[This story's Metro lore comes from a hybrid of the games and the books, some names and character attributes will be swapped to fit the books portrayal. I.E. Miller is changed to Melnik, as it is in the books. Ulman has blonde hair etc. you should be able to catch on easily enough.]

"Papa! Papa! Wake up!" Misha shouted, shaking his father's cot

"What is it Misha?" Artyom asked. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Are you hurt?" Artyom had been up late training cadets at D6. He made sure Anna told Misha not to wake him up unless it was an emergency. "Are you hurt?" he repeated.

"No Papa, Grandpa is here!" Misha said excitedly.

"I thought Mama and I told you not to open the door?" Artyom said in a scolding tone.

"I-I'm sorry papa," Misha said, holding his hands behind his back, looking at the dirty concrete floor. "It's just… I heard his voice…" Misha knew he had done something wrong.

Artyom sighed, he climbed out of his cot and knelt beside Misha. "It's alright." He said, giving his son a pat on the shoulder. He stepped over his son's sleeping bag and walked over to the door. He yawned and opened the door. Melnik was waiting patiently in his wheel chair, his camouflaged pants tied off at the knees were he lost his legs fighting the Reds alongside Artyom. "What's up?" Artyom said, putting his hand up against the door frame as he felt a sudden head rush. "If you're looking for Anna, already left, she should be near the market."

"Hi Grandpa!" Misha said, walking up from behind Artyom.

Melnik smiled and gave a small wave to Misha. "I need to talk to you, its Ranger business."

"Well I can't just leave Misha here by himself. Maybe you could stay here until Anna comes back, I'm sure she won't be long. Melnik nodded and rolled his wheelchair inside. Artyom and Anna's shack wasn't that big, but bigger than most around Polis. After word of Artyom's exploits came around after the battle of D6, the Polis council gave Artyom and Anna a decent sized shack. They had a small family room attached to their bedroom. Melnik's wheel chair fit into the corner of the room. Misha climbed up and sat in his grandpa's lap.

"Do you want some tea?" Artyom asked, pointing to a kettle sitting next to a Bunsen burner.

"No, I'm fine." Melnik replied.

Artyom took a seat on a rocking chair in the opposite corner. "Grandpa," Misha asked, "How did you get those scars?" Melnik ran his hand across the three parallel scars reaching from his hairline down to his chin.

"I was fighting some mutants in the tunnels, one of them scratched me." He explained.

"Did it hurt?"

"Why yes, quite a lot actually."

"Is that how you lost your legs to?" Melnik glanced at Artyom for a yea or nay.

"No, no, we'll tell you that story another time, it's a long one." Artyom said. There was a knock on the door. "Oh that must be her." Artyom stood up and walked to the door. He unlocked it and found Anna standing with a crate from the market.

"Mama!" Misha shouted, hopping off Melnik's lap and running over to see what she had brought back.

"Father? What are you doing here?" She asked as she caught sight of Melnik.

"We were waiting for you, I have to talk to Artyom in private." Melnik said, sitting up and preparing to move his wheelchair.

Anna let out a deep sigh. It was no doubt a ranger mission that she couldn't take part in. Someone had to take care of Misha. Artyom and Anna started out by taking turns taking care of him. However, Anna proved to be a better parent that Artyom ever could be. So, over time, it fell to her staying behind. Artyom stood up and headed for the door, Melnik rolled behind him.

"What's in the box Mama?" Misha asked. Anna held he crate down to show a large gray rat. "Can I play with it?" he asked excitedly.

"Alright, but don't let it escape, I don't want to waste food." Anna replied. Artyom caught a glimpse of the rat out of the corner of his eye, sending a shiver down his spine. He hated rats, ever since Uncle Sasha told him the story of how his home station was overrun when he was a baby. Artyom let Melnik take the lead as the two pushed through the crowded pathways. They had to stop to allow a team of Draisines to pass. A man then placed a large board across the rails for people to walk over to the next platform. They made it to the Ranger HQ on the other side of the station. The Polis guards saluted both of them. Melnik directed Artyom into his office and shut the door.

"So, what is it?" Artyom asked. Taking a seat in the gutted leather chair. "Bandits, Mutants, Nazis, Plague…"

"Mutants," Melnik answered. "Well, mutant, we hope. Some stalkers came running into Revolution Square, they were being chased by some mutant we haven't seen. It was described in the letter as a giant naked man who ate one of the guards."

"Sounds like they may have been brewing the wrong mushrooms." Artyom chuckled.

"Normally, I would have said the same." Melnik continued. "But, everyone saw this thing, the guards, the stalkers, even the people who lived near the gate. I want you to get some guys together and head to Revolution, see if you can't kill this thing."

"Well," Artyom stood up straight. "Consider it done." Artyom walked out confidently. Old Melnik must be off the deep end, this seemed like easy pay. Artyom walked over to the Armory, he didn't believe they'd actually run in to anything, but it never hurt to be prepared. He put on his armor and selected his weapons. A Preved with a scope and 5 round clip, A Kalash, and a revolver. He paged through the roster and chose three people who he had served with before. Pyotr, Katerina, and Simon.

Artyom met his team near the rail bike parking. Pyotr was big bear of a man with a shaved head. He held a Shambler shotgun with a Lolife carbine attached to his belt. Katerina was tall, but slender, her black hair was cut in a boyish fashion. She wielded a Kalash with a bayonet and silenced revolver. Finally, Simon was shorter than the rest, slightly shorter than Artyom. His face was obscured by a ranger helmet similar to Artyom's. Artyom was about to criticize his choice of weapon, a bastard gun, but stopped himself when he noticed the enormous Abzats slung across his back.

"Okay, everyone," Artyom began. "Supposedly some giant naked mutant man attacked Revolution Square, we need to put down." The others gave him a strange look. "And, should the situation dictate, we should sip some tea, make sure they used the right shrooms." The team laughed. "Now let's go."

The rail bikes had two seats each, side by side. Artyom climbed into the passenger seat and Pyotr took the driver's seat. Katerina and Simon took the bike behind them. Artyom pointed forward and Pyotr revved the engine. They left Polis in no time. Artyom was still a little tired from yesterday's work. He rested his head on his hands and closed his eyes as the vehicle rattled down the tracks. He didn't get any sleep, but it made time pass quickly. The bike skidded to a halt, Artyom could hear the bustling crowds of Revolution Square after Pyotr killed the engine. Artyom and his team flashed their ranger tags to the Red Line guards and walked in with no trouble. They pushed through the people and communist promoters, making their way to the door. The area was completely fortified. The usual sand bags were replaced by scrap metal bunkers and row upon row of home weaved barbed wire. A row of claymores sat behind everything, wired to a single detonator.

"You'd think they were gearing up for war." Simon said. The squad approached the fortifications, Artyom counted four DShK machineguns trained on the entrance.

"Who's in charge here?" Artyom asked grabbing one of the soldiers guarding the gate. The soldier pointed to a clean-cut major walking along the barbed wire fence. "Hey! Over here!" he called, waving the major over to his location.

"What is it?" The major asked gruffly.

Artyom flashed his tags "We need to head to the surface."

The major showed clear signs of fear, but responded with a nod. "You think you can kill that fucker, go ahead." He turned towards his men. "We have outgoing! Open up!" he ordered. The soldiers manned their positions, weapons pointed at the entrance. Katerina looked nervously at the man with his thumb on the detonator, the very same detonator for the claymores they had just stepped over. Pyotr and Katerina put on their gas masks, Artyom and Simon brought down the face plate of their ranger helmets. Artyom had a traditional gasmask in reserve, just in case. The door grinded open, just far enough for Artyom's gang to squeeze through. Artyom stuck his head out, only thing he saw was the metro entrance, the escalator leading up to the sky. Artyom motioned his squad forward. The door shut behind them shortly after.

They ascended the escalator and found themselves in the crumbled ruins of the old station building. "I'm back Moscow." Artyom said to himself.

"So… How do we find this thing?" Katerina asked.

"Follow the giant foot prints?" Simon suggested.

"Very funn—"Artyom stopped mid-sentence, there actually were giant footprints leading down the escalator, but then back out. "Well, we better hop to it." The team didn't make it far when they stopped dead in their tracks. Down the street, they could see it. The massive creature matched every description, from its wicked smile to its 7 meter height. Scarier, was what stood next to it. Another similar creature, but twice as big.

"Holy shit…" Pyotr said. Artyom stood with his mouth open, unbelievable, the things were real.

"You guys see this to, right?" Artyom asked.

Before an answer could be heard, a boom was heard to their left, the looked to see a cloud of steam. The four readied weapons, Simon unslung his Abzats and pointed it at the white cloud. The smoke cleared to reveal a person, not a creature. Artyom moved closer, the kid was young, at least mid-teens. He wore a short brown jacket with a dual wing motif emblazoned on the shoulders. He had knee high boots and white pants. All across his body was some type of harness, attached to two large rectangular machines on each side of his body. What shocked Artyom more was his face, He had to convince himself he was not looking back in time. The kid looked exactly like him! From his facial features, his brown hair, to his bluish-green eyes.

The kid took a gasp for air and immediately started coughing erratically, he tried again through his nose, to no better effect. Artyom unhooked his spare mask and came running towards the kid. Artyom attempted to put the mask over the kids face. The kid resisted, knocking Artyom's hands away. "Dammit! Cooperate!" Artyom shouted as he tried again, same result. This reminded him of when Pavel took off his mask while possessed by ghosts. The kid leaned in suddenly, head-butting Artyom. The kid recoiled in pain, with his eyes watering from the toxic air. He must not have noticed Artyom's metal mask. Artyom took this advantage and forced the mask over the kids face. The kid reached for the straps, trying to tear it off. "Stop!" Artyom yelled, keeping his hand on the face of the mask. "Breathe in, breathe out." he said, moving his hand up and down with each breath of his own. The kid began to breathe normally.

"Who the hell are you?" the kid demanded.

This had to be a ghost, it had to be. He looked way too much like Artyom for this to be coincidence. Artyom was 25, so there was no way he could have another kid this age. It had to be a ghost.

"We're Rangers, who are you?" Katerina responded.

The kid scanned each of them carefully. "I'm Eren Jaeger."