Lovers lost.

I'll warn you now most of you are going to be somewhat angry with this chapter:

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Also sorry for my lengthy absence and for a shorter than normal chapter, a combination of personal issues and not being able to write anything good enough to publish stopped me from updating. My bad guys I'll try and make it up to you with another chapter as soon as I'm able!

The tide of Deathstalkers advanced all at once, threatening to sweep away the students. Velvet and Cardin let go of each other's hands as they moved to cover one another's backs. Velvet was the first to strike, slicing through the face of a young Deathstalker. Cor Ruptor tore through the small Grimm's undeveloped hide with ease. Small was a relative term however, the thing was around the size of a large dog and many times as deadly.

Cardin targeted a larger Deathstalker, from wretched face to glowing tail it was the length of a small truck. Its claws remained closed, it seemed intent on bludgeoning him rather than cutting him. Cardin ducked beneath the first swing and then swooped his mace up to knock away the other claw. He brought his weapon down into his enemy's face, bursting one of its eyes and eliciting a squeal of pain from the creature. The stinger came down too fast for him to dodge. He held his mace braced with both hands above his crouching body. The amber stinger bounced off his well placed weapon, the impact shook his arms painfully, vibrations shot down his spine and into his legs. Another strike, then another. With each successive strike the deep gouges in his palms burned with ferocious pain. A spiderweb of cracks radiated out from his feet.

Velvet flipped backwards out of reach of a Deathstalker of similar stature to the one Cardin faced. She performed several handsprings in quick succession before landing on the handle of Cardin's mace. "Up!" She yelled.

Cardin pushed explosively upwards, rising with such power that Velvet was catapulted high into the air. She shot skywards twenty feet and then sliced through the weak point where the stinger joined onto the tail of Cardin's assailant. The stinger tore free of the Grimm's body and slammed down into the top of the creature's head, piercing its exoskeleton but not deep enough to finish it off. Cardin twisted his body and batted away the left claw of Velvet's Deathstalker. He turned again and knocked back a strike from his original attacker, now stingerless. The one behind him attacked with its mandibles, the foot long blade sliced mercilessly into his back, ripping through armour and flesh alike. He cried out in pain and stumbled forwards as scarlet rain spurted from a deep diagonal slash across his back. Cardin's aura flickered across his body as it tried to repair the damage and numb the pain. Cardin roared in frustration and forced his aura to stop managing the pain. He needed that energy to keep fighting. Velvet needed him.

Velvet leapt over him and sliced the offending Grimm's mandibles clean off. She stabbed into the beast's eye socket, burying her blade in its flesh up to the hilt. It squealed in pain, the bloody stumps of the creature's mandibles groping towards Velvet's arm, just out of reach. It twitched as the still active chainsaw shredded its insides, finally it died.

Cardin dragged himself to his feet, shaking his head to clear his fogging vision. He mashed his mace into the remaining creatures face, knocking it back and leaving it temporarily stunned. He tossed his mace high into the air and spun in a low crouch to face Velvet with his hands cupped. "Nail it!." He yelled. She didn't miss a beat, she dropped a blood soaked Cor Ruptor onto the dusty ground and ran, accelerating to a full sprint in only three steps and jumping towards him. Her right foot met his cupped palms as he once again threw her skyward, grimacing as he felt the sole of her shoe grind ash into the open wounds on his hands. Velvet's slender fingers found Cardin's weapon mid air and she gripped the haft with both hands. A fierce yell left her lips as mace met stinger and hammered it home. The creature's hide splintered and the thing slumped into the ash, vanquished.

Cardin retrieved Cor Ruptor and the recent lovers threw their weapons back to their rightful owners as the next wave rushed forwards. Velvet glanced across at the person to whom her heart belonged. His skin was pale from all the blood loss. A smattering of ash coated his blood soaked body. His breathing was ragged and every heave of breath dragged his shoulders upwards before letting them slump back down. The head of his mace rested on the ground, held limply in shaking hands. The blue fire that had burned in his eyes was dying out, his aura all but gone. Still he stood, defiant to the end at Velvet's side, though how long either of them would remain standing could be measured in minutes. Velvet knew she probably didn't look much better than Cardin, her aura was almost depleted too.

Yatsuhashi risked another peek over the boulder he had crouched behind for cover. The Shamblers in front of him marked the third group of Grimm to hinder their progress up the stone strewn slope. A bone dart whickered through the air and ricocheted off the armoured sode on his shoulder. He cursed as he ducked back into concealment, hunching his large frame carefully back behind the chest-high rock.

He cast his gaze behind him to his comrades, all similarly pinned down behind cover. Flint, Gray, Rod, Dove, Fox and Port snatched shots off at the enemy while the others waited for a chance to engage the foe in melee.

Coco was crouched beside Yatsuhashi, her weapon folded away into bag form since her ammunition had been expended. She was studying some sort of primitive paintings on the boulder they were hiding behind, her face held a perturbed expression as she focussed in on the crude images. "Hey Yatsu, check this out."

He turned and leaned down to get a closer look, the drawings appeared to show humans lying prone with a large creature standing above them. The painting on the weather beaten rock had deteriorated to the point where he couldn't quite make out what this creature was supposed to be. Yatsuhashi opened his mouth to offer his opinion but Dove's panicked whining cut him off. "Come on! Deathstalkers too? We're so fucked!" he wailed.

Yatsuhashi peeked over his piece of cover, there were indeed a few dog sized Deathstalkers scrabbling down the mountain towards them. His gaze shifted between the advancing Grimm and the primitive painting, his eyes widened as his brain finally made the connection. "It's a hive." He dead panned.

"What?" Coco replied.

"The whole damn mountain is a Deathstalker hive, and Velvet's in the middle of it. I need to get to her!" He hissed as he rose from cover. Coco yanked him back down as bone darts stitched the air where his head had just been.

"Yatsu! Stop dicking around, how're you going to help her when you're shot to shit? Get a hold of yourself, Vel's lasted this long. Keep it together."

He tore free of his leaders grip but didn't try to rise again. Instead he listened intently, trying to filter out the hollow bangs of gunshots and dry coughs of Shambler dart guns. "I just need to know she's ok." He rasped.

Coco nodded and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Flint is an aura seeker, remember? He can tell if they're alive." Yatsuhashi nodded, cursing himself for not thinking clearly.

"Flint!" Coco yelled. The older twin ducked back into cover and worked the bolt action of his rifle as he leaned around the corner of his cover to regard Coco. "Are we close enough for your semblance to pick them up yet?" Flint gestured for her to wait as he ducked back into cover and steadied his breathing. He activated his semblance, slowly extending the range at which he could perceive aura. His pupils dilated until the whites of his eyes were consumed in the darkness of his dilated pupils. Beside him Fox's form shone with orange light. Flint cast his gaze further afield. Around him, even through the multitude of boulders, he could see the silhouettes of his comrades glowing. The brightness of the glow denoted how much of their aura pool each person had left to call on, all of his fellow student's auras were bright, but not intensely so. They probably had around half their aura pool left. Professor Port on the other hand… His aura blazed brightly, so much so that Flint winced and shielded his eyes instinctively upon gazing at the professor's red aura light directly, the fully fledged huntsman was full of energy. Flint focused and reached out further with his semblance, in ideal conditions he could detect auras at a distance of over two miles.

There.

A mile or so above them, in the crater, through solid rock. Two minute dots glowed weakly, one red and one blue. They flickered as they moved around, as if evading some invisible assailant. Flint cursed the limitations of his gift, it was useless against Grimm, the soulless entities were imperceivable to his semblance. He edged out from cover and shouted back to the leader of team CFVY. "I got em! They're low on aura, under attack, but they're alive!"

Yatsuhashi visibly sagged in relief. "You think they can hold on till we get there?" He asked hopefully.

"I don't know man, they're almost out of aura." Flint answered honestly as his eyes regained their normality. He wished he could assure Yatsuhashi that they'd be ok but he couldn't bring himself to lie to his friend.

"We got more Grimm closing in from behind." Ember yelled. A mixed bag of Beowolves and Shamblers had begun to ascend the slope to the rear of the Huntsman.

Port finally spoke up. "Rod, I think we're high enough now." The leader of team RFGE nodded and removed the metal cylinder from his back. He set it down, deploying a fragile tripod from its casing and twisted the top of the device. A small blue light blinked in time to a faint beep every few seconds.

"Distress beacon is transmitting professor." Rod shouted above the gunfire.

"Good show, Rod, follow us at a safe distance with Dove and Sky while I advance with the rest of the group to rescue our comrades in need. Protect the beacon."

"What if we don't make it in time?" Yatsuhashi said quietly to Coco. There were unshed tears in his eyes and Coco winced as she noticed the overwhelming concern on his face. She opened her mouth to speak but no words of comfort would form.

Russell dived into cover behind the pair and tapped Yatsuhashi on the shoulder. "I'll keep em safe till you get there."

"How?" The second year swordsman inquired, his voice equal parts scepticism and hopefulness.

"I've got a plan. I use my semblance, you give me a boost. I'll fly right over em, these fuckers couldn't hit the broadside of a barn from the inside." Coco pursed her lips, she didn't share Russell's confidence but if illusions of his own invincibility saved Velvet then she wasn't going to argue. "I'll bypass these guys and hold the Grimm off till you catch up. Got it?"

"Got it." Yatsuhashi replied determinedly as he braced the flat of his massive blade across his broad shoulders and crouched, his back to the boulder, facing Russell.

Russell nodded and backed away to get a running start. He shook out his joints and slid his daggers into the sheaths across the small of his back. He shot forwards, his semblance enhancing his speed exponentially, he leapt over his crouching comrade. Russell's right foot made contact with the flat of Yatsuhashi's blade as the second year pushed his body upwards with all his might and a fierce yell of exertion.

The green blur that was Russell rocketed high into the air and sailed right over the heads of the enemy, bone darts whickered through the air, barely a hand's breadth behind him. Speed was his saviour as the enemy found him impossible to track. Russell's hands found the hilts of his daggers, cycling their cylinders to ice dust as he unsheathed them. Daggers were drawn and firing off deadly icicles with startling accuracy despite their wielder spiraling through the air. Two Shamblers toppled as Russell slid his daggers away, he landed further up the slope behind them and allowed himself a small smile. He tucked into a roll to lessen the impact and retain his momentum. Russell didn't pause, he sprang out of the roll and resumed running without looking back, enemy fire chased him but none caught the deadly green blur.

Yatsuhashi watched him go, until he disappeared from sight amongst the jumble of boulders.

"Shit. Not good." Flint said to nobody in particular. Yatsuhashi turned and listened more intently to the older twin.

"What is it?" Gray asked turning to his brother.

Flint's eyes were once again overtaken by a deep, abyssal black. "Cardin's aura signature… it's… gone."

The din of another battle reached Velvet's rabbit ears, the sound caught the attention of Cardin and the Deathstalkers a moment later. Their friends were here to rescue them, they were close but not close enough. It sounded like they were engaged a mile or two down the mountain. Even without the Grimm in their way it would still take them around 5 minutes to get here, 5 minutes Cardin and Velvet almost certainly didn't have. To be so close to salvation, yet to know it would never reach them in time made Velvet's heart ache.

Velvet cursed inwardly, if she'd had her soul cage, things would have been different. The small brown box with brass trim was still sitting abandoned on her bedside cabinet back in team CFVY's dorm room. It was, in essence, an aura battery. It drained and stored small amounts of aura to eventually accumulate to monumental power. The problem was that it had been deemed hazardous to her health since she'd been a recent sufferer of E.A.D. Professor Peach had told her to keep it away from her person 'just for a few weeks'. Hell it probably wasn't even enough to win this fight but they'd certainly be in better shape than they were now, Velvet reflected sadly.

With that bitter thought in mind she swung her chainsword up to meet the blow from another Deathstalker as it finally reached her. Velvet deflected the attack and backed out of range of the beast's follow up strike. She stole another quick glance in Cardin's direction, he smashed his mace down into a smaller Deathstalker's head until its corpse stopped twitching. He was so preoccupied with finishing off his current opponent that he failed to realise another, much larger foe on his flank. Velvet opened her mouth to shout a warning but before a single syllable could escape her throat the creature struck.

A backswing from one of its massive pincers caught Cardin unawares, slamming into his back like a frieght train. The last spark of blue fire left his eyes as his aura died, the last shreds of the translucent blue protective field fell away from his body as he was launched sideways through the air towards Velvet. She could tell he was unconscious by the way his limbs limply followed after his body, without aura it was unlikely he would survive hitting whatever he crashed into. Velvet leapt at the Deathstalker who had once again swung its pincer at her. She didn't move to avoid the pincer, she jumped onto it. Velvet's feet connected with the top of the pincer, she felt one of her ankles give way, not broken but significantly damaged. She allowed its momentum to take her for a moment before launching backwards off of the pincer and into Cardin's path. They collided midair, Velvet wrapped her arms around his torso and tore him from the air.

Both crashed to the ground entwined. Velvet winced as she felt two ribs break as Cardin's limp form landed on top of her, the impact forcing the air from her lungs. Though that sensation was merely a dull ache, Velvet guessed she must be going into shock. The skinned knuckles of her left hand provided a much sharper, stinging pain to focus on. A duo of dog sized Deathstalkers scuttled towards them. She rolled Cardin off of her frantically and hobbled forwards to get between the Grimm and her lover. Her chainsword sliced the tail from the closest enemy and then stabbed down into the others flesh, the whirring blade hungrily chewing up the Grimm's internal organs. Velvet cried out in pain as the other Deathstalker found her calf with its pincer, Cor Ruptor was jerked free of the corpse at her feet. A deep slice to the meat of her lower leg dropped her to the ground. She glanced down at her fresh wound, the same leg that had a grievously twisted ankle, the other leg still had the deep wound from the tree branch when she crashed. She twisted round to face her attacker and brought a vicious swing of her weapon down into its face. The Deathstalker screeched and tried to drag itself free, Velvet cursed as her chainsword was torn from her grasp by the creature's death throes. A shadow fell across her and she knew without a doubt one of the larger Deathstalkers was planning to avenge its fallen brethren with its stinger. She pulled herself forward, also desperately kicking out with the less injured of her two legs. She managed to propel herself clear of the attack though the force of the strike still sent her several metres away. Velvet landed beside Cardin and rolled them both clear of yet another strike. Again it wasn't quite far enough, the pair were thrown against the steepest wall of the crater.

They bounced painfully down the slope, Velvet somehow keeping hold of her lover. The wave of Deathstalkers gave chase. She was weaponless, nearly auraless, this was it.

This was the end.

No.

Velvet hooked a hand into the back of Cardin's armour and started dragging him. Her free hand clawed at the ash, bringing up fistfuls of dirt as she determinedly pulled them both away from the enemy with the last of her ebbing strength.

The largest Deathstalker scuttled forwards slowly, certain of its kill. The creature's smaller brethren followed behind. Velvet pushed herself up into a kneeling position and pulled Cardin around her so his head rested in her lap and her body was between him and the Grimm. She glanced over her shoulder, the lead Deathstalker triumphantly raised its stinger like an eager executioner hefts an axe. Velvet turned back to her lover, delicately caressing his cheek with her shaking hand. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes as she prepared herself for the final blow.

Her shuddering breath made way for two final words.

"I'm sorry."

The stinger struck.

"NO!" Flint bawled, punching his fist into the rock in front of him, stone splintered and chunks of rock fell from its facade. He'd been using his semblance to check on Russell's progress. He rose from cover and stalked towards the Grimm, uncaring of enemy fire, his rifle raised and his black eyes wet with tears. "You monstrous bastards, you just keep killing, you never stop." He growled, blasting a Shambler off its feet. "I'll kill you! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" He roared. "Velvet will have vengeance!" He cried hoarsely, his anger giving way to grief as he worked the action of his weapon.

Yatsuhashi froze as the magnitude of Flint's words sank in. He'd seen Velvet's aura signature disappear. Coco reached out to stop him, too late. Yatsuhashi threw himself over the boulder and into the jaws of the enemy advance. He ran the first enemy through with a straight thrust of his sword. The Shambler wailed and clawed at the blade impaling its stomach to the hilt. Yatsuhashi's free hand seized its throat and lifted the creature clear of the ground. He sprinted towards a group of female Shamblers. Meaty thwacks reached his ears as their bone darts hit the back of the enemy he was using as a shield. The muted impacts were accompanied only by the sounds of his ragged breathing, heavy footfalls and pounding heartbeat. He reached his next target's position a moment later. He ripped his blade out through the side of his makeshift shield, viciously disembowelling the Grimm before decapitating it with a wild sweep of his sword. His weapon pulverised the boulder the Grimm were sheltering behind. He tore into them with vicious hacks and slashes, no longer the masterful swordsman, now nothing more than a heartbroken and enraged soul. He'd never be able to mete out the pain stabbing like an icy dagger into his heart, but that didn't stop him from trying.

Coco appeared at his side, then Fox, then Ember, Flint and Gray. All taking the fight to the enemy as rage overtook them and tears stained their cheeks. Port watched dismayed as Rod could restrain himself no longer he leapt forward and joined his friends in punishing the enemy. The fury of the students advance caught the Grimm off guard as the students tore through the enemy formation like a keen blade through supple flesh. Only Sky and Dove stayed back with the distress beacon, though whether this was an act of duty or self preservation, Port wasn't sure.

He nodded to the two first years, silently praising their discipline and charged into the fray. One last time he took in the palpable anger of his students as they crashed through the enemy lines as if there weren't enough foes for each of them to exact their punishment upon. Port wasn't sure if they could hope to survive now that all unit cohesion had been lost. He wasn't sure if Russell would survive so separated from the group. But he was certain of one thing: Flint was right.

Velvet would have vengeance.

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Thank you to the Beta reader Nemris for being awesome as all hell. He just put up a story on here called Chaos is the prize, it's a warhammer/RWBY crossover but if you don't know anything about 40k lore you can always read it as an elaborate OC centric story, so stop reading this and go look at it damn you!

s/11599330/1/Chaos-is-the-Prize

Thank you to MechaG11 of deviant art for the new cover art and for being absolutely amazing, go check him out he's super talented.

Also check out Zygarde22 his profile features a couple Cardin x Velvet fics that are definitely worth a read.

I also recommend Web of Shadows by crushcommando it's a Star wars x RWBY cross over and I love it, so will you I reckon.

s/11584261/1/Web-of-Shadows