Cardin awoke the next morning feeling sluggish and emotionally drained from what he went through yesterday. He briefly considered paying some random schmuck a visit and taking it out on them but was remembered last nights change of heart at the last moment.

"Right, gotta be nicer to other people. This is gonna suck…"

With a loud groan, Cardin sluggishly got out of bed and looked out the window. He'd hoped that it would be sunny, but the clouds outside formed an overcast and heavy rain slammed against his window. The sight was strangely soothing but didn't make him feel any better about what was to come.

"Today is…Saturday, right? Or is it Friday?"

The bones in Cardin's arm crackled as he reached to grab his Scroll.

"Ok…yeah, it's Saturday. Whelp, no time like the present."

Cardin had a quick shower, threw on a white t-shirt and some jeans and was out the door, looking for a scenario in which to play the Good Samaritan. He didn't need to wait long, as he saw someone struggling to carry some books.

"How convenient."

The student in question looked up and saw Cardin approaching with a friendly look on his face and a smile that looked a little too forced and felt immediately suspicious.

"What do you want?"

The former bully looked a little aback by the hostility of his tone, but forced down his indignation and forced another smile.

"Well, you look like your having a bit of trouble so I want to help. Is…that cool with you?"

"What, so you can knock them out of my hands and have a little laugh? Yea-no, I'll be fine."

"But I'm trying to help!"

"No thanks asshole, I've got it."

And with those words, the student walked off, leaving behind a bewildered and insulted Cardin.

"What is wrong with that guy?! I was only trying to help!"

Cardin wandered the halls of Beacon, believing that the reaction he got from the last guy was just a one-off thing.

"The next one will be better…"

He heard the sounds of frustrated grunting coming from the gym. On the off chance that someone needed help and wasn't just working out, Cardin opened the door and had to suppress a giggle.

A Bat Faunus had trapped herself under the weights while bench pressing. She'd clearly tried to lift more than she could.

"Bench pressing without a watcher? Heh, amateur…"

Cardin turned to leave but stopped just shy of the door handle. The girls grunts were becoming more frustrated and desperate with each passing second. Despite his resolution, it still seemed he didn't feel like helping Faunus.

"Will I ever get rid of this habit?"

He turned and looked at the girl again, she was clearly stuck and on the verge of tears.

"Well, I've gotta start somewhere."

With heavy reluctance, Cardin walked over to the trapped girl, noticing that she'd put an almost ridiculous amount of weights on the bar. It probably weighed at least a tonne.

"This is gonna suck…"

The Bat Faunus looked up, saw the face of the 'infamous' Cardin Winchester and felt the blood drain from her face. What did he want from her? Was he going to mock her? Let the whole school know about this incident?

"Well, let's see if we can't get you out of here."

Cardin rubbed his hands together, mentally preparing himself for the task ahead.

"Ok, I'll lift and you try to wriggle your way out once it's high enough."

With those words, Cardin heaved upwards, the bar bending heavily with the weight. He barely managed to lift it half way up, but it was enough for the Faunus to ease her way out from underneath the near crushing weight.

Cardin laid the weights down on the ground and turned around to see the girl running away from him as fast as she could.

"You're welcome!"

She didn't answer; she just kept running out the door and into the hallways. Cardin removed some of the weights from the bar and placed it back onto its holder.

"Why that ungrateful little..."

Cardin walked down the hall with a sinking feeling in his chest. He'd thought that changing would help make amends for what he'd done, but nobody trusted him.

"Have I really let things get so bad that people would rather fail than accept my help?"

Cardin watched the reactions of the other students that he walked past. Some of them looked fearful and others looked at him with as if he was a convicted murderer, all of them gave him a wide berth.

"Bastards…"

He wanted to lash out, to just grab the nearest person and wail on them for ours on end. He wanted to make every last person in the school recognise what he was doing for them, force them to be grateful.

"Please stop!"

"Ehahaha! What a freak!"

He stopped and saw his teammates harassing Velvet. The resigned, pained look on the rabbit girls filling him with a perverse joy. The way she shied away and pleaded satiating the hatred stirring within him. He looked at the smiling faces plastered across his 'friends' faces and felt rather envious of the joy they were feeling.

"God that looks like fun. But I'm supposed to be kinder…ah what the hell, maybe I'll indulge myself just this once."

"Hey!"

All four of them turned and looked at the mace-wielder and all of them had a look of fear on their faces. Cardin walked over to the people who had oh-so-willingly abandoned him to die at the hands of an Ursa Major.

"Oh! H-h-hey Cardin."

"Hey."

"Look man, we're sorry about what happened in the forest, we didn't mean nuthin' by it. We were just so scared!"

"Can you forgive us?"

Cardin looked at the cowering trio, at their abashed looks. He knew they were faking it; the bastards weren't even a little ashamed over their actions. They were just a bunch of cowering, worthless little rats concerned only with themselves.

"So are you."

Cardin shook the thoughts out of his mind. Those thoughts led to somewhere dark, a place Cardin never wanted to go to ever again.

"They do seem genuinely remorseful…"

"Ah don't worry about it, water under the bridge as far as I'm concerned."

The smiles returned to their faces only this time, they looked a little too gleeful. The comparison to rats crept back into his mind.

"Thanks Cardin ol' buddy ol' pal!" Russel said in a mocking, light-hearted tone that grated on the leader's nerves. They'd left him for dead; even if he forgave them he shouldn't be joking about such things.

"So…what are we gonna do with this freak boss?"

Cardin turned to regard Velvet, a sadistic grin plastered across his face. Velvet looked up to him with resigned, almost pleading eyes that left Cardin stunned. She looked exactly like Fenestra did in the library yesterday.

"Oh God! What am I doing?"

It had barely been an hour since he'd woken up and he'd already lapsed back into his old habits. The familiar feeling of disgust and self-loathing boiling inside of him, he found himself almost unable to move as he stared into Velvet's eyes, staring at his face reflected in her pupils.

"Cowering, worthless little rats concerned with nothing but themselves..."

He had to repress the urge to recoil in horror almost as soon as the thought occurred to him.

"No, it's not too late. I can still make this work!"

The problem was that he'd now scared poor Velvet and had his teammates watching over him. Even if he wanted to change, he wasn't prepared to lose the only people he could begin to consider friends. If he didn't play his cards right, he was screwed.

"Actually, I need to ask you guys something."

"Yeah?"

"Crap, what do I say?"

"Erm…have you guys…

"The history assignment! Perfect!"

"Finished the history assignment? I'd like to compare notes."

"Oh God, we haven't even started yet!"

"Seriously?! Well what are you doing standing around, go do it!"

"You're right, come on guys!"

Russel led the other members of team CRDL down the halls, all but sprinting. Cardin wiped his brow in relief before kneeling down alongside Velvet.

"Don't worry, I'm here to help."

Much to his annoyance, Velvet keeps looking at him as if he were a Grimm. The hatred and fear in her eyes boring through into his soul. Any other person would've backed away and left her be, but Cardin was stubborn and not willing to take no for an answer.

"Come on, I'll help you up." He said while standing up and offering his hand out to Velvet. He vaguely recalled that it was the same gesture Jaune had offered him. Only this time, Velvet moved away from his outstretched hand.

"What is wrong with you people?! I'm trying to be nicer and you people keep treating me like trash. I swear I'll-"

Unfortunately for Cardin, he was too busy venting his frustrations to notice that Yang had walked around the corner who, seeing Cardin yelling at Velvet while the later was on the floor curled up against the wall in the fetal position, promptly walked over to them punched Cardin across the hall.*

"Urgh, what the hell…"

He didn't have time to consider his thoughts before Yang picked him up by his collar.

"Listen here bub, I'm getting pretty tired of you picking on Faunus."

"But I was trying to help her! Velvet, back me up."

Velvet didn't back him up. She just sat where she was, still giving Cardin that look of fear and hatred.

"Velvet?"

Slowly, Velvet stood up and walked away. Perhaps she'd been scared off by Cardin's screaming or maybe it was her form or revenge. Whatever it was, she'd left Cardin to his fate.

"Yeah, that looks really helpful."

"I swear, I was-"

"Ms. Xiao Long! What is the meaning of this!"

"Glynda? Oh thank whatever deity exists in our world! She'll sort this out."

"Ms. Goodwitch, I found Cardin bullying Velvet."

"Hmm. Mr. Winchester, is this true?"

"No, I was trying to help her!"

Glynda looked mildly annoyed with the conflicting answers. She hated it when students lied.

"The two of you are dismissed. I'll be talking to Velvet about this."

Yang released her grip on Cardin's collar while Cardin felt his heart sink into his stomach. If she asked Velvet, she'd probably side with Yang.

"You two may leave now."

She didn't need to remind them. They were turning to leave before she even started the sentence.

"I am so screwed."

It was just past lunchtime when Cardin was 'summoned' to Glynda's office. The office was neat, organised and spartan. Much like Goodwitch herself.

"Mr. Winchester. Velvet confirmed that you were indeed trying to help her…"

Cardin could barely fight the smile of his face; the Faunus hadn't gotten him in trouble after all. It was all he could do to not dance a jig right then and there.

"However, she also stated that you yelled at her and threatened her with violence. This is unacceptable behaviour. You have a detention on Monday, don't be late."

"Wha- But I was-"

"No buts Mr. Winchester. You are dismissed."

He might've been seeing things, but he thought he saw a look in Glynda's eyes; the look that all the students in Beacon gave him; one of contempt and barely concealed hatred.

"Great, even the teachers are ganging up on me."

With an insulted huff and wounded pride, Cardin stalked out of the teacher's office; brimming with anger and disappointment.

"So this is what I get for trying to be nice; abuse and being treated like dirt? Why do I even bother…

Cardin felt the same empty feeling from yesterday swelling up within him. Another piece of his grandmother's advice wormed its way inside his mind, despite his reluctance.

"Most people quit never knowing how close they were to success."

Her advice didn't inspire the same confidence in Cardin that it did yesterday, but he still managed to draw some semblance of strength from it.

"Well, Vale wasn't built in a day. I guess I could keep trying. I mean, how bad can it get?"

Sadly for Cardin, the worst had only just begun…