Chapter 41: Fate of All Huntsmen

Sun walked through the halls, making his way to Combat Training. He was still waiting for information on how the strike force had done, and as he walked into the auditorium, he saw his answer.

"Lunas!" He called, rushing over to him. "How did it go?"

"Like clockwork, we got Kaitel locked in a room with an ASH in case she has an escape Semblance." Lunas replied with a slight smile.

"Excellent! How are you? Any injuries?" Sun pulled Lunas into a hug.

"I'm fine, you don't have to worry about me." Lunas gently disengaged from the hug. "I can take care of myself."

Sun looked over to the stage, where Combat Training was getting under way. It was singles today, so everyone had to fight at least once and they had to fight one person. This gave Sun an idea.

"Let's put it to the test, one v one me bro."

"You have got to be kidding me." Lunas rolled his eyes before nodding his head. "Fine, let's go."

They walked down the aisles and found their friends sitting there.

"Hey Sun, who are you fighting?" Krystal asked. "I'm still open if you need someone."

"I'm fighting Lunas." Sun replied.

"This should be good, but I'm sure you'll win." Aurora walked over and hugged Sun, whispering into his ear. "You always do."

"Eh, it should be close, he's got invisibility on his side. You can't fight what you can't see." Sun laughed, trying to cover up the nervousness he felt.

"Well it's time to find out, get out there." Krystal gestured to the stage, where Colton and Quentin of team QUBE had just finished their match. "Colton just won."

"Ready?" Sun asked Lunas.

"Let's go."

The forest around Beacon Cliffs had been off limits for students for a while now, with Ozpin only letting groups on missions in. The Grimm had been gathering here as well, as a major trade route between Beacon and Lighthouse ran through it. It had a very sinister air to it now. The trees didn't let much sunlight through their leaves, creating patterns of shadow on the ground. The Grimm were constantly calling out to each other, seeming to communicate the positions of any humans in the area.

It was here that Lance and Tyger found themselves, walking through the woods and tightening the grip on their weapons at the slightest sound.

"Did you hear that?" Tyger asked as he heard a slithering noise, his voice wavering.

"That was me, I just sheathed and unsheathed my sword." Lance replied, looking just as scared as Tyger.

"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to take this job."

"I think you're right."

The two Beacon students stopped short as a roar echoed through the trees. They turned to face it, leaving their backs open for attack. Their bodies slumped to the ground a second later, surrounded by a rapidly growing pool of blood.

Sun looked across the arena to his brother, taking the time to admire the weapons Lunas used. They were two crossbows with simple reload mechanisms. Sun searched his brain for their names, finally finding them as the ten second countdown began: Bacari and Marisi.

'Just stay calm, you can see him with Sensor,' He thought, but the deepest recesses of his brain houses a different view. 'But Sensor can only help for a little while, your aura won't last forever.'

Further argument was interrupted as the timer struck zero and Sun shot forwards. He was mere feet away from striking Lunas, who still hadn't moved, when he disappeared. Sun looked around before dodging sideways as a crossbow bolt seemed to come out of nowhere. He rolled out of the fall and activated his Sensor, revealing everything around him. He could see his friends and fellow students in the stands, cheering the combatants on. He could see Goodwitch, who seemed invested in the fight for once. And, most importantly, he could see Lunas, who was raising his crossbows for another attempt at him.

'Got you now.' Sun thought, readying for a full-out sprint.

Lunas was in the process of shooting when Sun moved. Sun jumped sideways, letting the bolts fly harmlessly by him. He then started running forwards, directly at Lunas. He watched closely as Lunas reloaded and canceled his Sensor. Now aiming at something he couldn't see anymore, Sun lunged forward and swung his staff just as the bolts appeared in his vision. Sun met his mark, finding Lunas at the exact position that he had guessed, a meter to the left of where he had seen him before. The bolts flew by, as Lunas had expected Sun to continue on a straight trajectory. Instead, Sun had known that Lunas would fire and move, so he had adjusted accordingly.

Lunas was sent backward, not anticipating the hit. His aura fell to the orange and Sun moved forward, ready to end the fight. Lunas lay on the ground for a second, noticing that his crossbows were well out of reach. Sun stood over him for a second before bringing his staff down. The staff struck bare ground and Lunas leaped forward, bringing one of his dirks out in the process. He stabbed at Sun's leg and connected, bringing his aura down a bit. He grabbed another of his dirks and started pushing Sun back in a dazzling array of knife work. Sun was unable to keep up with both knives using his staff and so turned to one last desperate measure. He blocked both strikes and swept his tail out in front of him, forcing Lunas to step back to avoid getting hit. Sun then threw his staff directly at Lunas, who swayed to the side and laughed before being hit by one of his own dirks. Sun had stolen it when he had hit Lunas earlier and thrown it, catching Lunas off guard. Lunas' aura fell to the red and the match was called.

Ozpin steepled his hands as he stared at the report in front of him. The student who had brought him it was standing by nervously, eagerly awaiting the opportunity to leave. Ozpin sighed and put the report down for a second.

"Thank you for bringing me this. You may leave now, Jerem." He said, watching as the relieved student hurried out the door.

Ozpin turned his attention back to the report, reading over it a second time to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Apparently the death counter for students was up five hundred percent for the last few weeks. These deaths were all due to the invasion of trade routes by the Grimm population. The latest deaths were two members of Team BOLT, who had been sent on a simple recon mission. Another recon team had found them when they noticed that Lance wasn't responding on the radio. The bodies had been found mutilated and barely recognizable with an ocean of blood around them. Ozpin thought for a second before hitting a button on his desk.

"Yes?" A voice answered.

"Matt? Could you send Blade of Team BOLT in here please? I have some… information for him."

"Will do, sir."

Ozpin leaned back in his chair and sighed again, enjoying the time he had before he would have to deliver terrible news.

Sun walked over to Lunas and helped him up off the ground.

"Good fight, you almost had me." He said, smiling widely.

"That was a good idea, using my own dirk against me." Lunas replied.

The two continued talking as they walked off the stage to their friends.

"Sun!" Aurora was the first to run over, hugging her boyfriend tightly.

"Yes, thanks Aurora. And Lunas?" Sun caught his brother's eye. "You're off the hook."

Lunas sighed in relief and started on his way out before running into a very distressed Blade.

"Woah tiger, what's the matter?" He asked in a concerned voice.

Blade looked visibly hurt by Lunas' unintentionally poor choice of words.

"Tyger and Lance are… they're gone."

"No way... Blade I'm so-"

"Stop. I don't want your pity, we need to move on."

"But surely you need time…" Lunas trailed off as a resolute shake of the head was the only answer he got. "Then what's your plan now?"

"I'm with you, we have to find Blake."

"What's going on?" Sun said as he walked over.

"We lost the rest of BOLT." Lunas replied.

"...Tyger and Lance?"

"...Yes."

"How?"

"I have no idea, the fact is that they're gone. There's nothing we can do to bring them back."

All three of them hung their heads in a moment of silence before starting up the conversation again.

"We need to stop losing people, our mental states can't keep taking these hits."

"I agree," Lunas turned his attention to Blade again. "Can you make me a drone?"

"What kind do you want?" Blade looked happy to get off the topic of death.

"I want one that can send electrical shocks in varying degrees."

"I can have one made in half an hour, how soon do you need it?"

"I need it for the interrogation, can you bring it as soon as it's done to the ASH room?"

"Absolutely. I'll stay to watch too, I want to see how well it works."

"Thanks, go ahead and do that."

Blade left and Sun laid a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"Don't be inhumane about it." He said.

"I'll go as far as it takes to make her talk."

Sun shook his head and turned away.

"Just don't go too far." He muttered.

Lunas took a seat opposite Kaitel. She looked about ready to chew his head off. Unluckily for her, Lunas was just as ready to do the same.

"You know why we want you?" He asked in a very calm voice.

Kaitel refused to talk.

"You don't? Well let me tell you. You are a member of an organization called the White Fang, one of the top leaders, in fact. You are also a member of the Vespers, a group of criminal masterminds bent on God knows what. Sound familiar?"

Kaitel just glared at him, forcing Lunas to show his hand earlier than he had expected.
"If you do not comply, I have a few things that I can use to make you talk."

A very brief glimpse of fear found its way into Kaitel's eyes before being quickly covered up. Lunas saw it and allowed a slight smile onto his face, a smile that never reached his eyes.

"Would you like that?" Lunas pressed a button and called out. "Blade, bring in the drone."

Blade walked in, presented the drone, and left again.

"This is a shock drone. If you don't talk, this thing will make you. Now let me ask again: Will you willingly talk?"

Kaitel spit, missing him and landing on the ground behind him.

"Alright then, let's get started."

Lunas activated the drone, watching as it flew up into the air and targeted Kaitel.

"Where is the location of Blake Belladonna?"

Kaitel didn't respond, instead choosing to brace herself. Lunas signaled to Blade in the control room and the drone moved closer to her. It began to wind up, giving Kaitel more and more time to regret her decision. Finally, a bolt of electricity shot out of the machine. Kaitel sat and took it before speaking for the first time, a mocking smile coming across her face.

"That all you got?"

Author's Note:
Happy belated Halloween! I hope everyone had a great time trick or treating (even you 30 year olds). I enjoyed the quiet of my room, where I played video games all day. Also, is anyone else excited for the release of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare? The Day Zero Edition is coming out tommorow and I will be getting that. Anyways, all irl things aside, thank you all for reading this chapter of ASITD. If you enjoyed, don't forget to follow, favorite, and review. Chas1881