Chapter 1

Let the Journey Begin

Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or any of the Metro series (2033 in both novel and game form or Last Light)

A/N Dialogue in bold is in Russian (assuming the setting is Remnant, of course. besides, I can tell people are too lazy to pull up Google Translate to see what they mean.) As for the gang being able to speak English, I think that Artyom was taught by Alex/Sukhoi, Miller and Khan were probably around their twenties when the missiles rained down, making sense that they know English, and Ulman also got to read from what stalkers took from the Lenin Library. He may be a soldier, but he's still in Polis. What are the odds that every single book that survived in the Lenin Library are ALL in Russian, right?

I'll try to be as specific as I can without sticking a wall of text on certain details of the Metro universe for those joining us who are unfamiliar with the series. I basically assume you know RWBY though.

This is the first fanfic I have ever written. Please be gentle and R&R.

"Artyom, it is time…"

Artyom crawled over to the switchboard, on it, the detonator for the explosives wired through the entire facility of D6. He prayed that he didn't have to use their last resort. The Communists, more commonly called "The Reds" have broken the line, and he knew as well as the other Rangers that no one should have this facility, that no one should possess the bioweapons locked within. The general of the Communists took notice of him.

"And who might this be? Ah…the resourceful young man. Tell me, Artyom, 'Saviour of the Metro,' where are you going?"

Artyom said nothing as he flicked the switch. "STOP HIM!" the general cried, but he said so too late. In the last five seconds before the detonation, Artyom's life flashed before his eyes. His life in Exhibition station and his stepfather Alex. His travels throughout the metro. The conversations he found himself eavesdropping into. His new partner, Anna, who became more than just his partner, who was evacuated from D6 beforehand. The four men who fought alongside him; Khan, Ulman, and Colonel Miller, his commanding officer. 'If only we met under different circumstances, or in a different world…' Artyom thought. His last thought was of his mother, her face finally clear to his mind's eye, saying "Don't be afraid… There's nothing to be afraid of now…"

The last thing one Red soldier saw before the explosion was the disappearance of four Rangers, in what appears to be a puff of black smoke and an orange glow where their torsos were supposed to be.

Artyom woke up, water falling on his face. He found himself in a dark forest, all surrounded in green. It was raining. Realizing he was where he thought was the surface with its toxic air, he rushed to put his gas mask on. 'Thirty minutes worth of filters,' Artyom thought as he wound up the timer on his watch. The first thing he did was check his equipment, patting himself down.

At the same time…

Blake had just settled in the dorm room with her new team, with the events of the initiation dealt with earlier that day. She looked over her new teammates, Ruby, her red energetic leader, Yang, Ruby's blonde hard-hitting sister and her own partner, and Weiss, the elegant white swordswoman. Ruby and Yang were proclaiming their excitement to the world, almost as if they were broadcasting it all throughout Remnant, and Weiss simply steaming in her bed. Suddenly, a dull pain shot up in her head. She grunted and put her thumb and fingers on her temples; her teammates noticing that she was in pain.

"Blake? Are you okay?" Ruby and Yang simultaneously asked.

"This was probably caused by YOUR incessant squealing! Some people are trying to sleep!" Weiss replied.

"Guys, it's fine. It didn't last too long. You should still probably quiet down though, Weiss is right; people are trying to sleep," said Blake. On that note, she walked over to her bed and closed her eyes. 'As much as I don't like rain, it sure sounds soothing…'

Back in the Emerald Forest…

'Let's see…five throwing knives, three pipebombs, two incendiary pipebombs, one claymore, medkit with three syringes left, ammo supply, 120 military grade bullets, at least I'm not broke, trench knife, lighter, head light, night vision goggles, universal battery charger, journal.' He still had his Kalash, the AK-74M, fully customized with a reflex sight, a 45 round magazine, and a laser designator. He also had his Volt Driver; a railgun whose body had a battery connected a universal battery charger, which was charged by squeezing the handle like one would with a motorcycle brake, the amount of charge in the battery indicated on a voltmeter. The barrel itself is composed of two thick rectangular prongs with electromagnetic rails on the inside, which launched 15mm ball bearings from a 15 round cylinder. A 4x optical sight, heavy duty capacitor for making the most of full-power shots and a laser designator is attached to it. Finally, his revolver, customized with a suppressor, reflex sight and laser designator. He mainly used this to shoot out lights, but it had its fair share of use on mutants and people alike. He took a look around, and spotted a cliff a fair distance away. He started walking towards it.

Half an hour in, he heard a howl. "Watchmen, huh? Time to hide," he said to himself. The Ranger took cover behind a tree, waiting for whatever made that howl to pass by. Artyom peeked from his hiding spot to try and take a look at what he was dealing with, his blue eyes widening as he saw what it was. It was a wolf-like creature, standing tall on two legs; its black fur seemed to absorb the moonlight, not reflecting any. However, what caught his attention were its solid red eyes which paraded a killing intent, and what appears to be a mask made of bone with red marks over its eyes. It sniffed around, possibly looking for the Ranger.

'This thing is probably dangerous. I should probably get rid of it,' Artyom thought as he drew his revolver and a throwing knife, placing the foregrip in his left hand , remembering the Rangers' motto; 'If it's hostile, you kill it.' He raised his arm, poised to throw the knife right between its eyes. The knife hit the mask of the wolf, but uselessly bounced off, causing it to look at the tree, and consequently, Artyom. "Ah, fuck," Artyom mumbled, and quickly aimed his revolver at the beast, firing all six of his rounds. The wolf howled in pain as six bullets were embedded in its torso. The beast collapsed, and Artyom trotted over to the body, unsheathing his trench knife and stabbed it in the cranium for good measure. He picked up the throwing knife, and a multitude of howls emanated from a good distance behind him. A whole pack of them is headed his way. He started running until he reached his limit.

"Dammit, I can't use my lighter in this rain, let alone my grenades…" Artyom muttered. The Ranger holstered his revolver, unslinging the Volt Driver. He turned on his flashlight as well, shining an almost blinding white light, indicating a full charge. He counted four wolves the same size as the one he just took down, and a bigger one behind the four 30 metres away from him. He slowed his breathing, took aim, and shot three rounds at one wolf, each shot announced by a boom, like softened thunder, and flashes of blue from the rails. 'That's one.' Another three shots were fired, the wolves getting closer. 'Two.' Three more shots, the wolves closing the distance. 'Three.' Three more rounds flew. The big wolf was spitting distance from him. 'Four.' He fired his last three rounds at the big one, but it was still standing. Cursing under his breath, he ran towards the big wolf and jabbed the Volt Driver's flat rectangular prongs into its chest, with intent to fry the beast with electricity. Unfortunately, he neglected to take a look at the voltmeter, which indicated that the charge was next to nothing; only a small spark had shocked the wolf. Taking the opportunity, the wolf pinned Artyom to the ground.

At the same time…

Blake was just about to fall asleep, when suddenly she heard what sounded like thunder in the distance. "Did anyone else hear that?" she asked, but the rest of Team RWBY was still fast asleep. 'The magic of Faunus hearing, I guess…' The thunder seemed to sound off in bursts of three. 'Something seems off,' she thought to herself. She got up from her bed and looked outside the window, and saw that there was no lightning, but instead, a faint blue light flashing three times in the Emerald Forest. 'I'd better go check this out,' she thought, and silently walked out of the room. She retrieved Gambol Shroud from her locker, along with her gear and Scroll, and headed for the Emerald Forest.

Artyom struggled to unsheathe his trench knife with one hand while the other hand trying to push the wolf off of him as it was tried to bite his face off, the wolf growling and snarling rabidly while doing so. He pulled out his knife and shouted "GET OFF ME YOU SON OF A BITCH!" and punched it in the gut with the knuckle duster. To his surprise, some force aside from his punch sent the wolf flying off a few meters away from him, the beast on its back. To add more surprise, he saw two metal rods fly into its chest, one of which hit its heart.

"Artyom, are you okay?" a familiar voice questioned, muffled by a gas mask.

"Man, that thing was huge! Can we take it as a memento? I want to mount it on my wall!" another familiar voice exclaimed, muffled as well.

"What Artyom and the rest have said about you was right. You are indeed a comedian," a third voice deadpanned, also muffled.

"Khan? Colonel Miller? Ulman? Is that you?" asked Artyom.

"Come on, Artyom, up you get. We have to get up that cliff and get our bearings." Colonel Miller told Artyom as he helped him up, and the group started walking.

"How did this happen? How were we in D6 in one second, and on the surface in the next? Where are we, anyways?" Artyom was asking a kilometre a minute.

"No idea, but I get the feeling we're not on Earth anymore," Ulman replied.

"How do you know?"

"Look up, my friend, and tell me what you see," Khan answered.

Artyom did as he was told, and his eyes widened as he saw a shattered moon. "This is surreal. Aren't we supposed to be dead?"

"I don't know for sure. I always thought that our souls would stay in the metro, considering we destroyed everything else…" Khan replied as he pulled out the metal rods and stuck them in a quiver, and slung his Hellsing over his shoulder. "These trees are bursting with life, compared to the dead leaves on certain lucky yet burnt trees we've seen in Moscow. That was the first hint I took that we are not on Earth anymore."

"But, if these trees are alive, then that must mean…" Miller took his gas mask off, and took a deep breath. "The air is clean, everyone! You can take off your masks!"

The other three accordingly followed suit, and took deep breaths. The air was safe, clean, and smelled much sweeter than the filtered air of the tunnels and stations. Although, the fact that they were in a forest instead of rat-infested tunnels reeking of rust, death and shit helped in that area.

"I've never thought I'll ever see the day that I can go outside and not wear a gas mask," Artyom stated.

"Well you better breathe it in deep man. Who knows, maybe this is all a dream and we're lying in some corpse ridden tunnel after all," Ulman replied.

Meanwhile…

Blake spotted four figures walking on a path towards the side of the cliff. 'Who are these four?' she thought. The faunus tracked the four down, keeping her distance, yet keeping them in sight. They also seemed to speak a different language she had never heard of. The four were dressed strangely. Three of them had what looked like military vests on them, one wearing blue and gray camouflage, one in black uniform with armor pieces that looked like it was fashioned from scrap metal, and one in a navy blue uniform. One thing the three had in common was that their clothes had strange lettering she had never seen anywhere in her life, and helmets that looked like they have seen a lot of action, with a red "M" painted on it, each of the two ends of the letter with a jagged, diagonal arrow pointing to a skull directly below it. The last person was dressed in a red long sleeved shirt, a brown hooded leather jacket with what looked like white fur lined on the edges, and a red bandanna covering his head. But what they all had in common were their gas masks. Then, the one in the camouflage said something, then took the mask off, and took a deep breath. The rest of them followed suit. As she beheld this spectacle, she wasn't paying attention to her surroundings, and stepped on a twig. She cursed under her breath as the four readied their weapons and aimed it and their flashlights at her general direction.

"Who's there?" asked the one in the camouflage.

"I'll go ahead and check, cover me." Artyom declared.

Blake didn't see any more point in hiding and slowly came out with her hands up.

"Hey, it's a girl!" shouted the one in the navy blue uniform.

"She looks pretty young, Ulman, so don't get it in your head," the one in the brown jacket replied.

Blake decided that this was a good time to speak up. "Who are you and what are you doing in a dangerous place such as this?"

"I get the feeling she doesn't speak Russian. How's your English, gentlemen?" the one in the camouflage asked.

"I'll take care of this," replied the one in the black uniform. In a thick Russian accent, he responded, "We could ask you the same question, kid."

"Hey, who are you calling 'kid'? You look the same age as I do!" Blake responded.

"What are you talking about? I'm at least twenty-four," the one in black replied.

The one in blue chimed in; also with a Russian accent, "I'm probably just a bit older than Artyom here," pointing to the one in black, "and I'm Ulman, by the way."

The one in the brown jacket spoke up. "I'm Khan, and I'm pretty sure Miller and I here," he stated, pointing to the one in the camouflage, "Are deep in our fifties."

"Well, you all look seventeen or eighteen to me…" Blake replied

The four looked at each other's faces, not really getting the chance to do so. All four simultaneously shouted "Oh my God!" and started talking up a storm in Russian, Blake being completely confused and not following said storm.

Once the storm has calmed, Blake spoke up. "Anyways, I'm Blake, and might I suggest getting out of this rain?"

"No thank you, we very much prefer to live out here in the wild, live off the land, sleep in the mud and fend off those weird wolf things," Ulman sarcastically retorted.

"You fought off beowolves?"

"Is that what they're called? Then yeah. Artyom here picked off a whole bunch of them. Granted, we had to help him with a big one, but he managed to punch it off of him. Sent the damn thing flying! Not that we didn't fight them ourselves, but we're proud of our man here." Ulman replied.

Miller sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Do you have a place in mind?"

"Actually, yes I do. Follow me."

"You heard her boys. Let's go." Miller said.

"Yes, my Marshall! As you say, my General!" Ulman replied.

Blake sighed, walking away, with the four strange teens in tow.

An hour later…

Ozpin was sitting at his desk, finishing up all the paperwork of the day, the ever present mug of coffee in arm's reach, when he heard a knock on the door. "Come in," he called out.

The door swung open, revealing the raven-haired faunus. "Ah, Miss Belladonna. What brings you here to my office?"

"I found these four guys wandering around the Emerald Forest. They claim to have fought off some Grimm."

"Oh? Send them in. I think I would like to speak to them. You may go back to your dorm now." the headmaster replied.

As their faunus guide left, the Rangers were in sheer awe in the architecture of Beacon. The last architectural marvels they have seen were the decaying ruins of Moscow, let alone being inside of said wonders. This place reminded them of the Lenin Library, but this is much, much bigger. And less infested by bloodthirsty mutants. And less toxic air.

"So, gentlemen, I believe an introduction is in order. I am Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon."

"Artyom." Artyom had never really thought of a last name. He never really got one. "Artyom Glukhovsky." It was the first thing that came to mind.

"Khan Aitmatov."

"Ulman." Ulman wasn't the one for last names either, and he let his mind wander for a second, searching for a good last name. "Ulman Strugatsky."

"Miller." Everyone in Miller's command had always assumed that was his last name. It was actually his first. He didn't have a last name either. After Ulman stated his name, Miller decided to follow suit. After all, Ulman wasn't the only one to have read Roadside Picnic. "Miller Strugatsky." The two "brothers" shared a quick glance and looked back to Ozpin.

"If you don't mind my asking, what are you four doing in such a dangerous place at night?"

"I think our friend here might be better at shedding some light on this matter, sir," Miller replied, with an almost military tact.

"Okay then, I would suggest you take a seat, Professor. This is a very long story."

Artyom then recounted the important events of the past two years of his life in the Metro, and conditions in the Metro as well, from the day Hunter, the first Ranger he ever met, arriving at Exhibition, his home station, to their trip to his office.

"Hmm…" Ozpin took a sip from his mug, taking this young man's story all in. "This world you live in, you say there's no Grimm, no Faunus, and no Dust. Yet your governments have destroyed each other, turning your world into a barren wasteland. And the threats you faced from day to day…"

Miller piped up. "We have a saying in the Rangers of the Order. 'If it's hostile, you kill it.' It's how we have operated for as long as I've been in the Rangers, and I have to say, I've been in the Rangers for a long time."

"And you say you have no clue as to how you escaped unscathed from this barricade of yours from these 'Reds,' as you called them, destroying a facility housing a deadly weapon?"

"We have absolutely no idea, sir," Artyom responded.

"Considering that you four are basically strangers in a strange land, I have a proposition for you."

"And what could that be, sir?"

"You boys are capable fighters, as I can see from your exploits. I would like for you to enroll in Beacon Academy. You can learn about our world, and it will also solve your housing and financial problem, as we will provide housing, food and a monthly stipend for you four. You see, Beacon is not a regular school compared to your society. We train huntsmen and huntresses to defend those who cannot defend themselves, whether from the creatures of Grimm or other dangerous human or faunus factions. One could say that the people we train here are the Rangers of Remnant. What do you say? Would you like to expand your Order to this brand new world?"

The four conferred between themselves for a while in Russian, as Ozpin was told their language was called.

"Yes," replied Artyom.

"Yes," answered Khan.

"Yes."

"Yes. You just HAD to do that, didn't you, Ulman? He said yes, by the way," Miller said, leering at Ulman.

"Very well then. Your initiation begins tomorrow. Here are your Scrolls, the directions to your new dorms should be on it, as well as other important information. As for your exploits, I think it would be best to conceal them from the other students. Your story might horrify them to say the least. Just a recommendation."

As the four Rangers left his office, Ozpin took a sip from his mug, gazing out the window. 'To say that this will be an interesting year is an understatement,' he thought to himself.