Real quick, I want to explain something. I have been dealing with school for a while and have placed this as a mini side project. About three months later, I have four chapters written and ready to go, which will be up eventually. For Last Best Hope, I am not sure if I want to continue it. I will decide later. However, The Unknown Cycle is getting a rework. I plan on making this the main story and TUC the prequel. It will be bigger, better, and make a bit more sense (hopefully). Anyways, I'm sorry for that interval, I wanted to have it be here in case of confusion, but let us get on with the show!
Goes without saying, but I own nothing. Rooster Teeth own RWBY, Activision owns Call of Duty, and Treyarch owns World at War/Black Ops Zombies.
"What the-Where am I?" The voice asked. It sounded male, "Malik? Sam? Ian?" He called out, but no response. He decided to call out the only name who could answer him, "MONTY!? What did you do?!" He called out, with zero response whatsoever. He picked himself up, and saw a small lake. He walked over to it and looked at his reflection.
He had jet black hair, with olive eyes. He had a dark blue shirt, with an open jacket. The jacket was navy. He felt padding in his jacket. He had on jeans, with rips and tears in them. He looked down and saw he had dark grey combat boots on. On his hip was two pistol holster belts, with the holsters themselves being at his hips, opposite of eachother. He also noticed a sheath, with a knife handle sticking out. He paid it no mind as he looked at his reflection again, seeing the many cuts, bruises, scratches, burns, and bites he had to endure just to survive. Most of them seemed to have healed over time, but the memory was still there, along with what he was granted after the war. On his back was a large, black knapsack.
"I need to find a way to contact them. Maybe the com link will still work," he said to himself. He put his finger near his right ear, touching a small piece of plastic. He pressed a button before pressing a larger one. "This is Mike, does anyone copy?" He asked, waiting. He heard nothing but static. "I repeat, this is Mike. Does anyone copy?" Silence, with the exception of static. He set the earpiece to receive only by pressing a third button. "Dammit. I guess I should try to find any signs of civilization," he looked to the sky, seeing a shattered moon, along with what appeared to be a city. "Looks like my luck is turning around," Mike commented to himself before making a small jog for the city.
When Mike arrived, he noticed it was a casual day for everyone there. He decided to blend in with the people here. He noticed some people going into an alleyway, or what it looked to be anyway. Mike slipped out and made his way for the alley. He saw a large man, about 6'6"-7'. He had red shades, a black suit with a matching hat. He looked like a bouncer. Mike saw other people showing them something, probably an ID or something. He decided that in there, he might be able to come up with answers. He walked up to him, being the last in line.
"Hold up. Let me see some ID," The larger man said, placing his arm in front of Mike.
'Definitely a bouncer,' He thought before sighing.
"I don't have any. Now, get out of my way," He said, moving the large man's arm and walking in about two steps.
He heard the cocking of a gun. "I think you should just turn back, kid," the bouncer said, making Mike turn around. He saw a M1927 Thompson with a drum mag, AKA The Tommy Gun.
"Are you sure you want to do this? I'm pretty sure this will end badly for you," Mike asked, a bit of smirk in his voice.
"You are just asking to get shot, kid," The bouncer said.
"Bring it, not the first time," Mike said before throwing a right hook for the man's face.
He wasn't expecting the punch and stumbled back. Mike then got a few hits on his stomach, before the bouncer could react by trying to kick him. Mike dodged and kneed him in the stomach, bringing him down to knees. He gave one more punch, knocking him out.
"There's my ID," Mike said before entering the door. He saw flashing lights, with a dance floor in the middle of the large room. He saw somebody with a bear head being the DJ. He also spied a bar. He made his way around the dance floor, before making a beeline for the bar. He sat in the barstool. The bartender, an older man with a white dress shirt, black vest and pants, and red tie, looked at him.
"Name's Junior, welcome to my club. What'll you be having?" He asked Mike.
"Give me your strongest vodka," he said.
"Here ya go," Junior said, pouring the alcoholic beverage into a glass. He was about to put the bottle away before Mike stopped him.
"Leave the bottle," Mike told him.
"Okay, but it's extra," Junior warned. Mike waved him off.
Now that he was, relatively, alone, he could search through everything. He started off with his pistols. He pulled out the one on his right hip. It was a Colt M1911 handgun. He noticed some etchings in the gun itself. He looked at the other, right, side of it. On the slide was one word and some tally marks written in chalk.
Mustang
There were seven tally marks next to it. Mike blinked and shook his head. He ejected the clip and saw it was full, with five shots. That made six, counting the one in the chamber. He slid it back in and pulled out the second pistol. It was a Colt as well, with the same markings but on the right side. He looked to the opposite and saw the same amount of tally marks, but with another name.
Sally.
It was his two primary weapons. He didn't bother to check the clip of Sally. He took a swig of the vodka in his glass. It wasn't as good as the vodka he drank with Nikolai back in the Cosmodrome, but it wasn't awful. He heard somebody sit to his right, prompting him to turn in that direction.
He saw a girl, roughly 17. She was… mature, and she flaunted it. She had long blonde hair. She had on a brown leather jacket and a yellow shirt covering her chest. She had black short shorts on. Mike noted that there were two bracelets that were made of a yellow metal.
"Strawberry sunrise, no ice. Thanks," she said. Mike turned to the bartender and saw it wasn't Junior. but one of his men. They wore the same clothes as the bouncer, but they were lanky compared to him.
Mike had an itch in the back of his mind, something was nagging him about her. He didn't know how, but he knew she wasn't there just for a drink. He decided to try to figure things out.
"Excuse me, but aren't you a bit too young to be drinking at a bar?" He asked. He didn't know the laws, and considering that they aren't asking about him, he thinks that there might not be a drinking age.
She turns to face him, and Mike saw lalic eyes. "And what about you?" She asked, a smug look on her face.
"I've earned a break," he said, drinking the vodka straight from the bottle. He stopped and looked at her. "It doesn't matter, although I am curious. Why would you go to a shitty nightclub for a drink?" He asked.
"Why should I tell you?"
"Because I can help you, if things go south. I bet you're looking for someone, like me," after he said this, he saw her eyes grow wide. "How about this. If things go south, I'll have your back. In return, you give me a place to stay for the night. I'm not too keen on sleeping in the trash of this shithole," he said.
"Are you drunk or something?" She asked, holding back a laugh.
"No, and it'll take a lot more than one bottle to get me tipsy," he said, finishing the bottle. "Also, even if you don't accept, take this advice; the DJ has a MG up there. I can't tell if it's a MG42 or a M60." He removed his pack and held it in his lap.
"Fine," she said, "but we better know each other's names. I'm Yang," she said, extending her hand.
"Mike," he said, shaking her hand.
He started to search through the bag, and right off the bat he found an assault rifle. It was your standard M16. Underneath the rifle, he found a rectangular case, with a clear plastic lid. Inside the case was two bottle caps. One was if a red plus sign, with a bullet through it. The next was of a purple radiation symbol. There were words on it as well. The first had 'Juggernog' and the second had 'Flopper Ph.D.' around the symbol. Mike slipped the case into an inside pocket in his jacket. Beyond that, he found a change of clothes. He drew his knife. The blade was about a foot long, with the handle being six inches. There was a guard in front of his knuckles. He saw markings in the knife. He put it away.
"Alright, I'll act like I don't know you, as to not draw suspicion," Mike said, turning away. He pretended to drink the empty bottle.
Junior walked up to Yang, "Aren't you a bit too young to be in this club, blondie?" He asked her.
She held back a laugh. "Aren't you too old to have a name like Junior?" She shot back.
"So, you know who I am. You got a name, sweetheart?" He asked her.
"Heh. Yes, Junior, I've got several. But instead of sweetheart," she held her finger near his chest, "you can call me sir!" She reached down and gripped Junior's... jewels. He groaned in pain. Mike decided to give them space. "People say you know everything. Tell me where I can find her and I'll let you go," She said, holding up something that looked like a phone. Mike took noticed of what Yang said. He also caught the bartender reaching for something under the bar.
"Hey, bartender. Let's drink together, on me," Mike said, making the bartender move near the edge of the bar, where Mike moved to.
"I've never seen her before, I swear," Junior said, his voice about three octaves higher.
"Excuse me?!" Yang asked, gripping them tighter.
"I swear, sir," Junior quickly corrected.
Mike took a sip of the vodka, keeping the bottle close. He noticed some more of Junior's men show up. He moved his left hand to Sally, and holding the glass in his right. 'You better have a plan, Yang,' he thought.
"Hmm, looks like we have an must be kinda embarrassing for you, huh? Awkward." She said, a smile on her face.
"Listen! Blondie, sir! If you want to make it out of this club alive,I suggest you let me go. Now!" He warned her. Yang finally let go. He exhaled. "You'll pay for that," He threatened her. He started to make his way towards the goons.
As he was putting on the traditional red shades this club seems to love so much, Yang spoke up, following him. "Oh, Junior, I was just playing with you, don't be so sensitive. Come on, let's kiss and make up, okay?" She asked him.
'This isn't going to end well, better get ready to act,' Mike thought, refilling his glass, but not drinking it.
"Huh?" Junior asked. Yang covered her mouth before leaning forward, ready to kiss him."Okay," He leaned forward as well.
When their faces were about two inches apart, Yang acted. She punched Junior and sent him flying. Mike acted as well, pulling out Sally to knock off the shades of the bartender, who had drawn a UZI. He then splashed vodka in his eyes, before throwing the glass at his face, shattering the cup. He then took the bottle with his right hand and broke it on his head, before gripping him by the hair and slamming his face into the bar, knocking him out. Mike turned to Yang, who's bracelets had turned to gauntlets with what appeared to be orange shotgun shells in them. She was currently in the air, with her fist ready to hit the ground. Mike quickly took cover, as she made a visible shock wave, moving away from where she landed. When she got up, there was a fire around her.
Mike shot the goon that was about to hit Yang with Sally, causing an explosion to occur from the impact point. Luckily, it was far away enough to not hit Yang. She turned to face him, who had a smug look on his face as he shot another grenade at another goon, sending him flying.
"Meet Sally, and her twin sister, Mustang, oorah!" He said, drawing Mustang and firing both simultaneously. He took out a large group of goons, before ejecting both clips and reloading them at the same time flawlessly.
Yang smiled, "My sister would have a field day if she met you," she said before she engaged the enemies.
Mike nodded before withdrawing the two pistols and charging a goon with an axe. He dodged a swing and grabbed the axe by the shaft. He knocked the goon away from the axe, taking it for his own. Mike then swung it at his face, knocking him out, somehow. He then broke the axe in two. He took aim and threw the part that had the head of the axe like a tomahawk, hitting the goon.
He then heard rounds fire off that sounded familiar. He took cover, noticing 'DJ Bear Head' had started to fire on the two teens. Mike saw Yang attempt to take him down but was knocked back by the rounds. Mike then bolted for the DJ, pulling out his Bowie Knife. Upon reaching him, Mike slashed at his back, he was shooting at Yang, making him turn around. He kept the MG42 away from him by using his arm as a blockade. He dropped his knife, before grabbing the MG and taking it, turning it on its owner, and letting loose the remaining rounds. When he heard the clicking, he threw it back at the DJ suddenly, causing him to stumble. Mike punched him in the kidney, before picking him up over his head and throwing him over the balcony. He picked up his knife as Yang approached him.
"Melaine, who are those two?" They heard a female voice say. In front of them, they saw two girls in dresses. One had red and black while the other had white and light red one, the one who had just talked, had something similar to sharp claws near her hands. The other had the spikes near her legs.
"I don't know, Miltia, but we should teach them a lesson," The other one said. Mike saw Yang eject the orange shell casings and load in red ones. Before she went to engage, Mike put a hand in front of her.
"I got an idea, throw me to the ceiling," He said, drawing Mustang and Sally.
"What? Why?" She asked.
"Just do it, and take some cover," He said, as Yang got ready to boost him.
He ran for her and she launched him to the lights. Mike grabbed onto a pipe to change his direction so he would be rocketing to the ground. When he was in the right position, he pushed off of the pipe and started dive bombing. He let out one word.
"SUDOKU!"
All Yang saw when Mike landed was a white flash. All she heard was a ringing, until her vision started to return, along with her hearing. She saw a large smoke cloud, and her hearing was of the ground settling from an explosion. In the epicenter of the explosion was Mike, holding his two pistols.
"That, is how it's done!" He said, as Yang approached slowly.
"What was that?!" She asked, keeping her distance.
"That'll have to wait. Right now, get ready to fight!" Mike said, shooting to his left, where he saw the red girl, Miltia, dive for.
He dove over there and landed with a roll. He charged her, firing the twins straight down. While he was immune to the explosions, she wasn't. She managed to recover when he reloaded. She went for his neck but Mike dodged, using his knife to counter. He slashed at her side, before kneeing her the stomach. He then threw her away from him. He noticed Yang had finished the other one as well.
"That takes care of," Mike said before Yang got sent flying. He turned and noticed Junior with that looked to be a large bat. He looked to where Yang landed, then back to Junior. "Screw it," He muttered, "Bring it, Junior!" He yelled, charging the owner. Before he got there, a familiar man landed in front of him. Before Mike could react, the bouncer grabbed him by the neck and threw him to the opposite side of the room.
"You better say your prayers, kid," he said.
Mike tried to pick himself up, but couldn't. He felt his head become filled with pain, almost as if it was smashed by a sledgehammer. He then saw something when he looked at the bouncer. It was the one who caused this. The one who started it all. The one he killed. The one and only 'Original Harbinger of Doom.'
The Shadow Man. A man corrupted by evil. He had the body of a man, that was wearing a suit, and the head of a squid. He wore the symbol for pure evil as a pin.
The world seemed to change around him as well. It was in an arena, one where he met the end numerous times. Mike felt a fury burn within him.
"BACK FOR ROUND 3, SHADOWFUCK?!" Mike yelled as he charged the bouncer.
He was ready to stop Mike, but was thrown back. When he picked himself up and looked at the kid, he had an vengeful look in eyes. Mike charged again. Junior's bouncer stood no chance.
"P-please don't do th-this," the bouncer said, crying on the ground.
"Nice trick, fuckface," Mike held the 'Shadow Man' down on the ground by his neck. "Fool me once, shame on me!" he delivered a fist into the face of the helpless individual. "Fool me twice, I kill your ass!" He punched him again. "Fool me three times," he took out his Bowie knife, "and I mount your head on my wall!" Mike went to slit his throat, but he got out of the grip and ran away.
"Y-y-you're crazy!" He stuttered.
"You brought this on yourself," Mike said, walking to the man. He felt the same pain as before, and the arena and Shadow Man was gone. All that was left was Yang and Junior fighting, along with Mike and the bouncer, who looked like he was facing death.
'What just happened? Was that a-' Mike thought before the bouncer cut out his thoughts.
"I'm not dying to a manic like you," the bouncer said, opening fire with the Tommy Gun.
Mike took cover, pulling out something from inside his coat. It looked like a small, green pineapple, with a pen on it. It was the classic Mk 2 Fragmentation grenade. He pulled the pin and threw it in the bouncer's direction. He waited for the explosion to happen, so the bouncer would be stunned. He rushed, using his M16 to cover. Everytime he pulled the trigger, three rounds would fire at once. He managed to close the distance, using two hits with the butt of his rifle to do some damage. He fired three more bursts, before hearing a click. He dropped the rifle and slashed at him with his knife. The bouncer barely dodged, and threw a punch. Mike met it with a punch from his Bowie's guard. The bouncer cracked first, which Mike used to push him away. He followed it with one last punch, knocking him out.
"Finally," Mike breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up his M16 and reloaded it. He saw Yang and Junior, with Junior being sent out of a window by one punch.
He also saw something different about her. Her hair seemed to glow, and her eyes was red The two teens jumped out of the window, shattering it as they jumped. Mike landed like it was nothing, before noticing a pain in his shoulder. He saw a glass shard.
"Yang?" he heard a female voice say. He didn't look at her, because he was trying to see an easy way to get it out.
"Ruby," he heard Yang say to his right. He finally decided to rip it out. After he did, and throwing the shard on the ground, he heard a familiar third voice.
"You keep doing that, and you'll get yourself killed, Mike," the voice said. Mike looked up, his eyes wide when he saw who it was.
"Son of a bitch," he muttered.
His head throbbed as he picked himself up off of the ground. He saw strands of his brown hair in his face. He pushed them aside, before looking to the sky. It was currently afternoon, and it would be getting dark soon. He had to get out of the forest. He picked a direction and started to move. It took about thirty seconds before he heard rustling in the bushes next to him. He reached for his hip and found a pistol.
It was a WWI weapon, with the magazine being past the trigger, similar to a Thompson. The unusual thing was the marking that were in the metal. There was something on the barrel, along with a scope. He pointed at the bushes, before hearing rustling behind him. He moved so he could see both bushes, also making him appear in a clearing.
"Hello?" He heard a voice say behind him. He pointed his weapon at her.
"Who's there?" He asked.
The girl stepped into the clearing. If he had to guess, he would say she is 15. She had a red and black theme, with a red hood and a, primarily, black dress. She had a red pack on her back, about where Mike kept the LAW when he wasn't firing it. Her hair seems to follow the theme, with black hair and red highlights. The thing that struck him as odd the most, was her silver eyes. He lowered his pistol.
"Hi, what're you doing here?" She asked him.
"I just woke up here, what about you?" He asked back.
"Just out for a walk. What's your name?" She informed him.
"Its Ian. I'm looking for my friends. They weren't with me when I woke up, so I decided to look for them. What's your name?" Ian asked. He decided to be honest with her, and lie if absolutely necessary.
"Ruby. So we should go lo-"
"Wait, did you hear that? It sounded like a growl," Ian spoke up, drawing his handgun.
He heard something jump out so he fired to his left. Whatever he hit died on impact. It landed in front of him. It was a black wolf. It had white bone like materials covering it's face. He couldn't see any more as it transformed to smoke. Ian didn't hear anything else, so he decided that it would be a good time to check his stuff.
"Hey, Ruby. Can you do me a solid and let me know if those things show up. I'm checking my bag," Ian said.
When he heard her confirm him, he removed a grey backpack. Inside of it was a machine gun. It was also a WWI weapon, with a clip, more like a drum, on the side. There was a something that looked like a bipod past the trigger, but not on the barrel. He saw the name of the weapon. Maschinengewehr 08/15 {MG08/15}.. He placed it to the side, and searched more. He found a case, with two bottle caps. One was of a familiar red plus. The other was of a person, with a target on their head. The words around it said, 'Deadshot Daiquiri.' He slipped it into his light grey trench coat.
He also looked at his clothes, which consisted of work boots, padded jeans, and a thin dark grey shirt, under a ballistic vest. Ian continued his search, finding a change of clothes, spare padding for his vest, and something that looked like futuristic brass knuckles that were broken into segments. He slipped them on his right hand, before forming a fist. It transformed into a large metal pad. On the side of it said 'Galvaknuckles.' Ian touched the pad and received an electric shock. He recoiled, before gripping the pistol. The galvaknuckles transformed back into the segments, while also not hindering him.
'Thank you, Dr. Monty. Next time though, keep us together,' he thought, before turning to Ruby.
"Listen, I think you should run on home. I can look for them myself, but you're unarmed. I don't want a kid getting hurt," Ian told her.
"I can take care of myself. See?" She asked, removing the box from her back. It suddenly transformed into a scythe, that had a color scheme similar to her. It was larger than the wielder. He also saw a scope on the handle.
Finally recomposing himself, Ian asked, "Is that a scythe?"
"It's also a customizable, high impact, sniper rifle," She said, holding what appeared to the clip.
"So it's also a gun," Ian responded in layman's terms.
She cocked the bolt action, "Yeah. What about you? What does your pistol do?" She then gasped, "Does it become a fire dagger?!"
"No, it's just a pistol. I have this though," Ian said, making his hand into a fist, and causing the Galvaknuckles to form. "It's like a tazer met brass knuckles. I'm not sure how good it is on these things though."
"You mean the Grimm?" Ruby asked, tilting her head.
"Yeah, if that's what they're called," he smiled, "If my friend Mike was here, he'd probably call them something along the lines of 'Maggot Addicts,' Bone Junky,' or, his personal favorite, 'Freak Bags.' He is… very creative when it comes to those types of names,"
"Wait, you've never heard of the Grimm? How?" Ruby asked.
"It's a long story, but I think it might be best for us to get out of here," he placed his hand near his ear and pressed a button on his earpiece. "Anyone there? I need to confirm if you made it." Nothing. He moved his hand away. "They aren't responding, but they can take care of themselves. Come on, Ruby, let's get out of here."
"What about your friends?" She asked.
"They're fine, th-" he stopped himself, "we've been through worse. They know how to handle themselves. Trust me," Ian reassured her. The duo walked north, led by the young scythe wielder.
"So, where are you from?" Ruby asked.
"That's, a hard question. All I know is that we can't go back. I'll tell you the whole story, okay? Although, its very long and confusing. It'll take a few hours," Ian told her.
"Sure, you can tell me tomorrow. It's getting late," the two of them continued. "Who are your friends, what are they like?"
"Well there's Mike. He's got a short temper and isn't the brightest of us. He is a good person though, don't get me wrong. He kinda earned the title 'Silver Tongued Devil.' There's Malik, he is very emotional. He's always looking after us, but he isn't the best plan maker. Finally there's my sister, Samus, we call her Sam though. I'm going to warn you, watch yourself around her. She may seem innocent, but she is far from it. If we see them, I'll explain in further detail. That's about it," Ian told the red reaper.
"Neat, but aren't you concerned for them?"
"I am, but they can fight their way through anything. We've been fighting for years, so we cut through them like a hot knife through butter,"
"But, how come you didn't know about the Grimm?" She asked, with a sceptical look.
"It wasn't the Grimm. Again, I'll explain later,"
"Okay,"
As they walked, Ian noticed something in the bushes, something that was glowing a reddish color. He saw the color multiply, until there were over 40 dots.
"We got company, watch yourself," he told Ruby as he grabbed the MG off of his back.
He saw more wolves show up as he opened fire, taking out three within a few seconds. One closed the gap and tried to slash his face. He let go of the MG with his right, as he made his hand into a fist and delivered a right hook. The second the knuckles hit the Grimm, it stopped in its tracks, as it was jolting around. Ian removed his hand from the Grimm and pulled out his sidearm. He shot it in the head, before turning and taking down three that tried to flank. He put away the pistol and he reloaded the MG. He saw the Grimm in front of him lose its head, along with the others behind it.
"Thanks for the cover, help me clean up this mess," Ian told Ruby as he steadied the MG on his knee, by crouching. Together, the two of them managed to clean up the remaining Grimm.
After that, the two made it into a large city, as night approached.
"Welcome to Vale, Ian," Ruby told the older survivor.
"Wow, this place looks cool after dark. Then again, I don't know this place before so, there's that," Ian told her, scratching his head.
She snickers a bit, "It's okay, but we need to find you a place to stay. Do you have any lien?"
"Lien?"
"I'll take it as a no. Seriously, what have you been through?"
"I wish you would never have to go through it," the two continued, with Ruby still leading, "Where are we going, anyways?"
"Oh, we're going to see my sister," she stops, before turning back to him, "There she is." She quickly heads up to her sister, who is a familiar blonde.
He jogs after her, before noticing somebody who he actually knew. As he ripped a glass shard out of his shoulder, Ian decided to get his attention.
"You keep doing that, and you'll get yourself killed, Mike," he called out to Mike. The young man turned to him.
"Son of a bitch," he muttered. The two walked up up to each other, facing the other down. Ian did not expect the knee to the stomach Mike hit him with. He doubled over. "That, was for not telling us about… you know," Mike told him privately. He then put Ian into a standing position before giving him a friendly pat on the back. "Good to see you, man."
"Good to see you too, and was that necessary?" Ian groaned.
"Yes."
"Of course, violence is the only option when it comes to you," Ian said.
"Hey, I tried. Granted, it didn't work, but I tried," Mike told him.
"Yeah, yeah. So, who is the woman?" Ian asked, gesturing to Yang.
"I was about to ask who's he, Mike. A friend of yours?" Yang asked the akimbo fighter.
"Wait, you're Mike?" Mike turned to the reaper in red.
"Who are you?" He asked.
"I'm Ruby, Yang's younger sister."
"And I'm Mike, the only reason this idiot is still kicking," he pointed this thumb at Ian, who responded by punching him slightly with his left. "Ow, fine. There were others," Mike corrected.
"I'm Yang, and you are?" The blonde asked Ian.
"I'm Ian."
"So now that introductions are out of the way, we better move on with our lives," Yang said.
"Wait, sis. Ian has to tell me a story," Ruby told Yang.
"And you still have to hold up your end of the deal. Besides, don't you want to know how I dive bombed and caused a giant explosion, and be perfectly fine?" Ian shot a glance at Mike as he said this. He knew he would have to tell Ruby, but he didn't know this other woman. He decided to go with whatever he planned. While Mike was the most bullheaded of the four, that didn't make him stupid.
Yang sighed, "Fine, but I want the whole truth. Ruby, do you remember where the hotel is? I can take Mike on Bumblebee," Yang tells her younger sister.
"Yeah, come on, Ian!" She called out to the taller of the two males.
"Coming," he called out to her, "stay safe, and keep an eye out for Malik and Sam," he told Mike, before turning to catch up with Ruby.
"I know, you too," he called out as he followed Yang to a yellow and black motorcycle. "It's been awhile since I've been on one of these," he commented. Yang had put on a helmet, before she got on, with Mike following suit. The two drove off.
They arrived at a modestly sized hotel, and the two waited for the others.
"So, was that your semblance?" Yang asked Mike.
"The hell you talking about? What's a semblance?" Mike asked back, a look of utter confusion on his face.
"You don't know what a semblance is? What about aura?"
"Aura?"
"How did you survive without aura!?"
Mike saw the other two catch up, "It'll all be explained tomorrow. Hey you two!"
"Sorry, we would have been here sooner, but somebody wanted to get a cookie or ten," Ian said, glaring at Ruby, who was holding six cookies.
"Your sister has a problem," Mike whispered to Yang.
"You have no idea. Anyways, let's go." Everybody followed the blonde berserker. Mike and Ian were behind them, so that they could talk in private.
"Ian, it happened again. I saw him," Mike told his friend.
"Saw what?" Ian asked.
"I saw him. The Shadow Man. He wasn't there, but I saw him. You know what it is, don't you?"
"Yeah, damn these 115 induced delusions," Ian muttered.
"How? We defeated them, so why is it here?"
"I don't know. Did you hear him? Or was it only visual?"
"I saw him, but I didn't hear him. He went away shortly after I put away Mustang and Sally, if that helps."
"It might. Don't worry, we'll figure it out."
"You mean you figure it out, and I'll just shoot stuff?"
"Yup."
"Goddamn it, Ian," Mike said, before the two started laughing slightly.
"What's so funny?" Ruby asked, who was in front of them.
"Nothing, just," Ian paused, "reminiscing." Ruby seemed to accept the answer, and went back to talking to her sister.
The four of them entered what looked to be a standard hotel room, with two beds, a couch, kitchen, etc.
"So, I guess Ruby and I can share a bed, while the two of yo-" Yang got cut off by Mike hitting the couch face first. "or you can do that. Are you sure?"
"This is fine," they heard Mike call out, his voice muffled by the cushions.
"I guess I can take the recliner," Ian said, "I'll be fine." The four said their goodnights, as they went to sleep. Some of them were receiving their first bit of rest in years.