Winter followed her general as she recognized the familiar sight of the Polis Rangers. The armored and heavily armed soldiers stood at attention as Ironwood was escorted by a dozen of Atlas Knights. Seeing former soldiers now turned survivors of the apocalypse interested her about the matter of what Hunter's group was. Among the group of Rangers, she noticed a bearded man with his sleeves pulled up. The man's presence was almost similar as Ironwood's aura of command. Could it be that he was the leader?

The specialist straightened her composure while her eyes observed the heavily-equipped soldiers. Some of them were masked, others had their visors over their faces, and there were a few whose face was open for display. Yet, they all showed their eyes… tired weary eyes.

General Ironwood stepped forward and gave out his hand to the bearded man in the grey camouflaged uniform of his. "Hello, my name is General Ironwood. I am the commander of the Atlesian forces sent here. May I speak with your leader?" Ironwood questioned. To his surprise, the bearded man allowed a chuckle. "Excuse me?"

After the chuckle, he shook his hand. "You're looking at him." The older man answered. "I'm Colonel Miller, head of the Spartan Order and the Polis Rangers. I heard you held one of my men."

"Yes, a man who goes by the name of Artyom." The general replied.

Surprised by the name, the colonel's facial expression changed. "Well, it's good to know where he had gone while I was busy." Miller began. "So, where is he?"

"He's currently on my ship and my men are releasing him soon as possible. I mistook him for a threat when we first met; however, there is something I must speak with you in private about. This relates to Artyom, but it's best I don't talk to you in the open like this."

"Talk to me in private at the first meeting. I don't see a problem in that at all." The tone of his voice was enough to scream sarcasm to Winter. This man had the galls to talk to her superior in such tone. However, this man was also Artyom's superior.

"Colonel, a few students at this academy are missing and Artyom is being sent to rescue them. Are you familiar with people who follow a cult?"

Winter's watched Miller's eyebrows express his anger. "Oh, those fucks." Swearing, it was an improper way to speak to the general. "Yes, Artyom and I fought those guys, but sending him to rescue students is suicide."

"That is why I'm asking that we talk in private. Just so we can plan for these students to be rescued."

"Is it that urgent?"

"My friend is a headmaster of this school and I don't know much about your world other than what Artyom and Khan said about it."

Winter recognized the name. How was Khan here? However, the colonel's reaction was enough to tell that he also knew this man. "What the fuck? How the hell did Khan end up here?"

General Ironwood shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly have no idea. My friend didn't mention anything about him until the last minute."

"Huh, it reminds me of Khan. He has a tendency to do that as well. I don't know him that much, but that is how I managed to find Artyom."

"Then we both have something in common." He replied. Then he turned sideways and stretched his arm out. "Come with me, we have a lot to talk about." Then the general turned his full attention on the specialist. "Specialist Schnee, do keep Colonel Miller's men some… company."

When the two passed her, she nodded her head in acknowledgement to his orders. "Yes sir." She said firmly as she returned her full attention onto the group of Rangers.

After the presence of the general had faded, the specialist watched as one of the Rangers pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his vest and offered it to his peers. "Hey, does anyone want a smoke?" Three Rangers turned their back away from her as they converged on his position to the offer.

"Sure."

Yet, one of them was looking at her as he walked forward. "Somehow I recognize you." The Ranger commented as he confronted the specialist on the grass.

This stranger's questions did little to comfort her, but she had to talk. It would be outright strange to be silent while someone was trying to start a conversation. "I do not think we have met before." She commented. "Have we?"

The Ranger shook his head as he took off his gas mask. "No, we definitely have not. Artyom drew a picture about you. I thought he had a few screws loose, but seeing you in person tells me otherwise."

Artyom drew a picture about her? Why didn't he mention it to when they finally talked? Was he too embarrassed to talk about it?

"Say, how did you get to meet Artyom?" The stranger asked.

Now that was a simple question to answer. "When I was brought to your world against my will, I was with a man named Hunter." She began.

However, the stranger was quick to comment about the matter. "Wait a minute, you mean Hunter of the Polis Rangers?" He asked.

"You know him?"

"Of course, I know him, almost all of us know each other." He answered. "Hunter was the best of the Polis Rangers and was close friend of mine."

"Well, he saved my life when I was choking on the surface. Then we went into a nearby station and that was when I first met Artyom." Winter explained to him. "He wasn't much to look at, but he was a nice person."

"That I can believe about him." Then he gave out his hand. "Sorry for not introducing myself, name's Uhlman. I'm known as one of the few Rangers who knows how to take a joke." Uhlman chuckled. "I'm also someone Miller hates to deal with."

"Are you a friend of Artyom?"

"Yes, if we weren't I wouldn't be asking any questions."

For once, Winter smiled at Artyom's friend. "In case you are curious, I'm Specialist Schnee, but you can call me Winter. I prefer to be called that way."

Uhlman raised his eyebrows. "You don't want to use your last name?"

"Yes. Let's just say that my last name carries weight around Remnant. Some people respect it, others don't take kindly to my presence."

"If that is the case, I guess you can stick around with the Rangers. We're not assholes compared to the rest of the Metro, despite our attitude."

"Do you have any news in the Metro? It's been awhile since I last heard about anything that happens there?" Winter asked.

Uhlman's expression changed to a grim one. "Word is going around that the Nazis and the Reds are rearming for war. After they heard about our bunker-complex, both sides are about to kill each other just to take the first step into our headquarters. Thing is that the Council is doing their best to assure those two factions from trying risk the peace of the Metro."

Curious to know, Winter asked. "What is so special about this place?"

"Well… everything. D6 is rumored to have more weapons and ammunition compared to the rest of the Metro and above all, there are rumors about the place having enough medicine and food to last people for years. With rumors like that around, people want in on attacking us and destroying the peace for themselves. Somehow, I think Artyom and I shouldn't have found the place when we arrived there."

"I'm sorry to hear that you're going to war." She commented. "It just sounds so strange since Remnant doesn't have anything like the Great War. I can't recall anything in history about a war other than that."

Uhlman chuckled. "Then you should consider that a blessing." He said. "Before the war, I remember my textbooks talking about how there was always a war every now and then. Strange how we went from killing each other with swords to killing each other with guns… only to destroy each other with nuclear missiles…" His voice trailed off.

Winter couldn't blame the man. He was simply trying to live a life in an era where there was nothing to look forward except another day in life. Despite her time in the Metro, she truly could not understand the life and the destructive transition that had brought man deeper to the dirt.

"What a beautiful world we destroyed."

The whine of engines made itself known as Winter turned around. A dropship was making a landing as the ramp slowly opened its passenger compartment to the outside world. When the ramp had finally touched the ground, she recognized the man stepping down. However, he was struggling to stand up. It was funny to see Artyom shaking from his first time coming down from the Atlas flagship. A slight chuckle escaped from her, admiring the moment.

Then she heard Uhlman speak. "Artyom, it's good to see you again."

Artyom's head perked up as he waved his hand. "Uhlman, how did you get here?" He asked.

"Don't worry, you can ask Colonel Miller about it as soon as we get back to D6." The Ranger replied with enthusiasm. "Hell, I thought you were dead at the Botanical Gardens."

"I thought I was as well." Artyom replied as he turned away from the Ranger. "Winter, I see that you already got to meet with Uhlman. Don't encourage him to make jokes, they're bad."

Offended by that statement, the Ranger across from Artyom punched him on the shoulder. "Hey, it's not my fault that you and Miller don't have a sense of humor. Besides, you owe this young lady an explanation about that drawing you have of her."

The specialist notice Artyom's eyes shocked by his friend revealing something so secret to him. "I shouldn't have shown you my journal then."

"It's not my fault it caught some attention from others." Then Uhlman's radio sprang to life. "Well, I better go. Someone is calling me."

As the Ranger departed from the duo, Winter and Artyom found themselves alone. "Artyom…" She began. "I heard you had a drawing of me."

Artyom reached for his pocket, only to pull out a journal. "At the time, I thought you were dead." He replied. "Seeing that you were the only other person with me when we left Exhibition, I thought it was the decent thing for me to do."

"Honestly, I think that was a nice thing for you to do." Complemented Winter. "Do you have the drawing? I'm curious."

He opened his journal and began to flip through the pages. As he began searching, she watched the detailed words written into his journal while there were drawings of others beside her. One of them was Hunter, but he had multiple drawings about him. Then as he found the page, Winter recognized her own features. It was surprisingly detailed. "Here is the drawing. I didn't put much detail into it since the Order doesn't like me to 'waste' pencils."

All she could do was smile at the effort. "You don't have to worry about that, Artyom. It's beautiful."

"Are you sure or are you just saying that to be nice?" Artyom questioned.

"I am being very honest, you are very good at drawing and it surprises me that you have managed to do well what you got."

"Well… thank you." Artyom's stomach growled. "Oh, sorry about that."

Winter smiled. "Let's head over to the lunch building. I'll pay for it."

As the elevator continued to ascend to the top, Colonel Miller sighed, only to earn Ironwood's attention. "Colonel, are you okay?" He asked.

He smiled at the thought. "It's been a long time since I have used an actual elevator after the war. The ones used in the Metro don't really count since they were built there. Hell, it's been ages since I could last go on the surface and walk without a mask."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"No, no need to apologize." Miller replied. "It's just an old soldier reminiscing about old times before the war happened."

"What was it like before the war?" General Ironwood asked. "It sounded like it was a great time."

"A long time before the war, I was a soldier of the Soviet Union and after that I was a soldier of the Russian Federation." He explained to the younger man. "Honestly, I remember how much nobody thought we would employ the MAD doctrine."

"The MAD doctrine?"

"Mutual assured destruction." Miller answered. "The only reason someone fired those weapons were those stupid people from Oman trying to get a first strike, only to confuse the rest of the world that nuclear annihilation was possible."

Surprised by the revelation, the general took the opportunity to speak up. "Colonel, did many kingdoms of your world have these weapons?"

"Kingdoms-oh, you mean nations. Well, only the ones that had the economy to make the goddamn missiles."

"Why are you disclosing this information to me? Aren't you worried about an intelligence leak?"

"I'm just a simple soldier." Colonel Miller answered. "Besides, my country died when those missiles landed. I doubt anyone cares after twenty-one years of trying to live with a dead world."

The elevator decelerated to a stop before Miller heard a synthetic bell ring to its passengers. As the doors parted ways, the colonel followed Ironwood out of the confined space and into the open room. This time, there was additional company involved. There was a silver-haired man sitting behind his desk as a blonde woman stood beside him. Then he heard Ironwood speak in a friendly manner. "Ozpin, Glynda, here we have Artyom's superior." He began. "I would like to introduce Colonel Miller to both of you."

The man wearing a black suit had caught Miller's attention. "Good evening, James. Plenty of things have happened in one day. I do hope I won't die from any more surprises." He'll have to give him that, he had a better sense of humor than what Uhlman had in store.

"Forgive me, Ozpin, but we need to discuss the matter of your students with him."

His tinted glasses did little to comfort the colonel as he turned his full attention on Miller. "Colonel I have a few questions that might need answering."

Miller straightened his composure. "Sir, what are these questions?"

"You see, Artyom has mentioned these cannibals and you also have experience yourself. I'm curious if you can rescue my students as quick as possible."

"Well, I can't take the risk of sending more than six Rangers to find these cannibals and rescue these kids."

Then Ironwood reacted to his number. "Six, is that all you can spare for this rescue?" He wondered.

The colonel turned his full attention to him. "Excuse me, but we're not an army. We only have less than a hundred fighters and that is not counting the cadets. Besides, I have to deal with the fact that there is a possible war going to break out between the Reds and the Nazis."

Ozpin grabbed his attention. "Pardon me, but who are these people."

"Sorry for not explaining, but these are factions that have more than enough men to drown my Rangers in blood. Worse when it comes to the Nazis, but the point is that I have worry about protecting a bunker-complex from being taken by these power-hungry nutcases. In other words, I have problems of my own to worry about."

"But this is just only two students. How hard could it be?"

Miller shook his head. "Look, Ozpin. I hate to break it to you like this, but they are already dead or already converted. The odds of finding them is just like asking me to find a bullet in a mine shaft. The Metro is a hell of a place."

"I understand the dangers, but could you send Artyom to find him along with a few to find him." The female professor commented.

"I could, but the last time he fought them was when he was captured. They have a knack for using darts and its worse that some of them could be poison darts."

Then General Ironwood proposed an idea. "Perhaps, I can assist you in that matter." He said. "I do have these machines called Atlesian Knights. They might assist you in this endeavor and reduce losses in the field."

"Wait a minute, you have soldier drones?" Miller asked.

"In a way, yes." He answered. "In fact, they were designed to ensure no person is hurt in combat."

"Huh, strange idea that it might work. Though that depends on how much space you can fit these machines of yours in the tunnels."

Ozpin spoke. "So, colonel, have you come to a decision to find my students?"

Looking at the man one more time, Miller chuckled. "Well, not the first time I did something this suicidal. When do we start?"

"Tomorrow, enough has happened in one day and I doubt General Ironwood would enjoy telling the Council about the plausibility of a people from another world ending up on Beacon."

"Plausibility, hell, I can help you with that. Just come with me into D6 you'll have your evidence right there."

Major Morozov stood in the moonlight as his eyes observed the location through the different shades of green. To go out during the day was danger, but to go out at night was suicide and he knew that. He had been on various special missions for the Red Line and all of him taught him to accept the terms that mother nature brought to you no matter what. If you disregard the rules of nature, she will swallow you up without hesitation and that was a fact he accepted.

There was no moonlight to brighten the area, he would have to rely on his night vision goggles for that. As he looked down the sights of his sniper rifle, he watched packs of watchmen passing by, unaware of his team's presence. They had enough spare filters to do a watch like this, but they had to limit the time for his team to watch. No one wanted to succumb to choking to death and he had to inform his men to tell him when their air filters were low.

After the mutants were gone, a man stood beside the major. "Comrade Major, when do we move out?"

The major paid little attention to him. "Tomorrow, the next five hours, we wait." He stated.

"But sir, we haven't done anything much."

Patience was a virtue, clearly Pavel had to teach him that. "Comrade, the creature was sighted at this very location. It rarely comes out and the best way to track it down is when it comes out. Currently, we have no known last location about this Dark One. In other words, unless it shows up we don't look for it."

"I understand, comrade major."

"Good, keep an eye on your watch. You need it more than I do."

Pavel and his men had set up watch in the remains of an abandoned apartment where he could see the Botanical Gardens from afar, but directly head towards it when he did locate the creature. The only obstacle in his way were the strange inhuman structures that remained after the missiles came down at the Order's demand.

One of his men began to speak up. "Comrade Major, I see movement coming from the south. There are a few stalkers heading into the gardens."

"Thank you, Vassily. What the hell are stalkers doing this far in the northern frontier?" He wondered as he raised his sniper rifle.

There were flashlights moving on his goggles as he aimed down the scope. They were too well armed to be the average stalker and most stalkers didn't go to the gardens just to scavenge. It made little sense since there was always enough superstition to keep the stalkers away. Maybe someone tipped them off about something valuable here and someone took a risk?

The group was in a staggered formation, but it was too organized to be an average group. However, as he noticed a flashlight lit on one of their backs, he recognized the infamous word, Reich. "Comrades, it looks like we have company." He commented. "The fascists are here."

Vassily swore. "Fucking hell, I thought we would have an easier time looking for the Dark One."

"Corporal, there is no such thing as easy." Pavel replied. "Alright, get your gear. We're moving."

All six of his men acknowledged him. "Yes, comrade major."

The major took point as he jumped down from the windows and landed into the marsh. The soldier looked around as he noticed his men splash into the water and stand up from the ground. Then they slowly made their way through the path and followed the last location of the Nazi soldiers.

"Major, why are we following the Nazis?"

Annoyed by the man's question, Pavel was quick to answer. "Nazis are not subtle when it comes to looking for things. If we continue to follow them, we don't have to worry about looking for the Dark One ourselves. Now hush up and stay quiet. We don't want Fritz to hear us."

As the group of Red Line soldiers continued to move through the path, Pavel stopped in his tracks.

"Shit, I hear something." He whispered while he did his best to keep his breathing volume to the minimum. If he breathed too hard, the Nazis would have heard him.

There was a sound from one of the Nazis as they closed the distance. "There it is. Capture it for the Reich!" A man shouted.

"Cyka, time to go Cheeki Breeki. Get your weapons ready."

"Understood sir." One of his men replied.