Metro: Retribution

by RF and AG

Chapter 14: We Meet Again, So Soon?

I didn't want to say anything and neither did Khan, so instead we opted to walk in silence. Khan led us as usual and I just trailed along in silence, contemplating what he was going to ask and how I was going to respond. Of course, this was Khan that I was following. Not a soul knew what he was going to do next, I don’t think Khan even knew what he would do. Maybe that was how he had learned much of what he taught me, maybe going in blind was a better life lesson than anything.

Our trek took a different path than last time, while I did happen to glimpse down the same hallway we followed last time, we instead opted to take an abrupt left that hadn't been there before. I was actually rather thankful that we were taking a different path, namely because we weren't walking through a concrete hallway.

No, instead we had somehow ended up outside and in the Botanical Gardens. Though it wasn’t the one I was more recently used to, which brought me a little peace. The one we were walking through was closer to how I remembered it as a kid. Surrounding us was the lush green foliage that had been a sight to see long before the war, a few buildings strewn amongst the area. The only thing that was missing were the white noise of people talking amongst themselves.

We were completely alone here; I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Eventually Khan slowed his pace down, nearly causing me to bump into him. I had been so lost in the surroundings and my own thoughts that I had completely forgot about him. I snuck a peek over his shoulder, trying to see why we stopped. It wasn’t what I expected it to be, especially coming from Khan.

I had almost expected some sort of item that held a symbolic meaning, or possibly even something that I would have seen before in Equestria. No, the only thing in front of Khan was a marble table and two wooden chairs.

“Sit, Artyom, for we have much to discuss,” Khan said as he waved his arm as if he was revealing the table and chairs.

I mutely nodded before taking the last few steps to one of the chairs, not a word came from my mouth for I was far too surprised by the simplicity of what Khan had crafted here. No, was it Khan that had crafted this? If this was in my own head then maybe, I had subconsciously made these items and Khan just knew where to look? The whole thing was getting confusing once more.

“So, Artyom, how have you been?”

I arched an eyebrow at that question as if to ask, ‘really, Khan, you started with that?’

He merely chuckled at my display before speaking once more “Don’t be so stiff, Artyom. Small talk is one of the few great arts that is still around though few know anything about it.”

“I wouldn't know, Khan. Most of my conversations are with multicoloured hors- ponies that distrust me … maybe if I had a better group to work with?” I said, deciding to play along with Khan for the time being.

“Distrust can be easily sown and just as easily removed. I could almost bet on you having changed at least one pony’s mind already. Maybe you two will become good friends! It isn't the craziest thing around.”

I sighed out loud. “Just get on with it, Khan. These visions are wreaking havoc on my sanity.”

“Fine, fine, we'll move on.” With a flourish of his hand, Khan summoned a light that blinded me for a brief few seconds before it disappeared. When I could see properly again, I looked over to him to see nothing had changed.

I was going to question what that was about but he held up his left hand, silently telling me to stop. He gently moved it over to his left, using that presenting motion again. I rolled my eyes before looking over to my right. Well, it seemed Khan’s little display did do something.

On a counter to my right was a T.V and not just any T.V. No, this thing was something you would see rich people buying.  At least that was how I remembered the thin flat screen T.V. We obviously had no uses for such a piece of tech, but I could still remember seeing those in stores when we had lived on the surface. I had even found a maimed one in one of my trips to the surface. I was almost tempted to take it, despite it uselessness.

“Why is there a T.V., Khan?”

He chuckled at my question before answering. “Why isn't there a T.V.? To you it might seem like a pointless thing but this T.V. is worth more than all of the gold the world used to have. This, allows us to see what you have seen, Artyom. True, reality T.V..”

I didn't know what to say to that; reality T.V.? What did he mean by that? Of course, these questions were just a way for me to cope with the fact he had literally created something to see what I saw. My jaw was slowly opening, as opposed to the fast dropping that most people had when they were surprised.

“You … can see what I see?” I said, moving my open hands up and down as if I was shaking a ball of some sort.

“Not what you see, Artyom, but what you saw,” Khan said as he rested his elbows on the table and his head on top of his joined hands. “We are going to watch every vision that you saw, Artyom.”

I didn't reply to that, instead opting to groan lightly and let my head nearly smash into the table. In no way, shape, or form was I ready to relive those damnable visions. In previous visions I had little control, but this was my dream. Sure, Khan was shaping and moulding aspects of it but that didn't mean he could do something that I didn't want him to do. This was my dream, vision, whatever

“I'm not going to relive those, Khan,” I said, crossing my hands over my chest. “I know you have already seen what I saw, how else could you know?”

“Don’t spoil the fun now, Artyom!” Khan said with a smile, I just continued to frown at him. “Ha, perhaps all of this is making you more clever, Artyom. Fine, we will not view them again.”

“I was clever before, Khan. You just weren't so obvious with your motives.”

“Oh? Maybe age is finally catching up to me, Artyom. Maybe I am merely days away from feeling the cold whisper of death?” Khan was leaning on the back legs of his chair, legs kicked up on the table now.

I didn't go after that line, it wasn’t important to what was going on. There were things happening that had a much higher priority than debating death with Khan. One certain question entered my mind though. “How are you here, Khan? How are you even able to be in my mind? I've accepted that you are not a figment of my mind but that only raises more questions. So I ask you, how are you here?”

“I am here because I was destined to live, Artyom! Destined to become a part of the great adventure that we shared through the Metro. Through trials and tribulations, I live!” Khan said with a flourish, abruptly standing to his feet, which caused his chair to tumble. “That is the why, not the how though. Yet you know the how, Artyom. The how for me is but an extension of the how for you. We are that interconnected to each other.

“We are but two brothers, not bound by the finite rules of blood. No, we are more, more than one could ever hope and dream for! We are bound by the paths we walked and the choices we made, yet you and I follow the same path, Artyom. You and I are so much more than one could dream, but in the end, we are but a cog that must turn like the rest. So, you ask me how, Artyom; my answer to you is simple. I am here because you are there.”

I had been nearly on the edge of my seat during his little speech, hoping to latch onto a single statement that actually gave me an answer. Of course, this was Khan, this was a man that was wrapped in a veil of mysticism so thick, one could write fairy tales based around him. That is assuming he didn't write them first. I should have known he wouldn't give me a straight answer.

“You’re not going to give me a straight answer, are you?” I asked.

“Where would the adventure in that be?” Khan said as he picked up a random pebble. The thing was no bigger than his thumb, that much was obvious as he rolled it in his hand. He continued to roll it over and over in his hand, as though he was rolling it up into a ball of some sort.

“Why would you got straight to the source,” he said, rolling it one last time before pressing down onto the pebble, “when it doesn't show you what you need to know?”

The moment he said that last line, he threw both of his hands into the air. From the hand that held the pebble, a pillar of fire rose. The flames licked and danced over his hand, yet they didn't burn from what I could see, and the pillar just reached higher and higher. The other hand was just as amazing though, as a pillar of water shot out from that one.

For a few moments, he held his head back, hands still reaching for the sky with their respective elemental pillars. Then, just as fast as they had appeared, they were gone with a flick of each hand. He lowered his hands to his sides before picking up the chair and placing it back in its spot.

“I know you are impatient, Artyom. I will never understand why, but we are two entirely different people. On the move to get things done, that was the path you had took and it shaped you to who you are now. I always ventured from said paths, I never stayed on one long enough to be shaped to that way. That is why we work well together; we balance each other out.”

“Yin and Yang?” I offered.

“Hmm?” It seemed I had caught his attention.

“Yin and Yang, two different aspects that need each other to work together. Well, at least that was what my father had said. He used good and evil more often than anything, but it still applied.”

Khan scratched his chin for a brief moment, before snapping the fingers and his right hand. The T.V. that had sat beside our table vanished without so much of a sound. He walked in a small loop before returning back to the table. “That is the most accurate thing to represent us, I suppose. It is not definitive, but still the best answer. I am a little surprised that you or your father knew of such a thing. I met few that did.”

I simply shrugged my shoulders at his response, there was nothing more that could be said. So for a few moments we sat in complete silence, each one of us off in our own little world. I was looking at Khan, and if not him, than the rest of the scenery which had yet to change at all. Khan on the other hand was humming to himself with his eyes closed. His feet were once again kicked up onto the table.

It was much like a staring contest, dwelling on our own thoughts, waiting for one of us to break the stalemate.

“Gryphon Empire,” Khan said.

“Gryphon Empire?” I repeated, understanding the place, but not the context.

“Yes, that is where Alfasia was.”

“How in hell would you know that?” I was stunned at his apparent knowledge of geography from the world I was currently in.

“It was said in your vision, Artyom, well … implied is the better word. Either way that should be your next destination.”

“And here I thought you weren't going to give me straight forward answers, Khan? What changed?”

“Nothing has changed, Artyom,” he said as he rose from his seat. His right hand beckoning me to follow. “Nothing has changed, since there were no rules from the beginning. I never wanted to give you a straightforward answer because I wanted you to learn and deduce it on your own. I know you are capable of easily finding your route, Artyom.”

“Then why help me along? Why offer help in the first place?” I asked. We were walking through the gardens once more, passing nothing more than plants and trees. At least they weren't the shrivelled and dead things from our time.

“I sometimes forget that you don’t appreciate riddles like I do. Sometimes we don’t even think in the same way, Artyom. You tend to be less analytical, less focused on the tiny details while I can’t help but see them as those they were lights pressed up against my face. You operate well under stress when it comes to survival while I can still solve mathematical equations. My expectations of you, Artyom, are not too high; they are simply asking for the wrong things.”

He looked over to me and I simply frowned at him. Wherever he was going, it was getting a little condescending and though I can take some ragging, I was still no fan of being mocked. He obviously figured out what the look was trying to get through and began to speak again.

“It is like I said, with you being more straightforward than me, Artyom. You were a Ranger, a high calibre soldier of the Metro. You had the skill-set and the tools to become one, if not, the best. I would have had no place in such an organization, for I am no soldier. I can hold my own in a fight, Artyom, do not get me wrong, but I am not you. I am a philosopher, a historian, a scientist, and a scholar. That is what I am trying to say, you didn't aim to piece together those little puzzles while I did, simply because that is what I look for.”

I let my anger slip from my face, it wasn’t worthwhile to hold onto anyway. I knew what Khan was saying from the get go, I might have been straightforward, but I could still piece together things if I wanted to. I just wanted to hear what Khan had to say.

        “Sometimes I wonder how you became who you are today, Khan,” I said with a small chuckle, “I think everyone wondered that.”

        He merely laughed at my statement, yet it sounded a little hollow to it. It almost sounded as though he was masking something with that laugh, but whatever it was, only he could tell me. Only the man, who was an enigma, wrapped inside of riddle and surrounded in mystery, could tell me.

“I became who I am, because I needed to become who I am, it was the only way.” His eyes lost a little focus as he gazed off ahead of him. Whatever he was focusing on, it must have been something intense for when he returned his focus on the present, he shook his head. “I once told Ulman that tale … it was something that he took to his grave.”

“I feel a little insulted, Khan. Ulman, but not me? What did he have that I don’t?” I asked with feigned jealousy.

“A sense of humour,” Khan said, causing us both to laugh. “It only came about because of where we were, Artyom. Nothing more, nothing less. Maybe, if you get back, I will show you the place and you could hear my tale.”

“Not if, Khan. There is no ‘if,’ just ‘when.’”

He simply smiled at that statement, yet I knew what it meant. he had flashed that smile numerous times to me. It seemed almost fatherly in origin, one that you would give a child when they learned something important about life, or if they had accomplished some great task of theirs. Was that what it meant? Was Khan proud of me for showing such determination?

I didn't want to outright ask, who knew what old scars it might have brought up if I did. Sometimes it was just best to leave it be until they brought it up themselves, I know that that was case with me. I hadn't even spoke to my adopted father about my mother, instead I kept it bottled up inside of me for all of my life, finally getting some form of closure before ending up in Equestria.

“I must say, I enjoy this, Artyom.”

“What? Leading me on through my dreams?” I couldn't help but add a little bit of snarkiness to the conversation.

“Among other things,” he said with a smirk. “I meant, this ‘free time,’ if you want to call it that. Moments when we aren't busy running off in search of something and instead just basking in conversation with each other. Hopefully building a friendship that isn't purely centred around navigating through the Metro.”

“Does that mean that you are going to stop saying mysterious things to me? Maybe, stop appearing in random places?” I nudged his side with my elbow.

“Would I still be Khan if I stopped doing that?” he asked, a smirk played across his face in a knowing grin. He knew he was right, and he knew that I knew. It was just a part of who he was, and if he were to change then he would no longer be Khan.

No laughter rose from the amusing conversation, but both of us basked in the small amount of mirth that we had created. It was pleasant to say the least and I was glad that we were having a conversation that didn't follow the regular types that we usually had.

Khan started to slow down as we rounded a corner, which took us … back to where we had started. The table and chairs were still there just as we had left them. Had I become so preoccupied with the conversation that I hadn't notice the route we took? Maybe this was another trick of my mind that Khan was exploiting, not that I minded. The chairs were comfortable after all, and the scenery was as fine as any.

So once more we sat, staring at nothing in particular and hardly doing anything more than letting out a sigh once in a while. The conversation was basically dead at that point, which left me wondering why I was still in the dream. Usually when it came to this type of moments, I would wake up in my bed or wherever I had fallen asleep.

“Sometimes, silence is what is needed more than conversation,” Khan said, beating me to the punch. “A lot of information can be garnered out of paying attention to the silence, Artyom.”

“So … you’re not going to tell me why I am still here are you?”

He laughed briefly, shaking his head, before speaking. “What would the point of that be, Artyom? We are in your mind after all.”

Great, back to the riddles and puzzles, back to typical Khan. Sure, it wasn’t a standard puzzle or even a riddle for that matter, but it still wasn’t straightforward and it hardly gave any insight into my question. Khan probably wanted me to figure it out for myself.

I steepled my fingers as I leaned myself forward onto the table. My eyes focused on a spot in the distance past Khan. Well, focused wasn’t the right word, zoned out would have been a more accurate thing to say. I didn't need to worry about what was happening there though, my focus was on trying to impress Khan with a little problem solving. This was my mind after all, I had infinite power here.

No…

        It couldn't be that easy, could it? There was no way that the answer was a simple as that, but there it stood, plain as day. The only way it could get more obvious, was if it had neon signs illuminating it. Khan wasn’t the type to go for that though, no it had to be something much deeper and complex than that.

        Yet no matter what, I couldn't get away from that one answer. Each direction of thought led me back to it and each attempt to work a different answer came up with nothing but that. If it truly was the answer then how could I have been so oblivious? I was ready to slap my hand over my face at such a ludicrous idea and yet it had to be right.

        “This is my mind and I am the one in control, no one else. All these images, all of these illusions have just been me filling in the gaps right? All that you have shown me, is just a play off my mind, tricking it into working for you to help me? Is it really that simple?” I asked, finally focusing back to where Khan had been sitting.

        His seat was empty, devoid of Khan, much like the rest of the surrounding area. I spun my head around, searching for some sign of my friend but alas, he was nowhere to be found. Was he just a figment of my imagination?

        I put my head into my hands, shutting my eyes tightly for a moment. Nothing was making sense again and I was nearing the point where I wanted to scream out loud. As my head rose from my hands, I noticed something different. Something that had not been there before and I was sure of that.

        Sitting on the table in front of me was a folded piece of paper. Folded in half so that it rested in the style of a tent. I was completely sure that it had not been there before I put my head in my hands.

        Without thinking, I reached out and grabbed the piece of paper, opening it up to see if there was something written and much to my, oh so joyous, delight I found that there was indeed writing.

        “‘You are correct, Artyom, and with that I take my bow for the night,’” I read out loud before sighing deeply. Oh Khan.

        I let the note fall from my hands, not caring about it any more. There was no value to it aside from the words that he wrote. Yet when I focused back on my surroundings, I was surprised once more by a scenery change. This time it was more familiar than anything.

        I was sitting on the edge of my bed in the Crystal Palace, or was I?

        My eyes slowly blinked open, pushing out of the black dots that hovered over my vision. I continued to blink until my eyesight was normal once more. My right arm reached behind me to push myself up into a sitting position. I quickly glanced over the room to confirm what I had suspected.

        I had been dreaming that last part, dreaming of finding myself back in my room. I was learning though, progressing and improving my alertness to dreams and visions. Most of it was unintentional learning, such as that little bit, but it helped nonetheless.

        I let my body fall back in my bed, desiring sleep once more. This time I was sure that I was back in the waking world and aiming to get sleep once more. I could tell just by the feeling, reality had an entirely different feel to it than a dream. For that brief moment that I had dreamt I was in the room, it didn't feel right. It just felt off, but actually waking up here removed that feeling. Everything was normal once more; as normal as my life got.

I rolled my head to the side to see the little alarm clock that had been beside my bed. It was a little after ten at night. I sighed, letting my body sink into the bed, I had still a lot of time before I had to even think about waking. Maybe sleep would embrace me once more if I closed my eyes.

I was lucky for it did come back to me.