Author's Note: Well, i honestly didn't think that i would be doing this because of what was going on with Desertion: Part Two, but i mean it's been one year since i made the sequel, and so far i think it's been my favorite installment of the series to write, mostly because of how different it is from the first part… and because it's honestly a lot less cringy, so yeah XD.
Also, this is a Two-Shot, (a two-chapter only story for those who don't know) that will take place almost a year before Gage is even born, and like the description said, it will be about his mother, father, and his father's older brother, Emrus Sim. And this story IS CANON TO THE DESERTION AU/SERIES. So just remember that in the future.
And lastly, I just want to say that there is a huge inspiration for this, which I will make a reference to, but tell me if you guys actually have any guesses towards it! I'd like to see you try. Anyway, thank you guys for the wonderful journey you've made for me so far, and I hope I can create a good one for you all, (and Gage and Yang) to experience together.
But a fair warning, the pace of this chapter may be a little fast mostly because of how much I'm trying to cram into this first one, but other than that… to another great year, and hopefully another installment to the series after Part Two! Thank you all!
DatRtfantho Presents:
Búcsú Testvér: Another Desertion Story
…
"You know… you never told me what happened the day we found you. What led up to all that."
"Do I have to tell you?"
"No… but I'd still like to hear it.'
"*sigh* ...Alright. Fine. Where would you like to start?"
"From the beginning. Obviously."
…
Eighteen Years before the events of RWBY: Desertion…
…
(*The Who's, Baba O'Riley begins to play aloud*)
~Out here in the fields… i fight for my meals! I get my back into my living!~
~...I don't need to fight, to prove i'm right! I don't need to be forgiven, yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!~
"*sigh*"
The old song was coming through the car stereo of an old olive colored 1976 Ford explorer, which would occasionally crank and sputter as it was driving down the old Mistral road that was lying in it's path, which would have frustrated the driver… if he wasn't anxious to reach his destination.
At this moment, the driver, who was named Emrus Sim, was looking at himself through the mirror that was attached to the inside of the driver side sun visor, and he sighed, not because of the song, but just the fact that he didn't think he looked in his best at the moment.
He looked to be twenty five, and was built averagely with light blue colored eyes, light brown hair, and a pair of dark brown bear faunus ears, that he honestly thought made him a lot less threatening in general…
...But that was irrelevant now, as he was off to go visit his adopted younger brother Gaigus, and his wife Miriam, since their father, Marcus, told him that the human couple had something to tell him, and that he also had to go and give them an important message in return.
This happened earlier that morning, right after he had gone night hunting with some of his friends from the village he and his brother grew up in, and the one that their father was also the head of, which was why he had a few guns in the back of his car, but
that wasn't the only reason that they were there however...
Gaigus use to live there at the village until he had gotten married, and had left around a year ago off to their own little ranch house off into the woods to be by their lonesome… and, that's why Emrus left his village as fast as he could.
He'd get a letter or two from his little brother once a month, talking about his job working for Atlesian engineers from his little home, and the various 'honeymoons' he'd have with Miriam… but that was it.
Nothing else was out of the ordinary, until the letter that had been delivered to Marcus Sim earlier that morning, which urged him to push his eldest son out to visit his brother, and he wouldn't even hint at what had been said in it. And that eventually led to this moment in particular.
But, after some continuous and boring driving down the same old road, listening to the same song on repeat, and occasionally checking himself out in the mirror, Emrus eventually found the small dirt road that would turn into the part of the forest on his right side.
And that, was when he finally laid his eyes upon his brother's house. Like mentioned before, it was a medium sized ranch house with a large front porch and railings that were all painted white. But how he knew it was the couple's home, was because of the two brown rocking chairs that had been put on the porch, and there was also the fact that they were both sitting on their porch…
They were both there, with Gaigus sitting down in one, while Miriam sat in his lap… with an old and familiar Model 1887 shotgun resting in her arms as they both looked out towards the road, and started to lean upwards once they saw Emrus's truck, but Miriam honestly looked more interested than her husband.
"Heh, stupid lovebirds…" He sighed with a smile as he put his truck in park, and opened up the driver's side door.
He exited his truck, and just watched with another laugh as Miriam hopped off of Gaigus, and… suddenly aimed her shotgun, which was a Model Type 1887 shotgun, named, 'Mistletoe', at his truck before she fired it, and blew open the dirt that was right in front of her brother-in-law's front tires.
That caused him to just jump, and look down at his feet with caution before he glared back at Miriam, and watched as she rested the front of her weapon's barrel atop of her shoulder before she and her husband just started to laugh uncontrollably.
"What the hell?!"
She covered her mouth, to of course try and contain her laughter as she closed her eyes, and tried to wave him off… but accidentally showed her own drunken blush. "Hahaha! Sorry Emmy, he dared me to!"
Miriam may have been a little drunk too… but she still managed to keep her balance, despite being a little… underdressed, wearing only a light olive green sundress with one of it's straps hanging loosely off of her shoulders.
She was… definitely something, to say the least.
Miriam stood at an average 5'8, built averagely with a little more muscle than your average woman, but still looked as normal as any other. She had short blonde hair that was all brushed to one side, with the sides of her hair looking something similar to a fade, and she had... lightly colored lilac eyes.
That was something of an uncommon trait for the people in Mistral, and it was the same case with Gaigus, but it wasn't the only thing different about her, considering that she also had a silver-colored metal left leg, that matched her limb's physique perfectly, to replace the one she had lost the day after she actually met her future husband.
To the people of Mistral, she would look exotic, since she hailed from Vale. And did look like it, which was one reason why Gaigus was so drawn to her when he met her whilst she, and her Team of two Huntsmen and another Huntress, crossed through their village for a place to stay around five years ago.
He set his eyes on her the minute their father allowed the Team to stay in their guest(s) bedroom, so she did… and the rest was history. They met, dated for a while. Got married… and now, a whole new chapter in their life was about to begin.~
Emrus turned to Gaigus, and just stared at him critically with squinted eyes once he saw that he too had been drinking, but actually wasn't as destroyed as he looked in reality. "Stupid jackass wanna-be redneck!" Emrus mumbled under his breath.
He was just wearing some ripped, light brown jeans, and a dark-green collared hoodie, and looked… about the same as his son would in the future at this moment, with the only difference being the thicker facial hair and more apparent beard, and also his green eyes.
The younger of the two brothers then chuckled, and just leaned up out of his chair so he could pick up an old and randomly placed ukulele that was lying on the ground next to him, "Hehe, What? That's what country couples do ain't it?"
"Do what, try to kill or fuck their siblings?"
"Pfft, no! Sit on their porch and just blow the shit out of anything that moves!" He then plucked a few strings of his ukulele again and let out another chuckle as he turned, and silently tried to play the cords of the first random thing that came to his buzzed mind, David Bowie's Space Oddity.
But his older brother wasn't having it, and immediately swiped the instrument before he could begin, causing Miriam to move over to Gaigus and put one arm around him defensively, "Emrusss, be mad at me instead! He didn't actually think i'd go ahead and do it…."
"The only thing I can be mad at you for is letting my little brother corrupt you..."
The couple both exhaled with a small chuckle before Emrus let out a sigh of relief, and watched as Miriam set Mistletoe down against the fence of their porch, and turned back to him slowly. "All he did is teach me how to enjoy life a little bit better than how I did before… and now… I don't think I can go on without him. Hehe, even if he is a dumbass."
Emrus grasped his forehead, and grumbled to himself again, as he didn't want to be the reason they started to talk all mushy about each other again. They did it all the time when they lived back at the village, and he honestly would rather be shot at again than listen to them talk about their 'wuv' for each other!'.
"I'm just saying, you never drank before you met him. Maybe… you shouldn't go along with everything that he does?"
Gaigus then nudged his older brother and wrapped one of his arms around him, with a smirk, and just rolled his eyes. "Oh come on! I'm not that bad of an influence... at least in my own eyes." He said this, and just looked away so he could let his smile disappear again, and look back towards his wife.
He did this o he could nod at her with a humble smile, ad look down at her belly while she began to blush again, but more sincerely. "And besides, she's not going to be able to drink for the next nine months anyway, so why not let her get blacked out one last time?"
"Nine months?" Emrus asked her, before choosing to squint at her again, since he felt more than confused about what was going on now. "...Are you going to rehab or something Miriam?"
"Um… No?" That was when she turned and looked back at her brother in-law with confusion, and smiled weirdly as Gaigus moved over to her, and put his arm around her, "Didn't you read the letter we sent you guys? Cuz' if you did, you'd know there's a pretty big and obvious reason why."
"I didn't actually. Dad did though, and just told me to come out here and visit you guys, so… what's going on that's so important?"
Gaigus's eyes became more focused on his wife, and they drifted away from looking like he was drunk, to a more peaceful expression that gave Emrus a wrong idea, at least to him. And soon enough, Miriam blushed once her husband went silent. So… she just looked up into Emrus's sky blue eyes, and put one hand on her belly as she smiled, and finally spilled the beans…
"We're having a baby!"
Her mood changed almost completely, and she lunged at her brother-in-law so she could pull him in for a big hug! Although, it didn't help that Emrus's jaw immediately dropped in shock as he looked at his brother, and could only voice what he was thinking right then and there,
"YOU'RE WHAT?!"
…
He proceeded to have a bit of a breakdown for an unknown reason, but the couple luckily managed to calm him down by inviting him into their home, and giving him a cup of coffee to help him reflect on his actions.
Now, he was sitting at their kitchen counter, and was looking out into their home's living room, just staring at Miriam and Gaigus as they were sitting together comfortably on their couch, and looking back at Emrus blankly.
His hands were shaking as he felt his hot cup, and he nervous drank from it while the steam coming from it just kept rising out of the mug, "Okay, I'm not tying to be mean, but… you're twenty three! Why are you guys already wanting a kid?!"
"Well… accidents happen, and-"
"Gaigus! It is not an accident!" Miriam yelled as she swatted his shoulder hard, and blushed at the same time. "Relax, I'm just kidding!"
"*sigh* ...Can you cut that shit for one goddamn second?!" Emrus flinched and let out another sigh, but that only caused his older brother to glare over at him and squeeze his mug even harder as he yelled at him, again, "It pretty much sounds like you're already gonna treat this first born of yours like a pet!"
"Alright, alright I'm sorry." Gaigus apologized, and right as he put his hand out in front of himself to signal his brother to remain calm, "But this is how I act when I'm happy, and I genuinely am. I've been wanting to do this, and right now I have nothing to lose."
"-And think about it! Me and Miriam both have incredible jobs, great pay, a home, and an extended family to give us pointers. And now, we won't have to worry when we're in our forties about 'trying' and it not working for us-."
"Please don't get into that…" Emrus interrupted him.
"Well either way, there's no going back for us now." Miriam then sighed as well, and looked over at her brother in law again as she just leaned back a bit. "And we already did some planning for a few months, and we still have nine more to figure some things out too… so why can't you just be happy for us?"
She asked this while she also put one hand on her belly, and looked down at herself, which was right when Emrus noticed some growth there already, and felt a little bit of guilt come over him. "I am, it's just…. *sigh* …have you even thought up of a name for it yet?'
"Yes, for both a boy and a girl."
"If it's a she, then she'll be named Guinevere…" The soon to be mother then leaned against the elder ghost, and rested her head on his shoulder as he too looked down at her stomach, "...And if it's a boy-"
"He'll be another Gaigus Sim. Hehe, my little junior…" Gaigus chuckled.
"Heh, yeah... no colorful names for this family just yet…" Miriam smiled as well, but looked kind of unsatisfied. Almost like she didn't like that name, or she just didn't like her husband's rush to name their child after himself. This prompted Emrus to look away, and drone to himself, "Egh…"
"What?"
"N-Nothing, that one just… seems really narcissistic to me." He replied, making Gaigus squint his eyes at his older brother while his wife dawn an actual legitimate smile, "Well if that's the case, then what do you have in mind?" He asked Emrus.
The bear faunus shrugged at first and froze after being put on the spot like that… but, soon started to actually ponder about a name that sounded right, and admittedly, didn't end with '-us'.
And once he took in consideration that they both picked out a boy and girl name with the letter 'G', one name finally came to mind that wasn't too bland, or sounded too outlandish. He thought it was perfect even,
"How about… 'Gage'? It's Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, and-"
"-T-The ladies will love it!" Miriam cut him off, right before she raised her hand and stuttered while she also gave him a thumbs up, but made sure for it to be out of her husband's view, "Hehe, t-this one already does!"
"Hmph… well, like you said 'hon, we still have nine more months to decide."
Gaigus shrugged off their attempt to give him a hint though, and proceeded to stand up, and kiss Miriam on the top of her head before he decided to walk back over towards his older brother.
That, was when he looked at him again… and saw that he was still visibly disheveled for some reason. His eyes were wide and he was stating off into space while his hands shook a bit, but also while he was still holding his coffee mug.
This… was never usually the case with Emrus either. He was usually calm and collected, and the only times he would really freak out was when he was angry or startled, like earlier. But these new mannerisms… seemed entirely new and random.
So of course, Gaigus decided to poke at his brother to see what was the matter with him, "You know Emrus, even after that whole conversation… you look a lot more worried than you did before. So, is there still something else wrong?" He asked him.
The blue eyed faunus shook his head and tried to contain himself as he tried to explain his situation to them both without trying to cause himself to let loose everything…
...But that was exactly what happened, as he put his elbows on their kitchen counter, and stared at his little brother with pure rage as he raised his voice, and slammed one of his hands down onto the hard surface of the countertop,
"The timing of this is just… all wrong. Why couldn't you two have told me sooner? Told the rest of us all sooner?!"
His outburst made the couple both jump up, but Miriam was more surprised out of the two by Emrus, to the point where she stood up and stared at him wildly, as if he was about to punch her husband or something.
"Whoa, whoa! What the hell is up with you?!" Gaigus asked him with raised hands as they were clearly being shown in a defensive stance. "We just thought it'd be a nice surprise!"
"It's not that Gaigus!" He then stood up as well, and continued to ramble on a little too quickly, but soon enough something he muttered caught his younger brother's attention, "...Something happened back home, something that I was suppose to tell you about… but now I don't even want to."
The couple both looked at each other for a few seconds before the older ghost turned towards Emrus, looking beyond worried, and put his hands on the countertop as he leaned over it, and looked directly into his brother's eyes, "...What is it?"
"...It's the White Fang. They're back."
Gaigus stopped and slowly let his hands fall back to his side before Miriam looked at both of their horrified expressions with confusion, "Aren't they that peaceful faunus equality group?" She asked, as she took her husband's hand and looked into his eyes.
"...No." Her husband shook his head, and it even looked like all the color had been drained from his face, and replaced with dull grayness. "The group here is different from the rest of them… way different."
She caressed his palm, put her hand against the side of his head so she could brush his hair, and press herself against him so she could try and comfort him delicately, "What did they try to do? A-And why did they come back to your village?!"
Emrus looked down, and contemplated blabbing about the entire situation or not… but she was already this deep in because of him and her husband, so he didn't see any point in letting any more spill.
"We had a system set up with them when i was still one of them, that our village would give them our crops for food when they traveled to the different kingdoms and protested… but after i left two years back… things changed with them."
He had joined the White Fang when he was only twenty years old, and supported them for three years until the influence of faunus extremists left an impact on some of his fellow members, and he just wanted to get away before it got to him.
So he did leave, but only after the information about his brother Gaigus getting his new home job with the Atlesian Military was made clear to the rest of the members he knew well, which… made everything worse for his family.
"They didn't like the fact that a once loyal member had an adopted human brother that worked for Atlas, and it escalated to the point where the only thing they cared about were our food… and this last month… we had nothing to give them."
Gaigus just let out a very exasperated breath, and ran his own hand through his hair as he turned around, and just started to pace back and forth while Emrus went on. Miriam simply let go of him, and leaned her back against the kitchen counter as she just chose to sit quiet, and watch the two slowly begin to mirror each other's emotions,
"Last week, men came, and threatened to force us to leave so they could build a camp for themselves, but we still refused. Even had an armed standoff…" Emrus said, as he finally moved out of their kitchen and towards his little brother again.
"The last thing they said to us, was that they would bathe our fields in our own blood…"
Gaigus huffed… and looked over towards the front door of his home, which was where a rusty fire axe was lying, right next to the door. "Dad sent you here to tell us about this, didn't he?"
They used the thing to gather wood for their fireplace when it would be chilly outside, but now it seemed he wanted to use it for a completely different purpose, since the bear faunus just nodded slowly, and confirmed his suspicion.
"...I wish i knew about your baby sooner."
"Well, there's no changing that now..."
It was at this moment when Miriam looked away and scowled for a few seconds before she let out another sigh, and walked off into her and her husband's bedroom… more or less to get prepared, for something that she knew was imminent.
Meanwhile, the two brothers just stood there in silence for a few more minutes until Gaigus covered his eyes, and stood in front of the fire axe, almost like he was already preparing to go outside and cut something with it. "*sigh* ...You have your phone on you? If something's going to happen, then I at least want to hear from Dad before that."
Emrus nodded again, and pulled out an old flip phone as he too sighed, and slowly handed it to him as he turned and decides to sit down on the armrest of the couple's couch. "...Yeah, Sure. Here."
"Thanks... " The older ghost took it, and was about to lean against his front door as he opened the phone… until it suddenly began to ring all by itself. And strangely enough… the caller I.D. listed their father as the contact who was calling.
The phone began to ring, and it made both of the brothers jump as Gaigus stared down at it strangely before he turned to Emrus, and he pointed at the cellular with a trembling finger. "W… What the hell? It's dad!"
"Answer it, and put him on speaker!"
Gaigus hesitantly nodded, and opened the phone before he and his brother both sighed, and answered it together, only to be greeted be a loud and scratchy transmission coming from the other end of their call.
It sounded like… wind was blowing heavily, and there were small pops that could be heard here and there, along with some talking, and yelling. That was when the finally heard their father's voice, but it sounded like he was on the run, and panting.
"Dad, what's going on? You don't sound good on the other end!"
Their father, Marcus didn't know that they were both there, and he couldn't exactly explain the whole situation to them at the moment… so, he instead chose to yell at them both through the phone, to make his warning as clear as possible.
"EM, THEY'RE HERE! DON'T COME BACK, AND GET YOU AND YOUR BROTHER AS FAR AWAY FROM MISTRAL AS POSSIBLE!"
"What?!"
Now all the noise in the background made a lot more sense. That rushing wind… was
actually a multitude of raging fires, those popping sounds were gunshots, and all that yelling… was screaming coming from the other villagers. Their family...
Now, the two brothers realized that their home was under siege, and they were both not close enough to help. But not too far away… not yet at least. "FUCK!"
Emrus growled under his breath, and just took the phone away from his brother so he could look down, and yell his response at it while Gaigus put his hands on his head in utter disbelief, and started to seethe with rage just as well,
"Dad, I'm coming back there by myself. Get yourself and whoever you can out of there before it's too late!"
"WHAT? NO! NO DON'T-AGH!"
Before their father Marcus could finish his sentence, he cried out in pain and the call immediately dropped, leaving them both in silence to worry about their home. "Dad?! Rrrgh, FUCK!"
Soon enough the 'busy' tone started to blare, and Gaigus closed the flip phone angrily before he threw it back at Emrus, picked up the hatchet that was next to him, and he started to open the door with his other hand. "*sigh* ...Em, I'm going over there, and you can't stop me!"
The bear faunus caught his cell, and was about to run after his younger brother to keep him from leaving, but they heard a loud thud come from behind them, making them both stop and turn around.
Behind them… was a very determined looking Miriam, and she was standing there with her metal foot going through the floorboards because she had just stomped that foot so hard that it went though.
"Did you two forget about me?" She looked at both of them while she was holding a duffle bag filled with her own Huntress gear, and it nearly made Emrus scream no at her, as she started to walk towards her husband again, "They're my family too, and I'm not going to wait here while you two go and get yourselves killed."
She then walked ahead of him, and passed him right as he reached out to her, and was surprised to see that Gaigus's expression was unchanged by her statement. "You can't, Miriam, you just told me that you're pregnant!" Emrus nearly shouted.
"Well too bad, because I'd at least like my baby to have grandparents by the time it's born!" And so, she went ahead and out the door right as her husband opened it for her.
He simply stood there, and watched as she walked down their porch and over to Emrus's truck, where she promptly opened up it's back doors and threw her duffle bag inside.
Gaigus followed up on her resilience, as he too went out the door, walked down the porch stairs, and was about to head for the truck as well... but not before he turned towards the two pillars at the front of their porch, and embedded his hatchet deep into the side of the right pillar.
This was an old tradition of some old faunus tribes, and whenever a war or skirmish against another tribe would begin, their chief would bury a hatchet into the trunk of a tree, and remove it once the conflict was over.
His brother knew immediately what he was trying to say, and what it seemed like both of them were going to go and do, and he was praying for Gaigus not to go with him, and the same went for Miriam. "Gaigus, come on! She's your wife!" He yelled whilst gesturing towards her.
However, that didn't do anything, as the older ghost turned his back to him, and continued to walk out towards his brother's truck, as he also picked Mistletoe up from the floor of their porch,
"She's also a full-fledged Huntress, and she's definitely more experienced for a combat situation than me and you are. And I can't just leave her here either, the Fang might come looking for us out here too."
"But-"
"*sigh* ...Throughout our life together, we've established that you're the wise one, and I'm the lucky one. Haven't we?" Gaigus asked, as he turned and held Mistletoe up with one had questionably.
This prompted Emrus to walk out the front door of the ranch house and point at his little brother incriminatingly, almost like he was going to say something.
But, nothing came out. Mostly because he couldn't exactly denounce that claim, and that he couldn't think of anything else to say to change the subject. So, Gaigus just continued and smiled at the same time,
"Then this'll determine if some of my own luck has rubbed off on her. Now come on, I'll drive!"
He finished by turning around and walking away again, and when he got to the vehicle, Emrus knee that if he didn't go that they would take it from him and leave him there by himself.
And of course, the last thing he wanted was for The White Fang to come and figure out that this ranch belonged to their family, and could be used as a secret safehouse in the future. So, he had no choice but to go along for the ride!
"Grr… if we make it through this, then I'm naming your kid myself!"
"Not happening!" Miriam yelled back at him with a smile as she turned towards Gaigus, and watched as he tossed Mistletoe over towards her. "I thought you liked the name I picked…" Emrus mumbled as he closed their home's door behind himself.
He slammed their home's door in frustration, and ran over towards the passenger side of his truck while his little brother laughed, and pointed at himself with another smirk,
"Sorry brother, but I told you Gaigus is what the lady likes!" And to even prove his point further, Gaigus turned to his wife and shrugged his arms like he was trying to get a laugh out of her while she cracked a tiny half-smile, "Am I right, or am I right 'Miri?" He asked her.
"*sigh* ...Just get in the car honey."
…
Twenty Minutes Later…
…
~-Every now and then I fall apart! And I need you now tonight! And I need you more than ever! And if you only hold me tight, we'll be holding on forever!~
The three of them managed to drive about ten miles down the road before Bonnie Tyler's Total Eclipse of The Heart began playing on their radio calmly.
...Though, not that long after, they started to expect trouble as well… specifically, they slowed down from being at top speed as they passed two other white trucks that were parked inside of the forest, just deep enough so that they couldn't be seen right off the bat.
However, they were quickly noticed because of how anxious the two brothers and the huntress were, and after the two vehicles started to follow them, Gaigus slowed down and just tried to act natural…
"They're still following us, right?" He asked aloud, making his brother nod and just nudge him to keep him from looking at the vehicles, "Just keep driving, that way they can't make us stop without hitting us."
"Why do i think they're going to do just that?"
"Don't think about it. Just keep looking ahead, and we'll be fine." Miriam said, as she leaned her head in between them, since she was in the back, and she just kissed her husband's cheek.
Also, the main reason why she was sitting back there was because she had decided to awkwardly change into her Huntress gear, in case of any future combat of course.
But that was besides the point, as soon enough, the two pursuing trucks accelerated to the point where they were each on both sides of Emrus's own truck equally, and they were able to look inside the driver's cabin as well…
"*sigh* ...Shit…"
They recognized them immediately, and the driver on the left side scowled before he honked his horn, and the other truck did the same but held it down longer.
Gaigus started to sweat, and just hesitantly signaled for them to go around him like he would any other annoying driver, still trying to act natural. "Please go around…"
That only resulted in louder honks from them, and just when the action was seemingly starting to slowly rise… the faunus in the passenger seat of the truck on the ghost's side revealed a pistol, and knocked it's barrel against their window, right when it was starting to roll down…
"Speed up!"
The driver on the other side then leaned back in his seat, and let his passenger aim a rifle through his window, and pointed it at Em. "OH FUCK, DOWN!-"
The bear faunus put his hand over his brother's head, and they both ducked down as the rounds started to fly, and tore apart the windshield of their truck while Miriam ducked as well… but cocked Mistletoe at the same time.
She growled to herself, and realized that with her being in the back, the two cars may not have seen her… and that was a benefit on her part. So with that knowledge, she stuck her shotgun out in between the two brothers, turned it to the right, and fired.
"*BANG!*"
The shot rang out and shattered the passenger window, and she killed the man driver immediately, but the faunus with the rifle just held onto the wheel and made sure that the car was steady enough as it did it's best to continue in the pursuit.
Although, more pops came from the truck on the left, and soon enoug it began to move closer, and closer while the other car de-accelerated.
And just as Gaigus pushed down as hard as he could on the gas pedal, everyone felt the enemy vehicle as it attempted to use the pit maneuver on them, with the front of their car ramming sideways into the back left of their own.
The crash irked them all violently, and unfortunately, Gaigus didn't lock his door when they left… so he slammed into it, disengaging his lock, and nearly fell out of the car as their enemy recovered.
His door flung all the way open, and he went with it halfway until his entire upper torso was hanging out of the car, with his back only mere inches away from the black road that was moving under him.
Somehow, he managed to keep his legs inside, with one of his feet still pressed down on the gas, and his brother managed to grab onto the steering wheel before they could swerve off of the road.
The ghost's lower back was pretty much the only thing that was touching the bottom of his car seat, and he had to thank his seatbelt for this save, since it looked like it was the only thing that kept him from falling out… somehow.
Now, he kind of nervously smiled back at his sibling, and was about to reach for his seat and try to climb back inside of the car… but that was until his looked to his right and saw that the truck that had hit them was speeding up, and could rip him in half if their front bumper touched into him.
However… he also had a perfect view of the driver, and of course, being one with keen senses, Miriam noticed this as well and cocked Mistletoe once again as she leaned in between the two front car seats… and towards her lover.
He turned and looked back to her just to watch as she turned her shotgun around, and held it by the barrel before she inched the thing's stock right out of the truck's doorway, and just enough so he could actually take it from her.
~Together me and you can take it to the end of the night-~
"HONEY!" Gaigus knew what she was trying to do, but tensed up instantly thanks to how weird, awkward, and intense their situation currently… but thankfully, Miriam knew just what to say to bring him back into reality…
"Blast those motherfuckers!"
His eyes lit up, and he immediately took hold of Mistletoe with a scowl aimed towards his enemy, right as he leaned back out the doorway, and hesitantly pointed the barrel to the front right of the other truck…
~Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time! -All of the time!~
...Then, he took a breath, close one of his eyes and finally pulled the trigger. The round discharged, and nearly blew apart the front of the vehicle, thanks to the fire dust that Miriam managed to bring with her.
To say that the driver was destroyed by the blast was an understatement, and this triggered the vehicle to swerve as Gaigus took his foot off of the gas and was finally able to lean back up into his seat, and close his door again.
Emrus sighed with relief once he saw the enemy truck lazily accelerate ahead of them, while it's horn was blaring continuously as the other was starting to do the same as well.
But, of course, something else happened that neither Miriam or Em saw coming. And that was for Gaigus to growl at their attackers, and jerk the steering wheel of his brother's truck to the left so he could rear end the driverless car, and cause it to turn to the right… which ended up being in the direction of the other truck.
Thus caused a tremendous roar that was their collision, and the two enemy cars went onto be pushed and thrown into the forest on the right side of the road, all while the ghost laughed hysterically and just drove past them. "Ahahahahaha!" He managed sounded both a little tired, and crazed at the same time.
Though, his laughter stopped when a large explosion later came from the behind them, where the two vehicles had landed inside of the brush. All three of them pretty much froze in shock and went quiet after that… but only until Emrus sighed yet again, because of the bullet riddled mess that now was his truck…
"God damn cults..."
…
Later...
…
After their small chase ended, Gaigus went back to steering as carefully as he could along the forest-surrounded road, and all three of them just kept their weapons in between their legs as the bumpy road made them bounce off of the floor a bit.
They all kept silent, and just tried their best to listen to their truck's radio, which was ironically playing Lou Reed's Perfect Day, at a volume that was in between being loud and quiet.
~Just a perfect day…. Drank Sangria in the park, then later... it gets dark, we go home...~
The elder ghost shook and lowered his head at this point before he just pressed his foot down even more onto the gas pedal… until he blinked a few more times, and suddenly saw their destination appear in front of them in the distance, looking like they had just teleported there.
It was their village alright, Gënten, and the speed of their vehicle began to slow the second they laid eyes on it. Because sadly for them, many of it's buildings had been demolished, and the ones that weren't had already been set ablaze.
"Oh god…" Gaigus mumbled, as he slowed their truck to a stop, right in front of their village's sign that was next to a folded-over cornfield. The two brothers soon just opened the door that was on their own sides of the car, and they slowly hopped out with their weapons in hand.
~Ohhh it's such a perfect day! I'm glad i spent it with you!~
They both watched in horror, and took in a deep breath that only resulted in them breathing in the smell of their burning home, along with the scent smoke and cinders as well.
Meanwhile, Miriam was just sitting in the back seat of the truck with her head in her hands, all while Mistletoe rested on top of her lap and Perfect Day just went on, and echoed out of the vehicle's open door,
~Oh, such a perfect day! You just keep me hangin' on!-You just keep me hangin' on!~
This haunting song continued on for a few more seconds, until more screams could be heard from somewhere further inside of the village, and that was enough for Miriam to get out and follow her husband, as he just started to walk off towards the burning town.
Emrus did the same after he closed the doors of his truck so the song couldn't be heard anymore, and they all started off into a jog towards Genten's center.
He was armed with a Norinco type 81 assault rifle, while his brother just had an old M1 Garand, and Miriam of course had Mistletoe at her side as she and the Sim brothers just cocked their weapons in unison before they broke into an all out sprint, in search of Marcus.
With each building that they passed, they would be met with an either sad, or chilling sight for them to try and forget. There was the destroyed house with more than one person sticking out from under the rubble, an old tavern that had been doused with gas, and alcohol before being set ablaze with it's customers and workers still inside, and of course the local farm with the bodies of it's slaughtered livestock scattered across the front of it's barn.
These were only a few of the things they could recount clearly in their rush, and it may have been better that way. But eventually, Gaigus and Emrus turned a corner, and found themselves at the town center… where their childhood home would have been standing.
Instead, it looked to have been blown up from the inside, with all the rubble and debris surrounding the outside of the home… just as four armed White Fang soldiers stood in line, and were simply taking in the full extent of their destruction.
"I saw… everyone that I grew up with dead that day, except my brother… though, now he's dead too. Even my father didn't make it. The moment I saw our house, i knew he was there. I just… didn't think that it would be the last time I would see him…"
Emrus took a step ahead of everyone else and was already ready to ambush the squad with everyone else… but, that was until he was able to spot an injured Marcus as he was lying on the ground, unmoved as one of the soldiers had his rifle's barrel pressed against the chief's temple.
Their father was of course a bear faunus, but had grey short hair, a shaggy beard, and sky blue eyes that looked… peaceful, even though he already knew what was coming.
"I'm sorry it had to come to this."
"*cough* ...So am i."
He smiled genuinely, and let his eyes slowly begin to close on their own… until a random gunshot rang out, and a bullet went right through the skull of the man standing over Marcus. The faunus just leaned forward a bit, and fell to the side as his three other men turned, and froze as they watched the three friends begin to fire blindly at them.
They were matched equally in numbers then, and so, Miriam just blew out the chest of one of the troopers with Mistletoe, Gaigus headshotted another, and Em riddled the third and final one with his entire magazine.
All three of the men fell back onto the ground dead, and Gaigus looked over at his father, thought without even making sure that none of them would get up afterwards. "DAD!"
Marcus's eyes opened again, though barely, and he just looked up as he watch both of his sons run towards him… and suddenly stop in their tracks. This… was because the father had a large bullet wound in his abdomen, and the blood was already spread out and dried while more would soon slowly wash over it.
The sight of it just made Miriam cover her mouth with one hand while Emrus lowered his weapon, and held onto it with one hand as he put one hand on his forehead, and closed his eyes with a shaky breath. But Gaigus took two steps forward, and got onto his knees as he looked down at his father, and moved his hand off of the wound.
Marcus had been covering it with… a sage bandana, and it was barely even dry at this point. "Boys, *cough* ...w… why did you come back?" He asked his sons, as he still kept his smile going.
His youngest son's wife, moved a little closer, and stood beside her husband as she too tried to smile, but she was still barely able to hold back her tears.
"i… i wanted our kid to have grandparents, and we… we wanted to see if we could at least save you. *sniffle* ...But…"
"God, this is all my fault!" The ghost growled through a slowly seething rage that was aimed towards himself.
"...Don't." Marcus whispered, as he kept his head laid back onto the surface of what use to be his home, and looked up towards the grey and stormy sky that was above them all. "It's... my own fault for thinking that my kind wasn't susceptible to using the same type of discrimination that i have faced all my life…"
"...Yet, even though it may be my time, that doesn't mean that it should be yours either Gaigus."
Then, he turned to his son, and let go of the bandana, so he could grip his youngest son's wrist, and looked over towards his wife's belly, which he started to point at.
"You have the blessing of a new life… one that you'll be in charge of for the rest of your life… that means no more throwing caution to the wind, like how you're always known do."
"Yeah, i know…" Gaigus nodded, and hesitantly smiled back at his brother whilst he rubbed his eyes, and kept both of his hand's on top of his father's. "Y... You and Em know that i just act like that for attention… the piece of shit that i am."
"It's who you are... There's no reason to be ashamed." But, Marcus shook his head, and sighed when he could see all the regret in the ghost's green eyes. "All that matters now, is that you'll end up being a good father for your child... "
"Y… You know that i will. I'm..." Gaigus was about to go off talking about himself again, when he remembered that obviously he couldn't go on without his beloved. So… he looked back at Miriam with a half-smile, before continuing, "-We're going to raise the shit out of this kid."
"Hmhm… If so… then start now. Leave this place, and… *cough* ...and never look back. Remember everything that i've taught you, and… more, if you ever seem lost and need something to guide you…"
He went on and on, seemingly rambling about what he should do if times were to become troubling for the couple and their future child… but all three of them could tell that his voice was growing hoarse and more quiet, indicating that… he didn't have long for this world.
Though, luckily enough for him, Gaigus still had his older brother to help him in a time of need… for now at least. "...And… Emrus. Make sure that the three of them don't get into any trouble in the future..." Marcus said this as he turned over to his eldest son, and was unphased by the fact that he was now was shedding quiet manly tears,
"D... Don't you worry, i've already been looking after him since we were kids. So there ain't no chance in hell i'm letting him get killed before me."
"...Good… *gasp!*" The elder Sim gasped in pained, and let go of Gaigus's hand before he turned to his side, and coughed up some blood… but also looked to be not surprised by it at all. "Oh no!" Miriam cried.
"I… It's time." Marcus whispered this as the three crowded over him, and watched as he reached out to them all, but with a hand that seemingly couldn't be raised off of the ground."Gaigus, Emrus, Miraim… i'm glad i could see all of you again… one last time..."
"Now… g… go, and live… for me…"
Marcus Sim, the father of the two brothers, and the would be grandfather of Gage Sim… died that day, surrounding by his only remaining loved ones. But as happy as he could be nonetheless. I'm just glad it sounds better on paper than how it really happened.
His eyes remained slightly opened, and his smile was kept until the light faded from his blue eyes, and they became darker. Only then did his expression become blank and dead.
When he finally passed, Miriam let out a breath and a sniffle as she looked away, and Emrus pretty much did the same, but instead looked downwards and was more quiet.
As for Gaigus… he just stopped, stood up, and looked over at one of the dead faunus before he turned towards it, ran, and kicked their head so hard that their helmet flew off and landed a few feet away from the body.
Then, he simply collapsed to his knees, and bellowed loudly as he almost chose to grip the sides of his head, with rage soon replacing his heartbreak,
"ARRRRAAAAAGH!"
...
"I didn't seem like it back then, but i was crying on the inside… well… figuratively."
"No, no… i get it, i know what you mean… been there before believe it or not."
"Yeah, You just never… think that something like that could happen to you, until it does. I wasn't even out of my twenties yet. And now i'm just sitting here, forty one years old… and i can't even remember what my own father use to look like..."
…
They buried Marcus after that, only a few few away from where he laid when passed, in the backyard of their shared home, which was now nothing more than a mound of uprooted grass, trees, and a scorched fence that surrounded it.
Gaigus and Miriam both stood next to each other, and held each other's hands as they looked down at the rectangular lump of dirt in the earth.
Meanwhile, Emrus just stood behind the wooden cross that they made from two branches, and was just holding the shovel next to him, with it's spade being stabbed into the ground.
Nothing was spoken for a good while, and other than the dead White Fang soldier's radio blaring about incoming reinforcements, there wasn't any other sounds that could be heard besides that, the cool winds, the small fires that were burning, and the stormy clouds that were beginning to rain down on them all.
Em was just done with all the sadness at this point… but was adamant on making sure of his brother and his wife's safety. Even... if he were to trade his own life for that,
"Alright… we've mourn our losses, now… it's time for you two to leave." He said this sternly, let go of the shovel, and picked up his assault rifle again before he walked back into his destroyed home, making Gaigus flinch and yell at him as he began to follow, "Us two? What about you?!"
"The Fang's already got more teams coming to make sure that no one else survived, so they can keep their 'peaceful' front going."
Miriam then remembered about the older brother's connection to the White Fang, specifically how he spent the majority of his last year in the cult residing on the island colony of Menagerie, under the command of a one, Ghira Belladonna.
"C… Can't you just contact Ghira and tell him this? We can take pictures of all of this, or something!" She nearly yelled, desperate to keep them from losing yet another family member on this fateful day.
But of course, he had a reason as to why he couldn't go with them. He was already sure that this part of the cult that was pursuing them was secretly rogue. They… had to be, he thought. Though, there was also a second reason,
"I'm Ex-White fang, and i'm sure they're already waiting for this news to come to him, and if it does… they'll kill him and his wife on the spot."
"They just had a new baby girl not that long ago, and i'm not going to jeopardize that. I doubt you two could live with that either."
That silenced the couple, even though they kept following him as he eventually found himself pacing through the outline of their destroyed home, until he found the dead White Fang soldiers again, and stopped.
He knew that the couple were both still young, and secretly needed him for future guidance aside from obviously being family. But, he knew how vital the Fang's reputation was to the public, and if information of this… 'massacre', was to get out... Then it would show how disorganized they really were.
They would make sure that no one alive could tell the truth, and so… Emrus needed to make sure that they believe he was the only one to survive their first attack, as to hopefully buy Gaigus and Miriam some time to escape...
"Look, just take my truck, get to the main city, and stay there. The Fang will look there for sure, but it'll only be harder to find you." He then looked down at the four bodies, and started to search them to see if their rifles carried the same ammo variant as his Type 81, which they did, "Don't trust anyone, and Keep Moving Forward. But… never look back."
"Em… I can't lose you too." Gaigus stated this, and it immediately caused his brother to stop, and lower the rifle magazine he was holding… before he dropped it, and reached into his pocket to pull out the same olive colored bandana that was held by their father before he died.
"You won't." He lowered his type 81 as well, and took a knife off of one the dead soldiers, since they all had one in a sheath to go along with the rest of their combat gear.
After it was drawn, Emrus stayed silent, and let Gaigus and his wife watch as he used the blade to make a small incision on his left palm, but only enough for it to bleed lightly. As the blood began to ooze out, he switched hands with the bandana, and allowed for his own blood to coat the already blood stained rag.
Then, he grasped it harder while his hand began to shake, and just held it out to Gaigus again as he smiled with pain, and looked back into his neon green eyes with another smirk,
"Blood's thicker than water, that means it'll be harder for this stain to fade. And when it does… me and Dad will already be apart of it."
The ghost looked down at the thing for a few seconds, feeling a little shocked by how much things seemed to escalate, and he wasn't really able to keep up with it… but he understood what this gesture was suppose to mean.
They were currently standing in their destroyed home, with almost everything either demolished or burning at the moment… everything, except for this thing, this small rag.
It was… a ridiculous thing to obsess over to say the least. Just a small rag, probably used as a sweatband during long hours of farming, a cloth used to clean their old table, or whatever else a bandana could be used for.
However… the funny thing about it now, was that it was probably the only thing their family had left in this world now besides each other. "You two are going to be the last ones standing… until your little one comes into the world. When it's old enough, give it this. Tell it what happened today, and what that thing means to us."
Gaigus… was speechless, but still understood what he had to do. So… he smiled, and grasped his brother's bloody hand that was covered by the rag. And that allowed for Emrus to let go, and let his brother take it from him, which he did… and it made them both smile in the end, despite knowing what was going to happen next.
"Y… You're really going to stay here, and just get gunned down?" Miriam asked, as she finally put Mistletoe on her back, and just grasped her own wrist as she looked up at the bear faunus.
Em chuckled at this question, and went back to looting the dead bodies of the White Fang soldiers. He didn't answer her for around thirty seconds, because he had decided to unclip and take one of the tan military-grade tactical vests off of one of the corpses, since these older troopers were equipped with them.
"*exhale* ...Nope! First i'm going to buy you both time by killing as many as i can." He put it on himself with all its ammo pouches filled, and just clipped it up again as he turned and mumbled his reply, "And when i'm down to tooth and nail, only then i'll give them permission to end me."
Gaigus watched, and gripped the bandana in his own hand as he did so with a frown that clearly expressed he was sad, but couldn't stop this from happening. "That's a one way trip…"
"...We all make it sooner or later."
He was blunt about this, and just turned to the couple as he shook his head, and looked at his sibling with desperate eyes that were telling him to let go. And just go with his beloved, before it was too late.
"*sigh* ...Listen, i've been good to you, now it's time for you to return the favor and do what i say for the first time in your life. Please, just… don't deny me this-"
"I'm not." But… then something else strange happened. Gaigus of grin interrupted him, but with another smile before he said something else… that made Emrus smile back at him, again.
"I'm just… going to be sad that i never got to say goodbye to you."
"Hehe… Jackass."
…
More time passed as the three slowly walked back to where they had left their truck, and of course Em still stuck around with them until they got there… mostly because he thought watching the two drive off into the sunset together would make him feel better about all of this.
Eventually, they reached the entrance to the village, ignoring the aforementioned horrible sights along the way, and found the vehicle once again… but before their final conversation ended,
"You sure that you can't come along?" Gaigus asked him, as he had a blank stare, but also had the same dark green rag in his hands. "Because you know that i'd love to give you pointers if you become a dad too."
"I'm a faunus, and I only have the skills of a soldier, and considering that the only place with a strong military is filled with a racist background… i don't think that there'd be any other place for me to go anyway."
"Not even a Huntsman Academy?" Miriam asked, with her hands behind her head as she turned, and moved a little bit closer towards him.
He grinned at the suggestion, but was more than sure that this would be a better option. Mostly because… well, he may not have said it vocally, but he always saw his brother at having a better chance in this world than he did.
Though, that's not to mention that he also didn't think that being a Huntsman, a grimm killer, wasn't his style… didn't have that much on an impact on him either. So he still declined,
"Too old for that shit, and too high profile. Hell, by the time your kid's ten, i bet all its friends are going to be asking for your autograph."
Miriam laughed at how he was still able to make light of all of this… and it made her tear up again, but happily of course. "Hehe… *sniffle* ...You know i'd name it after you, right?" She told him, as Gaigus moved over towards the driver's seat of the truck.
"Yeah, but… just don't." Emrus shook his head, and just tried to think of any other names that his brother could think of… but he still didn't think he'd like them. "Sim's need something else that doesn't have an '-U-S'. In it. Makes it more... original."
"I'm talking to you too over there!" He yelled, as he looked over and pointed at the ghost, who in turn chose to look back at him with a confused look as he cupped his ear with another smirk. "Sorry, i couldn't hear you over the sound of me not caring!"
"Pfft…"
They both shared another laugh, and Gaigus soon opened the driver's side door and became quiet again, but still looked over the roof of the car to watch him and Miriam say their final goodbye...
"Just make sure it doesn't end up entirely like him…" Emrus whispered to her, which caused her to smile, and wipe her eyes before she just lunged at him, and hugged her brother-in-law for the last time. "Oh, but where would the fun be in that?"
"Hehe… stay safe Miri."
"Yeah…"
And when she let go, another silence came as she took a few steps back so she could looked him up and down again as she waved goodbye. "We'll see you… when we see you." She and Gaigus knew that it was obvious. He… was in his element, surprisingly.
The image of him just standing there, light blue shirt, brown cargo pants, matching combat boots, tan tactical vest, and with his weapon held in his now bandaged hand… it was the one thing she would never forget about him.
Yet, when she thought of him being torn apart by bullets, or just being executed by the people he used to be associated with… she couldn't imagine it. And she didn't want to… so, that was when she decided that it was better to leave off like this before she could start actually crying.
Miriam sniffled, and looked over at Gaigus as she finally reach the passenger side door, and put her hand on it's door handle, and grasped it tightly. "Come on honey… *sniffle* ...take your girl for a ride?"
"...You know it." The ghost could see the sadness in her lilac eyes, so he said that with the best grin he could produce, and with raised eyebrows as well to make her feel a little bit better too.
And just when Emrus thought that he was going to get inside of the driver's seat… Gaigus instead stopped himself, shouted his name, and looked back at his brother with his body half inside of the truck, "Hey, Em! It's… been an education."
"Really?" He thought, with yet another chuckle. "You're really gonna end it like that… *sigh* ...you never were good with goodbyes." It was pretty clear of what the problem was, but of course… it wasn't his fault. It wasn't like he had much preparation for this anyway.
So when he realized that, the bear faunus did something he thought he'd never think he would do in a situation like this... To try and embrace their departure from his life, no matter how much he didn't want to.
"Surviving is winning Gaigus! If you don't end up living', then try not to be a sore loser about it. Just go with it… just like you always do."
Yes, he… embraced it, and with one hand holding his rifle and the other with nothing, he just outstretched his arm in a shrugging motion, and yelled back his final piece of advice to his little brother.
"...But still, whatever it takes little brother… Survive!"
Gaigus gave him one last small nod, and smiled before he finally lowered himself back down, sat down in the driver's seat, and closed the door as he turned the car's engine over. Emrus took a few steps back again, let out a sigh, and raised one of his hands up as a way to say goodbye, but without actually voicing it. Since… he thought it was better that way.
Miriam did the same thing back to him out the window, and her husband just honked the horn twice. Then, he stepped down on the gas pedal, and they both went off… back down the same road they came from, with the intent to go even further… without Em.
As for him? Why, he watched them off like he had intended… with about half of the happiness he seeked being felt. But, he still didn't think he'd end up regretting his decision. Not yet at least.
And after his old truck was finally gone, and was over the horizon… Emrus just turned back around to face Genten, cocked his rifle again, and started to focus in on the sound of multiple engines coming from his north, thankfully away from the road the couple were on.
In the end, his pursuers actually did turn out to be The White Fang, and a battle did ensue. The outcome of it… was never recognized or discovered by anyone to this day. Or… perhaps, it was found, and the people who came simply decided to keep it a secret, and left it to time to make it disappear and rot…
...Just like he did.