Metro: Retribution

by RF and AG

Chapter 25: Callous Souls

        I slowly blinked back the void of pitch blackness that was once my vision, the drudges of pain-induced sleep finally freeing me. It took me more than a few moments for my eyes to adjust to the sheer amount of light that was cascading around me; it was like looking directly into a light bulb head directly in front of my face.

I couldn’t help but naturally react and wince while trying to limit the amount of light I was seeing. After a few minutes of straining to get used to the brightness, everything evened out and the rest of the room came into vision. The stone ceiling above me, with that hanging light bulb made me question if everything I had experienced was all just a nightmare.

Perhaps I was still in that cell back in Canterlot and me killing Korbut had just been one hell of a dream. After everything that Khan had shown me that my mind could do, I wouldn't have put it past my subconscious to conjure up such a thing.

As I moved to sit up, I was thankfully, yet painfully, reminded that everything had in fact happened.

“Fuck,” I hissed, instantly clutching my left side as excruciating pain pulsated and throbbed through it. Still, I managed to prop myself up on an elbow in spite of the pain. At least everything really had happened and Korbut was nothing but little pieces.

My eyes scanned around the room, taking in as much of my surroundings as possible. It was sparse, extremely sparse, as there was nothing but a bed and a lone table huddling beside it for company. Other than those two things, it was simply a bare, desolate room with a door leading out of it. Of course, I disliked being in such a constrained area, so I slowly slowly positioned myself to swing my body off the right side of the bed, still holding my side in pain.

It was then that I noticed that I wasn’t wearing my armour anymore. Somehow I had missed that little fact, yet it brought me to another realisation; there was another piece of furniture in the room. On the right side of the bed, tucked up against it was another table, this time holding all of my gear on it.

If it wasn’t for the pain, I would have thought that my mind was still messing with me. Still, at least I wasn’t dead. That would have put a major wrench into my journey to get home. I managed a small chuckle at that thought; of course I instantly regretted it, given the shooting pain flaring in my side.

After taking a few moments to let the pain subside, I managed to pull myself up to my feet, my eyes staying on my armour the entire time. I knew that I was going to regret having to do the next part.

Each time I had to pull on a piece of my armour, the pain shot through me again, and I was tempted to use the syringes in my orange box but I knew I only had three left. So, instead of donning my armour in medicated bliss, I simply clenched my teeth and pushed through the pain. I bet any doc would have thought me insane for even considering getting armour on after taking any sort of stab wound. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to waste sitting in a bed in the middle of who knows where in the Gryphon Empire.

After what felt like countless minutes of strained grunts from the pain, and having to pause to actually breathe, I managed to actually get my full gear on, which included all the little accessories I carried. It was definitely an experience I wasn’t willing to relive anytime soon; I’m making the mental note to stick to ranged fighting once more.

By the time I got my helmet and mask back on, I was lucky enough to get a visitor. Thankfully, one I was somewhat happy to see, though happy is a strong word in this situation.

“You know you shouldn’t be out of bed, yet,” Scowly said from behind me, what with my back facing the door. I would have had a better response for him if the pain had subsided quicker.

“No time to waste in bed,” I replied through gritted teeth before taking a few more breaths to stem the pain. I turned around to see the pony looking slightly different than the night before. I think he’d had a shower or something because he was practically living up to his name. I’m just glad that we weren’t going to be doing anymore sneaking around, that white coat truly is a detriment to being a soldier.

“While I would agree, being stabbed isn’t exactly something you can shake off,” Shining replied as he moved out of my way, my slow steps taking me through the stone doorway to a hallway also constructed of stone that was just as sparse as my room. And here I thought that Gryphons had decorated their places up like that palace of theirs. “We’re on no time limit, you know …”

“We are on mine,” I stated back slowly, the pain finally starting to fade. “Where is this place?”

“Here? Usaaly’s hospital,” he responded as if it was general knowledge. I simply looked down at him, my eyes hopefully telling him exactly what I needed him to say. His ears folded back for a brief second as he realised his mistake. “After you passed out, the whole city burst into an all out war. The Gryphon Legion rushed the town, taking substantial casualties but clearing it swiftly. Thankfully, Quintus of all gryphons found us and had you rushed to the hospital along with a team of medics. Oddest thing was that they were hardly needed. Your wound was practically healing on its own, though you took some decent damage from that blast. Tartarus, you should thank me for pulling your ass out of that mess.”

I rolled my eyes but still gave him a brief thank you. It was the least I could do, since he was technically right. If it wasn’t for Shining appearing, I probably would have dug my grave right next to Korbut’s. Instead, I was still living … if not still in the weird pony land. Of course that meant I still had a task to finish. If everything I had gone through was just part of my journey then I needed to hurry to Alfasia and find what could hopefully be the last clue for me to return home.

I had enough of this place, it was just not right. Sure, in all honesty it was probably a better place to live then the Metro, aside from the vegetation trying to kill me, but yet I would never get used to it. The Metro and the ruins above us were my home, and I would rather rebuild my home from the ground up then take the easy route and live in an already built home.

I sighed out loud, most likely drawing some sort of confused look by Scowly but I cared little, as I had already moved on from the small bit of introspective thought. Instead, my next task was to ensure that those rifles got destroyed. As I put on my gear earlier I had a little revelation regarding all of the leftover weapons from the Red Line. They would drastically shift the balance of things in this world towards the absolute worst side of their potential if I just let them be. Instead, I knew it was part of my duty to ensure that they were destroyed, minus a resupply for me. The same would go for Scowly’s Kalash … once I had my way back home.

I knew from the moment that thought struck me that it would be a tough thing to do, but it had to be done, no ifs, ands, or buts. Of course, I would need the backing from Scowly to help ensure cooperation regarding this. It would be a tough thing to have done without using a little bit of political power.

“We need to talk to Galba,” I said to Shining, though he didn’t look surprised.

“Of course, we need to ensure our deal is still on so we can get to that town,” he replied, but I shook my head.

“Not just about that. We need to talk about guns. Red Line guns specifically,” I replied, this time actually earning a confused look from Shining. “If Galba keeps weapons, things change big time.”

It took him a moment to piece things together but when he did, his eyes narrowed in that really creepy way and his ears folded back. He didn’t say anything at first, that look staying on his face for a little bit before it turned to one of annoyance and anger. “Right, time to throw some weight around.”

With that, we marched out of the room and into the still surprisingly barren hallways of the hospital. Of course, that wasn’t to say that there wasn’t nothing in there, no, there were cabinets and items spaced out around the halls. What I meant by barren was that there were no gryphons of any kind in the hallways. It was rather odd, considering the fact we were in a surprisingly large town. I didn’t question it too much or worry for that matter because I was used to there being not a single soul around in hallways. 

The long, and still rather painful trek down all the few hallways and one flight of stairs was the typical quick and boring tedium that usually happened, though we did eventually encounter gryphons, and by encounter I mean the entire first level was filled with them. It seemed that despite everything that I had done for them, they still were hesitant around me, so they kept me secluded. Or at least, that was the gist I got from the looks I was getting.

Eventually I had to put a filter in for good measure as we exited outside to the cobblestone streets that were lined with soldiers everywhere you looked. They were often marching down the streets in small groups, probably on a patrol of some sort. When they weren’t seen marching, they were flying or standing at attention. Without a doubt they were a well lead army of some sorts.

Oddly enough, despite the cautious looks I was getting in the hospital, I was actually getting a few salutes from the gryphon soldiers. The same ones that had most likely sneered at me when we had originally touched down before the operation. It was a little confusing all in all, but I wasn’t going to say anything. I would take my silent game to my grave if I could.

Eventually the walking behind the furious pony led us to what used to be a perfectly operational factory. Now, as we approached from the same side that the gunpowder had  once been stored in, I could see that my decision to ignite it had proven to be a hefty loss to the gryphons. There was a massive chunk taken out of the entire factory’s side. One that was roughly comparable in size to a house. I couldn’t imagine how the inside of the place looked, though I had a feeling that it was going to more or less be a scrap pile.

Somehow things had a way of working out in the end. I had for a moment thought we would need to fly all the way back to the capital to talk to Galba, but apparently the Emperor was a very hands-on type, in that he was eager to see the complete removal of the Red Line in person. In fact, he was standing outside of the factory along with what I assumed were some generals, and Quintus. To continue on that line of irony, in front of them was a slowly growing pile of Kalashes and other weapons, as well as another pile of grenades and a third pile full of ammo.

“Ahh, Prince Armor, I see Artyom is awake finally. I have to say, he did a marvelous job, though it seems there has a little bit of damage,” Galba said in his usual arrogant way. It was like I could feel that he knew what was coming.

“That is of no importance when lives are on the line, Galba. That’s not why I’m here though,” Shining said with a little bit of an edge to his voice. A great time for him to grow a true backbone.

“Ah yes, your deal. We’ll have a cart of supplies and a guide by midday,” Galba said dismissively but he received no reply from Shining at first, causing the gryphon Emperor’s grin to falter. “Is something the matter, Armor?”

“The weapons,” Shining said while pointing his hoof at the growing pile.

“What about them? They are fair conquest of war,” Galba said, his voice going cold as well.

“You and I both know that will never fly with the United Council. If they aren’t destroyed, there will be diplomatic repercussions,” Shining stated, somehow getting under Galba’s skin.

“And what would you do, pony? Sever all ties and start a war? I don’t think you’d like the results of going to war with us, Armor. Equestria is not prepared to lose an ally,” Galba stated with hostility. “Just accept my generosity and be glad you can walk out of here.”

“You think you can pull all this about when the Empire relies on Princess Celestia to move the sun and Princess Luna to move the moon. Are you such an arrogant fool, Galba that you’d go to war with beings that control such vital aspects of our ecosystem?” Shining snorted in derision at such a stupid statement.

“Your threats are empty, and you know it,” Galba replied in kind, the two almost at each other’s throats.

I decided to add something. “They’re mine anyways.”

That stopped them in their tracks, causing them both to instantly look at me as if I had just told them the stupidest thing in existence.

“I won so they are mine,” I said, knowing that I wasn’t making any sense. As far as I knew there was nothing ever stated in existence that would hold any backing for such a statement, but why not put it out there? Perhaps it would give Shining something to work with, or possibly it would throw Galba for a loop. I decided to add onto that statement though, “I killed Korbut, defeated Red Line. They are mine by winner’s right.”

“Haha! And how do you think you’ll back that up, human?” Galba laughed at me. I simply gestured to the pistol I kept on my hip and then the weapons on my back. His eyes squinted at me as if trying to understand what i was implying. “Do you honestly think you could kill me?”

“Not could, but would,” I replied bluntly.

“Think beyond yourself, Galba. Equestria is more than prepared to deal with threats, and you would be showing everything in your hand if you don’t comply. And don’t you dare think of bringing harm to either of us, Princess Celestia knows our status, and will be expecting another letter within a few hours,” Shining added on. That was either a well placed bluff, or Shining was still a little helper to that bitch.

Galba’s beak turned to a sneer before turning around and gesturing to his generals to follow, who had been oddly quiet for the entire exchange. They walked a little ways away before stopping, and looked to be conversing quietly in a group. My hearing might have been pretty decent but even I couldn’t hear what they were saying, though it made me wonder if Shining could hear them.

So for a few minutes we simply waited for them to finish conversing, neither of us actually doing anything else but just standing there. We didn’t even talk for entire thing, as there was no conversation to be had. I had nothing to say to Scowly and he had nothing to say to me presumably.

Eventually Glaba and his little crew came back, a surprisingly big smile on his face considering the situation. It was unnerving and mischievous at the same time, so I figured something was up.

“It would seem that my advisors agree with your … demands. The weapons would be of little use to us anyway,” Galba said in an oddly coy voice considering the situation. “We’ll destroy the weapons, and you’re free to oversee it … and just out of a gesture of goodwill, we’ll still fund your trip to Alfasia. Think of this as a show of faith from the Gryphons to Equestria, Prince.”

With that, Galba and his group left, though I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be the last we saw of him. Oddly enough, Quintus stayed behind, still standing around with the rather unreadable face I had seen him with before. Shining walked over to him and struck up a conversation with the gryphon but I paid it little attention, instead focusing on the gryphon soldiers who were now carrying bundles of weapons inside the warehouse.

I followed slightly to see where they were putting them, and found out that though the gryphons were making gunpowder in the factory, they were also using it for other means as there was a cauldron of molten steel, or something akin to it, that I had somehow skipped over when we assaulted it the previous day. It unnerved me a little as it was glaringly obvious now that I was looking at it.

Thankfully, they were following their new orders and were indeed flying up and throwing the weapons into the mixture. I almost wanted to smile under my mask at how easy it was to convince Galba of the right course of action but I knew that there was something else in play. The gryphon had something planned and i really hoped it didn’t involve me for once. I had been a part of too many things, enough for more than a couple of lifetimes; I could only hope that when I got home, if I did, then I would finally be able to sit down and relax for once.

I slowly wandered back out of the factory to see Quintus and Shining still talking, though it was more about what happened and what was going to happen. I cared little for the moment as my mind was feeling distant, wondering about the immediate future; what I would find in Alfasia and how it would tie into the vision I had.

So we more or less hung around the entryway of the factory for an hour as all of the confiscated Red Line gear was melted down, with the exception of a few things I cherry picked. A little bit of extra ammo to make up for the rounds I had fired off, topping me back up to the amount I knew I could carry without feeling weighted down. Along with that, I plucked a new mask that hadn’t yet been cracked, just incase things with mine went south. I held back from grabbing more filters since I had a magical unicorn to help with that problem. I also made sure to take rounds for Shining who would probably need all the Kalash magazines he could carry.

All in all it was a nice little rest, and even the pain faded away over time. Whatever they had done to heal me, I was thankful because it hardly felt like anything had even happened.

I was also thankful that the town had little to no vegetation around because it allowed me to take my mask off for a while and breath relatively normally, even if it was a little strained. Still, no filtered air almost felt better than the cleaner stuff you’d breath through the mask. It made me feel more normal, though that is the best way to describe it. Perhaps one day, my descendants would be able to breath the natural air once more.

Once the weapons and equipment piles had been fully incinerated, Shining made his way over to me as Quintus departed.

“We’ll be travelling to what is the last known location of Alfasia via air chariot. Once there, the gryphons will set up a camp while we delve into the ruins that are left,” Shining stated as he looked over his shoulder at Quintus, who was walking away. “Be weary, I almost expect some sort of betrayal. I’m going to start sending more letters to Celestia just incase.”

I glared at him for a moment at the mentioning of that name but I shrugged it off, it wasn’t important. He knew that I was aware that he was reporting to Celestia, I wasn’t as blind this time to knowing that the one I travel with is working for someone else. Not like it helped at all, considering that this time it would be nearly impossible to slip between the cracks of said organization and actually make it home alive.

Shining, somewhat like Pavel, was my lifeline here … that much I had accepted as being true.

Eventually we were escorted to the chariot that was to take us to where Alfasia used to be. I had no doubt in my mind that the place was going to be nothing but ruins, but if the vision was anything to go, by then I would be able to at least get some sort of info out of the place. Anything could help at this point, even the faintest glimmer of direction; it was all I needed in the Metro, it had to translate.

Quintus didn’t travel with us this time, as the ride was rather short, but I cared little. Once again i was more than a little agitated by being stuffed in a box and flown in a way that shouldn’t be plausible, but on the second time I was more accepting of the idea that things in this place were beyond normal reason.

Shining and I spoke no words to each other as he was too busy writing a report to Celestia as well as taking stock of the supplies that were in the cart with us. Most likely it was food, but I saw some rope and what looked like hooks so there was a chance that there might be some climbing gear.  

Either way, I was prepared for whatever was going to happen. My weapons were ready and I was topped up on ammo, but in reality if this was going to be anything like when I followed Khan in his explorations through the Metro, I was not going to need to fire a single shot. Still, I always felt the most confident when I was able to rely on my marksmanship and stealth to get out of situations, which I had one of for sure.

Eventually the gryphons touched down and I hopped out quickly, assuring my feet the solid ground they needed. I turned around and wanted to facepalm at what I had to deal with.

About a hundred meters ahead of me was the first glimpse of ruins: an ancient stone structure that was propped up out of the ground barely, but immediately beside it was perhaps the largest gorge I had seen in my life, and that is saying something, considering the extent of how destroyed Moscow was. From where I was standing, the gorge had to be at least a hundred meters at its widest but I could just tell that it was going to be extremely deep; call it Ranger’s intuition.

“This is going to be fun,” I mumbled before walking forward some more. Shining in the meantime pulled the rest of our gear out and hefted it onto his back like a good pack mule. He had other uses sure, but right then and there he was a pack mule.

“Alright, that is everything. When we’re done here, I’ll send a letter and they will return, shouldn’t be too long, right?” Shining asked a little naively. I simply turned my head to slowly look at him and he got the gist of what I was trying to tell him. He sighed before looking towards the gryphons. “We’ll see you tomorrow hopefully.”

With that, we were gone and on the move towards the next step in the plan to get me home. With Korbut out of the way, the worst thing I would have to face would probably be horrible mutants and monsters that want me dead for no more reason other than that they are hungry. Yep, a lot of fun delving into ancient depths … at least it would feel more like home.