Underneath the Kremlin, a young man found himself alone in the bunker-complex of his ancestors - the legendary D6. He was part of a six-man team to find the command center and use it to direct the great pre-war weapons to fight a race of powerful mutants that killed his people. After he witnessed their destruction, the lonely scavenger could not stop pondering why he was not celebrating. Was it the men who sacrificed their lives just to get him to this point? It had to be. Too many people died just for one man. A more optimistic person would see their sacrifices as a good deed to preserve the the remains of humanity, but the stalker felt responsible that if he was not there the people who died for him would live.

Footsteps echoed outside of the assembly area, it was not hard to guess who was coming since there were so few survivors of the team. The arrival was an older man who simply smoked when he had the opportunity and this was one of those times. "Artyom, thanks for guarding the door. I'm sure Vladimir would appreciate it if none of those things slipped through."

He nodded his head back to the veteran among his company. "You're welcome." Came Artyom's answer. "Though you are a sight for sore eyes. I'm just too exhausted to be on sentry duty." The stalker was not wrong. Ever since he had departed from his home station at the request of his good friend, there were few moments where he could simply close his eyes and sleep away in the darkness. After considering the amount of time spent traveling and fighting made him realize he had been awake for roughly a week. It might have been longer, but time was quite hard to discern in the darkness of the tunnels.

"Polis is going to receive the colonel and they're going to fix him up after what that demon did to him." There was momentary pause as he took out the lit cigarette away from his lips. "I heard that you and Miller met with several of the Rangers at Ostankino. What happened up there?"

Artyom merely leaned his back, only to rest against the concrete wall. "A lot. Just after we met them, the storm was driving the mutants and got ourselves surrounded. Then the demons came and wrecked the buggy."

"I see." The Ranger replied.

"Uhlman, you don't hold that against me? I got them killed."

"No you didn't." He grabbed him on the shoulder. "It's just how life works. When bad shit happens, what really matters is moving on." He shook his head in disbelief. "None of this is your fault. I know Pavel could have survived, but we both know that beasts can't tell the difference."

When the Polis Ranger was finished, there was a moment of silence between the two men. Artyom slowly closed his droopy eyes. Sleep was all he wanted after the events that had transpired. "If that is the case, I can rest easy knowing that." The tension that his body contained had begun to relax in this single moment.

"Rest easy, the Order is sending some soldiers to secure this place. If you smell something burning, the flamethrowers are busy cleaning house."

For the first time, the stalker felt comfortable in Uhlman's words. No more running, no more searching, no more fighting for once. As he slept, the time since he fell into slumber had become meaningless in this moment of respite. Yet, there was a matter in his mind as felt a strange presence intrude into his thoughts. What was supposed to be a quick and easy rest from his actions had resulted in something different entirely.

He found himself back in his comfortable station - Exhibition. It was not as clean as the people who lived within Hansa's ring of influence, but such a place was his home. The people of this station fulfilled their simple lives with daily shores, often ignoring the fighting the occurred on the frontlines. Many people did not care for the mutated eldritch horrors that waited outside their doorsteps, but Artyom knew better than to ignore the crying of families as his step-father came to their houses to tell them the news. This was a morbid life he lived when his people fought their war of survival against the Dark Ones.

As he continued to stroll through the station's streets, Artyom could not help, but notice the lack of the station's soldiers around. Could it be that Sukhoi had doubled the sentry-duty hours? Then this wonderful sight of returning home had changed. The small greetings of citizens saying hello to the station commander's stepson was gone. Their expressions were filled with horror as gunfire and screams grabbed their attention.

On the opposite side of the street was two strong pre-war doors. Originally, they were supposed to be the station's main doors, but as the population continued to grow, Sukhoi expanded the defenses even further - going so far as to turn these doors into the secondary defenses.

The unarmed were quick to run away from these blast doors as several of the gate guards had stepped out to unlock them. As one of the guards pulled the door's lever down, the gates grinded open as a bright light lit through the opening. Several shadows were laid upon the safe zone of the station, but Artyom could see the backs of several former marines in heavy armor. "Quick, get inside! Warn everyone!" The squad commander shouted as he pulled his comrades into safety.

Had it been any other mutant, these men would have done fine. However, these creatures were not simple beasts, but an unnatural force that only he had witnessed at the top of Ostankino tower. The young man ran towards the blast doors and shouted to the top of his lungs. "That's too much, close it!"

What had occurred was the most terrifying scene Artyom had witnessed. All the soldiers who were defending the secondary gate were dropping their weapons. Some shook their heads, others dropped to their knees. The Dark Ones had already gotten through. They screamed in agony and cried out in horror as several tall and dark figures had materialized out of thin air - their hands holding out towards their victims. One man was even terrified enough that he grabbed his weapon and turned it on his fellow man.

While they had turned normal people into a sobbing mess, they all turned their full attention towards him. Eyes were full of hatred as they walked towards him in a menacing fashion. "You… killed us… why?"

Artyom was speechless. Despite all of his best efforts, the Dark Ones still had enough power to fight back - even after death. Did they even need the answer? They came to his home station and attacked his people. What right did their kind have to demand anything? His memories of all the people who were admitted into the hospital were enough for him to carry justification. Then he remembered his first day when he left Exhibition. That simple memory of seeing Hunter confront these creatures only gave him more reason to kill these creatures once and for all. How could he see the goodness in their hearts with all the bodies they left in their wake.

The entire station began to glow red all around - save for the few dark corners. As he looked down, his boots were in a sea of blood as decaying bodies of hundreds had floated. Yet, Artyom was stricken with fear that he could not move as these corpses came towards him and grabbed at every inch of his body. The Dark Ones continued to echo a voice into his thoughts with this very phrase on repeat.. "He must suffer…" Several hands reached out to him, trying to drag him down, but as he moved away from their grasp, his feet sunk into the ground.

Fear was all had left, trying to pry the bodies off his own. However, all of his efforts were all for not as the corpses climbed atop one another to simply drown him into a pool of blood. The weight of the dead continued to force him deep into the red waters.

If fate was on his side, then it came at the right moment. "Artyom, wake up! Hey, I said wake up." The dream ended when he could hear Uhlman's voice awakening him from his rest. "I gave you enough time to get some beauty sleep, now get up."

The young man immediately opened his eyes, only to see the command center much livelier than before. "How long have I been out?" It was a good question. Although time was meaningless in dreams and thoughts, it did matter when real time was involved.

"Eight hours. It is a surprise to find someone who sleep through all of that racket. Hell, someone could fire a gun in here and you could call it a bunk-bed."

Artyom groaned at his companion's poor act he was setting up. "Another one of these puns? Look, I just got up. The least that you could do is not put me in a poor mood."

"I'm sorry to say, but I can't help it." Uhlman replied. "Everyone has their own way of coping with the Metro."

"You are definitely correct in this regard. What do you need me to do?"

"Since the Order locked everything down in the lower levels of the bunker, we're going to do some exploring. I think you would be in the mood to try it out."

"And find more piles of goo?" He shook his head at the idea. After his experience with the biomass at the reactor, the stalker not motivated to find another pre-war location that should have remained locked away for good reason. "Consider me out."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Orders from the high-ranks. Given that you discovered this place alongside Vladimir and the colonel, you've been promoted."

Artyom was very much confused by the news. "What? Why would they ever want to do that? I know I want to become a Polis Ranger, but doesn't that take time to get in."

"Sleeping beauty, you just discovered a place that was considered a legend by most of the staff. After the decision the Council made against your station, your Ranger status is an apology and a thank you note in one package." Came his explanation.

"I see. Will I get a break?"

"Definitely. Since I'm kinda your partner caught in this mess, you deserve a three-week break before you're back in action." What a relief. His efforts alongside the Order had paid off and now the Council had recognized the kind of threat they disregarded. A Dark One body would be enough evidence to support the kind of horrors his home station was up against.

A loud metal vibration began to echo throughout the bunker-complex as dozens of soldiers were now caught by surprise at the loud noise. Yet, the bestial cry that demanded their attention had resulted with soldiers grabbing their gear and wearing their helmets. "Shit, it sounds like it's a floor below. Ladna, let's go."

The young man rose up from his crates and grabbed his assault rifle hanging from his shoulder. "I don't like this one bit."

"That's a good gut feeling you have. You would make an excellent fortune teller." As the duo made their way to the elevators on the edges of the level, Uhlman chuckled at the thought. "A terrible joker who uses puns and a stalker who has a good sense of things around him. That sounds like a perfect combination for a story."

"Don't press your luck. It's highly unlikely."

"Ha, you see!"

When the two men waited in the elevator with several other soldiers, Artyom could see their impatience at the strange situation that occurred. The closer the elevator arrived into the correct level, dozens of men gathered their military equipment and directed their weapons in the general direction of two large steel doors. It didn't help that there was a loud crash that howled on the other side. Heavily armored soldiers took positions in the first row while everyone else gathered behind them - trying to slip their barrels around just to prepare an enfilade of gunfire on the other side.

"What's going on?" Uhlman asked as the elevator door opened.

A Ranger who was about to join the others had shrugged his shoulders. "We don't know. Several squads were about to search this level until something starting knocking on those doors."

Then a commanding voice had alerted them. "Everyone get ready, we're opening the doors!"

"Let's go people!"

Artyom and Uhlman was quick to join the ranks those present had begun to witness what was to unfold. One of the men stepped forward on the right side of the wall and pressed a button. As he held the button, the two great doors had slid apart from their dormant state. There was nothing left, but a pair of two bloodshot eyes slowly approaching them. When the creature revealed it's black wolf-like appearance, it growled towards them.

"Open fire!" Someone shouted.

Dirty bullets or not, the creature found itself trapped in gunfire. Ammo conservation meant little when the question for life or death was involved. Due to the sheer amount of firepower that was presented in one place, the black wolf was stumbling backwards and onto its hind legs. Each strike had earned a ruthless reply with a dozen more rounds. When the weapons had finally ran dry, the creature fell back and crashed onto the ground - leaving nothing, but the prepared Polis Rangers that killed it.

Upon closer inspection, the creature's corpse began to dissolve into nothing. There was no mutant that could pull off something like that. "What just happened?" Artyom wondered.

Then Uhlman was quick to speak his mind. "I don't know, but that is not normal."

The firing line was broken apart as Russian soldiers turned on their flashlights within the dark confines of the room. Artyom followed after them as he raised his Kalash and slowly swept the entire area. As they continued to explore the room, there was a blue light on the other end of the room emanating from a black ball of energy. Caution filled the room as the soldiers stayed away from the strange sight, but Artyom became the first to approach the anomaly. "Is that where the beast came from?" He wondered.

Strange as this event was, what made it worse was the screaming of a woman echoing from that black ball of energy. "Somebody, help me!"

Any sensible stalker would have remained cautious of this situation, but the young man could not resist the call for help. Ever since he witnessed the fall of an entire station on his quest to save his own, he would not ignore such cries. People deserved a chance to live. He continued to creep forward towards the strange black ball, wondering if he could do anything. As his fingertips reached out for the anomaly, he heard Uhlman call his name.

To say that he was surprised would be an understatement. The young man found himself flying into the ground with his face landing into the dirt. Had it been anything else, he would have earned a concussion or death. While he was busy pushing himself off the ground, Artyom could hear the sounds of chaos. Screams and gunfire had brought his attention as he swiped the dirt from his face. He was on the surface without a gas mask, but the biggest anomaly for him was the location he stood in.

An entire town was in complete disarray. Complete strangers ran to find shelter as odd monsters clad in black were busy fighting those who fired their weapons at them. Some even found themselves descending upon the defenders - who occasionally had a melee weapon in hand. Meanwhile, the unarmed civilians ran for their lives and retreated into the nearest buildings. Upon closer inspection, Artyom could see that not all of the civilians were "human". In fact several of them had animal features that he once saw in a picture book at a time when it did matter.

He remained speechless where he was - standing in a square while the various wolf-like monsters enveloped the small squads that tried to form their defensive positions. Then a growl was emanating from behind his back as he heard a creature approach him. When he turned around, the stalker found himself confronted by one of the wolf-like creatures that managed to find him where he was. It snapped its mouth after him while the young man slowly reached for his Kalashnikov.

The creature lept towards him as Artyom immediately brought the barrel beside his hip and pulled the trigger. With the scrap-made bullets clashing into the beast's hide, the weight of the monster had crashed atop of him as the stalker landed on his back with his assault rifle hanging from his person. Then it began to triumph in its attack as it stood upon its hind legs and yelled to the sky. Artyom took the opportunity to slip his makeshift automatic shotgun from his back and unleashed a hailstorm of incendiary buckshot into the black wolf. A fire swept into the monster before it noticed the resistance of it's victim. When the shotgun was empty of it's shells, the beast enjoyed the opportunity to bring down the killing blow upon him. Yet, the Shambler was made for such a moment and it's bayonet had certainly gave it utility.

After the bayonet was embedded into it's throat, Artyom quickly slipped a shell into the chamber of his shotgun and pulled the trigger. A moment later, the monster was no more when it's dark form had dissipate from existence. With that first kill, he looked around to find that the defenders had been killed or fleeing to find shelter with the civilians. As strange as this place was, the people here needed defenders.

When he got up from the ground, the stalker reloaded his shotgun in the open, hoping that the beasts wouldn't be so inclined to jump him in greater numbers. However, Artyom found himself shocked even further when there was a loud, booming vehicle over his head with its bright lights shining over the ground. He was in awe to find a working aircraft in such dire times, but it was better to ask such a question after this fight against monsters. Then more aircraft arrived to the town's defense and upon arrival, they fired large guns underneath their cockpit seats. "What did I get myself into?" The young man questioned.

His eyes noticed the back of the vehicles opening their large doors before strange metallic silhouettes stepped out and landed on their feet. Their friendly-blue lights did little to comfort Artyom as they started to fire their weapons upon the monsters that infested the town. Such support had caught his attention as he charged forth to join them in a firing line. On the other side of the square, he noticed that the creatures were pouring through a single road - where he stumbled upon the remains of the strangers.

Artyom slipped his shotgun onto his back as he grabbed his assault rifle slinging from his shoulders. When he found himself in the company of automatons, he raised his weapon and held the trigger. Then one of the machines had turned its 'head' towards him and spoke with a mechanical tone. "Hold your fire, friendly specialist inbound." It warned. The fact that it was warning him to stop shooting had puzzled him, but his attention fell upon the street when a white blur descended to the ground effortlessly.

Upon closer inspection, the young man saw a woman with white hair rise from her kneeling position. Her blue-white uniform was unlike any Artyom had seen in the Metro, but based on the fact that she landed on the ground with ease he was curious. When she turned around, he was enthralled by this stranger's appearance before she spoke in a firm military tone he was familiar with when he was in the company of Colonel Miller. "Civilian! You are coming with me."

Author's Note: It took me awhile to get this rewrite in order.

In case people are wondering what this fic is about, I am rewriting a series of fics that put me into a corner I couldn't get out of. Given the assortment of problems of fixing that plot, I am better off restarting from a clean slate. It is better that way as I can sweep my attempt of sticking to the canon plot of Metro 2033 game into the trash.

Now to address where this fanfic is set, it is after Metro 2033's bad ending and somewhat before RWBY's first volume.