Tick…tock…tick…tock…

The rhythmic clicking of the clockwork in Ozpin's office instilled a sense of dread in the mace-wielder. No matter how many times he'd been called in here, the clock never failed to make him feel an odd sense of discomfort. Dove had theorised that it was intentional on the headmaster's part but Cardin had never bought it.

Tick…tock…tick…tock…

Cardin dared to look up at the Headmaster, but couldn't hold the gaze for so long before he stared anxiously looking around the room. Ozpin had been teaching for years and had long since mastered a disappointed gaze that could make even the most reckless, disrespectful student feel ashamed. In truth, Cardin would've preferred the hateful gazes of his peers to this.

"Mr. Winchester…"

"Hmm?"

"Do you kno-"

"Yes."

"Then tell me, what would you do if you were in my position?"

"Expulsion sir."

Ozpin opened his eyes slightly in surprise. Normally, Cardin would be spewing excuses out with his every breath and yet, here he was, suggesting that he be expelled.

"Mr. Winchester…"

Cardin didn't even bother recognising the Headmaster this time; he just continued to stare at the ground in shame, waiting for Ozpin to deliver his punishment.

"Cardin, look at me."

The ginger looked up in shock; this was the first time Ozpin had ever referred to him by just his first name. Could it be that…Ozpin was going to help him?

"I have seen far worse people than you achieve redemption. I have seen some truly horrible people attain forgiveness from even their most hateful detractors. If they can find redemption, I'm sure you can as well."

"Wait, you know?"

"I see more than you'd think Cardin. I've seen that you've truly been trying to change…and I believe that you can."

Tick…tock…tick…tock

"It won't be easy Mr. Winchester. The road will be long and difficult; you may find yourself disappointed time and time again…but, if you truly want to change, and you don't give up. I'm sure you will find what you want."

Despite the Headmaster's daunting words, Cardin couldn't help but feel ecstatic. He'd found someone who didn't hate his guts, someone who actually believed he'd changed.

"Of course, I still have to punish you. I want a six thousand word essay on what you've done wrong on my desk by next Monday. You're also going to be serving detention for the rest of the week. You are dismissed."

Cardin gave the Headmaster a determined nod, still grinning from ear to ear in happiness before walking out the door. The ginger couldn't help but jump and click his heels in joy.

"I've done it! Someone finally believes me- GAH!"

A sharp pain in the back of Cardin's head snapped him out of his thoughts and a large hit to his back knocked him onto the floor.

"What the fu-"

"This has been a long time coming…"

Cardin felt his heart sink into his stomach; of all the people he could've been trapped in the hallway with, it just had to be the people with the most reasons to hate his guts.

"Crimsons' teammates huh?"

Cardin stood up shakily and glared at his attackers. He saw Crimson's brother Gary, a knight-like figure adorned in gold/white armour and a ridiculously large sword across his back. He saw his best friend Shaolin, a man dressed in monk garbs that fought unarmed with a near-extinct martial art and, of course, Crimson's girlfriend Eve, an aggressive, slightly stalkerish ninja reptilian Faunus with serious anger issues and a slight prejudice against humans. She reminded Cardin of himself in a way; a way that he couldn't stand.

Nevertheless, Cardin had enough problems to deal with without having to deal with getting in a fight and, with great care to not let any venom seep into his voice, spoke.

"What's been coming?"

Another punch from Gary sent him reeling into a nearby wall. Still tired from his fight with Marty and emotionally exhausted, Cardin could barely find the energy to stay standing.

"You know damn well what's been coming! You treat Faunus like scum, you make our lives at this school and you put my boyfriend in a coma and you act like you don't know what's wrong!"

Another punch, this time to the stomach caused Cardin to double over in pain and cough uncontrollably. The blows came raining down soon after, time and time again pain coursed through his body.

"This is wrong."

"What?!"

The punishment stopped, allowing Cardin to draw in a pained breath. His vision was starting to fade and he could barely concentrate through all the pain, but he could still hear the conversation.

"You heard me, this is wrong."

"Are you kidding me?! He made our lives hell; he almost killed Crimson! How can you say this is wrong?!"

"No matter how bad a man he is, stooping down to his level is not the right way to deal with him."

"I thought you believed in Karma! If we don't do something, he'll get off scot-free! Don't you understand?!"

"Hrmph. Do what you think you need to do. Just don't ask me to be a part of it…"

The echoing of Shaolin's footsteps sent dull feelings of pain through Cardin's head. How badly injured was he that even footsteps that could cause him such discomfort? Nevertheless, all he could do now was wait for the beating to resume.

"You got lucky this time Cardin, we need to go talk this out with our teammate right now."

"You won't be so lucky next time…"

Again, the footsteps sent dull feelings of pain through Cardin's skull. His breath was ragged and uneven and there wasn't a single spot on his body that wasn't in pain. The comparison between himself and Eve forced itself to the front of his mind yet again and in more ways than one.

"So this is what it's like on the receiving end."

Despite himself, Cardin couldn't help but chuckle at the irony of the situation. Someone who reminded him of himself had just beaten him into the ground over an accident. If their positions had been reversed, it was almost exactly like what he would do before the Forever Falls incident.

Again, Cardin chuckled at how the ironic the situation was, only stopping when the pain was too great for him to bear.

"I don't suppose I could go to sleep right now?"

With a reluctant sigh, Cardin stood up, feeling pain lance through every part of his body. Once he'd finally finished pushing himself off the ground, he began to slowly trudge down the hall.

"Hey guys, I'm bac-"

"Oh my God! What happened to you?!" Russel asked, worry seeping into his voice despite his efforts to not show it.

"I got jumped by Crimson's team, I'll be fine. Anyway, wanna go out sometime on the weekend?"

His teammates exchanged nervous looks, almost as if they were expecting this question to come up but didn't want to mention what they had to say.

"Cardin we need to talk…"

Cardin felt a sickening dread wash over him. The kind of dread that engulfs your very being and infects your mind, causing you to run over every possible scenario, with one of them ending well.

"Cardin…you've changed man. It's not just the Faunus, it's everything."

"You've been distant at best and downright ignoring us at worst. You've ignored us and manipulated us."

"Manipulated? No, they can't possibly-"

"Yes, we know about that 'history assignment' trick you pulled."

"And now, you've gone out and almost killed a guy."

Russel stepped forward and put a hand on Cardin's shoulder, staring at the ground in shame.

"I'm sorry man, but I think we should stop hanging out for a while."

Cardin felt numerous feelings fight for dominance inside his mind. Anger, hatred, sadness, every emotion the ginger could care to name fought for control and yet…the only one he could actually feel was this empty, defeated feeling. Whatever hope Ozpin had given him had been crushed.

"Yeah…okay."

His 'friends' offered him weak smiles before leaving the dorm. Left alone with the silence and his own, poisonous thoughts, Cardin could only limp over to his bed and flopped onto his bed.

"Nice job idiot. You try to make things better and you alienate everyone in the school and the only friends you had. Good job!"

Cardin heard a clap thunder outside his window before heavy rain started hammering against the window just seconds later. The sound of the rain soothed Cardin, driving away the venomous thoughts…for now.

"Beatings? Rain? This can't be a good sign…"

Cardin rolled over onto his side so he could stare out the window, finding comfort in the lightning and rain. How funny it was that the worst storm the ginger had ever seen could be soothing.

"Okay, everyone in this school hates me, I have no friends anymore and I've been moved to the bottom of 'the food chain'."

A particularly violent boom of thunder played havoc with his still-aching head. Raising his hands to rub his temple, Cardin sighed, not with weariness, but with sadness and regret.

"This…is gonna suck…"