A/N: Sorry for this one being a little late guys :/, my computer gots viruses out the wazoo and I have no idea how to get rid of them, so sorry for delay. But hey I've made it up to you. Expect a big bombshell down below. Enjoy! Tell me what you guys and girls think!

Ch.33

"Hey Augusta, have you seen Blake around?"

I shook my head slightly, burying myself further within the book I was reading. Trying to hide from the red-headed huntress infront of me. Ruby however was undeterred by this, approaching me with seemingly no attention towards personal boundaries, speaking rather loudly even though we were inside a library. "I mean she was just here a minute ago, where could she have-?"

I planted a hand along her mouth, quickly silencing the woman. Shaking my head once more, I told the young girl that I had not seen her. Even if she were within the library, I wasn't on the lookout for her. I came here for silence and for silence only. It's been a tough few days, a lot of scenes taking place. I needed some down time. It's all going by just a little fast for my liking; it's good just to take a moment to reflect, or to get some much needed mental rest. Although sleep helps, it doesn't when you are in the same room with those idiots all the time. So I came here, for what time I could spare, but it seems that not even here would I find peace.

Removing my hand, I closed the book silently, looking at Ruby intently before activating my voice box. "I don't know where she is. Is something wrong?"

"Kinda-."

At this she pulled up a seat next to me, her eyes downcast and expression quickly turning sour. I wasn't exactly inviting her to a conversation, but I guess I'll accept it this time. "After the whole 'docks' thing…she has been on edge, like the White Fang are gonna pop out of the ceiling or something. She seemed to be doing better for a while, we couldn't really tell what it was. But Blake just came back around to constantly thinking about it. There is nothing we can do really to convince her."

She left a prolonged silence after her remark; did she expect me to have the answer for her problem? Believe it or not Ruby I don't have an answer for everything and anything. I'm a fighter, not a lover. "Sounds complicated."

"I know, I mean everyone has really tried hard. Sun I think has taken the worst of it-."

"How so?"

"Blake shot him down."

"Ouch."

"Like hardcore, like 'get out of my face' level."

"And he still likes her? Man holds determination I will give him that…just not as much as Jaune."

Ruby laughed, a small snort coming with it. The woman immediately catching it and hiding beneath her hood within a blink, I guess her face the same shade as her robe. "Sorry."

"It's your laugh, what do you have to be sorry for?"

"Heh, right."

Coming out of her clothing, the young huntress returned back to me, her eyes bright, full of life, how I wished that could stay for her. Hearing footsteps pass by our table, we turned slightly to see a familiar magenta-eyed man passing by our table, a few books in one hand. Ruby turned to Ren, shouting his name and waving over towards us. The man stopped and focused in our direction, his eyes hardening slightly at meeting my form, but he still came, but not without tensing the muscles within his legs. He turned to Ruby, a genuine smile on his face. "Hello Ruby, how are you?"

"I'm great thanks! Have you seen Blake?"

"I can't say I've seen her today, but I will be on lookout if you wish of me."

"Really? That would be great, thanks Ren."

"No problem…but you better return to your dorm, Yang might be worried about you."

Before Ruby could ask as to why her sister would be worried about her, the man turned and left without another word, his footsteps echoing throughout the great halls. Ren's tense nature staying until he turned the corner, and out of my line of sight. She turned to me then, a questioning look on her face. "What was that about?"

"They don't trust me, after what happened…who can blame them?"

She turned to me again, slight defiance in her eyes. "But, you're a nice guy, why would they not like you?"

"Ruby…I don't know how to explain this enough. I have done things, unforgiveable things. I already know that where I go after this life is a cruel place. But, there are some here, including you that see me for me…and that I am thankful for. But Ren, Yang, Pyrrha, everyone, saw what I did to that man, and will refuse to see the man in favor of the monster. And in some ways they are right, I am very dangerous-."

"But-but you aren't! You are nice and awesome! I don't care what my sister says-."

"Maybe you should."

Ruby stopped then, her face turning into one of hurt. She looked down towards the ground for a moment, a few words forming in her lips. "You think I don't know?"

This stopped even me. Turning towards the young girl, I found her to be staring at the floor, but the words directed towards me. "I know Augusta ok, I get it. You were dangerous, you were a bad guy, but…I don't care-!"

Ruby now turned towards me, her expression now showing pride and power. "I don't care! They can think what they want but they are just stupid. You are my friend Augusta. The rest of them are just meanies."

I couldn't help the small laugh from escaping my lips, coming out instead as a small gurgling sound. Quickly stopping this noise, I looked towards her with a look of slight concern underneath my scarf, hoping that she hadn't heard that. Seeing that the huntress was seemingly unfazed by the sound, I allowed a small smile to show, not enough to allow Ruby to see however. Standing now, I took the book that I was reading, 'The Essentials of Aura', and turned towards the young huntress, the girl staring at me with slight awe as I spoke. "Thank you Ruby, it's nice that you consider me a friend. But don't worry about the others; they might come around with time. Go back to your team, they will be wondering at just where you are. Plus Blake is still missing."

"Oh! Right, thanks Augusta, byei'llseeyoulater!"

With that, the woman blazed off in a blur of rose petals and flailing limbs. Screaming out to the heavens of where her missing Faunus was. I smiled again, allowing the full action underneath the piece of clothing. Turning around, I headed for the exit towards the massive building. My body careful not to disturb the peace within the building as I waded through the silence. Returning to the novel, I turned to the bookmarked page, reading each word quickly. Trying to fill the void within my knowledge.

"I can't honestly believe you are doing this."

We have run out of options. Plus it is something I need to do.

"But to grovel? Really I expect better of you."

Do you have any other great ideas?

At his silence I reached my answer. I stopped my thoughts as I reached my destination, the doorway to team JNPR. It was true of what I said, I needed this misunderstanding between us to end. Along with that, I needed their help, one of them more than the others. It was slightly difficult for me, going here, I would have rather figured this problem of mind out myself. But at this point it doesn't matter.

I lifted my hand slightly, rapping loudly upon their door, hearing a cry of 'I'm coming' from beyond the entryway. As the doorway parted, I was met with the astonished face of Jaune. The man stopping slightly at my form, as if my very being took him off guard. I spoke quickly, trying to get to the point as quickly as possible. "I need Ren, or Pyrrha."

Three others within the room now were aware of my presence, the air within the room growing tense. Pyrrha was the first to speak, never moving from her bedside. "Why?"

"I need your assistance with a personal matter."

Ren stood now, his tone holding no emotion as he spoke. "I'm afraid if you are looking for advice on the dance, you will have to go elsewhere."

The joke did little to lighten the mood. "I need your help with Aura."

The redhead's face turned into one of confusion at this. "I thought you had none?"

"That's what I thought, but apparently that is not the case, it is just latent."

"And what incentive do we have to help you?"

Nora turned to Ren slightly at this, her face slightly hurt and in confusion as he continued to speak, arms crossed. "We already have a lot on our plate; we don't have the time to train you in this. Ask your team."

I sighed internally; this was going to be a lot harder than I thought. "Listen, I know you don't like me. But I did what I had to do. I protected those that I considered close, that includes you in some degree. You may not agree with my choices, or with who I am. But I promise you, I would not allow myself to fall back into the darkness from which I died to crawl out from."

I let the sentence hang, the silence enveloping the group quickly. I waited like that for a moment, waiting upon their answer. But surprisingly, the first to speak was Jaune, the man turning to me and rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "The first step might be unlocking your Aura. Now apparently in order to do that, your soul has to be bonded with another, and I doubt you want any of us connected to your soul."

"So I would need someone to bond with my soul?"

"Yeah, Pyrrha did the same thing with me. Hey, maybe Velvet might help; she is a primary Aura user right?"

I nodded slightly at this, if anyone was going to be bonded to my urethral form, it would be none other than her. I spoke quietly, the sound barely reaching their ears. "Thank you."

With that I left the room, turning and pacing down the hall without another word. Behind me, I noticed Jaune peek his head out of the door for a second, about to say something. But he held his tongue, turning back and shutting the door behind him.

"You do know what you are asking right?"

"That I want my Aura unlocked, and that I am asking your assistance, yes."

She still stared at me with those wide brown eyes of hers. Full of confusion and surprise. Why was this such a big deal? If it was to obtain more power and understand what was going on with me, I wanted to unlock my Aura, if I had any. And if a person was to bond with me, I wanted it to be her. But apparently it might have held some unknown purpose, if her reaction held any indication. Telling her about my intentions at her dorm lead to some rather confusion responses. Coco snickered, hiding behind her hand in laughter. Yatsuhashi stopped slightly in the middle of the cultivating of his bonsai tree, but resumed as if nothing had happened. Fox turned to me however with wide eyes, as if I had announced the cafeteria was serving free food tonight. I had really no idea of why they were acting like this, guess it wasn't something I was to understand.

Now standing within the same classroom we shared our kiss, I stood over Velvet, my arms crossed as she stared at me with wonder. "Do you have any idea what unlocking Aura means?"

"You bond your soul with another, a connection of sorts. And if I was to make a connection with anyone, it would be with you."

She blushed slightly, turning her head to hide her wide smile. But her tone held another meaning as she spoke. "No, it's more. If I do this, we will be connected Augusta, more than you know. Some things…somethings you might not be able to hide anymore. You sense who a person truly is when you are unlocking their Aura. You are connected in a way that binds your destiny. Are you sure you want this?"

I nodded quickly. I had no reason to believe in a soul, after seeing so many, including myself, without one. I wasn't to fear, and if it was the person I truly was she is going to see. Then I won't have to worry, she has already seen me and accepted what I was, seeing only what I am now. So I have no fear, no hesitation in accepting this. And within the moment of my nod, she returned the gesture, a wide smile on her face, absolutely glowing. I had almost forgotten how beautiful she really was.

With that nod, she approached me, taking my right hand within hers, and placing her left upon my chest. Velvet looked up at me hesitantly, her eyes portraying what she couldn't say, asking if I was truly sure about this endeavor. And with a final gesture of approval, the woman nodded, her face turning towards the ground as she began to glow a brilliant white, illuminating the walls around us. The light however, it wasn't blinding, only soothing, as if the constant weight upon my shoulders was lifted, if only momentarily. But with the lifting of one weight, came the constant pressure of another. A figure of flame appearing infront of me, behind Velvet, his eyes displaying slight aggravation. I closed my eyes at his appearance, only seeming to infuriate him more. "Agent Maine, you must stop this. Who knows what this woman is doing to you-?"

I don't care. You aren't in control anymore. It is my life to live.

"But what if this changes you, what if you cannot go back because of this! We have to go back!"

We?

"Listen to me well Agent…we have to go back!"

We…have to go…

"Back away from her now!"

I…have to get…away. No, no why her? I want this, no.

"Listen to me Agent Maine!"

But it was too late, far too late. The light emanating from Velvet flowed and pulsed with an increasing rate. Eventually, she began to speak, her voice seemingly echoing throughout the entire room. Wrapping itself into my thoughts, may very being, piercing every fiber of my being. "It is here, within our moment of glory, that I bequeath my light onto you. By the passing of time may this light never falter, fade. For it is by this passage of time, but we achieve our greatest victory-."

She stopped, almost forced into a halt. It was difficult for me to turn to her, not physically, but it hurt to turn to her, opening my eyes to see what was wrong. But what I saw was something out of a nightmare for me, I tried to scream, tried to yell out a curse towards everything the thing held dear, but nothing came to sound. Sigma's hand, placed upon her head, a concentrated look upon his face as his flames burned brighter and brighter, threatening to destroy her light. Velvet wasn't faring well under the pressure from ambition incarnate, her first steady voice now a whimper, her pale light flickering under the pressure.

My body stone, resisting every call for movement to destroy Sigma. I screamed in utter rage and agony inside my mind, only able to watch as the man who took so much from me was in the act of taking another precious thing from me. I didn't care if I could or not, I couldn't stand here and do nothing! But it seemed my physical form wasn't answering my calls for justice, standing as if time had stopped with this ritual. I slammed against the invisible wall separating mind from body, yelling in pure rage, unable to do anything but rattle the cage I seemed to be trapped inside of. No, no, this couldn't be happening! Come on Velvet, you need to stay strong; Sigma can't hurt you if you don't let him! "You would be surprised at just what I can do Agent Maine."

Her whimpers then became voice, words barely heard but meaning shocking me to my core. "Eyes, eyes colder than ice, burning more than fire. Fire, fire, no, piercing gaze. Symbols, what do they mean? Everywhere, on him, in me. I can't…I can't…I can't-."

Yes, yes you can. He only gains power if you let him. Fight Velvet, fight him!

Sigma's face twitched slightly, his once concentrated gaze becoming one of anger. He pressed down harder upon Velvet, a twisted smile coming to his face as his flames threatened to consume all in their wake. But no matter how much he stretched his will, no matter how his flames grew, Velvet's light was still there, growing and growing by the moment, her face turning into one of calm, breathing steady as they flowed with the pulses of light. Sigma's once victorious look turning into one of concern, his will slowly waning on the young girl.

He was losing, and Sigma knew it. It was surprising to see however Sigma acknowledge this in him nodding, and releasing his hand from Velvet. Turning away from the young girl and standing beside me, leaning into my ear to speak. "I warned you Agent Maine."

I continued to try and break the hold over me, glaring holes into the man. What did you do to her!

"What are you going to do? Kill me? To kill me would be to kill yourself. Like I said before, we are connected. I tried to keep our connection as limited as possible, but it seems that you just want to jump that gap. It seems you need me more than I ever would have thought possible Agent Maine. I tried to stop her, but it looks like she is more powerful than I predicted."

What the fuck do you mean!

"Patience, I think your friend here will explain in due time. Then we shall see how long it takes for her to abandon you."

Goddamn it! He was right. Even if I could have broken free from my paralysis, what could I have done to hurt him? He is only a figment of my insanity. There was no real danger. Why in the world was I afraid, you are nothing aren't you? You are nothing but a distant, horrible memory that I care not for. I hate you Sigma, I hate you like no other. And I swear to god I will find a way to kill you one day. So I am going to tell you this, very, very simply…fuck off.

He stopped…I wasn't sure what had happened but he looked at me strangely, his form flickering and wavering rapidly before stabilizing, as if it had not happened at all. What in the world was that? A sign of his power starting to lack? The flame apparition turned to me, his eyes hard and commanding, as if he were in charge. "Don't forget Agent Maine, I am here to stay. I will not be thrown out so easily. I am not just a figment, not just a vision. I will…never be a memory."

He stopped then suddenly, watching Velvet as she started to finish the ritual, her body starting to fade from the deep glow. It was strange, I hadn't felt a change, was something wrong with the way she did it? Did this part of my imagination really affect her somehow? No, not possible, maybe I just didn't have any Aura to unlock. That was the most likely possibility.

I looked down upon the woman, her hand slowly moving from my chest, a hole now where it used to be. Velvet's body was now missing the once glorious glow, but somehow she still held it all the same, I guess that was my own mind playing tricks on me. She staggered slightly, nearly falling if I hadn't caught her by one of her arms, wrapping my second hand around her waist. The faunus was tired, her body breathing heavily as she rested against my form. It must have taken a lot out of her, I couldn't imagine what she went through, it's ok, nothing can hurt you now, never again.

I lifted her up slightly, the woman now standing on her own two feet. She looked up at me, smiling slightly, forced with effort. Still smiling, even after all of that. I shook my head slightly at this; she is certainly a strange one. I continued to watch her, watching as her expression suddenly changed to one of horror. Backing away quickly, a red glow started to surround her, particles flowing about her. Her eyes wild, body suddenly breathing in a rapid rate, her nervous twitching more than displaying she was ready for a battle. What in the world Velvet? What happened?

"Hello Velvet…"

No.

I turned back to Sigma as he began to walk forward, the embers from his body flying into the air as he did so. Approaching Velvet, the woman backed away again, her eyes displaying that of utter fear, water starting to surround them. In a blur I was infront of her, my body a shield between the two of them, a look of absolute rage upon my face as I stood my ground. I pushed away the A.I., trying to bury it inside the deepest part of my mind. Invisible chains lashing out against the A.I., threatening to pull him back into the abyss. But he would not be deterred so easily, he wanted this, he wanted to show her just what was inside me, and I couldn't stop him.

Sigma's form fading slightly but he pushed forward, straining to take a few more steps before stopping, apparently forced. He glared at me slightly, not enough to show actual emotion but enough to see his displeasure in me stopping him. But it was of no use, the damage had already been dealt long before he showed himself to Velvet now. For he turned to the bunny faunus then, the horrible smile upon his face once more as he bowed slightly, a courteous expression towards Velvet's form as he spoke in a slow and deliberate manner. "I am designation Sigma. And I believe we are going to be great friends Velvet."