I could not let it escape! So I…"

Lance shook his head, leaning against Oracle's arm- followed by her pushing him away quickly. "Hey, Port- Professor, whatever- when are we gonna get to where we need to be? I think Ulysses is about to lose it."

The teacher looked up from his lunch. "Hm? Oh, we're already here."

"Oh thank gods! When do we start killing Grimm?"

"What fervor! You remind me of myself at your age, Mr. Zaffre-" Oracle snickered. "Now- we begin the search!"

Lance smiled blankly, eyes glazing over. "S… search? We've gotta…" he slowly leaned forwards stiffly, nearly falling over from his position sitting cross-legged.

"Indeed! It is a search and destroy mission after all! Cheer up, lad! The search is half the fun! Once we find the source of the grimm here- then the destroy can commence!"

Ulysses turned dark eyes to the expedition leader. "...Fine. When do we start."

"As soon as we finish our lunch. Then off to search we go!"

Sise hummed to himself thoughtfully as he picked his way through the thick foliage of the forest, the mechanical whirring of Nash's mech following a short ways behind him, amongst the sounds of the other students finding their way through the bushes with… less ease than he did.

"Gail," He finally said. The quiet girl went stock still as she jumped, wide eyes trained on the huntsman ahead of her. "You were a hunter back in your home, correct?"

She swallowed and nodded her head quickly.

"What are we looking for?"

A blush slowly crept across her cheeks as her teammates turned their attentions to her. "Uh… well… we need to…" She swallowed again. "What do you mean?"

"We're here to scout, aren't we? So scout."

Gail nodded slowly this time, unslinging her bow from its position on the small of her back, hesitantly finding her way to the front of the group. "Um… we need to find any trace of the grimm. Any… trampled grass or bushes, maybe an animal corpse? This far from any villages, there's not much negativity to draw them together in a concentrated group, so if there are any packs, they'll be smaller and more spread out, probably closer to the border between Vacuo and Vale."

As she spoke, Tsuki slowed his gait, arms crossed, until he was standing beside Daria. He turned blue-green eyes to her wordlessly.

For her part, she didn't even register the veteran huntsman, the remaining members of Team DRGN's eyes all locked onto Gail as the huntress slunk forwards with a disturbing amount of comfort, her hazel eyes scanning the forest floor.

Slowly she stopped, and turned over her shoulder curiously to the staring gazes of her teammates. The blush sprung back to her face. "Oh… oh, I… was rambling. Um… I'm sorry."

"YOU CAN TALK?!" Nash yelled out with a decent amount of legitimate surprise.

Gail winced. "Shh!"

Now fear began to sink into the blonde boy's face as he looked around the forest in paranoia.

"Excuse him," Rainier said, blinking himself. "It's just that… you very rarely speak, particularly that much... especially in groups of people."

The huntress rubbed the back of her neck. "I… just… got worked up, I guess."

"No, no, no! Please, continue!"

She swallowed hard and turned her gaze back to the forest, shaking her head in an attempt to block out the amount of attention pointed at her now.

Daria finally looked up to Sise, the masked huntsman inclining his head pointedly before striding forwards again.

Shinai frowned as he ducked low, swiping his hand against the muddy track. "...This... is a boot print..." Eyebrows furrowed, he turned his attention back to Oracle, the gunslinger catching the look.

"Professor!" She called out, getting the mustached man to turn to them. "We've got… somethin."

Port nodded and strode over to the samurai, looking down at the bootprint, stroking his mustache in curiosity. "Hm… how strange."

"So there's someone else here." Shinai muttered.

"Possibly… well… no, yes, it is a very fresh print. Hm… I was not aware of any other assignments here..."

Lance walked over, frowning in distaste. "No one came all this way for a trip to the beach, I'll tell ya that."

"Bandits?" Shinai asked.

"Perhaps…" Port muttered back. "Ah, no matter! We were sent here for a specific purpose, and we shall complete that purpose, no matter what. No doubt this man- or woman- means us no harm. Onwards, students?"

One by one, the huntsmen resumed their forward march, back where Ulysses was waiting impatiently up ahead. Shinai lingered for a few moments before following after his teammates, his hand tightening around the handle of his katana.

Gail blinked and turned on her heel. Standing behind her was Sise, the veteran looking sufficiently poised, hands still crossed in front of his chest-

Far, far behind them though, was the rest of Team DRGN, the two non-mech riding huntsmen struggling through the thick foliage, while Nash was trying desperately to pilot Phalanx from the outside, jerkily side stepping trees and clunkily smashing through rocks and roots alike.

"So you enjoy reading?" Tsuki asked as the duo waited.

The huntress ducked her head and swiped a stray hair out of her face. "Um… yeah."

Sise nodded, but said nothing else, lapsing into silence as the others caught up.

"Gail," Rainier muttered irritatedly. "Are you sure we're following a trail?"

"Um… no. We're not, not yet. We're just… we're just looking for one."

"Oh of course. Do you mind?" He pointed upwards into the branches above head.

Sise and Gail nodded- the latter quickly blushing and avoiding her gaze- while Daria shook her head spitefully. That was enough approval for the faunus to leap upwards, disappearing into the leaves quietly.

"I'll be right above you." He called out.

The DRGN team leader shook her head, rolling her eyes.

Tsuki caught the look and put a hand on Gail's shoulder. "The sun's getting low. We should set up camp while there's still light left and get some rest. We'll keep going at sunrise."

The huntress looked off into the forest unsurely for a moment, before nodding in agreement, a sigh escaping her lips.

Rainier dropped back down to the ground, face disappointed, gaze barely meeting his leader's. "...I should stay down here then.

"No."

"Yes." Daria and Tsuki said in unison.

"Of course." With a sigh, he collapsed to the ground, falling into a cross-legged position.

"Gail and I will go get wood for a fire," Sise said with an air of finality. "You three set up the bedrolls and figure out a schedule for tonight's watch. Nash, you prepare the food you brought while they do that."

The aforementioned boy gasped in shock. "How did you know." He whispered.

Tsuki nodded and gestured with his head for the archer to follow him as they strode into the forest, orange light from the setting sun bathing the scenery.

Rainier's mouth was held in a tight line as he watched Daria unfold the pack of bedrolls from Tsuki's bag silently, Nash reaching into his mech and pulling out several large bags of food- mostly junk- with a joyful smile.

The faunus sighed and stepped closer to his leader. "Daria."

"What."

He extended a hand to her. The diminutive huntress stared at it before frowning and tossing a couple of the bedrolls to him. Silently, the duo set them up in a loose circle. Daria turned to Nash- the boy sitting on his mech, munching happily away at a bag of chips- handing him a bedroll.

The blonde huntsman blinked and hesitantly took it, splaying it out across Phalanx's shoulders and holding his hands up to it, silently pleading it to stay. After a moment, he shot a thumbs up back her way, beaming.

"Do you…" Rainier began.

"Should I want to?" Daria shot back.

"Well… no. But we are stuck in the forest for several days. Together. It might be prudent that we clear the tension, at least a little bit. So we don't give poor Sise an aneurysm."

"You noticed that too?" She muttered.

"He took Gail away. That's not exactly subtle."

"Why leave Nash?"

"Nash!"

The boy simply hummed back as he enjoyed his food, eyes closed in bliss.

Rainier sent a shrug Daria's way.

She sighed, eyes looking him over for a long moment. Finally, she shook her head, the tension draining from her body, muscles uncoiling. "...Alright. Let's talk."

The faunus was silent for a moment, looking around at the peaceful greenery around them as they sat down next to each other. "...You know, when I landed in that forest, I had my entire life planned; excel, impress, run roughshod over this academy without a care in the world. I thought that I would graduate in four years unmatched, alone on a pedestal... it took maybe two hours for that plan to come falling apart," He shook his head with a sigh. "...I invited you to that dance because I care about you, as much as we may wish I didn't... a night, with one of my best friends? It sounded like a dream..."

"Yeah..." She said, giving him a side-eye. "It did."

"...I gave you such a hard time when we first met because you were everything I thought I wasn't; unsure, nervous- hell, I had thought that you were an alright at best huntress... I was right about one thing- you are everything that I'm not; kind, empathetic, thoughtful; the kind of woman who should rightly want nothing to do with an arrogant patan like myself."

"...I don't know what a patan is, but yeah, you are one," He let out a laugh at that, a small smile claiming her face. "...You were right, you know; I was an alright at best huntress... I still am. Rain, you're... your problem is that everything's about you. You take everything like a personal slight, regardless of what it is, and you get it in your head that you're on your own... but you're not. DRGN's a team, but it goes further than that; RWBY, JNPR, SOUL, we're all here with you. You could use some more empathy and definitely some thoughtfulness, yeah... but you're not this terrible person you think you are. You ditched me at the dance, and it hurt, and I hated you for betraying my trust. It still hurts. Even right now, when I look at you, there's a part of me that's screaming at me to not buyyour lies...

Rainier stared at her silently, a soft, understanding expression playing on his face as she shook her head. "...You take everything in stride, keep moving regardless, and I can't do that. We both are awful at moving on, but you use that to propel yourself forwards... I just get stuck..." Her gaze finally met his again. "...I don't get you, Rainier Platina. I can't figure you out, and that sucks... that hurts... but maybe I'm not supposed to. Maybe that's just where we're gonna be."

"It's hard to figure out a boy who doesn't even know who he is yet," The faunus said quietly. "...I've never known someone who can destroy my pride as effortlessly as you can... but maybe that's alright as well."

"I don't forgive you for betraying my trust... I don't think I will for a while... but a samurai told me that you can't stop caring about people, even if they hurt you. I don't have to forgive you," She gave him a small smile. "But that's okay... that doesn't mean that you're not Rainier Platina... you're still my teammate... you're still my friend... and maybe we can still move on."

He raised an arm expectantly for a moment, before she rolled her eyes. He threw the limb over her shoulder, giving her a side hug. "...Thank you, Daria... they may be empty words coming from this patan, but... I promise that I will always come through for you."

She leaned into the embrace, shaking her head. "...Don't make promises you can't keep."

"I never do."

Port looked over the impromptu campsite with a nod. "Very good work, huntsmen and huntress in training! Textbook!" Lance and Oracle shared a look, the former rolling his eyes. "It's time to settle in for the night! We leave at first light," The professor nodded as he turned to march towards his own tent. He stopped as he lifted the flap, turning back to the four young huntsmen. "Excellent work today. You all have bright futures ahead of you. Fine work, Mr. Kyani."

The samurai gave him a head nod as he disappeared, leaving the quartet around their campfire. "...You should get some rest. We'll reconvene in the morning."

"Nah, nah, nah, nah," Lance said, leaning forwards on his log, hands folding in front of him as he stared at his leader. "Do you ever sleep?"

"Of course I sleep."

"Because it's like, if you throw a stone at night, there's a decent chance it'll hit you. What, were you just going to keep watch all night without switching with someone?"

Shinai frowned. "Of course not."

"He's got a point, captain," Oracle said, lifting an eyebrow to her partner. "Why're you always up?"

The samurai looked around at his teammates, before sighing. "...I watch the sun rise and set. It... keeps me focused."

"Focused?" Ulysses rumbled out, arms crossed over his chest.

"...It... it reminds me of where I came from, and where I am going. It reminds me to never stand still, to always push onwards."

The other members of SOUL looked to each other uncertainly, before Lance shook his head with a groan. "...You can even make insomnia sound poignant and insightful, it- dude, you've got a gift."

"He's gotta point there as well, which is two more than he's usually got," Oracle added. "You might be one of the most thoughtful men I've ever met, Captain. Not a hard bar to clear, but still."

The samurai bowed his head with a small sigh. "You... all overestimate me."

"No," Ulysses said. "We don't."

"You're not my first captain," Lance said, nodding. "But you've earned that title."

"I..." Shinai trailed off, looking to his teammates, swallowing. "...It... thank you."

Oracle raised her waterskin in the air. "Here's to the captain; bringin' this unlikely lot together and makin' us one helluva force to be reckoned with."

Lance copied her gesture with his flask. "To the captain!"

Wordlessly, Ulysses raised his own thermos, inclining his head to the samurai.

Shinai stared at his team for a long moment, before bowing his head to them. "...You honor me. Thank you for your service and companionship. I... hadn't expected it when I came here... but it's not unwelcome," He bowed again. "Thank you."

"Now you've just gotta lead us through the Vytal Tournie, and you'll be my kids' godfather," Lance said, leaning back, gaze rising to the stars.

That brought a smile to the samurai's face for a moment, the quartet falling quiet as they lounged around the dying campfire, enjoying the peaceful night, the stars shining bright above head.

"Hey, Daria."

Daria groaned as she sat up. "I'm up, I'm up-"

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt as she took in her surroundings- she was, firstly, inside, in a large concrete building, industrial lights shining overhead. The windows showed that, yes, it was still the middle of the night. Like a bullet, she shot to her feet, Infinitas shooting into her hands as she whirred about. She was definitely alone.

"Hello?!" She barked out, teeth gritting together.

Footsteps greeted her, the sound of boots on concrete ringing out through the warehouse.

"No, that's not good enough." Rainier said, voice filled with irritation.

"It's the best we could do!"

"I'm sorry, I suppose that you didn't hear me. That's not good enough. We need to do better. Torchwick, explain to him what I'm talking about."

"Okay, see, the wolf's just a little irritated. Let me explain this to you, man to man. Face to face. Okay?" A voice, wholly unrecognizable to her, said.

Daria jumped as a gunshot filled the warehouse.

"Dammit, Roman." Rainier muttered as the footsteps got closer to her.

"C'mon, you were going to do it."

"Outside. We're more sophisticated than that."

"Kids these days. Sometimes you gotta be a little unsophisticated. Right, samurai?"

The footsteps finally reached her, rounding a corner and Daria frowned even deeper, staring at the trio walking towards her casually.

Leading the way was a man in a white trenchcoat she didn't recognize, orange hair swept down over one eye, held in place by a black bowler cap.

But she did definitely recognize the other two-

Rainier was beside the man, but… not. He was still Rainier, silver hair wildly poking away backwards on his head, mechanical Wolf's Claws clacking against the floor. Rather than his white and red tracksuit though, he was dressed in a white, sleeveless shirt, tight black pants tucked into an equally black boot. On his face was a concealing, full white mask, modelled like a wolf's head, red swirls littering its surface. His hands were stuffed in his pockets in rather Rainier fashion- but that was the only thing that was familiar about him.

Behind the two of them was a man who looked significantly like Shinai, dressed in black armor, and a black, smooth metal visor, hair much longer than he wore it. His poofy hakama pants were replaced with baggy black pants tucked into black metal boots, katana still strapped to his waist. At the moment, he was dead silent, not responding to Roman Torchwick's question.

Daria sucked in a breath as she watched the three men walk together, swallowing hard, feeling panic fill her chest.

"So this is what you fear the most."

She spun on her heel- to Sise, arms ever crossed, watching the scene play out in front of them- as the trio walked past them.

"Tsuki?" She whispered as her breaths shortened frantically.

"Breathe-" He said, leaning down towards her, hands on her shoulders. "Breathe. It's not real. It's not real."

"Wha- what do you mean it's not real?"

He tilted his head to the side- and the footsteps stopped. She turned back to her friends; and they were frozen in mid-stride, Rainier's mouth stuck open in the middle of speaking.

"What- I don't- I don't understand."

Tsuki straightened up. "My semblance. Huntsman's Nightmare."

"You… you're doing this?"

"It's an illusion. But yes. I've placed us in an image from your subconscious- of a sort. It's hard to explain."

"But…" Daria swallowed as she attempted to curb the coming anxiety attack. "But why?"

Tsuki watched her for a few moments before sighing. "These field trips serve an alternative purpose alongside the celebration of the end of the Great War. They're tests."

"Tests? What do you-"

"Tests to see your worthiness as students. How you handle live huntsman situation, but also your team chemistry and ability to work together. You four would have failed terribly."

"What do you-"

"Rainier you wouldn't give a moment of time. Gail, it was almost like you forget that she was even there. Nash… I don't have any complaints about Nash... Copper, I see potential in you and your team... you just need to be a leader."

Daria swallowed. "...So… that's why you had Gail lead the way?"

"Yes. To say your team failed isn't quite right; you've been failing them. They all have their own skills and strengths. It's up to you to find them and use them well. On a scouting mission, Gail is the only one of you that should be leading the way."

The DRGN team leader sighed, closing her eyes. "...And that's why you put Rainier and I in a situation where we would have to talk," Sise nodded silently. "So… why this? Why the Nightmare?"

"I'm someone uniquely qualified to test your chemistry and composition as a team; I can see your thoughts. As invasive as that may be, keeping you four alive over the next four years is far more important," He looked around at their surroundings. "Tell me, if you would; why is this a fear of yours? You don't have to explain if you don't want to."

Daria blinked and turned to the frozen form of her teammate. "...Because… I don't trust easily. I don't trust people that are superior to me. I don't trust people who betray my trust. I don't… I don't trust easily. And… it occurred to me. I don't know a lot about Shinai, but I do know that he was homeless. And I know Rainier. And I know how easily he could've… turned into someone bitter, and angry, and violent. I know how easily Shinai could've channeled all that negativity into something dark. But I know that Nash would never be like… this. I know that Gail…" She sighed. "I don't know what Gail's like. I… really have been failing her."

Tsuki nodded along with her. "...Do you want to know what Rainier's Nightmare was?"

Daria swallowed hard, bit her lip; and hesitantly nodded.

"He was back in Vacuo. He was with his brother, and sister, and mother, and father. He was holding the skeleton of a baby and he couldn't let it go. He screamed and raged in the dream- not because his family wouldn't change no matter what he did, not because of the skeleton- but because you weren't there. And Nash, and Gail, and Team SOUL weren't there. Because Team JNPR and Team RWBY, and Weiss weren't there. Because Shinai wasn't there."

The short huntress simply stared at the veteran huntsman, mouth gaping.

"Would you like to wake up now?"

Daria shot to a sitting position, gasping for air. Sitting across from her was Sise, eyes glazed over for a few short moments before life began to fill them again. Blinking, he nodded at her. "Your shift is up next."

Gail turned to the duo with tired eyes, lips pursed in thought.

The two huntresses locked eyes and Daria slowly nodded- both to her teammate, and to herself. She opened her mouth to say something, before the archer shook her head silently.

Daria looked over to the sleeping form of Rainier- the faunus' face curled in quiet distaste. She sighed. "You can get some sleep, Gail."

The archer wasted no time before lying down, falling back into sleep gleefully.

Tsuki rose to his feet and walked over to Phalanx, Nash sleeping away peacefully on top of it.

"Be gentle with him, okay?" Daria pleaded quietly, sitting down beside the fire.

Sise simply smiled behind his mask, before his eyes went glazed and lifeless.