The City (Merome AU)

32

~*Mitch*~

I watch as Nooch's gang heads into a building; one that is suspiciously well kept for being within the wasteland. Somebody lives there...

"Guys, I think somebody lives in that building," I speak up, and look over at Frags who was standing with his arms crossed.

"That's obvious," Woofless says with a sigh, "Nooch would have known these signs if he was actually from here." The man lets out a small laugh as he shook his head.

"Hey, Woofy, think it's Lone Wolf who's staying here?" Frags teases, nudging Woofless.

"Don't call me that," Woofless mutters before walk toward the building and reloading a gun. Wait... since when did he get his gun back?!

"Woofless, when did you get your gun?" I ask as I run up to him.

"It's not mine," Woofless says with a smirk. "It's Nooch's." With a nod, I turn to look at Frags who was running to catch up to me.

"Woof, go around and attack from the back. Benja, there is a stairwell on the left wall that you can get in from. There's an open window you can slip through."

"What about you?" Woofless asks Frags while raising an eyebrow.

"I'll be going through the front." Frags winks at Woofless before walking away from the two of us and directly toward the entrance Nooch went through. Woofless turns to nod to me before heading to his desired location. Taking a deep breath, my eyes lock onto the stairwell Frags was talking about. Just like old times...

As I walk closer to the stairwell a strange feeling in my gut grows stronger. What if Jerome gets hurt in this situation? He's never been in anything like this. I hope Star is doing as I asked of him... My feet made almost no sound as I walked up the metal stairwell and toward the window Frags was talking about.

The window was just large enough for me to fit through; most likely it's left open so whoever lives here can have a quick escape if things get out of hand. My hand reaches back and pulls an arrow from my quiver, almost by muscle memory, and pull back the string. Remember Benja. Star's words echo through my mind. We won't attack until you shoot. Taking a deep breath, I aim the bow at a man who was standing nearby Jerome. If you're not Craft or Star, you don't belong anywhere near him. But just as I am about to let my arrow fly, another arrow narrowly narrowly misses my head and burries itself into the wall behind me. There's no way... My eyes widen before I look up to see who shot at me, but no one was to be seen. The person who lives here fights with a bow, and he's fairly decent, but I doubt he knows who I am.

~*Nooch*~

As soon as I entered the building, the only thing that stood out was a large stone in the center of the room; a large diamond plaque sitting in a carved out hole within the stone. My heart almost stopped when I saw it's beauty. Hidden from the world's eye for over three hundred years...
I'm finally going to fulfill my father's dream...

I slowly walk forward and look at the beautiful stone before me; a flawless, natural diamond with the slightest tint of blue. Engraved into the stone were many strange symbols, similar to those on the back of Benja's compass, and a strange name that clearly shows that it's from that era of time.

Elite Graduate M'ayris

To be honest, I have no idea of how to pronounce the name, but it looks pretty. Taking a deep breath I reach to take the precious stone out of it's holder, but I freeze when a cold sensation rushes through my body. What's going on?

"Lady M'ayris has not granted you permission to touch that!" a loud voice echoes over the conversations among my followers, "Touch it and you'll be at her mercy." I turn around to see a middle-aged man with large nose, pointing a gun directly at my head. A veteran wastelander...

"She died over three hundred years ago! How can she affect me when she's not even here?" I challenge the strange man, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Step away from the plaque before you get yourself killed!" The man narrows his eyes at me. Who does he think he is?

"You're not my father," I state before taking a step closer to the plaque, my hand hovering just above it.

"Don't do it!" The voice of Baca echoes through the air, and I turn my head to look at him. "Don't you realize he's trying to keep you alive? I wouldn't mess with a spirit if I were you. You don't know what they are capable of." Come to think of it, Baca looks like that veteran...

"Shut up, Baca. I didn't say you were allowed to talk. Anyways, who are you?" I ask, turning my attention back to the veteran. The veteran smirks, his eyes flashing.

"I went by many names, but the most common was 'Wolf and Lone;' in no particular order." Wolf and Lone? Lone Wolf?

"You expect me to know who you are, and I don't. You expect me to believe you, but I don't." My hand lowers onto the precious diamond and pulls it away from the stone. It was cold; freezing cold. "I'm not scared of ghosts."

A woman's giggle seems to come from all directions within the room before the many men in front of me disappear into puffs of smoke. What's going on?!

"You aren't scared of ghosts you say?" a strangely accented voice echoes through the room. "You should be." The voice was soft, but eerily wise. The brunette woman from earlier appears before me; her lips curled into an evil smirk as she walked closer to me. What is this woman?!

"What happened to all my men? Who are you?" My arms wrap around the plaque protectively; the stone growing increasingly colder with every step the woman took.

"You ask too many questions, Mathew." The woman laughs softly, stopping in front of me, "but it's understandable." My eyes widen. How?

"H-h-how do y-you know my name?"

"Don't worry, Mathew. You're going to understand soon enough." The woman holds her hand out to me. "Unless you give me the plaque."

"You'll have to fight me for it!" I state with narrowed eyes.

The woman's hand drops and her smirk grows larger. "I'm fine with that."