IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

Some adjustments have been made to early chapters, Neo is no longer involved in the story, Emerald has sort of half replaced he since we hear early on in season 3 about her complaining of having to socialise with team RWBY. This has little to no impact on this story as a whole with the exception of Ruby not getting some shipping with Neo.

Sorry for yet another really short chapter, I'm doing my best here with he time I have but writers block feels really difficult to get past at this point. Anyway hope you enjoy despite the chapter length.

Please leave a review.

A blessing Conceded.

Coco sighed deeply, blowing steam from the top of the styrofoam cup wrapped in her well manicured hands. It was difficult to see how much fluid remained in the cup in the near twilight of the moonlit night. Coco could take her sunglasses off but the last thing she wanted her team to see were her bloodshot eyes. She had to be the strong one. Yatsuhashi was in pieces, wracked with guilt over not being there to protect Velvet. Fox was conflicted, he still hated CRDL for their past transgressions but had to acknowledge that without Cardin or Russell, Velvet would likely have died. Coco could sympathise with both, her heart was riddled with the same guilt that ate away at Yatsuhashi. She'd already experienced what Fox was going through, but she'd reached her conclusion. The moment she'd witnessed Cardin's refusal to leave Velvet behind (thanks to Rod's semblance) Coco had made her mind up.

She took her eyes off of Velvet and turned to look at her slumbering teammates. Fox had fallen asleep, slumped in an armchair around half an hour after he'd swallowed a couple of mild pain killers. His functioning arm was curled protectively around the sling which encompassed his other limb. Yatsuhashi sat cross legged on the tiled floor, his back against the wall beneath the room's sole window. He'd been meditating for a while, berating himself internally despite the silent and still exterior the stoic swordsman displayed. By the time Coco had resolved to speak to him, she'd found his chin resting on his chest as he lost his battle against exhaustion. That was two hours ago, since then Coco had had only her guilt and the constant beep of the machines for company. Sleep would have claimed her long ago but the coffee machine behind the reception desk had supplied her with the nectar of the gods, or as other people called it: 'caffeine'. She drained her cup of its lukewarm contents and wiped her mouth with her forearm. "Thank fuck for coffee." She sighed contentedly as she slid the polystyrene container into the stack of fifteen similarly empty cups at her feet. She sat back in her chair armchair and propped her feet up on the foot of Velvet's bed.

"Oh what I wouldn't give for a coffee right now." a tired and pained voice wheezed.

Coco craned her neck over the headrest of her armchair to look at her two teammates who were both still sound asleep. Her head snapped back round to face Cardin. His silhouette lay propped up on one elbow, facing in her direction. "How long have you been awake?"

Cardin's silhouette shrugged stiffly. "Only a couple of minutes." He replied. "Is Velvet ok?"

"She will be, hasn't woken up yet but Peach says you should both make a full recovery within a week."

"I would have thought it'd take longer. How long was I out?" He added.

"About three hours. How're you feeling?"

"Like hammered shit, you?." Cardin answered, his white teeth flashing in the darkened room.

"That makes two of us." Coco. Said, smiling back, pushing herself out of the arm chair as her joints made audible popping sounds, she cracked her neck for good measure. "I find that coffee helps, you want one?"

"Please."

Coco left without another word and soon returned with a pair of steaming cups. In her absence Cardin had found the remote for his hospital bed and adjusted it to a more upright setting. He took the proffered cup from her outstretched hand. "Thanks."

Coco sat on the bottom corner of his bed facing Velvet, her hands cradling her sixteenth cup. "I saw what you did." She said without turning.

"What do you mean?"

"You didn't leave her behind. You could have, but you didn't. I saw you fight off the Grimm. I saw you pull her out of the wreckage. I saw you carry her to safety even when Velvet told you to save yourself." She paused to take a frugal sip of her coffee. Cardin's own cup was almost too hot to hold, so he couldn't fathom how she was able to drink hers yet. "You were there to protect her, even when her team, even when I, wasn't… " She tailed off, saying those words out loud allowed the pool of guilt and self loathing to finally swallow her.

"You were there. If you hadn't arrived when you did Velvet would have died, I would have died, Russell too. None of what I did would have mattered if you didn't fight your way through to us." He soothed.

Coco turned his way and gave him a sad smile, her shining eyes hidden behind the impassive dark lenses of her sunglasses. "You know, if you carry on not being an asshole… I might actually start to feel bad about shooting you."

"I feel like that's the nicest thing you're ever going to say to me."

Coco looked back at her unconscious teammate and gave an almost imperceptible shrug. She sighed and removed her sunglasses. Coco turned her head to face him, her bloodshot stare boring into his indigo orbs. "I think its time we were honest with each other." There was no animosity in those brown eyes, only exhaustion.

"I thought we already were?" Cardin responded neutrally

"You know what I mean Cardin." She countered sternly. "Before the sparring incident, you were an asshole. You and your team. You didn't give a damn who you hurt…"

Cardin took a sip of his coffee, burning his tongue but buying himself time to think. He knew she was right, agreeing was the best option. "I know."

"...But you aren't that person anymore. You put your life on the line for her. You care about her, love her even..."

This was getting far too honest for Cardin's liking. "I-"

"-Which is why I'm giving you a chance."

"What?" Cardin blurted in complete disbelief.

"One. Chance." Coco said in a low voice. Her expression hardened, as a glare so threatening it could make an alpha Beowolf piss its pants formed on her face. "If you fuck up, if you hurt Velvet in any way, I'll rip you into pieces so small they'll have to bury what's left of you in a bucket."

Cardin swallowed, hard. "I won't hurt her but that sounds fair." He drained a third of his cup. "Hey Coco, thanks for giving me a chance."

"Don't mention it, thanks for saving my friend."

"Have we both gone soft or what?" Cardin joked.

"Pfft, speak for yourself. I eat Nevermores for breakfast… without any milk." she said with a smile.

Cardin returned her smile with a grin of his own. He opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the warble of a scroll's default ringtone. Coco flicked her sunglasses open with a well practiced movement and slid them back into place, concealing her bloodshot eyes from view.

Fox bolted upright in his chair as his eyes snapped open at the sudden noise. His blank gaze settled on Cardin as if accusing him of being responsible for disturbing his sleep.

Yatsuhashi raised his head and fished his scroll from the pocket of his combat outfit. The frantic beeping grew louder, Yatsuhashi squinted at the oppressively bright screen with bleary eyes. The beeping suddenly fell silent as Yatsuhashi swept one finger carefully across the scroll's screen before raising it to his ear. The second year swordsman cleared his throat with a muted cough. "Hello?"

A muted voice too quiet for Coco and Cardin to hear replied. Yatsuhashi raised an eyebrow quizzically, despite the fact the caller couldn't see him. He glanced at Cardin for a fraction of a second. The second year swordsman lowered the scroll and cupped one meaty paw over the microphone. He looked Coco's way. "How long till Velvet's anaesthetic wears off?"

Coco quickly checked her watch before answering. "At least another hour."

Yatsuhashi nodded appreciatively as he removed his hand from the scroll's microphone and brought it back up to his ear. "Ok I can help, be there in five." He paused listening to the caller's response before replying. "No you don't, see you soon."

"Problem?" Coco asked, hoping her teammate would fill her in on the details after noticing the slightly worried expression on his face.

Yatsuhashi rose to his feet stiffly and cracked his neck before retrieving his massive weapon from the windowsill. "Nothing I can't handle, I'll be back before Velvet wakes up."

"Promise?" Coco promoted as the stoic swordsman opened the door and stooped his head under its frame.

Yatsuhashi looked back once as his feet crossed the threshold. "Promise."

"Give me the drugs." Russell repeated.

"Why?" Sky asked without turning.

"Because its killing you." Russell stated flatly.

"My body. My life. My choice."

"Then choose to live! If not for yourself, then for your team. Dove got hurt because you got high."

"No. The only thing that kept me and Dove alive out there was the boost from my Stimms. If I hadn't taken them there's no way we would have lasted as long as we did." Sky turned to face Russell, anger blazed in his eyes. "And where were you? With your second year boyfriend? I had Dove's back, which is more than you can say."

"Listen to yourself you fucking whack job! If it came out about you being on Stimms Dove would be kicked out of Beacon, so don't pretend you give a shit about him you fu-"

"I do care!" Sky snarled

"Then get clean, the whole team is at risk because of your bullshit." Russell hissed. "Give. Me. The. Stimms." He added with deliberation

"I need them." Sky snapped.

"You need to stop." Russell shot back. "You aren't leaving this room till you give me the drugs." Russell growled as he slid his right foot back and lined his left shoulder up with his teammate. He balled his fists and brought them up to eye level. "Now what's it gonna be? The easy way, or the hard way?"

Sky's pupils shifted as he looked over Russell's shoulder. At first Russell thought his teammate was eyeing up the pile of weapons on the bench behind him. He was struck by the sudden realisation that Sky was in fact unconsciously looking at his Stimms stash. The sound reminiscent of a maraca every time the bottom of the halberd hit the floor was a result of the pills clattering around the hidden compartment. Russell glanced over his shoulder and cursed himself as he realised he might have been able to take Sky's pills without incident if he'd just figured it out sooner.

Sky used the distraction to attack.

He sprinted at Russell, his fist already cocked back, poised to strike. He closed the small distance as Russell finally reacted, his eyes narrowed and his muscles tensed as Sky swung a right hook with all his might. Russell ducked but his injuries left him stiffer than usual. The blow glanced off the dome of his skull and knocked him off balance. Sky followed up with a left uppercut that connected fully with Russell's chin sending him sprawling, he slid along the smooth tiles on his back. Fresh waves of agony washed over the bruised and cut flesh of his back as friction took its toll. He flipped back to his feet and charged Sky, his teammate met him halfway. He jumped and brought his left foot up, intending to kick. Sky's fingers grabbed his ankle and swung him into the closest bench, shattering the slats and snapping the supporting frame in a shower of shards and splinters. Russell cried out in a mixture of pain and frustration as splinters stabbed into his back. He pushed himself up just as Sky pressed his advantage.

Sky threw a punch that Russell blocked with a cross guard. His left hand gripped Sky's wrist and pulled. Sky jerked forwards, his face met Russell's right fist. He responded with a knee jerk kick that Russell deftly kicked aside, two wild swings of his arms followed up the attack. Russell evaded both, barely, before stepping out of reach to catch his breath. Normally, though Sky was definitely stronger, Russell would have the edge in agility. But Russell had been injured on the mission while Sky escaped practically unscathed. His torso ached with every movement and his joints were stiff from the beating he had endured. Sky also had a larger percentage of his aura remaining since Russell's had been partially consumed dealing with his injuries.

Russell's threw a right hook as his opponent came within reach. Sky ducked beneath the blow as Russell's momentum carried him past his opponent. He felt Sky's hands claw at the back of his jacket and spun on his heel. He delivered an elbow to his former friend's cheekbone. Aura absorbed the blow but Sky still staggered back a step. Russell intended to follow up with a left hook but stepped back as Sky countered with an unusual straight armed swing of his right arm. The move confused Russell until he caught sight of the shiny and sharp blade clutched in his opponent's fist.

His own dagger.

His astonishment left him sluggish, too slow to react as the stolen blade shaved a significant slice from his aura pool. Russell stumbled backwards, his right hand groping in disbelief at the now empty sheath across the small of his back. He skipped away from Sky and tore his other dagger from its sheath, he managed to bring it up just in time to block his opponent's next attack. The blades bounced away from each other. Sky slashed manically, maintaining the advantage, gaining ground with every wild swing. Russell deftly parried each blow, his steely gaze staring into his former friend's eyes. There was no warmth in Sky's frantic eyes.

"Sky stop this! We can get you help!" Russell yelled desperately into his attacker's face.

Russell's words did nothing to calm Sky, if anything the assault intensified. "I don't need help!" Another slash. "I need a fix!" A frenzied stab skimmed Russell's ribs. "It's my choice. Mine!" He yelled as he brought the stolen dagger around in a wild sweep.

Russell's stepped forwards and brought his left arm up, Sky's wrist impacted his forearm, stopping the swing dead. He brought his hand down and grabbed his opponent's wrist, simultaneously stabbing down with his own dagger. Sky seized his wrist and the two combatants grappled, wrestling for control of the engagement. Russell's arms shook with exertion as he was forced slowly and inexorably down by his stronger adversary. Suddenly Sky brought his knee up, connecting it with Russell's chin and launching him backwards. His battered body slammed into a locker. Russell launched himself forwards with a snarl and tackled his opponent back across the room into the opposite locker, Sky's back impacted the door hard enough to dent metal. Russell jerked upright, cracking the top of his forehead off of Sky's chin, he followed up with a quick left jab that bounced the back of his former friends skull off the already dented metal of the locker door.

Sky braced his back against the locker and planted his right boot firmly in the centre of his opponent's torso before pushing with all his might. Russell slid back and Sky seized the advantage, resuming his manic sweeps with his stolen weapon. Russell met one of Sky's downward slashes with an upwards swing of his dagger, sending Sky's dagger spinning into the air. As the weapon bounced down from the ceiling Russell cartwheeled forwards, the heel of his boot connected with the dagger's pommel and sent it stabbing down towards his opponent. The blade scythed through the air, across Sky's cheek, slicing a chunk from his aura before embedding itself in the locker room's floor.

Russell tried to follow up with a downwards stab but Sky seized his wrist and delivered punch after punch into his opponent's stomach. Every brutal uppercut brought a fresh wave of pain and forced Russell to stumble back. Finally he could go no further as he staggered into the locker. Sky slammed the hand holding the dagger off the lockers until Russell's bruised knuckles could endure no more, his hand spasmed and his weapon clattered to the floor.

Both combatants aura pools were now less than a quarter full. Russell desperately headbutted Sky. Sky staggered back clutching his face, he flailed blindly behind him and snatched Dove's sword from the bench. As he brought it to bear, Russell landed a brutal spin kick that snapped his opponent's head to the right. He gripped the wrist of Sky's sword arm with both hands and directed the blade away from him. His former friend bucked and twisted, trying to wrestle the arm that held his weapon free from his opponent's grasp. His finger spasmed on the trigger, sending shot after shot into the vaulted ceiling and blasting chunks of masonry free from the stonework.

Finally the pistol sword clacked empty as a fine coating of atomised stone dusted the grappling students. Sky's free hand formed a fist and socked Russell square in the jaw, flooring him.

Sky slashed down with the sword, Russell rolled left to evade. The sword slammed into stone and Russell planted both his feet on Sky's torso and pushed with all his might. Sky came right back at him with another slash. Russell rolled right and snatched Cardin's mace from the floor. He rolled back towards his opponent and swung the mace into Sky's face sending his opponent sprawling and Dove's sword skittering across the floor.

Russell pushed himself upright and prowled towards his opponent. Sky retrieved his own halberd from the floor as he regained his footing. No words were exchanged as the former friends closed in for combat. Russell knew he couldn't reason with Sky and Sky knew there was no way he'd get to keep his Stimms if he lost. The way was set, there was no backing out now, all that remained unknown was who would be the victor.

Sky swung his halberd, Russell swung Cardin's mace, the weapons collided with a weighty clang. Sky's superior strength was made evident again as Russell's shuddering arms were slowly yet inexorably forced back. He had to act now. His thumb slid over the button on the weapon's handle, pressing it down. He channelled some of his aura into the burn dust crystal in the mace's head, causing it to glow dimly and emit a muted hum.

Russell triggered the crystal. A red explosion enveloped the students. The blast shattered both combatant's auras and threw them across the room. Russell bounced painfully off the lockers, knocking the wind from his lungs as he impacted the floor. The smell of singed fabric invaded his nostrils, he glanced down to see several smouldering patches on his hoodie. Russell cursed and patted them down frantically to quash the catching flames. He wretched and gasped for cool air to soothe his scorched throat as he stumbled blindly back to his feet. His ringing ears heard no sound out of the concealing cloud which had nowhere to go in the windowless locker room. One hand clutched as his throat while the other flailed blindly around the surrounding smoke for something to steady him.

Sky would give him no such opportunity. He charged out of the smoke bellowing wordless anger and wielding his halberd. Russell ducked beneath the first swing and staggered backwards out of range of the follow up slash. Sky delivered a brutal kick to his chest that slammed him back into the lockers. The back of his skull rebounded off the metal plate, stars danced across his vision as Sky continued his relentless assault.

Sky widened the space between his hands on the halberd's handle and used the weapon's haft to pin his opponent to the lockers. The handle pressed into Russell's neck, squeezing shut his windpipe. Russell's feet left the ground as he was forced further up the rough surface, his hands seized the handle and he tried in vain to ease the pressure against his neck. Even with adrenaline coursing through his veins and every ounce of strength he could muster, he couldn't hope to overpower Sky. His obstructed airway left Russell's desperate pleas as nothing more than frantic yet futile thoughts. His legs joined in the fight his straining arms were losing, he tried to push Sky away with his knees to no avail. He braced his feet against the locker at his back, bucking and twisting, all his thrashing achieved was a faster depletion of the already dwindling air in his lungs.

He could feel his strength ebbing away by the second. His legs felt like lead weights, his legs fell limp before his shoes began weakly kicking and scraping against Sky's greaves. Tears rolled down Russell's cheeks. Sky was still screaming curses into his face, too overcome with the desperate need to protect his drugs to realise what he was doing. The sound faded away, Russell's vision blurred and darkened.

Precious seconds were frittered away as Russell's oxygen starved brain conceived ever more unlikely ideas for a way to escape his plight. One final coherent thought settled in his mind.

Regret.

He didn't know what he'd said to upset Ember but now he'd never be able to make things right. His grip on Sky's halberd faltered and his hands slid free. His arms rested slackly at his sides as his dying mind conjured the image of the pyromancer as if to torture him one last time.

She wore the same threatening glare she'd given him on the airship. Fury burned bright in those jade green eyes that Russell, even now, found so entrancing.

His lips moved to form her name in spite of his inability to speak it.

The last thing Russell's eyes saw as he lost consciousness was Ember reaching out to him.

Please leave a review.

Hope you enjoyed this way shorter than normal chapter, sorry again for the lack of content and thank you for your patience and continued support, you're all amazing people..

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.

A long time reader and fellow author (Henta1Rampag3) has just published the first chapter of his new RWBY fic (Like Candlelight) and it's bloody excellent, easily in my top ten most liked stories, so stop reading this garbage and go check his awesomeness out!

s/11788344/1/Like-Candelight