- Michael: "I didn't want it to come to this!"
- Trevor: "Yes you did, you just don't have the fucking balls to do it, but I do!"
- Michael: "I've got more to lose than you!"
- Trevor: "Never a truer word has been spoken, brother. Now pull the fucking trigger!"
- —Michael De Santa and Trevor Philips, during a gun standoff after Trevor finds out the truth about Brad.
Bury the Hatchet is a mission in Grand Theft Auto V that protagonists Michael De Santa and Trevor Philips both perform independently of each other. This mission can be performed from either Michael or Trevor's point of view, and is a major turning point in the storyline.
Description
Trevor visits Michael at his house and reveals his plan to bust Brad Snider out of prison. Michael, however, is reluctant to discuss Brad and this soon leads to a debate. While initially friendly, the two soon get into an argument about their respective futures. Michael intends to retire in peace, while Trevor accepts that a life of crime is all he has. Eventually, their dispute brings Trevor to the one question Michael hoped he would never ask, and Trevor asks Michael who was buried in his grave in North Yankton. Michael claims he never "gave it much thought." Trevor, becoming even more suspicious, finally snaps and threatens Michael, claiming he is "fucking dead," and storms out of the house. Michael, realizing what Trevor might be thinking, attempts to follow, but finds that Trevor has stolen his car. While Trevor is en route to Sandy Shores Airfield, Michael calls him and attempts to talk him out of flying to North Yankton, but Trevor refuses and hangs up.
Both men travel back to Ludendorff. Trevor via his plane at Sandy Shores (where he receives a call from Michael, and calls Ron) and Michael through Los Santos International Airport, (during the drive Michael calls Trevor to convince him to stop, and to warn Dave Norton that Trevor knows about their secret). Michael arrives at the airport, where some men watch him check in. Once in North Yankton, Michael drives to the cemetery. Along the way, he has flashbacks about the events that took place in 2004, including convincing Amanda that they must accept the FIB's deal and move to Los Santos, as well as memories of the set up. Trevor calls Ron asking for a plane to use to take him across country, and Ron confirms a plane is at the Airfield fueled up and ready to use. Trevor arrives at the Airfield and boards the plane to fly to North Yankton. While en route, he receives a text message from Ron, warning him that Wei Cheng's men are looking for him. Trevor arrives first at the graveyard, finds "Michael"'s grave and starts digging it up. Michael finally arrives and finds Trevor digging up the grave. Michael attempts to talk Trevor out of opening the coffin, but the efforts proved to be fruitless. Trevor opens the coffin and his suspicions are confirmed when he finds Brad's body inside.
Through Michael's confession and a flashback scene (if played from Michael's perspective), the true events of the Prologue come to light: the FIB caught up to Michael and made him a deal to surrender Trevor and Brad in exchange for protection. The heist in turn was a set-up to lure the crew into the FIB. Brad was shot and killed, by accident, when Brad had walked in front of Trevor and taken the bullet by Dave meant for Trevor, while Michael play-acted to convince Trevor he was wounded as well.
Trevor and Michael have a standoff over the grave and argue whilst pointing pistols at each other, but before either one can shoot, the Triads arrive to capture Trevor. Trevor attempts to shoot Michael, but his gun jams. He throws the weapon at Michael and escapes through the cemetery gates while Michael fires at him. Michael must now return to his car whilst fighting off Cheng's henchmen. He eventually reaches his car, but finds it has been immobilized by Trevor. At that moment, some Triad members arrive and order Michael out of the car at gunpoint. With no other option, Michael surrenders.
The scene switches to Trevor flying back to Sandy Shores. During the flight, he receives a call from Cheng. The Triad boss states he has captured Michael and is prepared to kill him, unless Trevor surrenders his control of criminal activities in Blaine County to the Triads. Cheng thinks that this threat will work because he and his men mistakenly believe that Trevor and Michael are "ji laos" (gay lovers), and he threatens to kill Michael if Trevor does not co-operate. Trevor mocks Cheng for this assumption and sarcastically tells him to tell Michael "[he] loves him dearly" before hanging up. On the way, he receives a text message from Lamar Davis, telling him that he and Franklin Clinton just found the last car on Devin Weston's list and would like him to join them.
The mission ends with Trevor landing back at Sandy Shores Airfield.
Mission Objectives
The mission has different objectives, depending on whether the player started it as Michael or Trevor.
If travelling to Ludendorff as Michael
- Go to Los Santos International Airport.
- Go to the airport entrance in the second floor.
- Go to the cemetery
- Go to your grave.
- Go back to your car.
If travelling to Ludendorff as Trevor
- Go to Sandy Shores Airfield.
- Enter in the plane.
- Fly to North Yankton.
- Return to Sandy Shores Airfield (after the shootout).
Gold Medal Objectives
- Time - Complete within 11:00. Skip all cutscenes, at the end of the mission fly directly to the airfield.
- Headshots - Kill 20 enemies with a headshot. Michaels ability comes in handy
- Accuracy - Finish with a shooting accuracy of at least 80%. Self-explanatory, Michaels ability will definitely help you get body shots more frequently. If you can, pick up any weapon, it will grant more accuracy than the current pistol and has more power.
Stock Tip
Invest in Gruppe Sechs stock with Michael during or prior to this mission, as he will be unavailable until Fresh Meat is completed. Upon completion of Fresh Meat, Gruppe Sechs stock will rise by approximately 11.17%. The reason for this is unclear, but players can secure a sizable profit by loading up on this stock prior to starting the mission. If the player didn't invest as Michael during or prior to this mission they can still get the profit by completing Fresh Meat on a Sunday, or alternatively a last-minute investment can be made during Fresh Meat while driving home to Michael's house after leaving the meat packing facility. It is noted that Merryweather Security, its chief competitor, does not appear to be affected during the spike in stock prices.
Aftermath
- The player cannot play as Michael until completion of Fresh Meat.
- Trevor receives another call from Patricia Madrazo, to his shock. He tells her that his time with her was something he will never forget, and she tells him to value his friendship with Michael when he says they aren't speaking. He will ask how Martin is treating her before she says goodbye and hangs up.
- It is possible for Trevor to call Jimmy, Wei Cheng and Ron after the mission.
- Wei Cheng will now be available in Trevor's contacts.
Ludendorff Weekly Newspaper
"A grave was desecrated and several Chinese gangsters were left dead in a violent and bizarre incident in Ludendorff yesterday that has left police confused. In the worst violent crime to take place in the state since the famous depot robbery of nine years ago, a gangland shootout erupted at a cemetery, involving Chinese triads and an uncertain number of Caucasian gun men. The Chinese, who the FIB believe have links to the Wei Cheng Triad, a prominent criminal gang in China and Hong Kong, were not previously believed to have much presence in North Yankton although maybe they have come, enticed like everyone else, by our booming oil industry and glorious weather. No one is yet sure what caused the shootout but it seems as if someone dug up the grave of Michael Townley. Bizarrely Mr. Townley was himself responsible for the robbery of nine years ago. The links between the two incidents are very unclear at present."
Weazel News (Radio)
"Quiet town in North Yankton erupts in bloodshed. Several Chinese gangsters are dead, a grave was desecrated and a town is scared and confused after a shootout at a cemetery in Ludendorff, in North Yankton. Steve Petorya at the scene."
Reporter: "Thanks, Sheyla. The dead are mostly Chinese gangsters with links to a Chinese gang called the Wei Cheng Triad. The grave that has been desecrated was the nearly final resting place of a Michael Townley, a bank robber himself killed the last major shootout in the area nine years ago. The cause of his grave to be desecrated and the links between the two crimes remain a mystery."
Bleeter Posts
- @LudendorffAnnie - "Boy oh boy helluva business with that shootout eh? At least they were already in the cemetery :)
- @snowchainlennie3 - "Anybody else noticed all those Asian fellers coming into town? I never seen so many foreign faces in Ludendorff!"
Gallery
Soundtrack
Main articles: Grand Theft Auto V Official Score, The Music of Grand Theft Auto V, and Tangerine Dream
The soundtrack that plays during this mission is "Burning Bar", known also as "No Happy Endings" on the official Music of Grand Theft Auto V album, and "Burning The Bad Seal" on Tangerine Dream's "GTA 5: The Cinematographic Score" album.
The soundtrack has arguably become one of the most influential soundtracks in the entire game's score, not only because of its composure, but also because of its appearance within this mission; the story line's key turning point.
It begins to play shortly after the cutscene in which the FlyUS plane is seen heading for North Yankton. After, Michael is seen driving the rented car into the town of Ludendorff, at which point the soundtrack plays. The score plays in the background throughout the journey towards the cemetery. If playing as Trevor, the soundtrack begins to play once flying the plane out of the state.
Once Michael arrives at the cemetery, the soundtrack begins to fade out until only a single stem plays, creating a tension as Michael approaches the distressed Trevor. The track stops playing once the second cutscene plays, where Trevor is seen digging up the grave, and begins to play again shortly before Trevor opens the casket. More stems begin to fade in when Trevor and Michael hold each other at gunpoint, creating even more tension. When Wei Cheng's men break up the hostility, the beat begins to return just as the unholy gunfight breaks out in the church yard. The melody continues to play when Trevor returns to Sandy Shores.
Video Walkthroughs
Trivia
- In the cutscene where Michael is boarding the plane, through the plane window, a bus can be seen within the airport tarmac. This cannot be seen in normal gameplay, as buses will only spawn normally on the roads surrounding the airport tarmac instead.
- The Burritos driven by the Triads have much lower health than normal. They can be destroyed with a full Carbine Rifle magazine. This is because Michael's arsenal is "weak" (no explosives or heavy weapons), so destroying vehicles before Triads members exit is easier. These Burritos can be driven, but they break down if the player drives too far, usually before the player gets across the railroad tracks.
- If the player decides to travel to North Yankton as Trevor, he will have to fly west of San Andreas in order to go to North Yankton, despite it being located east of San Andreas. As he flies closer to the Pacific Ocean, the weather changes from cloudy to rain to a thunderstorm.
- When Michael fires his pistol at Trevor during the cutscene, it notably has a different firing sound.
- The alien frozen under the railway bridge seen in the Prologue is still there in this mission.
- This mission is one of the rare appearances of the Asea in the original version of the game if playing as Michael.
- This is the second mission in the series which requires the player to fly into another restricted and snowy location. The first being Saint Mark's Bistro in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
- This mission is also very similar to Saint Mark's Bistro. In which the protagonists arrive in the area by air travel, Carl Johnson and Michael shoot members of a gang, with Carl and Trevor returning by plane.
- This mission is very similar to the Chapter 8 mission of the Rockstar game Max Payne 3. Both the mission and the chapter happen in a cemetery while it is snowing, both involve the protagonist trying to get out of the cemetery after a shootout begins, and both the protagonists (Michael and Max Payne) have a special ability of being able to shoot in slow motion. Both protagonists are also captured whilst trying to escape (although Max escapes, whilst Michael does not).
- Once Fresh Meat is complete, Michael's outfit from this mission will be available to wear. It is entitled "Ludendorff." Trevor's Ludendorff outfit will be available immediately upon completing this mission.
- When the player is in North Yankton, the time always starts at 22:00 and freezes once it gets to 00:00.
- This mission spawns 6 snow covered vehicles. All of them except the Burrito and Mesa can be observed driving on the roads leading to and around Ludendorff, with the Asea being controlled by the player. These vehicles are as follows:
- Asea (used by Michael).
- Burrito (variant 2, when the Los Santos Triads attack).
- Emperor (beater).
- Mesa (outside the church; it likely belongs to Trevor, as it disappears when the shootout occurs).
- Rancher XL.
- Sadler (rarely with trailers).
- Michael's stolen Tailgater will still be parked at Sandy Shores when Trevor returns. This offers a rare chance for a character to easily obtain and save another character's default vehicle. Any mods applied to it previously by Michael (or Jimmy) remain in place.
- During the scene where Michael gets on the plane and the plane takes off, when it shows the plane in flight, North Yankton's visible ground can be seen in the background.
- If started with Michael, Trevor will steal any car previously driven by Michael, not exclusively his Tailgater, this only works if the player leaves Michael's Tailgater anywhere (or otherwise destroyed it) to take any other car.
- Michael noticeably is trying to hold his tears when he argues with Trevor. As he talks about Brad when "He did die!". Also, while they point their guns to each other, Michael says "I've got more to lose than you," his voice cracks multiple times due to emotion.
- On the PlayStation 3, if you play as Michael and as soon as you are in North Yankton, you can drive around and the game might misspell saying "Get back en route to Ludendorff Cemetary"
- When driving to the cemetery as Michael, he has flashbacks about the aftermath of his depot robbery in North Yankton. This could possibly be a reference to the scene in Rocky IV where Rocky goes for a drive to clear his head. This along with the dramatic music further points to Rocky.
- On Playstation 3, if started as Trevor a glitch may occur where Michael will be blacked out on the switch menu, as if he is not unlocked then, he will appear standing at the grave during the cutscene where Trevor finds the shovel and pickaxe, then for the fight the player would be using Trevor with all his weapons and if the player enters the Asea the mission will fail and claim the Asea was abandoned.
- The Cuban 800 Trevor uses in this mission has a unique grey color scheme. It can be obtained by simply storing it in his hangar after completing the mission.
