Chapter 12: What We Cannot See

Vacuo – 5 Years Ago

The moonlight swept through the dusty window next to a boy with brown hair who gazed at the sky with awe. He waited patiently before hearing a thud on the roof above him. Quickly, he hid beside the windowsill and listened intently. A dark figure entered through and stepped carefully onto the wooden floor below.

"It's you…" the boy said. "You're the vigilante from TV."

The figure immediately stumbled back and pulled down the black mask that was covering his face.

"Sable?! Aren't you supposed to be asleep?"

"Lance, come on! This is awesome. Why didn't you tell me?" He had a grin on his face. He had watched the so-called Vacuo Swordsman who had stopped multiple attacks from Grimm and even White Fang. All the kids in the orphanage looked up to him. Huntsmen and Huntresses in Vacuo were spread out and very expensive to hire so the vigilante was there whenever no one else was. Sable admired him and knowing that his brother was the vigilante made it even better.

"Look, little bro." His brother sat on the bed. "What I do, I don't do it for fun or because I want to prove myself. I do it because it's right."

"So can I help?" The boy asked without taking in anything his brother said.

"No." Lance ruffled his brother's hair. "It's too dangerous."

"Please? I'll take your chores if you want."

"Sable."

"Or else! Or else… I'll tell Ms. Dunehall."

"Sable, please."

"Or Alana, you like her right? Maybe she'll actually-"

"Sable!" Lance grabbed his brother's shoulders. "You can't go with me and you can't tell anyone either!"

The little boy was caught off guard by the sudden burst of anger before his big brother calmed down.

"I'm sorry… it's just, you're my only family left, Sable. The rest of the orphanage may be our family too but nothing beats blood. I don't want to lose you, little bro."

Sable looked down. "Then teach me how to fight."

"What?" Lance let go.

"You heard me. Since we don't have enough money to go to Shade Academy, I want you to teach me how to fight."

"Sable, no… I-"

"Hey, even if I don't go with you when you do your 'heroic deeds', I can still defend myself in case of emergencies. It's a win-win situation."

Lance paused. It was usually around this time that children would begin their combat education and since he and Sable were orphans, they never got the chance to attend an actual school. Lance had learned what he knew from their parents before they disappeared as well as the combat books in the orphanage. Sable had read each volume thoroughly but he never got the chance to practice what was written in them.

"Fine, we can start tomorrow."

"Already?" Sable asked in a surprised tone.

"You're going to complain now?"

"Oh." The boy jumped into the air and hugged his brother. "No way! You won't regret this!"

Lance hugged back. 'I really hope I won't.'

Vale - Present Day

Two wooden doors creaked open as Oobleck and Brand stepped into a dim room. Lamps overhead shone but barely illuminated the area. The temperature was cold since the entire place was air conditioned in order to preserve the items inside.

"They should be around here," the professor said as he scanned the multiple crates that stacked on top of each other. "Ah, here we are." Oobleck opened a crate. A hiss came from the box as he pulled out a black briefcase and opened it. Inside were six chess pieces. Brand remembered how shiny they were.

"These are the six artifacts that you recovered from the Rift Temple. They are also the artifacts Ozpin used for your initiation," Oobleck explained. "The rest of them were recovered from different Rift Temples around Remnant."

"Rift Temples… I didn't know they had a name," Brand said.

"Yes, well, their names were derived from their main purpose. You see, Mr. Tachyon, our ancestors before believed that higher beings existed, beings powerful enough to wipe out the entire world in one sweep. They erected these temples in hopes of appeasing these so called gods. And the only way to reach them?"

"Are through rifts," Brand continued.

"Precisely." The professor pushed up his glasses. "Now, may I ask why you want to borrow these important pieces of history?"

"Hm?" Blue already had the suitcase in his arms. "Oh, uh… research project!" He smiled.

"Very well. Professor Ozpin said you were the one who retrieved those artifacts in the first place, giving you full custody."

"Okay! Thanks Professor Oobleck!" Brand waved as he left the storage house.

Back at the room, the rest of team BLUS waited for their leader to return. Sable sat at the desk, reading his book intently with his feet resting on top of the table.

"So these chess pieces are the same ones we retrieved from the initiation?" Melo asked.

"Mhm," the archer lazily replied.

"And they're supposed to help us find some big, humanoid Grimm that has the ability to command other Grimm?"

"Mhm."

"That sounds…"

"Awesome!" Mond jumped into the air. "So if this is a Grimm that no one has seen before, does that mean once we find it we can name it?"

"I guess," Melo told his partner.

The door suddenly burst open as Brand came in with a black briefcase.

"Got em!" Blue placed the case on his bed and opened it.

"Oooh, shiny…" Mond stared at them.

"So what's the plan then, chief?" Sable stood up and put his book down.

"If my theory is correct, then the reason that Grimm is following me is because of these." Brand picked up a gold rook. "I remember seeing a symbol similar to the mask that Grimm wore etched into the ground in the temple I retrieved these artifacts from. It might have been some sort of guardian to that particular temple."

"So you're going to use them as bait?" Melo asked.

"Precisely."

"But where though?" Mond added.

The four stayed silent until Melo spoke up. "No… no no no. Please tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking."

"Sorry, Melo." Brand placed the piece back into the case. "We're heading back to Forever Fall."

Vacuo - 4 Years Ago

A small town sat within the vast dunes. Sand blew across the land while the inhabitants roamed across the market stalls, hoping to buy their goods. Two brothers sat on the roof of one of the small buildings.

"Every semblance of every member of the Matsuo family has one thing in common. Can you guess what?" Lance paced back and forth in front of his attentive brother.

"Is it wasting time?" Sable retorted.

The samurai deadpanned. "You have your super sight, I have super hearing. See the pattern?"

"Senses, yeah I get it," his brother answered. "It's the same story you tell me every day."

"It's important to remember your roots, little bro, especially when we're the only ones left." Lance had a sad look on his face. He had enjoyed the little memories he had with his parents, but unfortunately Sable was too young to remember them. "So, since you can see very far and very well…"

The samurai grabbed a loaded pistol off of the table beside them which had other weapons such as a rifle, sword, and bow.

Examining the weapon, Lance handed it to Sable. "…I think you should be a ranged fighter."

His brother took the gun then stared at the table. "Why can't I use the bow?"

"What?" Lance followed his gaze. "Bows are too hard, Sable. We'll get to them eventually but in the meantime, I want you to know how to shoot."

"Bows aren't hard. Guns are too easy."

"Wanna put your money where your mouth is then?" Lance smiled.

Sable just ignored him and shot a bottle sitting on the roof of the building several feet away. He then aimed at the wall beside the bottle and managed to carve a smiley face using the bullets. Pulling the trigger once more, he found the clip empty.

"Okay…" Lance said. "I guess we can start with the bow."

"Are you kids firing weapons up there again?!" The voice of an old man echoed from downstairs.

"Shoot," the samurai exclaimed.

"Him?"

"Sable."

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." Sable grabbed the bow and put it around his shoulder while Lance went for the rest of the weapons. The two brothers then jumped off the roof and landed on the next building before an angry old man came onto the roof.

"You hooligans stay away from my shop!"

"Sorry, Mr. Gonzales!" Lance laughed along with his brother as they made their way back to the orphanage, back to their home.

Vale - Present Day

"Alright." Brand and his team gathered in their room, wearing their combat outfits. "Here's the plan: we sneak through to the border of the school when night falls. They have a big wall separating the forest from Beacon along with several watch towers connecting them. There, Melo will use his semblance to sneak up to any light source or guard in our way and take 'em out."

"Non-lethally," the bomber added.

"Right."

"Aw." Sable frowned.

"Once we're clear, Melo will make his way to the other side of the wall while Mond will boost me and Sable over. Mond, you'll follow after us."

"Roger!" The squirrel boy saluted. "By the way, isn't this all against the rules or something?"

"Only if we're caught." The archer grinned.

"After arriving in the forest, we set down the chess pieces in the center of the location I mapped out. We'll be hiding in the trees while we wait for the Grimm. I can set up a trap to stun it before we go in," Brand continued. "Oh! And don't forget to take multiple pictures. Everything clear?"

The rest of the members nodded in unison.

"Alright, BLUS. Let's go." Brand grabbed his travel pack from the closet and headed out.

Darkness crept over Beacon as the four students backed up against the wall of the library. Melo tiptoed forward before turning around. Mond then gave him some hand signals.

"What?" the bomber whispered.

Brand stepped out from behind the squirrel boy. "Just go."

Melo nodded and dove into the shadows, speeding his way to the side of the wall where a guard was sitting on top of a watchtower, moving the spotlight around at the forest. Slowly coming out, the bomber hit the guard in the head, knocking him out cold.

The bomber then waved at the rest of his team to signal that the coast was clear. Brand then led his teammates to the wall. Sable was up first. Mond held the Archer's foot as he pushed him up with full force. Sable launched into the air and landed in one of the trees on the other side.

The squirrel boy then gestured for Brand to go next. Before he did, Blue glanced at the roof of the library. Some sort of figure was dashing through the air.

"Brand? What's wrong?" Mond asked his leader.

'Might be watchmen,' Blue assumed. "Let's get over, quick."

Mond launched him over as he fell down, missing the tree and hitting the ground.

"Crap." Brand rubbed his head.

"We good?" Sable jumped down from the tree and was joined by Melo and Mond who also made it across.

"Yeah. Let's move." Blue replied as he put his pack back on his shoulders.

Team BLUS dashed through the forest of Forever Fall, blanketed only by the moonlight. Red leaves continuously fell as the students kept an eye on the shadows for any glowing eyes.

"We shouldn't stray too far from the school nor should we stick too close." Brand told them as he took out his pocket watch and checked the compass. Still normal. Looking ahead, he stopped in his tracks. In front of him was a small pond littered with red leaves. Behind the body of water, a large tree sat, extending its branches outward. "This is the place."

"Yeah, we can set the trap here." Melo cracked his knuckles.

"Alright, Sable you head up to the tree and keep a lookout for anything on their way here." Brand said. "Oh and hand me an electric arrow please."

"Sure, don't hurt yourself." Sable reached for his quiver and handed his leader the arrow.

"Mond, follow him and set up camp on that tree." Blue handed his travel pack to the squirrel boy. "There's some food and water in there."

"Roger!" Mond grabbed the backpack and scurried up the large tree.

"Melo I need you to help me gather some wood. Shape doesn't matter but make sure it's at least sharp and the size of your hand."

"How exactly am I supposed to cut wood with bombs?" Melo raised an eyebrow.

"Oh! Here." Brand handed him one of his axes. The bomber stumbled back at the weight of the weapon as the blades stuck out.

"Let's try to get everything done by midnight alright?"

"Where is it...?" Mond rustled around Brand's bag and took out some canned food along with a large canteen of water. He felt around until he found a packet of cheese. Grinning, he hastily ripped it open and took a bite. He chewed as he looked over to Sable who was reading while resting on a branch.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to be the lookout?" the squirrel boy asked.

"Don't worry, as long as we don't emit negative emotions, the Grimm won't find us," the archer said as he flipped a page.

"How about people?"

"Who would be stupid enough to be in the middle of a Grimm infested forest in the middle of the night?" Sable asked. "Oh wait. Us."

Mond just ate the rest of his cheese before speaking again. "So how long is this going to take?"

"Probably going to be forever."

"So-"

"Are you going to keep asking questions all night?" Sable lowered his book. "Because I don't have all the answers."

"Sorry…" Mond looked down.

"Sable!" A voice came from below. Melo unloaded an armful of wood at the trunk. "Be nice!"

The bomber then ran off with his axe to meet their leader who was also gathering some extra supplies.

The archer sighed. "Fine. What do you want to talk about, Mond?"

The squirrel boy's face lit up at the question. "Oh! Oh! You wanna see a magic trick?"

Sable tilted his head. "Do I have a choice?"

"Okay! Okay!" Mond reached into his pocket and pulled out a deck of cards. "Alright, pick one!"

"Oh, how original." The archer took a card and examined it. Jack of Diamonds.

"Alright, put it back in the deck without showing me!"

Sable followed the squirrel boy's orders and put his card near the bottom of the deck. Mond then proceeded to shuffle the cards, getting faster and faster as he moved his hands.

Then he threw all of the cards into the air. They floated for a bit before Mond flicked out his claws and slashed at the falling cards. Thousands of pieces of paper gathered on the tree before Mond retracted the claws and caught a single card.

"Is this it?" He showed it to Sable. Jack of Diamonds.

"Well damn," the archer remarked. "You may have wasted an entire deck of cards but where'd you learn tricks like that?"

Mond smiled and scratched his head. "Well, I've done a lot of tricks for my brother back in Mistral."

Sable felt a slight shiver as he heard that word. "You have a brother?"

"Huh? Oh yeah! His name's Caiden. He's the best little brother I could ever ask for!"

The archer smiled. "Yeah… brothers are great."

Vacuo - 3 Years Ago

"Boarbatusk." Lance sat on a chair in a room filled with old mattresses, flicking a butterfly knife with his right hand before passing it to Sable who was lying on his bed.

Catching it, the archer started spinning it around while speaking. "First attack is a charge. Dodge to the side, penetrate underbelly. Ursa!"

Sable threw the knife back to his brother who caught it and continued playing with it. "Slow but strong. Avoid paws and jaws and aim for the neck. Ground Dweller!"

"What?" the archer said as he caught the knife.

"Ground Dweller, y'know, giant centipede?"

"Haven't heard of that one yet."

"Well the best way to learn about Grimm is through experience. Maybe we should go to Vale one of these days."

Sable just rolled his eyes before passing the knife back to his brother. "Yeah, with what money?"

Lance glanced at his brother. "Hey, it's not that bad. I mean, the orphanage takes care of us. It's not a bad place."

"We're barely surviving out here, Lance," the archer said. "I don't know. I just want to get out of this wasteland of a region."

"Hey." The samurai reached for a box behind his chair. "Catch."

Sable raised his right hand and caught a bow that looked like it had been folded inward. The edges were blades that protruded outward while the center had two spikes. "What is-?"

"I had it custom made for you from the blacksmith downtown. It wiped out most of my savings but hey, you'll need a decent weapon to fight crime with."

"Wait. You're serious?! I can come with you?!" The archer's face lit up.

"You've come a long way, little bro. Of course you can." Lance smiled.

"Thank you so much!"

"So what are you going to call it?"

Sable stared at his weapon and flicked it into its bow form. "Final Whisper."

Forever Fall – Present Day

"Okay, bring 'em together, Melo!" Brand said.

The bomber piled up all the wood they had gathered into a circle about the size of a tire. Brand then took the electric arrow and a rubber glove from his coat pockets. Tying the glove tightly around the tip of the arrow, he made his way to the pond.

"What exactly do you plan on doing?" Melo asked.

"Just get me some pieces of wood one by one while I figure this out." Brand was now knee deep into the water, holding the arrow above with his right hand, trying to avoid setting it off. "Oh! Make sure they're sharp!"

The bomber nodded and went to retrieve the wood.

Brand knelt down and reached for his flashlight with his left hand. Turning it on, he shined it at the pond's floor. Dirt scattered around as he felt the ground. He quickly stood up with a grunt and exhaled.

"What the hell did you do?" Melo stood at the edge of the water staring at his leader's soaked arms.

"Just hand me the wood please." Brand held out his hand.

"I'm not going into the water."

"Oh, come on. Hard work ain't going to be clean all the time."

Melo sighed and threw the pieces at his leader who fumbled with them before they fell into the water.

"Jeez." Blue gathered the pieces together. Luckily they were light enough to float. "This should work…"

Team BLUS sat on top of the large tree overlooking the pond. In the center, a single gold rook sat on top of an electric arrow whose tip was wrapped inside a rubber glove and punctured by several sharpened wooden spikes dug deep into the ground.

Brand took off his trench coat and set it aside to dry as he ate from a can of corned beef with a metal spoon. Beside him sat his pocket watch which he was watching intently.

"So how exactly does this work?" Melo asked as he glanced at the chess piece in the middle of the pond.

Blue swallowed his food. "Picture the Grimm finding that chess piece. In theory, that's what he's looking for. So once he picks it up or even moves any of the spikes, the water will seep into the glove and touch the electric arrow."

"Electrocuting the entire pond," Sable continued. "That sounds like quite the death trap."

"And once he goes zap, we attack, right?" Mond asked.

"That's right." Brand put another spoon of beef into his mouth. "All that's left is to wait. My compass should be able to tell if the Grimm's near."

Silence fell as the team waited. Minutes passed and then hours. It was around 4 AM when Mond started snoring.

"Well, here we go…" Melo yawned as he put a blanket over his partner. He glanced over to Sable who was still reading his book using the moonlight, then over to Brand who still had his eyes on his compass and his headphones on his head.

"Nothing yet?" the bomber asked after tapping his leader on the shoulder.

Brand lifted the left side of his headphones. "Nope."

"What if it isn't attracted to the artifacts, Brand? What if it's asleep? What if it doesn't even exi-"

"Look, Melo," Blue interrupted. "If you don't believe me, feel free to leave."

"You know I can't do that. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but this is the last time we do something this crazy, okay?"

His leader just nodded and looked back at his pocket watch.

"I'm gonna take a leak guys." Sable stood up and put his book down.

"Don't go too far," Melo reminded him.

"Try to be quiet too," Brand added.

"Sure, I'll try to piss quietly." The archer jumped down from the tree and headed out. He walked for a few minutes before finding a nice tree to unload his fury upon.

After zipping up, he heard something from the distance. It was talking. He was sure that wasn't his team, they were in the other direction. Peeking around, he activated his semblance. He saw shadows of humanoid figures strolling around Forever Fall.

'I see we're not the only stupid people here.' he thought as he approached the figures carefully, hiding behind each tree on the way.

Sable kept going until he was close enough to be within hearing range.

"How far is it?! Seriously," a male voice said.

The archer climbed up the tree he hid behind and sat, listening to the conversation.

"Not far." This voice was a bit distorted, sounding like it was coming from a scroll. "Try to be more positive. The Grimm are attracted to negativity."

"The only negativity I have is from knowing that what I paid for isn't in town but in some cave in the middle of a Grimm infested forest!"

"Hey, that's why I sent you with an escort."

Sable peeked through the leaves. There was a group of five people passing by. One looked different but he recognized the other four. They each had the same uniform, a black version of Atlas armor along with red visors. The archer's eyes lit up as he felt himself lose control.

"You're going to kill them, right?"

Sable turned to his right. His brother sat on the branch beside him, looking at his own killers.

"Kill them for me, Sable. Make sure they suffer." Lance faced him with cold eyes. "I want my revenge."

The archer closed his eyes and seethed. "Kill."

A loud blood curdling scream rang out as Sable landed on top of a soldier with Final Whisper in its blade form. He drove it into the man's chest, only to be blocked by his aura. Shoving the crazed archer off, the man fired his gun. Sable quickly swerved to the side and slashed at him, staggering him back into a trunk.

The other three raised their weapons as he immediately threw an explosive fire arrow from his quiver. The explosion stunned the soldiers long enough for Sable to knock them all out. Choosing one, he started drilling into the man's chest with his weapon.

"Die, die, die!" the archer yelled before his opponent's Aura broke.

But before he could land the killing blow, a stray blast knocked Sable to the side. He lay on his back, staring at the shattered moon.

"Well I have to admit, that was impressive. Not a lot of people have the gall to try and pull off a stunt like that on me," a voice on his right said. "Still, I wonder why some kid is in the middle of Forever Fall at a time like this."

Sable tried to stand up, but he wheezed in pain as a sudden pressure was put on his chest by a cane with a red tip.

"Don't move, psycho. I hate to put a hole in your chest."

The archer squinted his eyes and got a better look at his attacker. He wore a white trench coat with a bowler hat on his head. His orange hair dropped to the side of his face.

"The name's Roman Torchwick." He smiled. "Perhaps you've heard of me."