A/N: My monthly bout of inspiration to work on this has done its magic, so here's another chapter for y'all.

I know I said I'd try to avoid switching perspectives but I felt it was necessary here. Please try to forgive me. Also forgive me for any characterization issues there may or may not be-its been a hot minute since I wrote some of these folks(especially Noah :p).

Thank you to Muttlpe Mike and Kitkatkatester for the lovely reviews. Seeing people respond to what I'm writing makes it feel even more worth continuing. :)

Enjoy!

Waking up in a new location was not a foreign experience to Mike, but waking up in the comfort of a soft pile of blankets atop a decent mattress certainly was. He'd nearly forgotten that he was no longer in that doctor's office as he sat up slowly, feeling his still-slightly-numb limbs almost creak as they moved. Blinking away the sleepiness, he glanced over towards where he recalled there was a window-it was nighttime. The only light in the room was a small candle that had been lit on top of the dresser. How long had he been asleep?

A small knock on the door caused him to turn and look in its direction, flinching slightly out of habit. His memory finally caught up to him and he relaxed. Right, I'm at Duncan and Zoey's place…he reminded himself. "Mike? You awake?" he heard Zoey's voice quietly through the door.

"Mmhm," Mike hummed, forgetting to speak actual words.

The door opened up and Zoey poked her head through the crack between the door and the wall. She had an odd look in her eyes, like she was hiding something, but was smiling softly. "You slept the whole day away," she informed him. "If you're hungry, there's food in the kitchen. There's some things that...Duncan needs to discuss with you, but it might have to wait until tomorrow."

Mike absorbed the new information, nodding twice, slowly, to show he understood. He sat back a little.

He could wait a little longer.

After managing to fall asleep again post-late night-meal, Mike woke once again, this time due to the natural sunlight streaming into the room from the window. He could feel once more, which meant the meds had worn off, and he sighed, struggling to get up without some sort of pain flaring up, mostly in his arms and back. He carefully pushed his hair back and out of his face, scratching lightly at one of the freshly re-exposed scars on the side of his face during the process, careful to avoid the fading bruises that surrounded it, still tender to the touch. At the very least he didn't feel so drained as he did the day before, probably due to the near twenty four hours of sleeping he'd done.

Getting out of the bed was a challenge in itself, as he really didn't want to get up. He worried he'd never feel such comfort again. That coupled with the reality of his condition made removing himself from under the covers feel almost daunting, but he managed to do it, somehow. He had a long conversation with Duncan ahead of him…

Down the road, the sound of hooves echoed on the stony ground in front of Mike's actual house. The head guard parked her horse in the front yard before approaching the door, knocking with the force of someone impatient. This side of town was all she had left to go through before finally calling it quits, and she was not going to turn up empty-handed after all this.

She heard footsteps inside. Good, people were home. She thought she recognized their voices. "Get the door, Scott." "Why don't you get it, dad? I'm busy!" "Don't talk back to me." "Ey, I'll get it, don' worry 'bout it." At last, someone opened the door. "Yo, what's up?" Vito asked.

The head guard cleared her throat, putting on an authoritative air. "If you haven't already heard, which I honestly doubt, the royal family is currently conducting a search for a missing person that disappeared from the palace over a week ago. I was put in charge of said search. May I come in?"

"Lemme see," Vito replied, craning his neck around to yell out, "Ey Dad! There's that guy from the Royal something or whatever 'ere, wants to know if 'e can come in."

The head guard frowned at being referred to as male, but kept it to herself. It wasn't as if it hadn't happened before.

"Let them in," Noah replied, entering the front room from his office.

"Aight," Vito said with a nod, allowing the guard entry. She was the second tallest in the room, but was most definitely the strongest.

"Please, take a seat," Noah insisted, gesturing to the living room area. "Vito, go tell Scott we have a guest." His tone was calm, almost too calm.

The two adults sat across from each other. "I apologize I can't offer you anything to eat or drink, our servant isn't here right now, dreadful creature. He's probably off spending my money on himself." He sighed, looking at the head guard. "So, tell me, who exactly are you searching for again? I keep hearing this and that, it's awfully difficult to keep up with."

The guard blinked, then pulled out her little description, quickly rattling it off. "If you have any information at all, it would be better than what I've found already, as in nothing." She rolled up her little scroll and put it away.

Noah took a small but deep breath in and out, leaning forward slightly. "I may have knowledge of who it is you're looking for," he said, his voice eerily quiet. "I happen to be on a sort of hunt for him as well."

"Are you really? So you know him?"

"Mm, yes." The distaste in his tone was disgustingly obvious, but he kept his face starkly neutral.

Despite the bad vibe she was feeling from this guy, this was the biggest lead she'd had this entire time. She didn't bother to ask why he was looking for him as well, or their relation. "Do you have any idea where he might be?" she asked.

"It's difficult to say. He's never been very open with me, which is such a shame. He's quite a troubled young man, you see. Always up to something: getting into fights, stealing things...he could be anywhere, really." Noah leaned back in his seat.

"Well thanks a lot, that tells me absolutely nothing," the guard said with a frown, standing up in frustration.

"Hold on, don't get your armor in a knot...I might be able to point you in the right direction..." Noah said with a smirk.

"You could have said that sooner," she grumbled, crossing her arms and looking at Noah expectantly. "Just tell me what you know and I'll leave."

"Alright, whatever you say, er...I just realized I don't know your name," Noah said without changing his tone.

"I don't know yours either," she pointed out, continuing to frown.

"Then allow me to introduce myself properly." He offered his hand. "Noah."

The guard reluctantly accepted the handshake. "Jo," she said her name stoically.

"Short and to the point. I like it," Noah observed, smirking once again.

"Now tell me what you know," Jo said, a slight irritated growl undercutting her voice. Her impatience was seeping into her tonality and body language.

"Don't worry, I will…" Noah promised, finally spilling the beans.

I'm not stalling Duncan and Mike's conversation. Why would I?

...

anyways-

Please review if you feel so moved. I've already started work on the next chapter but idk when I'll finish it. See ya whenever I do, and stay safe out there. :)