It was another one of those dream-like states he found himself in again. Who was it? Hunter? The Dark Ones? How many times was he going to deal with this?

A door was presented for him, it wasn't like anything he had seen in the tunnels. Was it for him? When Artyom walked forward to push it open, he was met with a surprising sight, there was room filled with a bar. It was almost empty, but there was a single person manning the place behind the counter.

Where was he?

Then he received the man's attention while he was wiping empty glasses with a simple cloth. "Hello there, stranger. I've been waiting for you."

He was confused by what he meant. "For me, but I don't know you." As he made his way to meet the man across the counter. "How do you know me?"

The bald man with the wrinkly face chuckled at his question. "You don't know me, but you do know my girl, Rose. After all, you did rescue her from the mad dog in that city of vermin."

The Russian froze on the spot after he realized what this man meant by those words. No, it couldn't be. How was it possible? "You're Cass's father?"

"Is that what she tells people to call her?" He said, not impressed by his own daughter. "One of these days, I'm going to have to tell you to tell her to not treat boys like dolls."

"Respectfully, I don't want to be on her bad side." Artyom replied.

"Don't worry. I'm just playing with you." Then he gave out his hand. "My name is John Cassidy, I hope you remember that."

"I won't, sir."

"Good, because I do have one thing to say about you. Thank you for saving my girl."

The stalker nodded his head with a warm smile. "You're welcome, sir."

Yet, the old man pointed his finger at him. "Given that I'm on limited time, if you try anything funny with my-"

"No, nope, nyet, nein, I don't want an early grave."

The last thing Artyom saw was a laughing John Cassidy before the dream-like moment faded from his mind. "You're smart, boy. I'll give you that."

Days had passed as the group sat around a small campfire. It was celebration to living and surviving the dreadful place known as the Sierra Madre. Cass sipped her bottle of whiskey quietly to herself while Angelique told the story of how Artyom freed them from Father Elijah. "...and so he decided to give the old man two punches with his knife of his and knocked the windbag out of commission." She finished while take a swig at a bottle of wine.

The caravaneer's eyes trailed over to the two members of the Brotherhood of Steel. Of course, she never cared much for their organization, but she knew that Veronica and Christine's relationship was broken up by the man who put the collar on her. At best, it was better to ignore them.

Then she looked for Artyom - the man who ended this brahmin nonsense once and for all. He was found squatting on a ridge overlooking the surrounding area and the main group from his position. Perhaps he didn't want to leave it to chance for somebody to surprise a drunk group of survivors like that one encounter with the Legion. She couldn't blame him if that was his reason.

Pavel made a comment on the young man's pose. "He almost looks like a Polis Ranger."

"A what?" Angelique wondered. "Who are those guys?"

"Polis Rangers." He answered. "Artyom almost looks like one."

"What the hell is a Polis Ranger?"

"Back in the Moscow Metro, there is an organization known as the Polis Council, they are the ones who make sure the Metro is gets better for everyone, despite political beliefs. The Polis Rangers are the peacekeepers and enforcers of their policies."

Enforcers? "They sound a bit similar to the Desert Rangers?" Cass pondered.

"Eh? I don't know who those guys are. What do they do?"

"Similar thing, they used to be the enforcers of the Mojave before the NCR brought them into the fold."

The bald communist nodded his head. "Ah, I understand. Back in the Metro these guys are no pushovers, Nazis, Hansa, not even my superiors would touch them. They are an off-limits and anybody who gets into conflict with the Rangers gets an immediate reprimand even though they are few in numbers."

Veronica joined in on the conversation. "Why is that? How come nobody decided to attack them?"

"You see, Artyom and I are pre-war survivors. Polis is the same, but they consist of former special forces, army, and government officials who escaped the bombs when everything went to hell. They're neutral, but nobody touches them with good reason."

"They sound like the Enclave." Cass commented.

"Who?"

"Back in the NCR's beginning days, there was group of people known as the Enclave. They were the descendants of the United States Government, only they didn't like the rest of us and tried to kill everyone who wasn't them." The caravaneer explained. "These Polis guys sound too much like them."

Pavel dismissed her comparison with his hand. "They are nothing like that. They're neutral because they have the toughest soldiers in the tunnels. Hansa outnumbers them in money, the Nazis have a knack for terrifying people into submission, and my people outnumber them alone, but Polis has the best soldiers and stalkers in the Metro."

"Do they do anything aside from having the best soldiers?"

"Of course!" The communist answered. "Most stalkers go up on the surface to find whatever is valuable in their eyes, Polis Rangers have different priorities. They go up on the surface to find artifacts, whatever pre-war knowledge they can find on the surface and bring it down into their archives."

Then Veronica crossed her legs and leaned forward by the fire. "They almost sound like the Brotherhood, only they don't go after technology."

"Well, they also act as a third party for ceasefire negotiations and prisoner exchanges when the Red Line and the Reich start warring every now and then. They're also the protectors of the Metro, if there is a station under attack by a pack of mutants they send an entire squad to clear them out."

Christine spoke her mind about the situation. "I find it hard to believe you and Artyom survived the bombs. It has been two-hundred years since the bomb fell. Either both of you are delusional or on chems."

Pavel waved his finger at her. "The truth is, we are. Something brought us to this place, I don't like the fact that I'm in the middle of nowhere and hanging like a bat."

"If you really are then do you have any information that can prove your point."

"Five-point-four-five caliber rounds."

The Brotherhood assassin raised her eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"The bullets. We use a different caliber compared to American weapons. You guys use five-point-five-six bullets, which is a standard for the pre-war infantrymen of the United States." The Russian explained. "None of them would be using Russian bullets in their arms."

"You seem to know your guns. Why is that?"

He crossed his arms. "I'm a Major of the Red Line. I have to know my caliber at a bullet exchange pebbler."

"Still, it doesn't appear to be enough to prove you're a pre-war survivor. Anybody can come across that caliber and claim they're a pre-war survivor."

Angelique accidentally fired off her weapon, surprising everyone around the campfire. "Whoops, I took the safety off the Gauss rifle."

Christine shook her head. "This is the reason why the Brotherhood of Steel exist, to keep stupid people from shooting themselves with technology. Makes me wonder about that courier back at the Big Empty."

That alone caught her attention. "Courier? Who was it?"

"He went by the name of Ulysses." She answered. "Are you a courier as well?"

"Yeah, I might know the person."

"He had dreadlocks and said something about the Brotherhood filled with madness if we kept going our direction. I wouldn't complain since he saved my life, but he can be a bit too philosophical at times."

She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess I wouldn't know him, but is this Big Empty that you're talking about."

"Don't let the name fool you, it's a place filled with technology, but I was… lucky to escape with my life."

"How lucky?" Pavel asked.

"Most people I saw there were a gibbering mess. Someone or something had a knack for taking people's brains out of their skulls. Thankfully, I got mine and chased after Elijah to the Sierra Madre."

"So those scars came from that place?"

Christine nodded her head. "Yes." She said reluctantly.

"Does it hurt?"

"Why do you ask? It's none of your concern."

"I can cook up some mushroom tea, it should help alleviate the pain."

When the conversation died down, Cass returned her gaze upon the vigilant stalker watching over them from his position. Perhaps a bottle of whiskey would help him relax during his sentry duty. She rose up from the sand feeling the sand anointing her Sierra Madre armor with dirt and debris. As she arrived on the ridge, the caravaneer found her friend eating through his can of cram. "Evening, Artyom."

The man turned his head around, the face shield covering his face before he lifted the visor up. "Good evening, Cass. What brings you here?"

Another shot from the Gauss rifle was discharged as they both looked down to see Christine run up to the courier in anger. "Goddamn, it's not a toy!"

"Oh, I see. I shouldn't have given her the weapon if she's going to waste ammunition like that."

The woman laughed at his comment. "Well, now Christine is acting all noble Brotherhood of Steel on her." Then she took a seat beside him. "What do you plan to do once you get back to the Mojave?"

"Get my AK back from the bastard who took it." He replied.

"What about after you get it back? You got to have priorities for the future, right?"

Artyom leaned back and sat on the dirt. "I don't know after that? It's not like I got much of a future anyway."

"Don't say that? I'm sure you could find something to do."

"What about you?" He asked her. "I'm sure you might have something worthwhile heading off to once you're done traveling with me."

"I could go back west and into NCR territory, but it just doesn't seem right. Especially, what happened to my caravans."

That caught his attention as he turned his eyes on her. "What do you mean by that?"

"You see, I used to own a company, but it has become a net loss ever since someone decided to raid them all." Cass answered. "Not much left. I don't know whether its coincidence or providence that I was set up to fail."

She noticed his head shaking the thought. "It's too much of a coincidence."

"How so? What do you know about being in charge of some caravans?"

"Something I learned in Hansa when a stalker and I used to travel together." He answered.

Their conversation stopped when they heard Veronica's cries for help. "Guys, we got a Deathclaw!"

"Oh fuck!" Angelique screamed to the top of her lungs as she fired her weapon.

The duo turned around to see the campfire below, only to see a tall beast with sharp claws and horns cry out for them. The communist and the assassin reached for their weapons and began firing in the direction of the beast that stumbled upon them.

"That is big." That was the biggest understatement about one of the most dangerous creatures in the wasteland.

"Let's help them!" Cass shouted as she slipped her automatic rifle off her shoulder.

When they joined the group, the caravaneer and the communist unleashed their gunfire upon the beast. Meanwhile, Christine stole the gauss rifle off the courier and helped the stalker unleashed the firepower of their railguns. Then Angelique peppered it with her plasma gun with Veronica being chased by the abomination.

As she pulled down the trigger of her rifle, she felt the rate of fire eat through the magazine's ammo before it immediately became empty. "Shit, I'm out!" The ground shook, but its direction was coming towards her. The deathclaw had stopped running for Veronica, but it was now aimed at her with. It's claws were drawn, the teeth were ready for the kill.

Before she could load her weapon, Cass heard a war cry from one of the Russians on her right. "No!"

Artyom came to her rescue as he stood between her and the monster. However, it was annoyed by his weapon as it bright it's claws to bear. In a single swipe, the stalker was knocked back with his makeshift weapon shattered in two. This time, he was at the mercy of the deathclaw.

He rose from the ground and ran towards her while she finished the reload of her weapon. "It's charging, run!" The ground shook again while the monster chased after the two travelers running for their lives. At the same time, bullets and various other projectiles were flying after them.

Then the duo heard Pavel talk. "Watch it, you might them!"

Cass looked forward, only to see a strange pulse emanating from a particular spot in the desert. As much as she was curious about the strange phenomenon, it would have to wait until they were safe. However, she felt two arms wrap around her body. "Get down!" Artyom yelled out.

The deathclaw flew over them, but something happened. Instead of feeling the warm sandy place she knew, the caravaneer felt a cold breeze flowing over her.

When she looked around, all she could feel was shock and surprise. What happened to the gunfire from the others? Where was she? Then she smelled something burning behind her back, only to find the pulsing phenomenon except that it was set in a tunnel. On the left, she saw a fuel can with a burning fuse to it. She felt tight hands grab ahold of her armor, dragging her away from it before an explosion shook the very place she was in.

Moments later, the ceiling collapsed on the very spot she landed, which was now covered in dirt and concrete. "What the hell is going on?" Cass wondered as she got up from the ground. As she turned around, the woman found Artyom standing in some strange circular room, confronting the deathclaw with his weapon in hand. "Damn it, we're already dead." Past the abomination was a tunnel held together by wooden planks.

To her surprise, she heard a thunderous roar that occurred from above. She looked up, only to see a dozen holes in the walls as naked creatures crawled out of their burrows by this disturbance. "Nosalises." He said. "Be careful. It looks like we disturbed an entire nest full of them."

Dozens of them poured out, earning the hateful glare of the deathclaw. "What do we do?" She asked.

"It's a gamble, but it looks like they're going to attack one-another. We'll run pass them once it begins."

Cass looked around, finding some of these strange mutated creatures switch between them and the deathclaw. Suddenly, one of them had the courage to attack it despite its sheer size. At first, the large monster killed it with claws embedded into the victim's body. Whether it was out of vengeance or instinct, these nosalises charged after the deathclaw. While small, they were numerous.

Artyom snatched her hand as he forth. "Run for it!" He ordered. She followed as the pack began to descend upon the intruder.

Once they got to the other side, she looked back to see their bodies begin to pile upon one-another with the deathclaw's strength weakening against the numbers alone. Soon she was consumed by the darkness of the tunnel and only felt Artyom's grip on her. However, it was only for a moment when a light appeared from his flashlight as he navigated through the tunnel.

Yet, they were able to reach the other side, but were met with train tracks. The Mojave never had underground railroads. "To the left!" She heard him speak.

Upon turning to their left, the duo saw the a path leading towards an opening with a great door awaiting them. As they continued to run, the caravaneer looked back and saw those strange creatures storm slip out of the tunnel with their beady eyes searching for them.

When they finally reached the inside, Artyom pointed over to the mutants. "Cover me, I'm closing the gates." He said as he reached for the door controls on the left and slammed the lever down. The door responded to it's duty as the door slid down into place before they could make it inside.

After it was closed shut, the woman demanded to know where she was located. "Where are we?" She asked.

He was breathing hard; however, his response did not comfort her. "Cass, I think I know the answer to that." He was reluctant to speak, but it also appeared that he was choosing his words carefully with his lips struggling to talk. "Welcome to the Metro."

Author's Note: I still had a bit of writing juice left so I thought I could spend the rest of it on this little chapter. Well, I hope you all enjoyed it. Now off to handle finals.