Disclaimer: The characters and story originally created by Dmitri Glukhovsky in the book and video game series "Metro: 2033" and its sequels do not belong to me. Those properties are owned by Glukhovsky, 4A Games, and Deep Silver. This work of fiction is intended for entertainment purposes and is not meant to be canonical, though I tried very hard to make it fit within the parameters. I do retain my rights for the creation of my own original characters and ideas. I do not make any money from writing this story.
Chapter Thirteen: Succession
"What are you two doing here? How did you find us?" Aleks asked excitedly, her eyes ablaze with her delighted surprise as they darted between the brothers.
"Well, we know you said to get back home f we got split but then we thought you might have gotten held up at Revolution Square, or worse." Said Nikolai as he looked concernedly from Aleks to Artyom for signs of injury.
"If there was any trouble, we knew where they would send you." Dmitri said gloomily, making a slight gesture back towards Lubyanka station.
"But how did you get through at Venice? Did you see Andrei? What happened?!" Aleks demanded, short of breath and tugging at Nikolai's sleeve impatiently.
"Ivanovich, yeah he's fine. We saw him once we got off the boat, everything was kind of deserted then, and he was talking with Semyon when we got there." Nikolai reported calmly, seeming not to notice Aleks pulling at him.
"Was he hurt?" Aleks pressed, leaning forward hopefully.
"Yeah, he took quite a beating from some of those thugs after he shot one of them in the foot." Nikolai laughed and Aleks relaxed. Even Dmitri perked up and hazarded a smile, shaking his head but with pride.
Artyom was relieved to hear the story, and any tense concern he had about Venice instantly melted away. It seemed Aleks was comforted too, as her voice lowered and she stopped bouncing on her feet.
"So he's okay? Where is he then?" Aleks asked, craning her neck around the brothers as if Ivanovich was right behind them but hadn't spoken up.
"After we caught up with him and he told us what happened, he said he'd be better off going back to protect our people. We told him we were going ahead to find you and we left it at that." Nikolai shrugged and crossed his arms.
"Then how did you get here? And such a risk to go along the Red Line, through your old station, even!" Aleks playfully swatted Nikolai's bicep.
"We just waited for some of the boats to come back and asked a guy to take us to Revolution Square. Paid him pretty good, too." Nikolai glanced over at Dmitri who confirmed the detail with a nod, then looked back at Aleks with an eyebrow raised. "So, where have you been?"
"Well, Semyon insisted we take a boat out of Venice right away, only they wouldn't go to the Red Line at all, so we got dropped behind Kitai Gorod and had to make our way over the surface to Kuznetsky Most." Aleks shifted her eyes from Artyom to the crossties, and Artyom wasn't sure why she was becoming defensive.
"The surface?!" Nikolai's eyes went wide with surprise and worry, but with his eyebrows still lowered as if he was angry that she had taken such a risk.
"Yeah, we nearly got caught by a squad of Red soldiers coming out of Revolution Square." Aleks said with a playful smile, looking over at Artyom with genuine pride and amusement and searching for his support.
"We're all here now, anyway." Dmitri said to dispel the tension.
Artyom simply nodded silently. Nikolai shot him an angry look; as if it were Artyom's fault that they had to traverse the surface and that he had put Aleks in danger intentionally. Not knowing how to react, he quickly turned his gaze to the crossties.
"We need to get to Polis as soon as we can. I don't like having to be here any longer than we have to. Stay more than a day and they'll try to conscript you." Aleks spoke with sarcastic contempt.
"Well good news then - your intel from Valya came through. Semyon radioed him while we were there; perfect timing as always." Nikolai brandished a worn scrap of newspaper with something scribbled on it.
"This says there's a transfer tunnel between Prospect Marx and Aleksandr Garden." Aleks scrutinized the paper carefully; it looked to be another crudely drawn map. "Can we get in that way, Artyom?"
"I've never been through that way, but it should be possible." Artyom stammered, searching his mind for any memory of such a passage but finding nothing. He still longed to put on his Spartan uniform but knew that the stop would only hinder their journey further and his desire to get back to D6 was stronger than that of his appearance.
"And, will they let all of us in if we go?" Nikolai interjected with a hand held out to the side.
"I-I don't know." Artyom stared intently at the ground, hoping that suddenly it would cave in from underneath and swallow him up.
"Nikolai, he isn't a border guard. He's a Stalker." Aleks scolded. "You don't need to go all that way just for me."
"We already talked about this." Dmitri spoke in a harsh tone, but Artyom didn't immediately recognize that he had spoken to his brother.
"Yes, we did, but it seems that our boss isn't willing to admit that things have come to that." Nikolai leaned backwards to speak more closely to Dmitri, gesturing towards Aleks, whose expression showed concern.
"Nikolai you—"Aleks began, taking a step towards him, reaching out as if to comfort him somehow.
"Aleks. It's long since time. You must." Nikolai held up a hand to silence her.
Aleks took in a few short breaths and sighed, was she trying to hold back tears? Artyom couldn't see from this angle, he was standing somewhere between trying to stay in the conversation and trying not to be noticed.
"It's okay Aleks, we're ready." Dmitri stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "You have to go."
"We will do whatever you ask of us." Nikolai straightened up, holding his head high, and waited for her command.
Aleks bit her lip, kicked the toe of her boot into the side of the crosstie she was standing on, and then stood still. Artyom was still trying to make sense of what was happening. The energy in the tunnel around them was electric, he could tell that something was about to change, but he hadn't been privy to whatever prior conversation the other three had apparently had about this moment they had been planning for. Here they had just reunited with the notorious twins of the Red Arrow and yet Nikolai was speaking as if he and Dmitri were leaving them again.
"I just had to catch up to you from Venice and make sure you were alright." Nikolai's voice dropped to a soothing baritone and he lifted Aleks' chin gently to look him in the eye. "You know what you have to do."
Artyom's heart thudded in his chest as the force around them intensified. He strained his ears to listen, unknowingly leaning forward.
"Nikolai, I hereby give you command of Avtozavod." Aleks steeled herself, standing as straight as a wooden beam, hands flat at her sides. "I will be in contact via radio as soon as I know when I will return. If there is an emergency, you will contact Polis and ask for Artyom, telling them you are from Exhibition."
Artyom was breathless, his eyes wide, was this what they had discussed after he had left the room that first night back at Avtozavodskaya? It must have been, because Aleks seemed to have a plan and a backup plan for everything, it wasn't possible that she had overlooked this kind of situation or decided about it at the last moment. He twisted his body to the side awkwardly and tried not to be noticed again.
"Understood and accepted." Nikolai gave a quick and precise nod of his head.
Dmitri smiled and patted Aleks' shoulder but said nothing, as was his usual fashion, and then turned to salute his brother before walking away in the direction he'd come from.
"Promise me you won't abandon the true mission. Don't let them stop you here and force you to work for them again, you get back as soon as you can and tell Ivanovich where I am." Aleks said hurriedly, not able to finish her sentence without embracing Nikolai again.
"Hey we left the Red Line for a reason! It's way more fun working for you, anyway." Nikolai teased, letting her hold on to him and also giving her a hug in return. "We'll walk with you to the transfer passage and then be off."
Aleks nodded her head in response, releasing her grip on him and following closely as he turned to go after Dmitri. She pulled out the small scrap of paper from her pocket and reread the inscription as they walked.
"There's a door just on the other side of Marx Station marked Л42." She reported, looking up to see how far they were from the station proper.
Artyom ambled along behind them, silently trying to work through in his head what had just occurred. Now at least he wouldn't have to worry about trying to explain to the Kshatriya why he had three militant companions, yet he also understood that Nikolai would undoubtedly hold Artyom responsible for Aleks' safety until she returned to Avtozavodskaya – and still nobody knew how long that would be. He weighed the possibility of having to beg Melnik for clearance so he could escort her home himself. It wasn't a likely option.
Next, he tried to imagine how often he would need to go back and forth to Polis to check on her, would he even be allowed to? What if he were sent on another surface mission? It was expected now that he had several shifts to make up for after losing contact on patrol. Would he have any time to visit her at all? Hopefully Melnik would understand about their mutual bond with Hunter and allow Artyom to bring to her whatever things the Stalker had left for her. Then, with all those supposed things, Melnik would have to allow him to escort her home, after she had escorted him – although he didn't really need her to. All the endless possibilities seemed so distant; there was no way to predict what Melnik might think or say, or when any of these individual things might occur. All Artyom could do was continue to come up with random scenarios, and he kept his eyes on her closely, so as not to lose track of the group.
Upon entering Prospect Marx, they stepped up onto the platform and crossed into the main vestibule. It was beautifully decorated; although Artyom assumed that most of the original details had been replaced by the Reds as there were a lot of painted symbols and crimson banners hanging around the hallways. The high curved ceiling caught the dim light of the lamps well enough that this station didn't feel spooky like Lubyanka did. This was obviously a much bigger and more public station and thus they couldn't afford to let their image falter. The traditional marching anthem of the Red Line was heard distantly.
Aleks and Nikolai had nearly caught up to where Dmitri was still plowing ahead, and Artyom jogged a few steps so as not to lose them in the growing crowd. There were a few shops set up against the walls between the arches, most made of a few crates with someone sitting beside them, the different offerings laid out proudly. A decent amount of chatter reigned over the hall, although it didn't seem that there was much actual trading going on, more so it was the merchants making their pitch to lure a passerby into a haggle. Was this the sort of life that Nikolai and Dmitri had led on this line when they called it home? If so, it explained a lot about both of their demeanors.
There wasn't any time to stop and look, and although curious, Artyom's feet never ceased to lead him onwards after the group. The long journey home was nearly at an end and soon they would be separated from the noise of this place and from the company of the brothers, one now named the leader of the Red Arrow. Then he and Aleks would be alone again and perhaps some of his scenarios about what would come after that would be discovered. His felt his breath catch in his chest when he began thinking again about what Melnik would first say upon meeting her. The anticipation was agonizingly pent up in his body like an over-pressurized air tank waiting to explode.
"Here it is." Nikolai stopped just off the platform on the opposite side of the station.
Aleks didn't speak as she stepped up next to Nikolai and looked at the marking on the door to confirm his finding. Dmitri stayed back, almost in the shadows, watching both sides of the tunnel for pedestrians who might find their entry to the passage suspicious. Artyom wondered if the Red Line officials knew about such a passage towards Polis, and was certain that the Polis guards must have, as they would never have overlooked a single entry point to their utopia.
"I know you don't want to say goodbye, so instead I will say: we will speak again soon." Nikolai gave a warm smile and took Aleks' hand in his, giving it a kiss before taking a step to the side. "Artyom, you take good care of her, don't let her out of your sight."
"I won't." Artyom nodded his head, not wanting to admit that he may not be able to do what Nikolai asked of him. He was still a Ranger, after all. It wasn't entirely up to him what duties he would fulfill.
"We will speak again soon." Aleks finally mimicked weakly, trying not to look directly at Nikolai or Dmitri. She tried the handle of the door, and it opened without a struggle. With not another word or gesture, she stepped inside.
"We're counting on you Artyom." Nikolai said in a low voice as Artyom passed into the doorway after her.
"I won't let you down." He turned and replied quietly as Nikolai closed the door behind them.
Letting the noise be a place marker in his mind, he looked forward now along the short hallway to where Aleks was walking slowly forward. For a moment he wondered if she and Nikolai were more than just comrades, based on their interactions in the last half hour. The thought unsettled him, as it seemed that the idea of it threw their whole command system out of balance. She had been genuinely upset to learn of Hunter's disappearance and was rather candid with him the previous evening when they talked more on the subject. So then, it was unlikely that she would allow such advances from anyone so soon after the loss of her primary interest. Suddenly he found himself wondering why he was curious about that sort of thing at all, and assured himself that if Aleks were a man, it would never have crossed his mind.
He caught up to her quickly and tried to put all that nonsense out of his head. It was just the two of them again now, and his thoughts returned to protecting her. They were almost to Polis, and he had to make sure at the very least that she spoke to Melnik in person before he left her side.