Black Sun

Chapter 1

With nothing else to do, she walked. The new weight of her scythe, the pounding migraine, and the howling storm around her slowed her down, but Ruby walked regardless, because there was nothing else she could do. She didn't know where she was, or how she had ended up here, or even where she was going, but she had to keep walking, had to keep moving forward, had to find some way back to Beacon, and her friends.

Ruby grit her teeth as images of Pyrrha's demise began to flash through her mind yet again. She tried her hardest to push them away, but they stared no matter what she tried. She'd always known that becoming a Huntress meant she would inevitably see people die, but the fact that the first one she ever witnessed was her friend, and that she'd been murdered in a place that should have been safe… it weighed on her.

"Keep it together…" Ruby muttered to herself as she trudged through the storm. "Pyrrha would want you to keep going…"

And so she continued on, still unsure of where she was headed. Nothing about this place was familiar to her. Parts of it looked utterly alien, even – rusted, twisted remnants of old vehicles and the occasional ruined building marked her path, scarring what would otherwise have been a barren landscape of rolling green-and-brown plains, pockmarked with rows of trees. It was eerie to her, how parts of the land were simultaneously beautiful yet haunting. Here, the trees and grass were green and growing; there, they were brown and dead, and surrounded a torn-down building. Even the place she had first started from – the small warehouse with the mill, with the ruined bridge and railway off in the distance – left her feeling unnerved.

People lived here once, yet for some reason, they seemed to have abandoned everything in haste, leaving even their vehicles behind. What could have caused people to uproot themselves so suddenly, to the point that they abandoned even their own vehicles? She didn't know, and she was pretty sure she didn't want to know, either. All the more reason to discover a way home sooner rather than later.

As the storm continued to blow around her, Ruby drew her cloak tighter over her body, shivering the entire time. She was already completely waterlogged – her ever-present red cloak had helped to a certain extent, but even it had gradually given way to the elements. She was cold, wet, exhausted, and admittedly more than a little hungry, and to make matters worse, she still hadn't discovered what was wrong with her aura – at first, she'd thought that whatever had happened at Beacon's tower had simply drained it, but enough time had passed by now that it should have started to come back, and yet it hadn't. And that was concerning enough on its own, even if she hadn't found herself here.

Ruby's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a shape appearing off in the distance – another bridge, she realized, one that was intact this time rather than reduced to a pile of twisted steel. It was small, but it was still progress. Hopefully, it'd bring her closer to finding out where she was, or perhaps even finding someone who could help her.

With that small victory achieved, Ruby hastened towards the bridge, only to stop when she heard something over the pounding rain. A frown escaped her as she listened in, idly running her finger across Crescent Rose's trigger guard as she did so.

"Is that… barking?"

It sure sounded like it. The knowledge brought a smile to her face. It was good to know that wherever she had ended up, they still had dogs. Focusing a bit more, she could tell that the barking was coming from across the bridge, not far from where she was at now. That was enough to make her quicken her pace, eager to reach the other side. A dog wasn't a person, but it was better than being alone. And so, when she finally reached the other side of the bridge and saw a familiar four-legged shape standing a short ways away and sniffing the air, she couldn't hold back a small, excited squeal.

"Puppy!" she called. "Ooh, I'm so happy to meet y-"

The words died on her lips with a single growl from the dog. Instantly, Ruby quieted down, her eyes widening in shock as the dog began to slowly pad towards her. It stepped through the rain, drawing closer and closer, before finally coming close enough that she could get her first clear look at it. And when she did, a small, terrified gasp escaped her.

It looked more like a corpse than a dog. It was thin and emaciated, its ribs clearly showing through its skin. What little fur it had was patchy and covered in mange. Several large sores adorned its body, most of them openly weeping thin rivulets of dark blood or sickly yellow pus. Its skin was covered in scars – bite marks from other animals, and even a few that looked like bullet holes. Its mouth was coated with dried blood and flecks of foam. Worst of all were its eyes – they were a dull, milky-gray color, and stared ahead blindly.

As the dog grew closer, Ruby caught a whiff of it through the rain, and she couldn't but gag as bile rose up in her throat. Not only did it look like a walking corpse, but it smelled like one, too. Her hands flew to her mouth to hold back her vomit. The dog suddenly stopped and tensed, having heard her sudden movements. It perked its head up and sniffed the air before turning back to her and dropping down, its low growl intensifying. Instantly, Ruby pulled Crescent Rose, leveling the sniper rifle at the dog.

"Nice doggy…" she muttered. "Stay back, now. Please don't make me do this."

The dog didn't listen. Instead, it gave a loud bark, then launched itself at her as fast its spindly, wound-covered legs would let it. Ruby grit her teeth, knowing what she was about to do, but she didn't let it stop her; she pulled the trigger, and braced herself for the concussion of her large-caliber gun when it fired.

She was stunned when all she got was a click.

"No, no!" she called, frantically trying to work the bolt and chamber another round.

But she was out of time. The dog jumped, its fangs bared. Time seemed to move in slow-motion as it flew through the air. Ruby tried to pull away before it got to her, but she didn't get the chance – the dog made impact, sinking its razor-sharp teeth into her right forearm and pulling her to the ground.

Time suddenly began to move normally again, and Ruby screamed as the pain hit. Frantic, she tried to bring Crescent Rose around and use it for additional leverage to pry the dog off of her arm, but it didn't work – the dog held firm, and then began to shake its head back and forth, shredding the flesh from her arm. Blood poured down onto the ground below, and tears of pain began to spill down her cheeks as she screamed, louder and even hoarser than before. But she didn't give up – she kept trying to fight, working to peel the dog off her arm even as it continued to flay her alive.

Finally, with one well-placed kick, the dog's grip on her arm slackened. Ruby managed to wrench her ruined limb free, letting out another scream as it was further torn to shreds in the process. She quickly struggled to her feet, and against her better judgment, spared a glance down at her injury. Fresh tears filled her eyes when she saw just how bad it was – the dog really had just about skinned her alive; blood was pouring down onto the ground in a thick river, and she could see the white of her bone poking out between the muscle in a few places. She bit her lip hard to keep from screaming – no easy feat, given that every raindrop that landed on her exposed muscle and bone burned like a tiny, white-hot speck of Fire Dust.

Still, she wasn't about to give up here. She let her ruined right arm hang limply, and instead reached for Crescent Rose, intending to fight to her last breath… but the scythe's sudden weight again proved to be her undoing. Try as she might, she simply couldn't lift it with one arm. Frantic, she tried to will her aura to come to life and help her, but it refused to.

A loud bark caught her attention, and Ruby turned just in time to find the dog charging at her again, fresh blood spattered across its muzzle and fangs. She flinched, bringing her good arm up to shield her face, screwing her eyes shut in terror as she did so.

A loud bang suddenly made her jump. Still, she held that position, until she heard a thin whimper. Chancing a look, Ruby moved her arm away from her face and opened her eyes, then glanced down at her feet. She was stunned to see the dog lying there, a fresh bullet hole bored through its side. She barely had any time to register what had just happened before another trio of rounds came soaring through the air; the first two impacted the dog in its torso, and the last one struck it in the head, finally putting it out of its misery. Bits of blood and brains spattered against her legs, and for the second time that day, Ruby found herself choking back vomit… but only for a few seconds before a new feeling replaced the encroaching sickness – namely, dizziness.

The world began to spin, and it didn't take much for her to realize why – the sheer amount of blood she'd just lost was finally taking its toll on her. She sank down to one knee, cradling her injured arm, uncaring of the blood stained her beloved cloak and outfit. A small, terrified, agony-filled whimper escaped her as the corners of her eyes began to darken.

Just as she lost consciousness, she was able to make out movement from off to the side of the bridge – a lone figure, dressed in camouflage body armor and wearing some kind of strange mask was approaching her, armed with a wood-and-steel rifle of some kind. He ran towards her, slinging his rifle over his shoulder as he did.

That was all she was able to recognize before she passed out.

When Ruby stirred awake, it was to a searing pain in her right arm. She winced and clutched at it, only to find that someone had wrapped it in bandages while she slept. Surprised, turned the newly-bandaged limb over, trying to get a better look at it. It wasn't clean – certainly like the emergency rooms she'd visited due to her various training injuries and accidents – but it was better than nothing.

As painful as it was, she'd live, and she'd keep her arm on top of that.

Figuring she'd try to speed the process up a bit, Ruby attempted to flare her aura… and yet again, found that it wasn't responding. She couldn't help but let out a worried sigh.

"What's going on…?" she muttered. "Why isn't it working? It's never done this before…"

Shaking her head, Ruby struggled to her feet. She briefly checked herself over to make sure everything else was in order, which it mostly was – Crescent Rose was missing and her clothes were still heavily waterlogged and coated in her own dried blood, but besides that, everything was right where it should have been. Content that she was now safer than she had been, Ruby looked around.

She was in a house now, though calling it a house was generous – the only piece of furniture she could find was a rusted steel bedframe that was propped up in a nearby corner. Sleeping bags lined the floor, which was made of stained, rotted wood. Come to think of it, that described the entire house pretty well – stained, rotted wood, covered in chipped paint and peeling wallpaper. She couldn't even tell what color the floor and the walls were supposed to be – they were both so faded and dirty that they came out looking more brown than anything. As if that wasn't bad enough, the entire house reeked of dryrot and mildew.

"Eugh…" Ruby muttered, suppressing a shiver as she walked through the tiny, ramshackle abode. "Where is this place, anyway? Who could possibly live like this?"

"You joke, but this is considered excellent living in the Zone."

The sudden voice from behind took her by surprise. Ruby tensed, spinning around to see who was following her. She was confused to see an older man standing there, clad in camo-print body armor, with a strange-looking mask hanging around his neck and a hood pulled over his head. A familiar-looking rifle was slung over his right shoulder.

Ruby's eyes lit up at the sight of him. "I know you!" she announced. "You killed the dog!"

The man nodded. "Correct. I also brought you back here and treated your arm."

"Oh," Ruby said. "Well, thank you!"

He waved her off. "Don't mention it. I happened to be on my way back from patrol and heard someone scream. At first I thought it was one of the rookies getting themselves into trouble again. Imagine my surprise when I found you, instead. We don't get many women here, especially not many as young as you."

That caught Ruby's attention. "What do you mean?" she asked. "Where is here, anyway?"

The man looked at her like she had grown a second head. "You don't know where you are?"

Ruby shook her head. "No. The last I remember, I was at Beacon, then-"

"Beacon?"

"Uh, yeah? You know, Beacon? Most famous Huntsman Academy in the world? Located right on the edge of Vale? That Beacon?"

He gave her a blank stare, and Ruby suddenly felt a chill go down her spine. She hesitated, not quite prepared to ask her next question, but she knew she had to.

"...I'm sorry," she began. "I'm a little confused. Where am I, again?"

"The Zone," the man answered, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"...Uh-huh. And The Zone is…?"

He blinked. "...You are in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant Zone of Alienation, located in Pripyat, Ukraine. Everyone refers to it as either the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone or, more commonly, as simply The Zone. You said you were from Beacon, at the edge of Vale?" She nodded, and he furrowed his brow. "I have not heard of either of those places."

"...And I haven't heard of Chernobyl, or the Zone, or the Ukraine," Ruby said softly. She wracked her brain, trying to think of some explanation for what had happened. She couldn't think of one that made sense – all she recalled was that bright light after Cinder had murdered Pyrrha, and then she had woken up here, in The Zone… wherever The Zone was.

There was one possibility, but it was too out-there even for her to consider. Still, it was all she could think of at the moment, so it was worth a shot.

"...Another question," Ruby began. "We're still on Remnant, right?"

"Remnant?" the man asked, confused.

His question pierced her like a bullet. Instantly, all of Ruby's fears had been realized, and everything made sense – the names of places she didn't recognize, the alien appearance of the world, the fact that her Dust bullets hadn't worked earlier… it all came together to paint a picture that was every bit as clear as it was terrifying.

"...I think I'm farther than home than I thought," she said, horrified.

The initial shock took her a bit to recover from. Thankfully, the man who had saved her – Wolf, as he had eventually ended up introducing himself – was accommodating. He sat down and listened to her story, every bit of it, and while there were parts he clearly didn't completely believe, he still listened to her and answered any questions she had. And by the end of it, Ruby had a much clearer picture of where she had ended up.

According to Wolf, The Zone was a roughly ten-kilometer area in Chernobyl, Ukraine, centered around some kind of power plant. There had been some sort of incident at the plant twenty-six years ago that had forced every person in the area – all fifty-thousand of them – to evacuate in haste, never to return again. Then, about twenty years after that, there was a second incident that led to the creation of The Zone as it was known today – as Wolf had put it, the Zone had gone from barren to actively hostile. Monsters – mutants, as he'd referred to them – now roamed the wasteland, preying on anyone who they happened to come across.

"But wait," Ruby said, interrupting Wolf's story. "If it's so dangerous, why do people still come here?"

"Money," Wolf grunted. "Whatever caused the second event that ultimately created the Zone, it also led to the creation of things called Artifacts. We aren't quite sure what they are – the Ecologists refer to them as ordinary items that have been twisted through exposure to the Zone. They are formed from Anomalies, which are essentially little pockets of space scattered around the Zone where the laws of physics and reality no longer apply."

"Wow," Ruby breathed. "That sounds incredible."

Wolf let out another grunt. "Incredibly dangerous, maybe. Anomalies are not to be messed with – they can kill you just as easily as they can pay for your next meal, generally in horrible ways. You're lucky if you step into a Burner or a Boiler – those will only set you on fire. Something like a Vortex will draw you into its center, then compress your body into a fraction of its normal size, then blow you up with a powerful discharge. Very painful, and not quite instantly fatal."

Ruby's excited grin faded. She shivered. "…And people willingly go near those things, all for money?"

"It's one of the few reliable ways of getting paid in the Zone," Wolf explained. "The other options are bounty hunting – either mutants or people. Both are even more dangerous than Artifact hunting. A skilled Artifact hunters can traverse entire fields of Anomalies mostly without fear; can't say the same when it comes to hunting mutants or people. At least the Anomalies are mostly predictable."

"Then why stay?" Ruby asked. "Why not leave the Zone and go home?"

"You can't," Wolf replied.

Ruby felt a chill go down her spine. "What do you mean, you can't?!"

"I mean, you can't," Wolf repeated. "This is an exclusion zone. The entire thing has been surrounded by the Ukrainian Military and cordoned off. Generally speaking, the only way in or out is if you manage to bribe your way past the guards or sneak through, and that's easier said than done. Most of us who got here did so by paying the guards to look the other way. Of course, it's a lot cheaper and easier to get in than it is to get out. That's assuming the guards don't simply decide to shoot you and pick your corpse clean of whatever you may be trying to carry out – generally speaking, you're worth a lot more to them dead than alive."

"Then… why even come here in the first place?"

Wolf shrugged. "That depends on who you ask. Some people come here for the thrill of it. Some come because they're trying to run away from something, and this is the hardest place in the entire world to find them. Some simply thought they could strike it rich with Artifact hunting. Me? I came here because my brother came here, and I wanted to follow after him. Of course, I can't exactly leave – not when the rookies need me."

"So, we're stuck here?" Ruby ventured. "We can't leave?"

"Not unless you can bribe a Ukrainian Military officer to let you leave. I would caution you about that, though – it's hard enough for us men to just pay them off. For women, they might just demand something a bit more valuable than money."

Again, Ruby felt a chill go down her spine. She was quick to shake it off, though. "So… what do I do now?" she asked. "I have to get back to Remnant."

"I don't know," Wolf answered. "Perhaps the answer lies here, in the Zone. Perhaps not. In any case, you will have to start working."

"Working? What for?"

"Simple," Wolf said. He motioned to the bandages on her arms. "Sidorovich never gives anything out for free, especially not medicine."

Minutes later, Ruby found herself in a bunker, of all things, staring across from another man. He was overweight, balding, and even looking at him she could tell that he was unpleasant on a good day. Still, credit where credit was due – he had to be the smartest person she'd seen here so far, given that he kept himself locked in a cage in a secure bunker, and he seemed to have just about everything he could ever need in there with him.

He leaned forward to scrutinize her a bit closer, and Ruby had to resist the urge to pull away. After a moment, he leaned back.

"So, this is the stray you picked up, Wolf," Sidorovich observed. "I must admit, when you told me about her, I didn't quite believe it. I mean, a teenage girl in the Zone is wild enough as-is, but this? This is beyond even that."

"Believe me, you don't know the half of it," Wolf answered.

"So, what brings you here? Come to pay off your debt, little one?"

Ruby swallowed nervously. "Thank you for the medical supplies, sir. And yes, I've come to pay it off."

"Hm. Good," Sidorovich said. "I can already tell you're a smart one. The stupid ones think they can get away without paying their debts. They don't tend to last very long, as you can imagine. But, how do you intend to pay me back?"

"Artifact hunting," she replied, just as Wolf had told her.

"Is that so? Do you have the necessary equipment?"

"She'll be borrowing some of mine for the time being," Wolf volunteered. "Once she's paid back your debt, we'll see about getting her outfitted like a proper Stalker. For now, consider her under my care."

"Hm. You've got a soft spot for her, Wolf."

Wolf didn't say anything in response. Instead, he motioned for Ruby to follow him out of the bunker, which she did. Once they were back up top, they continued walking back to the Rookie Village.

"You caught him in a good mood," Wolf explained. "Of course, it helps that you said all the correct things."

"Thanks to you," Ruby replied. "So, what happens now? I suppose I'll have to get started paying him back."

"You will," Wolf said. He shifted a bit to adjust the rifle on his shoulder. "I figure we'll get you some basic gear, then I'll take you out a little ways away from the Village and teach you the basics."

"You will?" Ruby asked, surprised.

"Of course," Wolf answered, like it was the most natural thing in the world. "I teach all the rookies who end up here. You're actually quite lucky – from what you've told me, a little more off the beaten path and you could have run into either of two army cordons, and then there would've been trouble. So it's a good thing I found you."

Ruby swallowed nervously. "Y-yeah… so, what's on the agenda first?"

"First is getting you armed. Luckily, I have just the thing."

Wolf led her to a house in the middle of the Village. Inside was another man, this one wearing some kind of bug-eyed mask. He turned to look at Wolf in surprise.

"Wolf," he greeted. He then said something in another language that Ruby couldn't recognize, and Wolf replied in the same language. They exchanged words a bit before Wolf cleared his throat.

"Enough pleasantries," he announced. "You owe me a debt, Drifter. I intend to collect."

"Again with this?" the man – Drifter – lamented. "I thought we agreed I'd pay you back in a bit, since I don't have all the money together just yet."

"Yeah, well, something came up."

"Shit… how much?"

"I'll call it even in exchange for the gun on your hip and whatever ammo you've got for it."

Even from behind his mask, Ruby could tell Drifter's eyes lit up at that. "For real? Hell, you should've mentioned that earlier. Here, take the damn thing – I don't even use it for anything other than target practice, anyway. It's been useless ever since I got my Makarov."

With that, he pulled his pistol belt off and handed it along with a box of ammo over to Wolf. Wolf accepted both items, then stepped out of the building and offered them to Ruby.

"Here," he said as she tentatively accepted them.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Ruby couldn't help but be a little excited – it was a new gun, after all. Hurriedly, she opened the holster and removed the gun, taking care to keep it pointed in a safe direction.

It was a revolver of some kind, an archaic-looking one at that. Whatever it was chambered in, it was smaller than the other revolvers she was used to, which made sense given that this world apparently didn't have Grimm or Aura to deal with. She turned the weapon over in her hands a few times to examine it, then looked over to Wolf.

"It's a Nagant M1895 revolver," he explained. "Very common to find in this part of the world – there are probably thousands of crates of them in the Zone. It holds seven rounds of seven-point-six-two-by-thirty-eight-millimeter rimmed cartridges. It has a shitty trigger, shitty sights, a shitty method of reloading, and is overall a shitty weapon to defend yourself with, but it's better than nothing, and it will work until you can afford a better gun. Just don't get into any firefights with it any time soon and you should be alright. The best thing I can say about it is that it has a gas-seal mechanism, so it can accept a suppressor, should you happen to find one."

Ruby nodded along with his explanation. "Thank you, Wolf," she said.

He waved her off. "Anyway, let's start the basics. I figure we can head out from the Village a bit and practice shooting-"

"Oh, that's okay," Ruby interrupted. "I already know how to shoot just fine."

Wolf blinked, surprised. "...You do?"

Ruby grinned at him. "Yup! You're looking at one of the best sharpshooters in Vale, as a matter of fact! I've been shooting since I was a kid – I've been in just about every kind of shooting competition Vale had to offer, and won just about all of them ever since I was… mm… ten, I wanna say? Bottom line is, I know how to shoot just fine."

"Okay, then," Wolf said, unperturbed. "Then I suppose we'll just move on to the other part of the lesson."

"What would that be?"

"Artifact hunting."

Ruby's smile instantly faded.

"Okay…" Ruby said tentatively as she looked out across the dry pond ahead of her. "Remind me how this works, again?"

"You take the detector," Wolf said, offering her the faded yellow box he had called a Bear detector earlier. "You approach the Anomaly as carefully as you can. The detector will begin to beep when you get close. If there's an Artifact inside the Anomaly, the detector will tell you – the Bear is a cheap model, so it will only light up. When you see it light up, that's your signal to risk getting closer. Once you get close enough, the Artifact will pop out of the Anomaly. Then you grab it and put it in the container, and repeat until you're satisfied."

Ruby looked down at the container on her hip. It was heavier than she'd expected – according to Wolf, that was because it was lined with lead, to keep out radiation from the Artifacts. She wasn't sure what radiation was, but it sounded bad, so she was willing to trust him.

"And you're sure this is safe?" she asked.

Wolf shook his head. "No, this is incredibly dangerous. It's just less dangerous than getting into a gunfight or trying to hunt a mutant. Once you figure out what you're doing, Artifact hunting becomes a lot safer, but it is still very dangerous. One wrong move can get you killed before you've even had time to realize you've messed up. But that's why we're practicing here, at the dry pond – the only Anomalies here are Springboards. Dangerous, but they usually won't kill you."

"Usually…?" Ruby asked, horrified. She shook her head. "I don't know about this…"

"You'll have to learn at some point," Wolf insisted. "I can't pay your way forever, and Sidorovich expects you to repay him for the medicine he provided."

"I've been meaning to ask about that. Are some bandages and disinfectant really that expensive?"

"No, but that isn't all I used." Wolf motioned to her arm. "A wound like that would have ordinarily required surgery. Luckily for you, Sidorovich keeps an Artifact lying around that can help with healing, just in case. It was able to mend your arm well enough that all I had to do was apply some disinfectant and bandage it… and give you some of my anti-radiation medicine, of course."

"Sounds expensive," Ruby noted.

Wolf shrugged. "A few Artifacts of your own ought to be enough to pay back the debt. Which is why you should get to work. I'll be right here, watching and helping you. Just remember what I told you and you'll be fine."

Ruby swallowed nervously, but did as he said. Tentatively, she approached the Anomaly field, detector in hand. As she drew closer, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up, and heard a faint tremor. There was a disturbance in the air, too – looking closer, she could see a few places where leaves and dirt seemed be floating in air. Coupled with a faint shimmer in the air, and it didn't take much for her to recognize that she was drawing close to the Springboards.

Her detector suddenly began to beep as she drew closer, and Ruby had to resist the urge to fall back. She pressed on, and remembering what Wolf had told her on the way here, she reached for the bag on her belt. It was an old ammunition dump pouch that had been filled with rusty bolts, all of which had a small piece of string tied around them. Pulling one out, she threw it at the nearest Anomaly, and just about jumped out of her skin when the Anomaly let out a sudden shockwave that sent the bolt flying. Her heart pounding, Ruby looked over to Wolf for guidance.

"Get closer!" he called. "Artifacts won't appear if you're not close enough! Use the bolts – they'll tell you where the Anomalies are, and will activate them for you so you can pass through for a split-second!"

Ruby nodded in understanding, then turned back to the Anomaly field. Swallowing her fear yet again, she took another tentative step forward. Her detector's beeping increased – the machine was basically screaming at her now, but to her relief, its small light was also illuminated, signifying that there was an Artifact nearby. Nervous sweat poured down her face as she approached the nearest Anomaly. She drew closer and closer, the Artifact's beeping pounding in her ears… and then it happened – there was a shimmer of air, and a small, blue-and-brown hunk of rock came popping out, landing at her feet. Without skipping a beat, Ruby scooped it up, dropped it in her container, and then high-tailed it out of the Anomaly field and back to Wolf. She stopped a few feet in front of him, then doubled over and began gasping for breath.

Wolf started the slow clap, and she couldn't help but stare at him, then pout. "You're making fun of me," she observed.

"I make fun of all the rookies on their first Artifact hunt," Wolf replied. "They're all very nervous about it. Lighten up – it gets easier the more you do it. Soon you'll be traversing entire fields of Vortex Anomalies without issue."

"Whatever you say…" Ruby muttered. She stood up straight, then reached into her container and pulled the Artifact out. "What's this one, anyway?"

"That is a Stone Flower," Wolf observed. "It helps keep you sane in exchange for a bit of radiation."

"...I'm sorry, it does what?"

"It helps you sane," Wolf reiterated. "A lot of the things in the Zone will directly affect your psyche – certain mutants such as Controllers, or getting too close to the power plant itself. The Brain Scorcher-"

"The what?!"

"-The Brain Scorcher," Wolf continued, "is a machine set up specifically to target the mind. It projects a field that surrounds the deeper parts of the Zone, near the power plant. Getting too close will instantly fry your brain and reduce you to a mutant we call a Zombie – short for Zombified Stalker. They aren't actually undead, though they certainly act like it. They're completely mindless – they spend the rest of their miserable lives shambling around, moaning in pain until a mutant or a stray bullet takes them out. And they're dangerous – they have just enough brain power left to be capable of raising and firing their weapons, and as far as they're concerned, everyone who isn't already a Zombie is a threat."

Ruby fell silent. Slowly, she turned her attention back to the Artifact in her hands. "...So, this is a good one to have, then?"

"It's decent," Wolf said. "Stone Flowers are really only useful if you have several of them, plus some Psi-Block drugs. And, of course, you'll need something to deal with the radiation it exudes… which, ah, is probably why you should put it back in its container now."

Ruby quickly did as she was told, unceremoniously dropping the Stone Flower back in her container and slamming the lid over it, then turning back to Wolf.

"Anyway, that was a good first attempt," Wolf commended. "A few more of those and we can call it a day."

Ruby had to suppress a nervous whimper at the thought of having to back out into the Anomaly field.

As it turned out, Artifact hunting had gotten easier with practice. Sure, she'd gotten a few scrapes and bruises in the process, but it hadn't been too bad, though she obviously still needed some practice before she was confident enough to try traversing the more dangerous Anomalies.

On the plus side, the day had been profitable – a few hours of searching had gotten her three Stone Flowers and another Artifact that Wolf had called a Jellyfish – an almost-translucent, dull-pink Artifact that he claimed could absorb radiation. He'd told her to carry it with her as they walked back, since it would help deal with the radiation she had absorbed from the Anomalies that day.

"So," Ruby said as they marched back to the Village. "How much is this stuff worth, anyway?"

"That depends on who you're selling them to," Wolf answered. "The Ecologists pay a premium for any Artifacts you can bring them, and an even higher premium for anything that's in-demand at the moment. Clear Sky used to pay well when they were still around, but unfortunately that's a thing of the past. These days, most traders aside from the Ecologists pay like shit for Artifacts. The only reason anyone sells to them at all is that the Ecologists are very hard to get to."

"Why's there such a big difference in price?" Ruby asked.

"Because the traders are trying to turn a profit, too," Wolf explained. "The entire operation is run like a diamond mine – the miners have the riskiest jobs, but because they're so expendable and easy to replace, they don't get paid very well. There's always someone else waiting to take the miner's spot if he gets injured or killed while working. Plus, if you know what you're doing, Artifacts are relatively easy to come by here. It's different outside the Zone – this is the only place on Earth where Artifacts can be found, so people from the outside world are willing to pay a high premium to get one."

"I get it," Ruby said with a nod. "Artifacts and Artifact hunters are so common in the Zone that getting your hands on something like a Stone Flower is pretty easy here, so that means that they tend to sell for a low price within the Zone. But outside the Zone, it's a different story."

"Exactly," Wolf said. "For reference, everything you gathered today will be just enough to cover your debt to Sidorovich. However, I guarantee you that he's going to contact someone he knows outside the Zone and arrange to have them all smuggled out, and he'll make a huge premium doing that. One of those Stone Flowers you found today is worth about twenty-five hundred rubles here, in the Zone, provided you're selling to someone aside from the Ecologists. Outside the Zone? It depends entirely on who's buying and how much they're willing to pay, but I'd wager that the very same Stone Flower would start at about ten times that amount, if not more. An Artifact that's actually useful, like your Jellyfish with its ability to absorb radiation with no downsides would probably start at fifty-thousand if you tried to sell it to a hospital that specialized in treating radiation. Meanwhile, in the Zone, we have enough cheap ways of dealing with radiation that nobody really wants a Jellyfish, so you'll be lucky to get a thousand for one. That being said, they're always in-demand with the big traders, who know how much they're actually worth outside the Zone."

"Wow…" Ruby breathed. "The way you put it, it kinda sounds like the entire thing is a racket."

Wolf barked out a laugh. "It is, and we all get the shit end of the stick."

As they walked, Ruby noticed the bridge from the day before out of the corner of her eye. A pang of fear lanced through her for a moment… but it was quickly buried under a layer of worry.

"Crescent Rose!" she shouted.

Wolf stopped, then gave her a confused look. "What?"

"My weapon!" Ruby said. "I dropped my weapon yesterday, back at the bridge! We have to go get it!"

Wolf blinked. "...That was a real weapon? I thought it was part of a costume."

"No, it's real, and it's mine! We've gotta go back for it!"

"Sure, sure," Wolf said. "Follow me, I'll lead the way."

Ruby did as he asked, trailing closely behind as Wolf approached the bridge. The two of them made it a short ways away before Wolf suddenly rounded on her, then shoved her to the ground next to the base of the bridge.

"Hey!" Ruby called. "What's-"

"Shh!" Wolf said softly, placing a gloved hand over her mouth to silence her. "Keep quiet!"

Ruby's eyes narrowed, but she did as she was told, instantly quieting down. Wolf pulled his hand away from her mouth, and to Ruby's surprise, he slowly began to pull his slung rifle off his shoulder. She was just about to quietly ask him what was going on when she heard a series of voices – three men from the sound of things, all speaking in that same language she couldn't recognize. Occasionally, one of them would break into a laughing fit. She stared at Wolf, watching as he tensed; he didn't start to relax until the voices began to fade away.

"Wolf?" she asked softly once the coast was clear. "Who were they?"

"Bandits," Wolf stated. He flicked a small switch behind his rifle's trigger that Ruby guessed was the weapon's safety, then slung it back over his shoulder.

"How could you tell they were bandits?"

"Don't let the name fool you – Bandits are a group here in the Zone. They have their own uniforms and patches and everything. As soon as I saw the leading man in that group was wearing a black trenchcoat, I knew."

"So, what should we do?" Ruby asked.

"We head back and tell the others," Wolf said. He looked around a bit, his eyes narrowing. "It seemed like they were headed for the old vehicle station. I'll have to let the others know. We're going to have to take care of it before it becomes a problem."

"What do you mean, take care of it?!" Ruby demanded.

Wolf didn't answer. Her eyes widened. "Wolf…? You're not going to hurt them, are you?"

"It's the only option we have," he stated. "There's no justice system in the Zone. If somebody wrongs you, you have to take matters into your own hands. If someone tries to kill you, you'll have to kill them first."

"You're not even going to try talking with them?"

Wolf shook his head. "You can't reason with Bandits. Most of them are already hardcore criminals, running from charges in Russia or elsewhere in Europe. They're all willing to kill to get what they want. Get in their way and they'll kill you, too… or worse."

Ruby fell silent for a moment. "...You keep saying that I'll have to learn to live on my own eventually," she recalled. "Does that mean… I'll have to kill people at some point, too?"

Wolf didn't answer her, and that scared her more than anything she had encountered up to this point.

"How does it feel now, Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha winced as the medic – a bald, middle-aged, blue-eyed man she knew only as Bonesaw – examined her foot. "It's still very sore."

"That's to be expected," Bonesaw replied in that thick, accented voice she had come to associate with just about everyone she had met here so far. "You had an arrow through your Achilles tendon. It's going to take awhile before you can walk on it, even with some help from the Artifact."

"Speaking of which," said a masked man from over Bonesaw's shoulder, "when can I have that back? It's quite valuable."

"You can have it back when she's fully healed," Bonesaw snapped. "Keep your pants on, Leshiy. You'll get your Artifact back once Pyrrha's wounds have been fixed."

Leshiy let out a low grunt. "Fine. So long as she doesn't run off with it."

"I don't think she's running anywhere," another man – a perpetual jokester named Ashot – quipped. Someone smacked him on the back of the head, causing him to wince. "Ow!"

"Take your jokes somewhere else," Yar, one of the older Stalkers, growled.

Pyrrha waved him off, suppressing a smile as she did so. "It's fine, Yar. Leave him be."

"If you say so," Yar conceded.

Bonesaw stopped examining Pyrrha's foot, then turned back to everyone else. "All right, everybody out."

"What, already?" Ashot complained.

"Yes, already. I have to examine her chest wound now. Give the lady some privacy, would you?"

"Alright, alright," Leshiy said. "We're leaving."

With that, they all stepped out of the room. Technically, Pyrrha supposed it was her room, since they had all placed her here ever since she had first arrived in the Army Warehouses, but she wasn't quite comfortable with that idea, both because it implied she was displacing all of them and because it sounded a bit too permanent to her.

It had been a few days since she arrived in the Zone, and she still didn't want to accept that she was so far from home. Somehow, she had managed to avoid death, but given where she had ended up, it was a very thin margin. From what the others had told her, this world was even more dangerous than Remnant, and just about everything could kill her just as easily as Cinder nearly had.

"Alright," Bonesaw said, closing the door behind him and locking it. "Shirt off, if you don't mind."

Pyrrha nodded, then began to disrobe. She had long since lost her sense of modesty around Bonesaw – from what she'd heard, he'd been the one to start taking care of her once she had first arrived at the Army Warehouses, up to and including demanding that she be provided a fresh outfit to replace her ruined, bloodstained armor, and then dressing her in it when she was still unconscious. He had already seen her naked, and he had been nothing but professional about it the entire time.

And so, she removed her shirt, and didn't shy away when he began to examine the wound in her chest.

"How does it feel?" he asked.

"It still hurts," Pyrrha commented.

"Hm. Better or worse than yesterday?"

"Better. Much better than when I first arrived."

"Good. That means the Artifact is working. Speaking of which…"

He turned away from her, reaching for a syringe lying on a nearby table. Pyrrha braced herself, and let out a small hiss when she felt the needle pierce her skin. The anti-radiation drugs she had to take to counteract the use of the Artifact were excruciating – whatever was in those drugs, it burned. Still, she supposed it was better than dying of radiation sickness; from what the others had told her, that was an unspeakably horrific way to die, and so she would tolerate the drugs as much as she needed to.

"You're growing used to the medicine," Bonesaw observed.

"I have to," Pyrrha said through gritted teeth. "Gods, it still hurts like crazy, though."

"It never quite gets much better than that, unfortunately." Bonesaw capped the syringe, then dropped it into a nearby wastebasket.

"How's it look?" Pyrrha asked, reaching for her shirt.

"As good as we can hope, given the circumstances," Bonesaw reported. "Both your wounds are healing just fine. Whatever damage was done to your lungs seems to be healing, too. You'll have some nasty scars at the end of it all, and you might walk with a slight limp and be short of breath for a bit afterwards, but you'll regain full functionality in time."

"Good," Pyrrha said. She slipped the shirt over herself, then sat in her bed, her back up against the wall. "And the others haven't gotten sick of playing nurse for me?"

"You kidding? You're the one bright spot we've had here in awhile," Bonesaw reported. "You liven up everyone's day simply by being here. Even Leshiy's, though he doesn't do a very good job of showing it. The guys like having you here, though admittedly, that's probably at least partly because you're an alien."

Pyrrha fell silent. She still didn't quite believe what had happened – that she'd actually somehow been brought from Remnant to another world entirely, and in such bizarre circumstances, to boot. She still remembered when she first woke up in the Army Warehouses – the commander of the base, Lukash, had set about interrogating her, and had just about blown a gasket at how ridiculous her story was until he finally realized that she was being completely genuine. She couldn't exactly blame him for being suspicious of her, though – her story was ridiculous.

"You know," Bonesaw said, "the guys want you here."

"They want me to join Freedom, you mean?" Pyrrha asked.

He nodded.

"I'm still injured," Pyrrha pointed out. "I'm steadily eating my way through your medical supplies, not to mention your food and water. I'd be a burden, and no good in an actual fight until my wounds are fully healed."

"What, you think we want you around for that? Please. Being able to tell the guys in Duty that we have a woman and they don't is enough for us to want to keep you around."

Pyrrha couldn't help but let out a small giggle at that. "I take it that's not the only reason?"

"Of course not. You've got a good head on your shoulders. Lukash likes you, at least, and that means a lot – he doesn't take to rookies all that well. Too many people coming by, taking advantage of our generosity without meaning to pay us back. You really got on his good side when you promised to pay us back for all the equipment you're using."

"And I meant it," Pyrrha said firmly.

Bonesaw shook his head. "You have no idea what you're talking about when you say that. You understand what Lukash is going to tell you to do, right? That's why he wants you to join Freedom."

Pyrrha raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to talk me out of joining?"

"I'm trying to prevent you from getting into something you don't fully understand," Bonesaw emphasized. "You need to realize how factions in the Zone work. Simply joining Freedom makes you a target for certain other groups – Duty and the Ukrainian Military will shoot you on sight."

"Is that it?" Pyrrha asked.

Bonesaw rolled his eyes. "Is that it… Duty and the Military are two of the biggest factions in the entire Zone. The Military are the ones that have the entire Zone cordoned off. If you ever try to leave and they recognize you as being a member of Freedom, they will instantly shoot you dead, provided they aren't one of the few officers we reluctantly keep on our payroll. You have to understand that if you join Freedom, there isn't an easy way back to the outside world."

"I don't intend to ever leave for the outside world," Pyrrha stated firmly. "I don't know what brought me here or why, but I figure that if I'm here, my best chance of returning to Remnant is probably here as well. I don't intend to leave until I've found my way back… and I don't intend to go back until I've paid my debt to all of you for helping me."

"Hm." Bonesaw crossed his arms. "Just promise me you'll think on it before you make any decisions."

She nodded. "I will."

"Good. Now then, as long as we're discussing the factions, I figured we'd pick up where we left off yesterday."

Pyrrha nodded. Ever since she had woken up a few days ago and the others had learned just how far from home she was, they had all taken it upon themselves to teach her how the Zone worked, to prepare her for when she started making her own way. So far, they had covered most of the very basics – things such as Artifacts, Anomalies, and mutants, plus the history of the Zone itself. They had touched on the various factions the day before, but they hadn't gotten too deep on them yet.

"Tell me about them," Pyrrha requested.

"Well, for starters, there's us," Bonesaw said. He motioned to the yellow-and-green uniform he was wearing, and then to the patch he wore depicting a green wolf. "We're Freedom. We believe that the Zone is a gift, and that its bounties should be shared with the rest of the world rather than controlled by the government. We see the Zone as a scientific marvel, and believe that anyone who wants to should be able to freely live inside its borders."

"And this brings you into direct conflict with Duty," Pyrrha recalled.

"And by extension, the Military," Bonesaw said with a nod. "The Military wants to contain the Zone. Duty wants to destroy the Zone. Many Duty members came from the Military – they have a very firm alliance with each other because of that, and because their goals frequently overlap."

"Who else is against Freedom?"

"Clear Sky was, when they were still around," Bonesaw recalled. "They're mostly dead and buried now, though – no sense dwelling on the past like that. Beyond Duty and the Military, most other factions are content to leave us alone. Even the Bandits and Mercenaries tend to go for other targets before they go for Freedom members. We aren't allies with them, but they tend not to shoot at us unless there's something for them to gain from it."

"And from what I remember, Bandits are an actual faction."

Again, Bonesaw nodded. "They are. The Bandits are generally criminals hailing from all across Europe who are looking to escape the authorities of their home countries and start a new life here, without actually changing any of their old ways. Frankly, I don't trust any of them, but that doesn't really matter – they generally don't shoot at us on sight the same way Duty or the Military does."

"And the Mercenaries?" Pyrrha asked.

"Guns-for-hire that come from across the entire world, mainly Europe, South Africa, and the United States, and try to make a fortune here," Bonesaw explained. "Many of them are actually contracted by foreign governments to come here. Naturally, Duty and the Military hate them, and the feeling is mutual."

"What about the Ecologists?" Pyrrha asked. "I've heard some of the other Freedom members mention them."

"They're a group of eggheads who want to study the Zone," Bonesaw answered. "All you need to know about them is that they have very deep pockets and will pay handsomely for any Artifact or mutant parts you can bring them… provided you can get to their base, of course."

"They're not allied with Freedom?" Pyrrha asked, surprised.

Bonesaw shook his head. "We have similar goals – using the Zone for the advancement of mankind – but the Ecologists are government-funded, hence why they're able to pay such exorbitant prices for Artifacts and bits of mutants. They're staunch allies with the Military because of that. Together with Duty, they're some of the only people who are actually allowed to enter and leave the Zone as they please. Obviously, dealing with them leaves a bad taste in the mouth of any good Freedom member, but it's hard to argue with them when they're paying above market value for whatever Artifact you're bringing them."

Pyrrha nodded along. "Who else is there?"

"Loners," Bonesaw replied. "The faction that insists they're not a faction. Don't let that fool you, though – they have patches and everything. Really, Loners are just what we call the various free Stalkers who aren't associated with any of the other factions. You'll find groups of them sporadically throughout the Zone. They're all allied under the Loner label, but you really have to judge the various small groups of them on an individual basis. Some of them are decent, and others are just as bad as the Bandits. It depends on the people making up that specific group."

"I see," Pyrrha said. "Is that all of them?"

"Not quite," Bonesaw said. "We haven't even gotten to Monolith yet."

"Oh, right," Pyrrha said, recognition flashing across her face. "I think I heard some of the guys talking about Monolith before. What are they like?"

"They hate everyone."

"What?" Pyrrha asked, surprised.

"I'm serious," Bonesaw emphasized. "Monolith shoots at everyone, except other Monolith members and, curiously enough, zombified Stalkers. We don't know much about them – all we know is that their base of operations is somewhere in the power plant itself, that they've been around from the earliest days of the Zone, that they're somehow completely immune to the Brain Scorcher, that they're a crazy cult of some kind who worships their god that they call the Monolith… and that they are about as heavily-armed as the Military itself is."

Pyrrha blinked. "...Okay, then."

"Thankfully, they don't tend to push out very far out from the power plant," he explained. "We do maintain a checkpoint next to the Red Forest, since occasionally a Monolith patrol will venture out in that direction, but for the most part, they've been leaving us alone these days." He shook his head. "That's enough of that for today. If you'll excuse me, I have to go check on some of the guys – last I heard, Screw hit the vodka a bit too hard and tripped, bumping his head in the process, the damned fool. Try to get some rest, Pyrrha. I'll be back to check on you with the Artifact later tonight."

"Sure," Pyrrha said. "Thank you, Bonesaw."

He nodded once more, then stepped out of the door. Pyrrha watched him go, letting out a sad sigh when he left.

Truthfully, she missed her team. The guys from Freedom were alright, and they had certainly treated her well thus far, but they were so much different from the people she was used to – older and cruder than her team, and her friends from Team RWBY.

"I hope you're all okay…" Pyrrha muttered to herself.

That was the thing that kept her up at night. Even more than the nightmares of Cinder almost murdering her, or the knowledge that she was trapped in this hellish place far from home, the idea that some of the people she cared about might be injured or dead and she had no way of knowing what had happened to them ate at her. Still, if nothing else, there was at least one thing she was certain of.

"I saved Jaune," she reminded herself, a thin grin crossing her face as the words escaped her.

That was true – she had shoved him in his rocket locker and taken off, leaving him behind. She knew that he would hate her for it, especially the way she had done it – the first and final kiss goodbye. But that didn't matter – he could hate her all he wanted so long as he was safe.

If nothing else, she could at least take solace in the fact that he wasn't stuck in the same situation she was.

Quick update after the first, I know, but this chapter was pretty much ready to go already and I wanted to get it out before some of the other fics I'm working on so I could advertise it in their ANs. Not that I'm unhappy with the reception, mind you, but I figure it can't hurt to get some more eyes on it, you know?

Anyway, here's the first real chapter of the story. No Jaune yet, but we'll get to him in a chapter or two. For now, I want to focus on Ruby (because she's going to be my vector for introducing the Zone and all the horrors associated with it) and Pyrrha (because I have to show her recovery).

But that's where we're at now - Ruby's learning how to survive, Pyrrha is dealing with her injury, and we're generally just taking it slow. I'm in no hurry with this story - it's a passion project of mine; I'm willing to take my time and really enjoy the scenery that STALKER has to offer, plus a few of the other, more nightmarish aspects of the setting.

That's about all I've got for now. The next chapter won't come out anywhere near as quickly as this one did, but it's definitely on its way, you can be sure of that. Hope you enjoyed, and thanks for checking it out!