Chapter 12 - Worries Are the Least of Your Problems

A yawn escaped me as I stood placidly behind a familiar ice cream cart. It had only been a day or two since I last worked my small day job, but my past week or so had made it feel like I hadn't been there in ages.

The injuries that I had once sustained from my run-in with the Reds were all healed with the wonders that were Aura. Not my Aura, though. While I was still debating on whether or not I should break another law and unlock my Aura, I had the benefit of taking Aura from the twins using Melanie's quite useful Aura parasitization Semblance.

Aura was very useful in healing my injuries, but I had quickly discovered more of the intricacies that surrounded the energy as I sucked more from the twins at their compliance. The healing, first and foremost, was something that was rather weird. Instead of promoting growth and directly speeding up my healing rate, Aura's healing was more like a correction.

Correcting the body to its prime at a flat rate. It meant that working out under the influence of Aura wouldn't see much gain despite what I wanted to believe. Of course, the healing was something that was helpful nonetheless when it came to fixing broken ribs in their correct orientation.

Learning about Aura through the twins was something that I found myself doing more often than not nowadays. I was able to work with the energy, and I didn't even have it yet.

It was merely one of the reasons I could give to Roman, when he found out that I never had my Aura unlocked, that I didn't want to have it given to me. Something that had come to bite me in the butt as soon as the twins caught wind of the very same information.

They had decided, based on their jobs as being my bodyguards, that I needed to be monitored at all times in case of anything happening. Even now at my workplace they had followed me.

My eyes trailed over eto a trio of women standing over in the shade of the surrounding trees, idly chatting the day away. Their features weren't really anything to write home about, and their fashion was something that could be found by looking around and choosing clothes at random -I had to thank Coco's Semblance for forcing me with that knowledge. However, despite their unremarkable features and innocent actions, a couple cops patrolling up and down the main streets of Central Vale still stopped to take note of them.

Something that I was slowly getting used to was the increased patrols that seemed to be coming from the woodwork. After it became apparent that the Reds were up to no good, the cops had been dealing with the unsavory rabble that Roman had predicted would fall from the net the dangerous criminals were drawing.

That lent itself to the fact that now I could find a Vale sanctioned policeman around every corner in the main streets of Vale. Their very actions always on the lookout for anyone who looked suspicious.

A startling example of suspicious people being the trio of women gathered not far from my place of work. Where they chatted for close to three hours now.

It was only the fact that Neo had all three of them under one of her illusions that the cops didn't notice that Melanie and Miltia who had previously been arrested before. Of course, it was also partly my fault as I had forced all three of them to come out, and make sure there was nothing wrong with the streets of Vale where more innocent people worked.

"...I've heard of them." Knowing that the trio were more than adequate to fool a couple of policemen, I went back to listening to the passing crowds as I waited for another customer to stop by. "That group of Huntsmen who have been seen taking down gang after gang for the past week now, right?"

"Yeah that's them!" Another exuberant reply nearly made me spark a grin. It might have been a little prideful of me, but I couldn't help but feel good when someone talked about us. "I've been following the reports since that time that the first guy came out and fought two of the Reds at the same time! Then he comes around, and recruits three more Huntsmen to join his righteous cause… they're like heroes."

A scoff from the other person talking nearly made me frown. "Right, right… they're probably student from Beacon or something. I hear that the Headmaster had ties with Vale's security teams, and these 'vigilantes' are just another safety reform, I'm sure."

"Come on, they're awesome, and you just don't want to say it." The exuberant voice whined.

"Whether they are awesome or not is something different. All I'm saying is that this is a conspiracy against the Vale council to insert Huntsmen as a regular police force." The first voice reasoned easily. "...But they are pretty cool."

"Hey you guys! I hear talks about the Vigilante Four; are you discussing them without me?!"

Another voice joined in on the conversation as they grew further and further from earshot, but I had a slight grin on my face from their talks. I knew I wasn't in this for recognition from the public. The twins and Neo obviously weren't in it for any other reason than their own gain, however, I couldn't help but feel good about the whole thing.

'Seventy-four. Never forget, Jaune…' Very quickly I schooled my features, losing all traces of the good mood I put myself in.

The tapping of an umbrella on the cart's plastic found me face to face with Neo under disguise. Her hair had been strung up into twin tails of black, and her eyes had found themselves in a bright, innocent green. She smiled at me in the same way that she always did before pointing to one of the choices in the cart.

"Strawberry sherbert? Again?" I asked, already moving to scoop the choice into a large waffle cone.

Neo just nodded, waving her hand rapidly as if it would hurry me along. I just moved at the same pace, and presented her the frozen treat as her eyes sparkled behind her illusion. She presented me the required lien as well as her Scroll, her writing present on the screen.

I read it briefly, frowning. "What are you talking about? Of course I'm okay." Smiled served to hide most things I had found, and Neo was weak to mine, I had found. "By the way, have you or the twins found the next hideout we're to raid?"

Neo just bounced happily to my smile, tapping on her Scroll. A second later my own cracked Scroll buzzed with the information.

An abandoned building near one of Junior's old haunts was in the middle of my screen. I frowned at the proximity to Roman's main office of business, but I guessed that it would be a given that Roman would be feeding Neo information to get me to move where he wanted.

In the end, I had a team that was mostly on his payroll. If he wasn't pulling at least a couple strings behind the scenes, then I would be even more confused.

Still, despite knowing that I was walking on the road Roman was paving for me, one mistake was asking to risk more lives of innocent civilians. Besides, I was forming a slight -make that very, very slight- friendship with the orange-haired criminal. It wasn't to the point of me trusting him explicitly, but I could at least trust him to not screw me over while the Reds were in town.

So, I could only accept the new information, and plan with my team to catch more criminals.

'Seventy-four, Jaune. Never forget.' And if I had to make a deal with Roman to make sure that those criminals stayed away from the good people of Vale, I would probably not hesitate anymore.

-x-

Shimmering rays shined down from the broken moon in the sky, partially covered by thick, rolling clouds that strafed across the pitch black in an almost methodical pattern. Every now and then there would be a odd patch of moonlight that would find its way through, but they failed to illuminate much in the night that covered the city of Vale.

Some rays, though, were able to shine brightly on our positions across from one of the more intelligent hideouts that the rabble had chosen to hide in. We couldn't be seen from our scattered group over a few rooftops, though. They would need to arch their necks all the way up, and stand on the opposite roof for them to even catch a glimpse of our shadows.

I leaned over the edge, one foot gripping the lip on the roof while my hand fingered the handles of my weapons. The night obscured them just as much as it did us, but, considering they were mainly in the small, cleared out office building, we couldn't really see them unless we had some type of x-ray vision.

Of course, since Atlas technology hadn't even figured out how to do that yet, we were stuck with some fancy night vision goggles that were supplied happily from one master thief. I elected to not point out that they were obviously stolen, though. They helped in finding the many hidden lookouts that the gang had stationed a little ways below in the alleyways that gave a perfect view of the entrance.

It was one of the reasons they had been so hard to pinpoint in the first place. The Blood Shots -and I was beginning to think that criminals had horrible naming sense- were cautious to a almost religious degree. Granted, they had one of the most feared psychopaths after them like a angry pack of Grimm, but the fact that they had seven lookouts placed around their main hideout was ridiculous.

Luckily, they weren't even that hard to find. Especially with Neo tailing every single member of their group for two days now.

My ear buzzed as the earpiece I wore alerted me of someone talking. "Hey, idiot-blonde, are we finally going to fight? I'm getting pretty damn bored looking at this guy simply sit here. I can tell Mil is getting a little antsy, too. She keeps tracing circles in the roof with her claws."

"Melaine," I said, letting my voice flow through the voice modulator that Roman had installed in my new mask. "I'm sensing two Aura users in the building, so please don't rush me. It took us quite a while to even find these guys, and I don't want to spend the next couple nights doing reconnaissance again if they run."

"Take your time, Jaune." Miltia added. I could hear the excitement in her voice that opposed her words, though. She was great at faking it, but Melanie and I figured out she really like stabbing people with those claws.

"Thank you, Miltia." I said after a brief glance at my weapons. "Neo I'm going to link to your vision, be ready."

[Single-target parasitic perception. Activatable shared perception.]

Information flowed into my head as warmth pooled into my stomach. I felt for Neo's Aura that registered within the building, and immediately began looking through her eyes.

The sounds of glass clinked within my ears as I peered into the well lit building that Neo was in. She was somewhere in the back corner of the room, I realized. Gangbangers were mulling about in the middle of the larger room, wearing the familiar insignia of the Union along with their own colors.

"You were right, Miltia. They're part of the Union after all." I whispered, watching as Neo waved her hand in her vision so that I could see it. There was an answer there, but I was never really able to understand her odd gestures like Roman.

"Of course she was right! Over half the gangs that are getting caught in this are the Union's paid dogs; its because the main group of the Union is getting targeted by the Reds that they've basically loosened their leashes." Melanie bragged between the buzzes of the earpieces. Neo just flicked her middle finger for only me to see.

Sighing, I focused more on the members in the room. Only one of the two Aura users were manning the room, and that meant that there would probably be more members further into the building along with the other Aura I was feeling. Having a free slot, I let both of the Semblances spark to life in my mind one at a time.

[Enhanced visual reaction speed. Visual-targeted sure-hit.]

The information for the Aura user that Neo was currently looking at flew into my brain calmly as I nearly balked at the shear power of it. As long as this man got an eye on the person he was gunning for, there literally was no feasible way for him to miss. Marking him as a target for a quick takedown, I moved onwards to the next Aura.

[Increased physical prowess. Shifting enhanced-strength and denser-epidermis.]

Frowning, I let the next information pass through me. They were much harder to pinpoint on whether they were strong or not, and, while I could guess that they had what basically amounted to either a form that increased their attacks or increased their defensive, I couldn't really see them do much. Well, not as much as the guy who apparently only needed to see you to kill you.

"Also, what the hell kind of name is 'Vigilante Four'?" Melanie was ranting again as I finally came back to the conversation, letting go of the Semblance that I held for the moment. "I blame this on the idiot-blonde! Why do we have to wear these damn masks; they always get in the way when I'm trying to kick."

"If you don't want to wear them, take it off. However, its not my fault if you get your face broadcasted over Vale News the next day." I said calmly, switching out to Melanie's Semblance to let me steal some of their Aura. "Besides, didn't you work at a place called 'The Club' for awhile?"

[Single-target parasitic Aura theft. Activatable shared Aura.]

"Th- That's different, dumbass!" Melanie cursed, eliciting a laugh from Miltia.

Neo waved in front of her eyes so that I could see. Smiling, I translated the best I could, "Neo says you couldn't come up with a better name even if you tried… I think."

"Oh, shut up! She didn't say that; Neo's mute!"

"I don't think I should translate what Neo just did."

Melanie was pouting through the buzzes, and I could almost imagine the white-themed girl wearing a displeased frown on her face at the moment. "Next time you get shot without Aura I'm letting Miltia take out the bullet."

My good mood was rapidly evaporating. Miltia was more liable to open up a larger artery than remove a bullet that landed nowhere close to anything important. "H-hey now, let's not be too hasty, Melanie. We're getting to fight tonight, so no need to promise anything that might make things worse."

"Are you saying you don't need my help, Jaune?" Miltia asked, and Neo was silently laughing in the middle of her illusion to offer any help on the matter.

"Of course I need your help, Miltia… but Melanie is much better at, um, delicate things." Yes, delicate things like keeping my insides in the inside. We had made the mistake to let Miltia handle a few steps in my recovery, and ended up having to prolong it.

Melaine was laughing for her end. "Fine, fine, I'll help you when you get hurt like a little baby again, idiot-blonde. Let's get this show on the road, though. I'm getting bored."

"You really should stop teasing me…" I grumbled, finally connecting to Melanie's Aura and Miltia's by proxy.

Aura flowed through my body, easing my muscles and giving me what amounted to the warmest of hugs. It wasn't the fastest of energies, though. Always flowing at a constant, slow pace as I directed it through my body, pulsing from my heart as it moved.

Simply breathing for a moment, and letting the pleasant warmth of Aura saturate me, I found my eyes still looking through Neo's. When I finally began moving, I was looking straight at the window that led directly into the small meeting room Neo was in.

Thumbing the safety on my new pistol, I took a moment to make a final check on it. The thing was something Roman had given me after I had lost Mercy to the Reds, and I was sure that he stole it from one of the best places he could find. Of course, the sleek look of the weapon was definitely out of my price range, so I had to gracefully accept it in the hopes that I would pay for it later.

The best thing about it was the fact that it could take heavy Dust rounds. That didn't mean more than instead of putting a hole in someone, I was more liable to take off an arm or leg if I shot it at anyone who didn't have Aura.

Which was perfectly fine for me since I was only using to fire at Aura users nowadays. Simple gangbangers who weren't bolstered by the energy were becoming easier and easier for me to fight that I was fairly sure I could take the Union's mooks with just my fists.

"Melanie, Miltia, take out the lookouts closest to you, and circle around to the fifth floor window on the leftmost side of the building." I ordered quickly, already hearing their actions through the earpiece. "You guys will have to deal with an Aura user there; expect someone who can flip between defensive and offensive modes at the drop of a hat. Though, he should be slower in the defensive mode."

I heard the sounds of combat for a second, ending in a crack as well as a muffled scream. "Targets are down, oh fearless leader. When should we go through the window?"

"On my signal." I hummed, checking that I had loaded a Ice Dust round in chamber before clicking it closed. Neo was basically vibrating with excitement that I was afraid she might start stabbing anyone who came close. "Neo, you're running distraction. You see that Aura user in the room; I want you to keep putting up an illusion in front of his vision for him to shoot. Don't -and I mean, do not, under any circumstances, let him see you for a second. I know you can handle yourself, but I'd rather be safe than sorry."

Neo was pouting, her lower lip curling in a way that reminded me of a kicked puppy. "No, Neo… Okay fine, but only if you have a chance then attack him. Just- just please keep your impulses to a minimum; I don't want to have to clean up blood again."

Finally getting Neo to nod along with the plan, I zeroed in my sights. There would only be one shot that I was allowed before everything became a matter of putting them down faster than they could hit us.

I took one last look across the expanse between the two buildings, and moved back, taking a position of a runner about to leave his blocks. One breath to steady my excited heart.

'Seventy-four, Jaune. There'll be no more.' I readied myself as I another breath escaped me, and that was all I need to as I pushed myself across the rooftop.

Reaching the edge of the building faster that I should physically be able to, I jumped. Air rushed past my ears as I fell through the air. My feet kicked uselessly on the short flight, trying to find something solid on the empty drop.

I was right next to the desired window in what seemed like a second, and my hand holding my new gun snapped up as I neared. It was impossible for me to make any meaningful shot while making such a daring maneuver, but I wasn't without some guideline to help me out.

In the fraction of a second that it took my gun barrel to just barely touch the pane of glass, I released hold over Miltia's Semblance, cutting off the shared senses with Neo. However, there was a brief moment where I could still see through her eyes even without the Semblance, and when I connected to the next power, that small moment of sight was all I needed.

[Enhanced visual reaction speed. Visual-targeted sure-hit.]

My eyes found the Aura user's hand in the milliseconds that it took for my shared senses to be terminated. With the enhanced reaction speed, I had plenty of time to set his fingers as my target.

While I could have targeted something more vital, the specifics of Aura let itself to protecting the squishier parts of a person before anything else. See, the slow energy radiated in a cycle that started from the heart, and ended at the tips of the fingers. However, that also meant that the fingers were the most vulnerable unless someone precisely focused on channeling their Aura there.

With the target selected, round loaded and sneak attack confirmed the thing left to do was the easiest.

Glass shattered as an echoing boom jolted my arm up. The payload was already released, traveling faster than any eye could truly perceive, and reached my target with otherworldly accuracy.

There was a scream somewhere between the clattering shards of glass that fell with my equally loud thud. Rolling to bleed off the force of my fall, I quickly took stock of the room.

Nearly all of the gangbangers had been caught off guard by my entrance, and I was lucky to catch some of them with the glass that rained, putting them out for hopefully the rest of the fight. The rest looked caught between confusion and shock from the loud boom my gun produced.

I didn't need to spare the attention to Neo and her quarry. Disordered gunshots, shattered phantasmal glass and curses were all I needed to know that I had successfully weakened the Aura user, and Neo was having fun toying with him.

My attention instead focused on the fact that I now had quite a few gang members finally getting over their shock, and found me kneeling amongst their midst. Putting away my gun, I opted for pulling out what was left from Vengeance.

The sword had definitely taken serious damage back when I used it to ignite an explosion, and I was left with something that only was able to switch between its sharp and blunt form. Still, a large metal pole to hit people was a very effective weapon when dealing with these rabble.

"Go." I said through my earpiece in case the twins didn't happen to hear the fighting going on. It was probably unneeded, but I wouldn't have liked if I had to deal with two Aura users at the same time.

My actions, reinforced by Aura, were something that simple mooks couldn't handle in this close of a space. Though, I had to give them props for fighting as they all pulled a weapon from their clothes. Pistols, knives and brass knuckles found their way onto my opponents even as I jumped up to stand, knocking back two mooks who stood a little too close to me.

As their bodies slapped into the walls of the room, I was already moving. My eyes flitted between the various grunts, utilizing an aspect of my pilfered Semblance that the Aura user probably didn't really think he had.

Or maybe it was something to do with my specific ability? With having intimate knowledge on all the inner workings of the Semblance, I could use other's Semblances in more efficient and effective ways that often eclipsed that of the actual user. I was basically still using some Aura from the person who I was copying, but I only needed such a small sliver to achieve what I did that they didn't even notice I was taking a tiny portion of their Aura.

All that amounted to was I had effectively targeted every single regular gang member in the room. Vengeance's blunt form would sail through the air, slinking past any defense and finding the exact spot that I targeted.

My stolen Aura would flare up every time that I got hit, shimmering in red and light green. I ignored it, though. Their attacks would only break through if I let them wail on me for the next thirty minutes, and I had fought enough to begin to know my way around brawls.

One gang member screamed at me, cursing as one of his friends collided with a wall. He charged me with his knife raised and gun blazing in my direction.

The bullets were nuisances at best. Where once I would have flinched at the deadly ammunition pinging off my body, I now simply stared straight ahead as the bullets glanced off my face.

Small pinpricks of pain came as I advanced closer, and Aura failed to block the entirety of the damage. Those small bruises would be gone before I had a chance to check on them.

However, that pain was all I needed to endure to bury Vengeance's blunt tip into the gang member's gut. He gasped, pain filling his eyes as his breath was knocked from him, and I finished him by slamming his body straight into another who was trying to get up.

The two of them slumped to the floor, unconscious.

It didn't take long till I was the only one standing above the groaning and unconscious bodies of the grunts. My breathing was a little labored, but it was nothing like it had been. Instead, I felt a little disappointed at the shortness of the fight.

More gunshots and shattered glass alerted me that Neo's fight was still going on, and I quickly moved to go and support her. She had successfully moved him away from where I was fighting. Making me spend the effort to try and find where exactly she had gone.

I finally found Neo and the Aura user fighting in a large room. A large office desk had been thrown on the floor, haphazardly spraying papers all over the floor, and a couple chairs looked like they had been thrown in a woodchipper that ran off of bullets.

Neo found me instantly as I entered the room, putting up another illusion to hide me. The Aura user was slowly backing himself into a corner, easily being goaded by some glass-based version of the little assassin. I didn't know if it was ignorance or too much confidence, but even as one of his bullets tore through the illusion, shattering it to phantasmal pieces, he didn't look too concerned. Even as another Neo popped up into his line of fire, the man just calmly aimed and fired.

It was honestly anticlimactic how easily Neo had played with him. After I had taught her how to layer two or three illusions together, there really was no need for her to actually directly attack the man for her to direct him.

However, it was time for the charade to finish, and Neo also saw that I wasn't really in the mood for prolonging our little escapade longer than we needed. Sheathing Vengeance and pulling out the new gun was an easier endeavor. The gun fit confidently in my hands in a way that didn't look like I hadn't only been firing guns for a couple weeks.

Motioning towards the window with my eyes, Neo quickly caught onto my plan, grinning as she slowly corralled him towards the sixth story window. I carefully targeted several places on the man's body, making sure that if his Aura gave out in the midst of my shots that the worst he would suffer was the loss of limb.

"We're here, Jaune." The one thing neither Neo nor I had imagined was the appearance of Miltia appearing right at the door just before I could pull the trigger.

My eyes widened through the illusion just as Neo realized that she couldn't put the red-themed twin under an illusion while holding onto all the ones that were currently active. She would either need to break one illusion and craft another, or let Miltia's Aura protect her while I made my shots. The Aura user obviously saw Miltia the second she entered, and given his enhanced reaction speed, there was no doubt in my head that he had already targeted her with one of his perfect shots in the second of our hesitation..

Despite the fact that one of his hands was encased in a thick block of ice, he still had no trouble

Lifting up the beast of a pistol he wielded. I didn't know exactly just the caliber of his gun, but the hole and broken furniture attested to the shear destructive potential in his hand. It probably won't be able to shred through a full Aura, but if Miltia was here, that meant that they had already dealt with the other Aura user.

It meant her Aura probably wouldn't hold up against a shot that was capable of shredding aircraft.

I reacted on purely instinct, losing the connection to Melanie's Semblance. The warmth of Aura left my body slowly, receding away from my limbs and body with an almost resentful trace.

[Single-target parasitic perception. Activatable shared perception.]

Miltia's Semblance filled my head the next second as I reached out to the gang member's senses. I lost myself briefly, suddenly both seeing two of Neo from my sight and his, and seeing the room completely different than it actually was.

However, as I felt the man grin and narrow his sights on Miltia, a sort of cold fury traveled through my core. My sight lined up with his, and I felt him squeeze the trigger.

I wasn't able to judge the paths of bullets like the twins or Neo were able to. There was just too little training and experience for me to actually be able to do said act, too. Still, I knew for a fact that this man's bullets could not be blocked.

His Semblance worked a bit like Will's in the fact that it took into account of the target's tells to accurately put his bullet perfectly in no matter how they reacted. It meant that there was no way to block or dodge his shot no matter how skilled you were.

Unless you had a perfect shot of your own.

The muzzle of his gun flashed for a second, plumbing smoke that barely obscured the heavy Dust round for the milliseconds it took to exit. It took the entirety of my enhanced reaction speed to even catch the round as it left. Then it took the rest of me to catch the five more that followed.

However, I had found them all, targeting them all with a perfect shot. I never needed to understand bullet paths, nor listen to the explosion of the round as the gun fired like Melanie and Miltia had often said. No, I had the best option available to block bullets my own way.

I cheated.

My own bullets flew out of my gun not a second later, finding their targets as the two rounds collided. As the two rounds met each other, the two bullets crumpled, flattening into discs before failing rapidly as the Dust within the payloads mixed. Loud explosions boomed into the air as equally large clouds of white steam burst into life as his Fire Dust and my Ice Dust mixed in polar opposites.

The room was filled with pure white the next moment. Still, after a target had been marked, they couldn't escape even if they hid. Only the attack on the mark could ever consume the charge, and my next shots sliced through the air, meeting the bewildered leader of the Blood Shots with extreme prejudice.

His scream bloomed in the air as I heard his body slam through the glass, falling the six stories down below. I didn't hear a thud, but I winced as his scream abrupt stopped.

As the smoke cleared, Neo happily patted me on the shoulder before skipping over to lean out the window. I was only relieved when Neo's smile turned into a frown.

With the brief excitement finally leaving my system, I turned hotly to the silent Miltia. "Just what were you thinking?!" I roared, halfway between worry and anger. "Why didn't you tell me you guys were on your way- wait, where's Melanie?"

Miltia shrunk in on herself. "I… I came after you said you needed help, but you also said that Melanie needed to go secure the perimeter…"

"I didn't say that…" I whispered, letting Neo slowly trot back the the two of us. In the back of my mind, a small panic burned between my thoughts as I hurriedly searched for Melanie.

"Melanie!" I yelled through the earpieces, finding the girl's Aura a little ways out from the building we were in. My heart was being through my chest as I sweeped the area around her for any Aura users nearby. "Melanie check in!"

"You don't need to scream, asshole…" Melanie grumbled, and I was somewhat relieved to hear her cursing me. "Anyways, I don't need to keep being told to search around every ten minutes. I want to go home, so let's just call the cops and call it a day."

"Right… Okay." I accepted, asking Miltia to call the cops while I settle down to my thoughts. Something was off about how the twins responded, and I couldn't really understand how they heard orders that I didn't give.

'It has to be a Semblance, Jaune.' I thought, suddenly finding the prospect that someone was fiddling with the minds of my friends something horrifying.

My attention sunk straight into my Aura sense, slinking outwards to see if I could find someone who could mess with Miltia and Melanie from a distance. However, after looking for a couple minutes, I found no one with a Semblance that matched what I was looking for in my massive range.

The thought chilled me. My range had been something that I had considered excessive considering I never really needed to pull Semblances from that far of a distance. Now though, the thought of a Semblance being able to interfere with my teammates at a range I couldn't sense was something wholly terrifying.

"Alright, alright, I'm going…" Melanie's voice buzzed me out of my thoughts. Her Aura slowly slinking further from the three of us was something that proved all my worries.

"Melanie! Cancel whatever you heard!" I yelled through the earpieces. Neo and Miltia were looking oddly at me, too. "I want everyone to stop listening to any order they hear from now on; try and double back. I think a Semblance is involved."

"You think? I thought you were supposed to be some Semblance guru; are you telling me you can't tell something is going on?"

"No- I mean, yes! I don't know… this is the first time I haven't been able to find something." I admitted, silently brooding over the fact that I couldn't help.

"Ugh, please don't get all mopey again. I had enough of the shit last time we failed to find someone. Look, you suck at something. What a shocker, but honestly don't let it get you down. Let's just go home for now, okay?" Melanie said, finally allowing my worries to ease.

That was until I found two Auras that suddenly appeared at the edge of my senses. One of them that felt completely different from the usual warmths. Instead, it felt almost like I was brushing up against a glowing bonfire.

Connecting to it out of a slight curiosity was even worse. I wasn't linked to anyone else at the time, but the single Aura almost made me gag at how filling it felt. Linking with, and letting the slivers of Aura trickle through the bond was akin to letting a stream of fire flow into my veins.

It was as if-

'It's completely pure…' My mind slacked at the feeling of it, losing itself in the wondrous new warmth. Despite it being like fire, I slowly began to acclimatize to handle the heat it brought. And it was wonderful.

If regular Aura's were something diluted and dull, then this was something that would be akin the the source. A pure Aura aptly fit it. Something that seemed to be one of a kind.

However, at the same magnificence I could feel from it, I also felt dread as the information of the Semblance finally came to me.

[Wide-ranged heightened auditory perception. Range-restricted auditory hallucinations.]

As it came, I grew truly frightened by the range the Semblance had. If my own range was able to cover an eighth of Vale at its maximum, then this one was able to cover the entirety of it. The person could easily scout the entire city in seconds.

And they were after us.

My mind quickly swam with realization, taking only moments to connect the dots. Two people who were after us, and were trying to tear the team apart slowly could only mean a couple things. Either they were very volatile cops, a gang we had angered or, and most worryingly, they were the Reds.

I would bet money on the last option, and I was sure Neo found something wrong with me as she was looking at me oddly in the moments where I simply stood there, jaw slackened. Panicking a little, I found that talking would only give away more of our position.

Whoever had such as pure Aura was constantly listening in on every single conversation in the entire city of Vale. They weren't able to parse together everything at the same time, I knew, but if the focused on an area, they could be able to hear a great many things.

As such, I held a finger to my lips, motioning for Miltia to understand. Neo was already on board with what was happening, her steps suddenly becoming absolutely silent. Miltia took a few moments, but finally nodded before moving to leave the building. She would have a better time dealing with Melanie than I.

"Melanie, I found them. Two Aura users closing in on our position fast. One of them can induce auditory hallucinations that are only able to be heard by the target, and don't talk as well; that's how they're tracking us." I broadcasted to the white-themed twin using the very same auditory hallucinations that had sparked this in the first place. "Loop back around the streets a couple times while Neo and I run a distraction. Get home safe."

Melanie didn't respond. Much to my expectations, but I was still left with the feeling that something could go wrong at any moment. I was fairly sure the people tailing us were the Reds, and past experience really didn't support my odds of safely fighting them. We were too underequipped as well as exhausted enough to even consider fighting the dangerous criminals.

"Come on Neo, let's get to going home, okay?" I asked out loud, focusing my massive hearing abilities on the two sources of warmth closing in. Neo nodded, getting exactly what I wanted to do without me saying a thing as her heels clicked loudly on the floor.

We moved slowly the the Eastern parts of Vale. I would comment and talk every now and then, pretending that Melanie and Miltia were talking as well. There really was no way of knowing I was tricking the two members of the Reds as they weren't talking themselves, but I guessed that they were communicating using the auditory hallucinations where I couldn't perceive.

However, despite their forced silence, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief as Melanie and Miltia had safely left my Aura sensing range, and were still silently looping back around predetermined paths till they reached my apartment. The two tailing us, on the other hand, were keeping their distance. Sometimes they would get as close as one kilometer, or they would drop back farther than my Aura sense could catch them.

Still, as we reached our destination, I was feeling a little more comfortable in facing two members of the Reds. A large office building that had been gutted out on Roman's specifications, but still looked completely unused on the outside.

I confidently pushed past the squeaky doorways, glaring through my mask at the grunt who pointed a rifle at my face as I entered. If it wasn't for me already expecting the man to be there, then I would have been sacred out of my wits. However, considering who was following me, I didn't really have the mind to care about informing Roman about my little visit.

Also, Neo was very good at persuading the grunt to stop pointing that weapon at me.

"Neo, you can remove your blade." I spoke in the direction of the trembling man who shot me a look of utter gratefulness as Neo slowly pulled back the tip of her sword from between the man's legs.

"Roman, Neo and I are coming up." I broadcasted to the man using another auditory hallucination. He would already know we were there as I was sure there were camera stashed around the outside of his little base, but he obviously didn't know about the two following me. "Be wary as we're being followed. Most likely the Reds."

I heard Roman curse as we entered the elevators and traveled down. Passing through what should have been the lowest floor, we reached a small room with a single, wooden desk in the middle. A couple of screens littered the walls of the room, playing the various scenes from cameras placed in the streets of Vale. One even was constantly playing the news as Lisa Lavender's voice drawled silently as background noise.

Roman himself was sitting up at the desk, looking absolutely exhausted. Bags colored dark under his eyes, and his hair was unkempt. A look of absolute annoyance was constantly burning at me as the man kept flicking from glaring at me to the screens on the walls.

"You better have a good damn reason for dragging two of the Reds anywhere near me." Roman growled. "Because I've been having to rove between my safe houses for the past three days now, and its getting rather annoying when I have to run from not only the feds but the a Reds as well."

"First off, they have a citywide surveillance Semblance that functions off of hearing." I held up a finger to emphasize my point, taking a little joy in watching Roman pale at the mention of such a terrifying enemy. "Second off, you already have half the police on your payroll."

"Hey now, its not my fault that-"

"Not now Roman." I cut him off, feeling a little betrayed when I had found that nugget of information a little while ago. The problem was I knew corruption was evident in the police force; just not exactly how much. Instead of lashing out at the orange-haired thief, I buried that under the fact that the two warmths were closing in.

My voice petered out, and a hallucination took over for me. "You need to call in your guys, and bring more Dust. If those two who are following us attack, then we need to be ready. Also, try to nod or shake your head instead of giving anything away."

Roman nodded, typing a message on his Scroll. "Alright, I'll help you out just this once, blondie. Don't think you can get so many favors from me without me getting something in return."

"Please," I drawled, rolling my eyes. "We both know you've been feeding me information through Neo to direct me at the enemies closest to you. Besides, I think its a good enough favor for me to not punch you right now for everything you've been hiding from me."

Roman just scoffed, pulled two glasses from under the desk and began to pour himself a glass of what I assume was whiskey before pouring another glass. I stared at the offered liquor. "Spare me your speech, blondie. If we're talking about things we both know, then how about the fact that Neo wouldn't let your even reach me. Or maybe how it should have already been apparent that I have the police on my payroll. I mean, just how do you think I got so many cameras in place? Half of them are linked to the police's surveillance system."

"They've stopped a at half a kilometer in front of the building. Are your reinforcements here yet?" I asked in a hallucination, getting a pained shake from the thief. Humming, I switched back to talking while pointing to glass of whiskey, "You do know I'm underage, right? That's just another reason to punch you now."

"If you're old enough to fight mass murders wanted in every single kingdom, then you're old enough to drink in my books, bondie. Then again you are a bore when it comes to fun things like drinking, but more for me, I guess." Roman shrugged, downing the other glass as easily as the last.

"Keep talking, Roman, you're just adding to the list of how many times I need to punch you."

"Yes, yes, I'm so terri- hey Neo, what are you doing?" Roman stood up quickly as Neo grabbed on of his wrists, pulling him closer to me. His eyes widened as I grinned at him, making a show of warming up my arm. "Wait, wait, come on guys, no need to get physical. We have other problems to deal with you know! Okay, okay, just not the face! I need this!"

I frowned, slugging Roman in the shoulder. My mood was souring by the second despite how jovial the man was being, and the unmoving Reds that were on our literal doorstep didn't really help. "Are we actually doing anything to help, Roman?"

"Huh, what are you brooding about now, blondie?" The man grumbled, rubbing to spot where I hit him. "Do we really need to talk about helping people now? I thought you already knew that I don't really care what happens to the idiots who let themselves get caught in this mess."

"What I mean is are we actually looking at the correct problems? There are… I just feel I could be helping people more."

Roman groaned, leaning into his desk. "Blah, blah, blah, shut up already. Do you really have to ask me whether you're doing the heroic spiel that you believe in? Let's face it, you've done more damage to Vale's infrastructure than even I have in the small time you've been here. Maybe, just maybe, you can get your head out of your ass and have Neo unlock your Aura; pretty sure that would at least solve some of your problems."

"I can't." I said quickly. There were many things I could be, but bearing Aura like a Huntsman was something that was impossible to me. I couldn't become a Huntsman.

"What do you mean you ca-" Roman cut himself off, finding something in my face that simply cut his words down. Running a hand through his disheveled locks, he sighed. "Okay, no Aura. Still, what brought this little pity party on?"

I sighed, realizing that the Reds weren't moving from their spot, and signaling Roman of that fact. "Seventy-four, Roman, does that number mean anything to you?"

"I haven't the faintest idea, blondie. Just spit it out, and spot batting around the subject."

"Its the innocents who have died in all this chaos, Roman." I said with a shudder. "This… we could have prevented this. I just feel as if I'm not doing enough; that no matter how many gangs we pull off the streets, we're barely making a dent in the actual problem. Add on the Reds of all things, and I don't know… I feel a little overwhelmed."

"You do realize you're talking to a nefarious criminal, right?" Roman laughed. "I mean, seriously, sure its bad that people are dying, but that was a give in for gang wars. Besides, I'm sure most of those deaths are… I mean, think of it this way, blondie, this has been the largest gang war in the history of Vale, but the death count isn't that high! You're only one person, so of course you can't save everyone. And there's probably way more missing and injured than dead for that… I'm not good at this whole cheering up thing, Neo."

Smiling a bit as Neo patted the man's arm, I felt a little better despite not really hearing anything uplifting. Perhaps is was a talent of Roman's. "No, its fine, Roman. Thanks for your morbidly helpful words. I really-"

"Jaune Arc." I froze, spine nearly breaking in two as I shot to attention when I heard a feminine voice from half a kilometer away. The Reds had figured I had copied their Semblance, and were talking to me.

"What do you want?" I asked aloud, startling Roman and Neo. Since I was staring hard at one of Roman's walls, I figured they already knew what was going on.

"I will ask this now, and expect an answer later: Are you actually working with the Witch Queen?" The feminine voice asked again, uncomfortably serious.

I frowned. "Wh-"

"Not now, Jaune Arc. We'll ask for the answer later. However, when that time comes, we'll expect an answer that assauges our worries."

"No, no, if you want to talk, we can talk!" I yelled within the underground room, fully knowing that I looked kind of crazy screaming at a wall. "How do you guys know my name? What do you mean 'your worries'? Do you all have no shame in committing your despicable acts?"

It seemed my word fell on deaf ears as I sensed the two Auras leave my range without saying a single word. I felt… exposed. And angry.

They had found out my identity easily. It was just like Junior, but now with people who I couldn't just go and blow up their base to deal with. There was also the confusion of their questions.

What did they mean by 'assauguing their worries'? The fact that the Reds had something to worry about was something I didn't really understand. Was it this 'Witch Queen' that they mentioned?

However, if they were afraid of this person, then did that mean that this Witch Queen girl was good? I didn't really think of a Witch Queen being the name of a paragon of justice, but who was I to name people.

"Hey, Remnant to blondie." Roman shocked me from my musing, a voice of clarity amongst the turmoil of my own thoughts. "What happened? You suddenly looked like you saw a ghost."

I turned to a man who had shoehorned me into the criminal underworld, tongue heavy and throat scratchy. "They know…"

"Who's they, blondie? I don't have time for twenty questions."

"They know! The Reds know who I am, and probably my family, too!" I yelled, hysterical. "I don't… I just-" My head found itself between my hands, fingers pulling on my blonde hairs as I slunk down a wall to my knees. "What do I do?"

"Hey don't be like this, blondie… Where was the constant confidence you basically saunter around with?" Roman was speaking above me, but I was only half listening to him at this point. "Ugh, Neo, help… Right, Dust! Hey, blondie, what happens if I know several Dust warehouses that are Union owned? I also know quite a few haunts of the Reds."

My gaze drifted to the evil smile on my semi-friend's face. "You're suggesting that I do the exact same thing I did to Junior…" I think my smile mirrored his for a second. "Right. If they threaten my family, then I can escalate."

"That's my slightly unhinged friend that I know!" Roman cheered.

Though, despite our good spirits of potential explosions, I think we both leaped into the air as Roman's Scroll buzzed to life. It would never be said, but we both changed ringtones after that.

Roman frowned at the Scroll, and I leaned over his shoulder to find that it was Melanie. The worst scenarios came to mind as we looked at each other. With the Reds revealing that they knew me all along, and Melanie calling shortly after they left, we both were suspecting some horrifying scene as we picked up.

And a terrifying thing it was. Disordered screams rang constantly from the other side, chanting my name in a sort of maniacal pace. Melanie's voice came through, exhausted, and completely unlike I had ever heard.

"Jaune… you need to get back." She spoke, nearly passing out on the other side. "I don't think Mil can last any longer."

"Melanie, what's wrong?" I fretted over the Scroll, afraid that I might be losing a friend.

"Its-" Insane giggles and a feminine scream cut off Melanie from finishing, and Roman and I shared a horrified look at what happened. I could almost feel my heart drop into my stomach as the unease gathered behind my thoughts.

"Melanie?" I tried, hoping against all odds that she or Miltia had survived whatever horrors they were facing.

"Jaune Arc, we are going to talk about just what you have been do-" Another female voice echoed through the line, and I felt all my worries amplify. The feeling of absolute terror only increased when Roman hurriedly ended the call.

I shot him a look that was only reserved for those who had been betrayed by their closest of friends to a pack of hungry Grimm.

"What? Don't look at me like that. You were on the verge of another breakdown, and I don't want to deal with whatever those Reds are doing to the twins." Roman defended, looking to Neo for support. The diminutive assassin nodded her head sagely in compliance.

"That wasn't the Reds." I started, licking my dry lips. "That was my mom… and you just cut her off mid sentence…"

Roman had the decency to pause as his gaze went to the Scroll, realization dawning. The Scroll started buzzing again, and we both just stared at it, refusing to move. Neo took the chance to stab it, sending sparks flying.

"Uh, well, good luck, blondie!" Roman said, flashing Neo a thumbs-up. "Now, I believe you have place to be, so why don't you leave while I get to packing to another safehouse."

I felt like it was all a dream as Roman packed up the essentials all in the matter of seconds. He was a man who was good a running away from his problems, and I was good at attracting more.

"Oh, Neo, make sure blondie is okay. Things are about to get… explosive, I'm sure." Roman added just as he left me shellshocked in the room with a bored Neo.

Still, whether it was the cryptic words of the Reds, the ever escalating gang violence in the area, my odd friendship with a horrible criminal, they all paled in comparison to one thing: How should I tell my mom that it was an accident that I hung up on her?

In the end, I decided that I was going to punch Roman the next time I saw him.