If there was one thing Cardin hated about Beacon aside from letting animals run free, it was the school's insistent on outside teamwork. If there was two, it was ill-stocked missions outside the walls of the protected cities. And now, he and his band were dealing with both.

Low on ammo, low on morale, and quickly approaching being low on actual hope of survival, Cardin stared blankly at a campfire he'd erected with help from his mace. It was made with the last of their fire Dust, and was just about all they had left. Around it on some busted furniture and boxes were the rest of CRDL, and also a bunch of randos from who cares that were Team NDGO. It was one of Beacon's stupid ideas to try and build camaraderie with other schools and other teams, but the eight of them had been exploring a rundown city for days without finding anything worth anything, and they'd been left without supplies to last. His only comforts were that the four girls were all humans, and they were actually pretty hot all things considered.

Whether or not NDGO was full of hotties didn't really help anything, considering the eight of them were actually having to come to terms with dying. Their lack of ammo and Dust made them easy targets for Grimm, and the down that caused meant they were at risk for more attacks. Worse still, most of the buildings around them were wrecked, and there were far more Grimm around here than anyone had been briefed on. Negative emotions baited the beast, and there was plenty to go around.

Cardin was pissed mostly because he was actually making headway with NDGO. Ignoring his mortality, he'd played the noble hero more than a few times since they'd been sent out, saving the girl's lives more than they saved his. He didn't want to die, and it was just unfair that he was about to with a bunch of hot girls around. They just needed to make it through one more night before pickup, but everyone had heard the rumblings of the Grimm grow louder every minute. Supplies as they were, they'd have difficulty defeating anything more than a few Ursa. Sometimes, it didn't matter how well teams worked together; bad odds were bad odds.

Getting tired of facing the idea of death, Cardin said, "You know what?" interrupting the bleak silence of those about to fall. "Screw it. Good a time as any." Lit by the crackling fire, the man began exploring his bag, messily interrupting the brooding. "Ahh! There they are!"

One of the NDGO girls looked over to Cardin, Dew if he remembered correctly. "W-what are you doing?" Her voice was interrupted by a howl not too far off.

"Boys," Cardin said, turning towards the rest of CRDL. "Ladies," he continued smugly, turning to NDGO. "I have an idea to not die." He refused to move his hands from his bag until someone inquired.

Russel looked at Cardin's bag, annoyed. "Yeah? That'd be nice to know before it happens, so tell us."

Cardin remembered that he was a team leader for slightly more than his large frame. He was also decent at planning, and tonight's plan to survive took the form a few bottles of wine. He tossed two to NDGO's leader, Nebula, and another two to Dove, keeping the last for himself.

The seven people not in the know looked up Cardin and then to their bottles of wine.

"Oh, I know!" Russel shouted, his voice nasally. "We can use the broken glass as weapons!"

Cardin put a hand to his face and stopped himself from sighing. Taking a breath, he decided to use the cringe to help his plan move forward. Throwing his head back, he belted out a long, loud laugh. "That's a good one!"

"God, that guy's an idiot..." Cardin thought, unable to comprehend how a future hunter could think broken glass was a viable weapon when the arguably least deadly thing they had among the eight was Gwen's knives. Still, making light of Russel's stupidity could help them survive.

"Nah, man, we're getting our asses drunk!" Cardin popped the cork on the bottle with a knife and took a swig of wine. "Stole this from some cellar I found. And it's gonna keep us alive."

Cardin received the confused looks he was expecting to get.

Nebula cocked her head and asked, "And... how does that make sense?"

"Easy. Negative emotions are what cause Grimm to move in. Positive emotions keep them at bay; that's why you guys are here for the tourney, to build hype and keep the people happy." Cardin held up the bottle in his hand. "I say, instead of moping like a bunch of dumbasses, we party."

CRDL seemed to be quickly getting on board, matching moods with their leader. NDGO needed a bit more convincing.

"Oh, come on, we got everything we need for a party!" Cardin pointed to the campfire, declaring, "Booze, bonfires, and buddies! Have fun and we just might make it."

"That seems incredibly irresponsible. Getting drunk when there's Grimm all around us? What if we need to fight?"

"Didn't you see that fight in the courtyard the day after the tournament started? That Schnee chick from Atlas got bodied by some guy with a sword in one hand and a flask in the other! I say it's beats moping and crying about it."

"That doesn't sound like it's something to try to emulate!"

"You have a better idea? Think of it this way: we don't have a good time, we get swarmed with no ammo. We do, we keep the monsters away with the power of drunken bonfire parties."

NDGO exchanged looks, none of which seemed on board.

"We got one more night, and the only supplies we have left is a vintage. Unless you guys can magic up some bullets, we can't fight for long." Cardin took a small swig. "Tastes good, though I'm no connoisseur."

Russel greedily took a bottle from Dove and opened it before taking a good swig. "I see no problem with it. 'Sides, no teachers watching."

Nebula looked down at the bottles she was holding. "I still don't think it's a good idea."

Cardin lazily raised a finger and swirled it around, encompassing the broken building the two teams were staying in. "Then why haven't we heard any Grimm?"

Whether or not Cardin was lying about his plan, he was right. Since the teams had started talking about getting drunk rather than moping about a lack of supplies, the growls of the night had stopped. Their negativity had shifted to more of a casual conversation, lightening the mood, and diminishing the pull on Grimm. There was a howl, but it was miles away from where it had been previously; while retreated wasn't the proper word, the swarms of Beowolves and Ursa had left to hunt elsewhere. CRDL and NDGO were safe for the moment.

The girls of NDGO looked at each other, this time more open to the idea. Looking to CRDL, they all saw everyone but Cardin taking turns on their bottles.

"I guess he's right..." Octavia said, her hesitance leaving. "But, shouldn't we still have a lookout or something?"

"Eh, fine, I'll do it." Cardin took a final swing and put his personal bottle down. "My weapon doesn't lose much without Dust or bullets, at least compared to any of yours."

"Okay..." Nebula looked to her teammates. "Any of you want it? I think I'm going to wait a bit..."

Cardin watched his genius at work at everyone got progressively drunker. He also listened to his plan, as any inkling of Grimm howls were replaced by hiccups and laughter. After a point, even Nebula joined in, and Cardin sat back and watched his plan come to fruition. He watched the two teams get wide smiles on their faces, and every moment was filled with giggling.

"Heh, first timers!" Cardin chuckled, gazing at everyone hiccuping. His plan had succeeded, as the Grimm howls had all but stopped. Happy, he remembered that he honestly hadn't thought that his plan would work; he guessed the Grimm were far enough away to only sense their presence if they were negative, and their cheery moods caused the pull to stop.

Cardin, however, was still Cardin, and Cardin liked to take advantage of every situation.

"Shh, shh guys!" Cardin hushed, bringing seven drunk attentions to him. "I just heard another Grimm!"

"Whaaattt...!?" Russel said, taking a second to grasp the meaning of Cardin's words. "I didn't hear anything..."

Cardin glared at his partner before stating, "That's because you guys were laughing your asses off. They're getting a bit closer!"

NDGO exchanged worried looks with one another. CRDL was still getting it through their heads, as they'd drunk more between them.

"I didn't hear anything," Gwen said, playing with her knives.

"I'm telling ya, I heard something." If anyone was going to make or break Cardin's next move, it'd be Gwen. She'd only had a little bit to drink, so she was tipsy, but reasonably lucid. That said, she was Cardin's preference; something about her dress was nice, plus he'd made the most headway with her hero-wise.

"What do we do?" Dove asked, his mood sinking.

"Either drink more, or get happier. Simple as that, of course!" Cardin shrugged, his face calmly considering every action. "I don't know about you, but I'm having a good time, but I can think of at least one way to make it better."

Nebula, half a bottle or so in on potent wine, slurred out, "Whatcha thinking?" Octavia nodded in agreement. Dew hiccuped, giggling.

"Oh, if only there was a way for a group of girls to show a group of guys a good time." Cardin's eyes turned lecherous. "No lakes around, but I do enjoy the idea of skinny dipping."

Gwen was the first to respond, being the most sober. "You want us to have sex with you!?" CRDL immediately sobered up, any trace of liquor in their systems gone.

Cardin laughed Gwen's accusations off. "Of course not! I respect you ladies! I'm talking just a bit of fun! We're young, we're fighting to stay alive, and in what, a week, we won't ever see each other again? Might as well make it a night to remember! Once this tournament's over, you guys'll go off back to Shade and you'll lose any and all relevance to us, never to be seen again! I'm just saying we might as well have a good time."

Gwen stepped back, at least satisfied with Cardin not referring to sex. Her cheeks reddened both from embarrassment and her tipsy state. She looked to Nebula.

"I'm just saying, my plan's worked so far. And we wouldn't want a Grimm attack in the middle of the night. Why not leave a lasting impression? C'mon, it'll be fun!"

CRDL, now all sobered up at the idea of NDGO stripping, looked on without trying to look creepy. The team of girls eyed each other.

"How about I start?" Without waiting for an answer, Cardin began pulling off his armor. He casually yawned as he dropped it, watching NDGO's reaction to it forcefully slamming into the ground with how heavy it was. Flexing all the while, he removed his shirt, exposing his gargantuan barrel chest, muscles bred from his constant training and armament. "What are ya waiting for, ladies?"

NDGO was all blushing. Cardin's massive size and muscles began to compound with his heroics over their trip; he'd continuously ran in to save them from Grimm over the course of the mission, dashing in to protect them. Well trained huntresses or not, Cardin had done his absolute best to be a knight in shining armor. They were too drunk to really realize that he'd been forcing it, waiting until the right moment to look his coolest in front of the girls.

"See?" Cardin asked, laughing at NDGO getting overwhelmed by a lack of inhibitions and an excess of hormones. "Tell me you aren't already feeling happier? And don't lie to me; lying will bring the Grimm back cuz it'll make me feel bad."

"But..." Octavia started before trailing off. She didn't look away from Cardin's abs.

"But nothing! Imagine how good we'll feel if you lovely ladies join me! What's there to lose? A week from now we'll never see each other again!"

There were several long moments as the girls mulled over Cardin's statements. Without warning, Dew flicked her spear towards Gwen, crafting a small tornado underneath her skirt; the girl's modesty was blown away, revealing a pair of deep purple panties with black trimmings on them before she could bat her skirt down.

"Dew, what are you doing!?" Gwen screamed as she clapped her hands down over her skirt, though her voice was drowned out by laughter from her drunken team and cheers from CRDL. After waiting for it to die down, she continued, asking, "What was that!?"

Showing herself off as a lightweight, Dew giggled furiously at her teammate's embarrassment. "Oh, come on! You've been eying him since he saved you from that Alpha, so why not!?" Gwen shot up, trying not to look at Cardin.

"That doesn't mean I want to..." Gwen meekly tried to cover her face, but everyone was already looking at her. Hiccuping, she asked, "Well, what about you!?"

Dew took a second to mull over what Gwen meant. As she made a move, one could hear CRDL's focusing in more closely. Sitting down, she placed her spear between her legs as she began spreading them; the only thing blocking the view underneath her dress was the staff of her spear, though her hazy movement teased more than she would have sober.

"I don't know about you, but I'm having more fun already," Cardin said, trying to stare Dew's spear away and meeting limited-but-actual success. "And your secret's already out, I guess. Who knows, maybe you'll be worth a long distance relationship?"

Blushing further, Gwen took another look at her team. They were all drunkenly cheering her on, while CRDL sounded like they were at a strip club.

"I'll give you guys the last bottle," Cardin said, holding up his mostly filled wine bottle.

Looking at the ground and crossing her feet, Gwen turned towards Cardin. Slowly, to the excitement of everyone around, she leant forward and grabbed the hem of her skirt. At about a mile a minute, she began pulling up her skirt, though she turned away from RDL and left them with Dew spreading her legs further.

Cardin looked and felt pleased with himself, knowing his master plan worked; he'd been setting up all the pieces all week in order for the moment to happen, throwing himself into danger at just the right moment. And now, he was watching Gwen show her panties to him, with the rest of NDGO ready to follow.

Gwen looked away as Cardin's grin widened at the second reveal of her panties, the purple and black garment being the slightest bit too naughty for what should have been a pure mission. Gwen only grew redder, but she continued lifting as Dew continued teasing with her skirt, mere inches away from flashing her own panties.

"That's a woman worth having, I'll tell you," Cardin said, earning an angry huff and a denial of a view as Gwen recoiled. "Aw, come on! We've been talking all week! Show us something nice!"

"Have some fun, party pooper!" Dew called, now using her spear as a mock stripper pole. Her movements lacked any coherence, but CRDL and NO were all cheering her on.

"It's a party now! Come on!" Russel cawed, looking at the still embarrassed Gwen. He turned to the two members of NDGO not doing something they'd regret and made an effort to make them, saying, "Why don't you two join in!?"

Nebula looked to Octavia, who looked back. Giggling, they drew closer on their mostly destroyed couch and held each other's faces. With plenty of urging from CRDL and a bit from Dew, they began making out, exploring each other's mouths.

Cardin tore his eyes away from Dew's Wonderland and Nebula and Octavia's makeout session and affixed them back to Gwen. "See? Your friends know what's up." He motioned to Dew pulling off bits of her armor as the rest of CRDL cheered. "I now know you like me~"

Gwen hiccuped, unable to find the rational side of her that would tell her she's about to do something she'd regret. Huffing, she stole Cardin's bottle of wine and took a long drink before straddling the shirtless man. "Shut up."

"There we go," Cardin said, positioning Gwen over his erection. He had some morals, so he wouldn't take full advantage of his situation, but he'd let it go as far as it needed to.

Dew finishing pulling off her armor and then drunkenly started on her dress. Nebula and Octavia had spent the last several minutes pulling off each other's armor and jackets, leaving them in just normal tops, and they were thoroughly exploring what was left. Cardin was making his way through Gwen's layers, confused by the overabundance of cloth in her ballet-esque getup.

CRDL's shouts would have easily overpowered any Grimm calls, had their been any at all; the pan had worked to perfection, the positive feelings sending all of the dark away. It was both metaphorical and literal; in addition to keeping the Grimm away, the sun was beginning to rise, signaling their pickup in only a few hours. To CRDL's extra benefit, this meant watching one girl straddle their leader as he worked his way through her clothes, two strip each other down, and one finish pulling off her dress.

Dew began playing on her spear, dancing around wearing nothing but a matching set of bra and panties patterned like fish scales. She gave extra attention to her rear as she drunkenly shuffled across her imaginary stage, egged on by CRDL. After several minutes of constantly spinning in circles, she fell clumsily onto a stray chair and laughed herself to sleep.

Briefly pausing to watch their teammate, Nebula and Octavia went back to taking off each other's shirts. Russel threw a few lien at them as they broke their kiss to allow the tops to come off. Nebula's gray shirt was replaced by a surprisingly large space-patterned bra, while Octavia's vest revealed a lacy number the same deep red as her hair. The hands of NDGO's leader began snaking their way up Octavia's skirt, playing in unfamiliar places to CRDL's delight.

Their movements slowing, Nebula sluggishly tried pulling off Octavia's skirt, but lacked the energy. They ended up sharing a final kiss before drifting off on the couch together, underdressed bodies in close proximity. The leader's hand was placed underneath her teammate's bra, and both were smiling uncontrollably in their sleep.

CRDL's attention turned to Gwen, still straddling Cardin. He'd since gotten her down to her bra and panties, dark purple and black to match her entire aesthetic. She also had a leg holster for several of her knives, but Cardin had let her keep it on. Their faces were currently connected, Gwen's lips locked to the much larger man's as she pressed her barely covered breasts into his bare chest.

Cardin was all over Gwen's back, running his hands across her spine and down to her butt. He grabbed large handfuls of her ass as she rocked back and forth, Cardin's hands electrifying her. They broke their deep kiss, mostly so Cardin could look at his teammates and let them know who's boss.

"Don't stop me," Cardin said, receiving a terrified gasp from Gwen as he reached up towards her bra.

"No! Nononono! Don't do it!" Gwen shouted, trying to fight, her mood gone.

"Bit too late, sweetheart. Can't disappoint me now!" Cardin kept pushing through Gwen's defenses in an effort to get her topless.

"No! Not now not now not–" Gwen's cries for Cardin to stop stripping her were canceled out by her retching, kicking off of him, then vomiting over the place she'd just been sitting. She fell to her knees and threw up again, dropping the nearly empty bottle of wine she'd been drinking solo for far too long, considering her diminutive size. After a few heavy gasps and a swig of the last of the wine to wash the taste out, she said, "That's what you- bleaugh– get, you creep!" She crawled over to a pillow and passed out.

Cardin looked down at the vomit all over his lap, then to his teammates looking at him. His eyes shot daggers far deadlier than Gwen's knives, and his team broke eye contact and found places to pass out. Let with nothing but a horrific smell on his pants, he set out to find some water to try to clean up. Eventually finding some clean water, he washed as much of the throw up off of his pants as he could, then found an empty building to rub one out to vent his pent up lust.

A few hours later, the teams woke up. NDGO, not remembering much, all woke up in their underwear, and assumed what they should assume. Ashamed of what they'd done, they remembered that it was Cardin's fault for getting them drunk. At least convinced that they'd only stripped down and nothing more, they spent the rest of the mission time as far away from CRDL as possible, Gwen disgusted at Cardin in between mass headaches.

NDGO and CRDL returned to Beacon, none of the girls ever speaking to any of the boys.