I do not own Metro 2033 or Danny Phantom.
Chapter 1: Arrival
Dani could still not believe the world she was in. A post-apocalyptic wasteland of radiation, savage mutants who inhabit the surface, and the last remnants of humanity residing underground In metro tunnels trying to survive each day.
She was currently on the surface in ghost form, flying through a light storm under the night sky. She was looking for someone, a man who was trying to save his home.
'Where are y-' her thoughts were broken by the sound of bullets echoing in the distance. "There!" Was all she said before darting off in the direction of the hail of gunfire.
Meanwhile, at the site of the battle several armed men in armor were fighting for their lives against a horde if mutants.
"There's to many of them!" One shouted.
"Don't break formation! Keep firing!" Another shouted.
The wave of mutants seemed endless and their ammunition was running low. Despite having support from their armored cars mounted gun, things were looking bad the group and they didn't think it could possibly get any worse... but they were wrong.
Suddenly, a deathly roar echoed across the battlefield and everyone glanced up to see two large mutants with gigantic wings decend down upon them.
"Demons!" Cried out one of the armed men.
In an instant half of the group changed their targets to the two monsters coming down from above. However this was in vain, their bullets had little to no effect and the mounted machine gun could only aim at one demon at a time.
One of the beasts managed to fly into the armored truck, knock it over and causing the soldiers near it to break formation in order to avoid being crushed. Another demon flew straight at one of the men on the ground but before it reach him, he heard a family voice call out to him.
"Artyom!" Shouted a female voice.
Fade to black.
8 Days Earlier
Wondering across the irradiated surface world of Russia was a single man armored from head to toe, with his rifle in his hands and a gas mask over his face. His breathing was slow, his eyes constantly checking his surroundings for any threat be it man or beast.
This man's name was Hunter, Ranger from the Spartan Order. A group dedicated to protecting the last of humanity from anything that would attempt to destroy them. He was currently on a mission to bring news to one of the stations but he soon would find that he'd bring more than just information with him.
While slowly approaching the nearby station, Hunter came to complete hault when he noticed strange green electric sparks in the sky. Suddenly, a green portal came into existence and what came falling out was a person. Hunter looked on in disbelief, even shaking his had a few times to make he wasn't hallucinating.
As the person hit the floor, the portal in the sky closed leaving no trace of it's existence. Hunter was quickly taken out of his shock was he heard the individual grumble and began to stand. The Ranger quickly hid behind an old car and watched the figure.
On closer inspection, he noticed the person was female and looked to be in her late teens. She had hair as white as snow and eyes that glowed a toxic green. Her clothing consisted of a white and black hoodie with a logo Hunter had never seen before, she also wore black jeans with white stripes on the sides, and white and sneakers. What surprised Hunter the most was the light aura surrounding her body and the fact that she wasn't wearing a gas mask and appeared uneffected by the toxic air.
"Where am I?" The girl ask to no one specifically. "This looks like Earth... just completely trashed."
Taking in her surroundings, the white haired girl stared at all the destruction before her and wondered what could have happened to the place. Her thoughts were broken when a loud roar echoed throughout the street.
Upon looking towards the direction of the sound, both their eyes widened in shock when a Demon flew from over the buildings and began circling the girl from above.
Hunter readied his weapon but did not give away his position yet as the Demon seemed to have only spotted the girl. In a swift motion, the mutant dive bombed the girl. The Ranger was about to intervene despite not knowing who or what this girl was, he didn't plan on just letting her get torn apart by this monster.
But before he could make his move, he was once again shocked to see the girl get into a fighting stance then did the impossible. She leaped into the air and with a swift kick, sent the creature into the side of a building, leaving a hole the size of the Demon in it.
"Impossible!" Was all Hunter could say. The girl just did something he believed to be impossible. Demons were known throughout the Metro as one of the more dangerous mutants, but this teenage girl just kicked one into a building!.
Hearing his voice, the girl quickly turned in his direction but lucky for Hunter, he was still crouched behind the car.
'I could of sworn I heard someone' the girl thought. But before she could investigate the source of the voice, the creature from before burst out from the building at incredible speed. When the girl turned around to face the mutant, she dodged to the side but was still slashed across the side by it's massive claws.
Hunter thought it was game over for the teen but yet again she surprised him when he saw a smile on her face and the large cuts in her body and close quickly regenerate.
"Guess whatever kind of creature you are, you can't harm ghosts?" Asked the girl with a cocky grin.
"Ghosts?" Wispered Hunter.
The creature let out a roar before taking off into the sky, hoping to gain the aerial advantage but was shocked to see the girl was flying right next two it. Before it could react, the girl raised her hand which started to glow green and released a bright green beam of energy that completely vaporized it.
Meanwhile, Hunter was still in his same spot, eyes completely wide open to the point were they looked ready to pop out of his eye sockets. He couldn't believe what he say, it when against all reason, this... whatever it was was definitely not human. Could it have been another mutant or something else entirely? Hunter had too many questions, no answers and was unsure if he should approach her.
Unknown to him, the white haired girl also had many questions. For starters were the heck was she, what the heck was that thing, and finally what the heck is going on!?
With a sigh she decided staying here wasn't the best and thought the best thing to do was start looking for other people. Hunter watched on as the girl landed and two light blue rings appeared around her, passing over her upper and lower body. Her hair changed from white to black, her eyes from green to blue, the black and white hoodie she wore changed color to an ordinary blue and lost the strange logo, her pants remained the same, and her shoes became all white.
At the sight of this change Hunter believed he was in a dream or the radiation finally had rotted his brain and he was just hallucinating. However something started to happen that caused him to focus. The girl started coughing repeatedly and began to gasp for air.
"C-can't... breath..." these were the only words that escape the girls mouth as she feel to her knees trying to understand what was happening to her.
Still not moving, Hunter didn't know what he should do. He thought this was only a dream or a hallucination but what if it wasn't? Could he just watch this girl die in front of him? He had no way of knowing if she was hostile or not but knew for damn sure she could kill him if she was but right now in front of him was someone who needed help.
"Damn" he muttered. He was a Ranger and that meant helping those who couldn't help themselves, even though he didn't know anything about her, he'd be damned if he let a possible innocent person die.
At full speed he stood up and climbed over the car and raced toward the girl who was now on the floor gasping for air. He quickly grabbed his spare gas mask, put it around her face and popped in a filter.
"Hey! Hey!, stay with me!" He shouted.
Her breathing began to slow as she could finally breath again but she started losing consciousness. Questions raced through her head, who was this man?, am I going to die here?. Eventually, she lost consciousness but not before taking one last look at the man next to her.
"Who are you?..." as these words left her mouth, she lost consciousness.
"Shit..." Hunter cursed. Checking her pulse assured him that she was still alive but he had to get her off the surface. That's when he remembered he was suppose to head to the nearby station delivery his information. "Well, looks like you're coming with me kid... or whatever you are".
And with that, Hunter picked up the girl and put her over his shoulder. As he grabbed his duffel bag, he took one last look at the sky were the portal was before heading to his destination.
Exhibition Station
Artyom's Journal: life was never easy in the tunnels, but it was our home, there was comfort in it's routines, in seeing the same people day after day. But since the mutant attacks had escalated, fear ruled the station. I had just turned twenty and could never have imagined what would follow on the morning that my stepfather's friend, Hunter, arrived at the barricade... and along with him, a mysterious girl...
Artyom laid in his bed, looking at one of the many photos in his collection. His wall were decorated with postcards with images of various places around the world.
"Artyom!" A familiar voice caused him to look up and see his stepfather Alex standing in the doorway. "Awake at last, I see. Hunter's on his way in-he should have news from the other stations. Come on."
After tossing the postcard onto a table, Artyom picked himself up and began to follow his stepfather to the front of the station. When they reached the door to the hospital area, Artyom could see a large crowd of people with sad/worried looks on their faces. He had heard that another patrol was attacked and many were injured.
Alex knocked on the door. "No visitors!" stated a voice on the otherside. "Petr!" Alex replied. The man on the otherside of the door opened a hatch in the door and was surprised before saying "Oh, it's you."
Petr close the hatch and opened the door. "Come on, Alex" he said, stepping aside and allowing them to pass. "Hello, Artyom."
Artyom gave the man a smile and nodded before following his Alex through the hospital. As they passed through, Artyom saw several dead bodies and many injured people. He could also hear some of them speaking incoherently. A frown formed on his face, the Dark Ones have quickly become the most dangerous creatures in the Metro.
"How are the wounded?" Alex asked a nearby doctor. Though he already knew it wasn't going to be anything good.
"Not much improvement" replay the doctor in sad tone. "Two died this morning.
Alex signed before continuing on. "The Dark Ones do not kill outright" Alex started to explain, looking over he shoulder toward his stepson. "But they damage the victim's mind... sooner or later, this leads to death."
When the two reached the front of the station, they stopped near a large gate guarded by two men. Suddenly, the sound of someone knocking at the front gate echoed throughout the room, causing the two guards to jump.
"What the hell? Who could that be?" Questioned one of the guards.
"It's Hunter" answered Alex. The two guards were still a bit hesitant until a third guard off to the side of the room stated the obvious. "Mutants don't knock first-open the damned gate."
The guards complied and started opening the gate. As the light from the outside world poured into the room, they could see a Hunter standing on the other side. Alex and Hunter gave quick wave to each other before the former noticed the later was carrying a person on his shoulder.
"Welcome to Exhibition, Hunter!"
"Thanks" Hunter replied, with his free hand, he tossed his bag into the room and stepped inside. "Now close your gate." ordered the Ranger.
As the two guards started closing the gate, Hunter walked up to the third. "I'm going to need you to take this girl and bring her to the hospital room" he ordered while dumping the unconscious girl into the guards arms, surprising the later. "Tell the doctor to contact me as soon as she awakes, understood?"
The guard gave a nod and carried the girl into the next room. Both Alex and Artyom gave a quick glance at the unconscious teen before turning back to Hunter. "It's been a long time, Hunter" said Alex, stepping up to his old friend before asking the question that was on everyone's mind "Who's the girl?"
This question caused Hunter to think for a moment. Alex was his friend but he didn't know how he'd react if he told him exactly what he saw this girl do. I didn't help that he still didn't know who or what the girl actually was, so he decided to not go into detail until he knew exactly what they were dealing with. "I found he on the surface, she'd just about ran out of air from her filters when I found and saved her"
Alex gave a small nod in understanding, while Artyom was wondering what a girl like her was doing on the surface in the first place, she had no weapons or armor on her person that he could see. He came to the possible conclusion that she heard stories about there being valuable loot on the surface just waiting to be collected by anyone brave or stupid enough to go up there in the first place. He decided not to dwell on it at the moment and turned his attention back to Hunter and Alex who had just finished greeting each other.
Meanwhile, Dani was placed on one of the few available hospital beds, her gas mask removed since she didn't need it underground. She started to regain consciousness and quickly sat up but was hit with a painful headache, causing her to let out a painful grown. "Ouch... what happened to me?"
Her eyes shot completely open once she recounted the events before she blacked out. She remembered exploring the Ghost Zone when she was suddenly pulled into a portal that appeared near her by a powerful force, then she found herself in this strange world and fought that savage creature and after transforming back into her human form she couldn't breath properly but the a someone saved her.
She didn't know what caused her to nearly suffocate but considering she was in human form and could breath meant that whatever caused it wasn't an issue at the moment. Right now she had to figure out were she was, how to get home, and thank the person who saved her life.
The ghost teen slowly got up and took in her surroundings. She was in a somewhat large room with other patients and... blood she could see it on the floor and on some of the beds next to her, and now that she was paying attention, this room smelled of blood and death... 'just how many people died in here?' She wondered to herself.
Stepping through the tattered curtain, she saw a doctor checking some notes and decided to get his attention. "Umm... hello"
The doctor turned his head and saw Dani looking at him with caution eyes. "Oh, I see your awake young lady" he said while standing up and walking towards her. "My name is Dimitri, I'm one of the doctors in Exhibition Station".
From his accent, Danny could tell he was Russian due to her previous travels around the world. However she needed to know more before she could do anything productive.
"Exhibition Station?" She said raising an eyebrow. "I've never heard of this place before, what part of the world am I in exactly?"
Now it was the doctors turn to raise a brow in confusion. "Exhibition Station is our home, it's one of many stations in the Metro Tunnels that we reside in to escape the harsh environment and other dangers of the surface..." As she listened, Danny guessed that the "harsh environment" was what caused her to suffocate in human form. "As for what part of the world you're in, that would be Moscow Russia..."
'Russia!' Danny screamed in her head. This didn't make any sense, the Russia she visited was nothing like this. "And the year?"
"It's the year 2033..." he replied. That did it, Dani almost fainted. The Russia she knew was nothing like this one, and last time she checked it was 2013!. Could she really be in the future? She recalled Danny telling her about portals leading to different time periods. If that's the case, how was she suppose to get back home, what if this future world had no ghost portal!.
Dani's inner thoughts were broken the doctor began speaking again. "I'm surprised you don't already know this, are you sure you're ok?" He asked with a voice filled with concern.
Dani was everything but alright, she was in the future and everything seemed to have gone to hell. She tried to compose herself and put on a fake smile "Don't worry about me, I'm fine really" she lied. "My memory is just a bit fuzzy at the moment.
Though he new something was bothering the girl, Dimitri decided not to pry. "Well ok, I think you should still get some rest, but I was told to contact Hunter as soon as you awaked miss... my apologies I forgot to get you're name?".
"It's Dani, with an I." she said. "So, this Hunter, is that the person who brought me here?"
"Yes, from what I was told he said he found you while you were suffocating" he explained "You are a lucky one."
Dani didn't feel all to lucky given her current situation. Could Hunter have seen her arrive and fight that monster? It could explain why he wanted to see her as soon as she regained consciousness, or he could just be worried about her. Regardless, it's only right she meet the man that saved her life and thank him, and who knows? He might be capable of helping her get home... although that is a huge "might".
Suddenly, sirens started going off and a voice echoed through the station through the speakers "Intruder alarm in the main vent shaft-their coming in they're coming in from above!".
"What's happening!?" Dani asked
"It's the mutants, their launching another attack on the station." Dimitri replied. "Stay here, I need to go check on the other patients." Before she could protest, the doctor was already gone.
"No way I'm staying put and doing nothing" she stated. She didn't know exactly what these mutants were capable of but if they're anything like the creature she fight up to, these people would likely need her help. She's a hero, and heroes don't stand around while others are in danger.
But before she decided to transform, a thought popped into the young half-ghosts head 'What if these people don't understand what she is or that she's trying to help them?'. Danny told her about how people assumed he was a villain despite all the good he did and she didn't want to frighten them.
She decided to stay in human form and turn invisible to observe but if they needed serious help, she'll intervene. Hearing commotion in the room next to her, she hud from site, turn invisible and phased her head through the wall. She saw three men with weapons, one of which was being attacked by a weird creature. It was much smaller than the creature she fought on the surface and lacked wings but it still looked deadly.
Before she could help, the man being attack through the creature down to the ground and hit it with the butt of his gun, then stabbing it in the heats, killing it instantly. The sound of more mutants echoed through the vents as they began to break through the grates on the walls from each side of the room.
The sound of gunfire echoed throughout the room as Artyom, Alex, and Hunter shot the mutants before they could break through, however the occasional beast dropped in through the open vent in the ceiling but was easily dispatched by Artyom with a single shot to the head with his revolver. 'These guys are good, especially the one with the revolver, he didn't miss a single shot!'.
Thinking it was over, the three metro men relaxed. This however was a mistake, as a strangling mutant dropped from the open ceiling vent and jumped straight for Artyom who raised his gun and fired but was shocked to find he was out of bullets. 'Oh no you don't!' In one swift motion, moving faster than the eye could see, Dani fully phased into the room and rushed towards the mutant and punched it in it's side, sending it into the wall and leaving a noticable crack in the wall.
Everyone in the room was silent. Artyom, Alex, and Hunter (to a lesser degree) were shocked trying to comprehend what just happened. They hand just finished killing a small wave of mutants and out of nowhere the teenager Hunter brought in swoops in and kills one with a single strike!?
"Where... did you come from?" Alex asked still in shock.
"I heard their were mutants attacking the station and then gunfire from the other room and decided to come and help." She replied.
Artyom thought to himself 'Were we really that focused on the mutants that we didn't notice this girl enter the room?'. He found it hard to believe but considering this girl just saved his life, he wasn't complaining.
"In any case, thank you for saving my sons life miss... what's your name?" Alex asked while walking up to the young girl with his arm stretched out.
"No problem, and my name is Dani, with an I." She replied, accepting his handshake.
'She's got a firm grip that's for sure.' Alex thought to himself. "Thank you Dani, I must say your must be very strong considering what you did to that mutant".
'Dammit.' Dani cursed in her head. She knew she should have held back more, it's clear the people on this planet aren't use to seeing people that strong. "I'm... much stronger and faster than I look..." she said while scratching the back of head with a light smile.
The three Metro men were very skeptical given what they just saw. The average man wouldn't have been capable of doing what this skinny girl just did, even the strongest men couldn't. Hunter decided it was best for him to approach her now and see what he could learn.
"Well, like Alex said, thanks for the help." The Ranger said walking up to her. "My name is Hunter, I'm a Ranger, and I'm also the one who found you on the surface and brought you here."
"Thanks for that." She said, with a genuine smile.
"Of course, what kind of person would I be if I let you die out there?" He replied. "Though I wanted to ask you a few questions if that's ok with with you?".
Here it comes, Dani knew he either saw something or was gonna ask her many questions and she wasn't up for it but what was she gonna say? 'I'm a human-ghost hybrid from a different reality or timeline!'. If they didn't laugh first they'll likely assume I'm crazy and lock me up. Even if they did believe me, I've got no proof.
Luckily for Dani, another man bust into the room, getting everyone's attention. "The Dark Ones, they destroyed the outer guard post!". Everyone in the room minus Dani, quickly bolted for the door in the direction of the guard post. The ghost girl quickly decided to follow as she didn't want to be left alone and while she didn't know what these "Dark Ones" were, she wouldn't sit by and let others get hurt.
Quickly catching up to the others, the group reached the guard post and what Dani saw made her gasp an cover her mouth. Before them lied the dead bodies of multiple men, while others were huddled in corners speaking nonsense.
Hunter looked towards the dark tunnel leading beyond the guard post. "The Devil knows what's happening out there, beyond your perimeter. I must go recon the situation. Listen carefully, Artyom. If I'm not back here by morning, you must go to Polis Station and find a man named Miller. Tell him what's happened to me, and whats stirring in the northern tunnels.". Hunter than handed Artyom his dog tags. "Show this to Miller, so he knows I've sent you. I trust everything to you, Artyom. Don't let me down."
"Hunter, wait!" Dani shouted as she jogged over to the two men. "Let me come with you, I can help and repay you for saving my life."
"Artyom, could you give use a moment" Hunter asked though the way he spoke to Artyom it seemed more like an order. Artyom nodded and went over to help Alex with the wounded.
"Look, I've seen what you can really do and I know you aren't exactly... normal" Dani now knew Hunter did see her fight that monster on the surface and knew that she wasn't human. Apart of her was scared, but if he thought she was a monster or evil, he wouldn't have saved her life and bring her here, would he? She simply looked at the man with a worried expression. "Don't worry, while I don't truly know who or what you are, you don't seem hostile and I have a feeling you are a good person."
A small smile quickly formed on her face. "Then let me come with you, I can help you fight whatever these "Dark Ones" are and repay you for saving me" she pleaded.
"While I do believe you can help me, I don't know what's truly waiting out there and I believe you can be of more help to Artyom if I do not return." He replied. "If I do not come back by morning, go with Artyom to Polis Station. I'm sure someone with your... abilities would be very helpful to him."
Dani took a quick glance over at Artyom who was helping others carry the dead guards into the station. "Ok, I'll do what I can to help him reach the station if you don't return, I promise" She said with determination written all over her face.
"Thank you, Dani." Hunter looked over towards Artyom's direction who just finished helping the others "Artyom!" He called out to the young man. As Artyom approached the two, he didn't half to wondered what the two were chatting about for long.
"Artyom, if I don't return, I want Dani to accompany you to Polis Station." Hunter's words shocked the young man but before he could ask questions, Hunter put his hand up. "I know this is sudden but I need you to trust me on this, she can handle herself and I know you'll need all the help you can get." Artyom still wasn't sure about this, he gave his word that he'd go to Polis and he Hunter seemed sure of Dani's capabilities but something was still off about her.
Artyom simply nodded, deciding to trust Hunter's judgment. The two then watched the man walk off into the dark tunnel with his final words "If we are to survive, this threat must be eliminated. No matter the cost, eliminated! Understand?"
After what seemed like a few minutes, Dani and Artyom returned to the station. Alex was happy to help find Danny a room. It was very small but she didn't complain, she at least had a roof over her head and a bed to sleep on. He also offered her some food, which she gladly accepted.
After about an hour later, Dani was laying down in her bed, wide awake. She couldn't sleep, how could she? She was trapped in another time period or alternate reality or whatever with no way to return home. Plus she didn't know anything about the world she was currently in and that had to change.
Luckily for Dani, someone who could help her with that was right outside her door. Artyom also couldn't sleep after what had transpired, the main thing being the new girl, Dani. Hunter just shows up with her, she's clearly not from around here and she just has this aura about her. Artyom wasn't one to judge others but he could tell something was up and decided to confront her and try to get some answers, which was why he was currently standing in front of her room.
With a sigh, Artyom knocked twice. "Come in" he heard from the other side.
As he opened the door and stepped inside, he saw Dani laying on her bed with a look of lost on her face.
Chapter End.
Please read and review
This is my first story and my first attempt at writing a story in general, any criticism is welcome and any ideas are welcome as well.