The world of RWBY is not mine, all rights belong to Roosther teeth.


Chapter 3: Welcome Home


Upon arriving at the piers, I noticed that several people were arriving at the place. Some were carrying suitcases, others were traveling light like me, but they were all armed with light or small firearms. I estimated that there were around fifty people.

I adjusted my backpack so that no one would steal it. I remembered the basic concepts that Tom had given me.


Two hours ago

"What can you tell me about the Zone and how do you know my parents?" Asked Artyom.

Tom leaned back in his chair. "The Zone was once Arcadia, but after the second explosion at the Lumina plant, it became a war zone, where only the most crazy people went. Whether it was for the thrill of adventure or to escape the past. Those people were known as S.T.A.L.K.E.R.S."

"What does 'stalkers' mean?" Asked Artyom.

"It's an acronym for: Scavengers, Intruders, Adventurers, Solitaries, Assassins, Explorers, Looters, and Survivors"

Artyom analyzed the brief information. Unlike the documentary he had seen, the Zone seemed like a place outside the walls.

"But those who were born there are hard bastards. They learned their skills there and started to trade artifacts" Said Tom, pointing to the artifact he had taken with some gloves to show him. "These things are called artifacts and have a load of science behind them, but I know that whoever absorbs one of these becomes stronger than a user with Aura. Look at this kid" Tom would put the artifact back in his portfolio and take off his glove to show his hand and to Artyom's surprise, his skin would turn pink with the lines becoming a bone-like color. "I absorbed the artifact 'Meatball' and it allows me to turn my body into an armor of flesh that increases my strength. Tess with the artifact 'Hawk Eyes' and Jeremy 'Metal Bones'"

"That's where your parents come in, they entered out of necessity for Liem. They brought artifacts through an intermediary and we made ourselves strong. And the rest is history".

"How deadly is the Zone?" Asked Artyom, understanding the need for these 'artifacts'.

"Besides the bandits, there are mutants. Don't confuse them with grimm; those would destroy them in a blink, let alone the groups that want to control the zone".

"What kind of mutants? Are they worse than grimm?"

"Yes" Said Jeremy while smoking a cigar.

"What factions control the Zone?" Asked Artyom

"There are the military and the Renmant hunters, then there's Atlas Anomaly Investigation, and the rest I have no idea; maybe they've died".

"What can you tell me about the PDA?"

"Imagine your scroll, but adapted to the Zone, listen...it has a global map of the Zone along with information about the place" Artyom would take out the PDA and analyze it, seeing that the map was disabled, but he noticed that in the biography there were a dove with his father's completed missions. Apart from that, he noticed a logbook area where it seemed that he had some written records of his initial note 17. The others seemed to have been erased or transferred

"Now listen, at noon, a boat will arrive to take you to the Zone. So follow these orders"


Artyom took out the PDA to put it in the map section and see the time and see how some lights were approaching the pier. The others would take their things and see the boat approaching.

When they arrived, they saw that the boat was large enough to accommodate a hundred people. It wasn't luxurious, it was a used boat for cargo. From the boat, a man with reinforced camouflage clothes would emerge, saying

"Get on board"

Everyone would do as instructed. Artyom would get in line, but one person would push him. "Hey kid!" A man with military-style camouflage clothes would say, entering the boat.

Artyom would get back up, but see a hand in front of him. "Do you need help?"

Artyom would smile and the man would help him get on board. Artyom would see him again and realize that he was wearing brightly colored clothing, a blue choker with a gray shirt and black pants with boots, and his greenish-blonde hair and gray eyes. But he noticed that he had a cord with a metal tip attached to his side. "Be careful, kid" He said with a friendly voice while moving away.

Artyom would follow him and get on the boat. The camouflaged man would speak. "In the bottom deck, there are bunks. We'll be there in two days, Arcadia. Get settled and get to know each other" He would finish speaking and head to the captain's quarters. Artyom would move around while hearing voices from some people.

"Why is there a kid here?"

"What should we do first?"

While moving towards the shared cabin where he opened a door to a bunk area. He would choose the one closest to the door and adjust his backpack to his chest. He was tired and decided to go to sleep.


NOTE 17

WE'VE BEEN ASKED TO CLEAN UP A PACK OF BLIND DOGS, IT'S NOT TOO MUCH PROBLEM. BUT ONE OF THE NOVATES GOT BITEN ON THE LEG, AND WE'LL GIVE HIM AN ANTISEPTIC SOLUTION TO AVOID RABIES. AFTER I TAKE MY PART OF THE PAYOUT, I'VE GOT TO GO TO ANOTHER PLACE. I'VE GOT TO HEAD EAST WITH THE ECOLOGISTS. I GOT A MESSAGE FROM THEM LAST NIGHT OFFERING ME A JOB AS A RELIC HUNTER. IT WAS A HIGH-RISE JOBS, BUT THEY PAY WELL FOR THE ARTIFACTS. I'LL BE THERE BY NIGHTFALL. GOOD THING I'M NOT TOO LATE.

I HOPE I WON'T REGRET THIS JOB.

SHOULD I ADD SOMETHING NEW? (YES/NO)

YES

NOTE 1

I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M WRITING THIS; MAYBE I JUST DON'T HAVE ANYONE TO TALK TO AND THE OTHERS ON THE SHIP DON'T GIVE ME A GOOD FEELING OR KEEP AWAY FROM ME BECAUSE OF MY AGE, IDIOTS.

BUT TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE, YESTERDAY WAS TRICKY WITH THE CONSTANT ROLL OF THE WAVES AND SHARING A CABIN WITH THE REST. THE BREAKFAST WAS NOTHING FOR A TURIST SHIP: SAUSAGE AND EGGS WITH BREAD AND BITTER COFFEE.

I EXPLORER AROUND THE SHIP; THERE'S NOT MUCH TO SEE. BUT IT WAS CAMOUFLAGED PRETTY WELL. SOME CONTAINERS WITH ESSENTIAL SUPPLIES WERE HIDDEN: FOOD TO EQUIPMENT FOR THE CAPTAIN'S CABIN WAS LOCKED FOR US TOO. THERE ALSO WAS A COMMUNITY ROOM WHERE MOST OF THE PASSENGERS SPEND THEIR TIME TALKING BETWEEN THEMSELVES OR SIMPLY IN THE COMMUNITY ROOM, OR AS YOU DO AND I APPROVING FOR COMBatTING THE TEDIUM.

AM I IN THE WRONG ABOUT THIS? IT'S A LITTLE TOO LATE TO REALIZE IT NOW. BUT, I MADE A DEAL WITH THE DARK HERMAN FOR THIS, BUT I HAVE TO DO IT. IF THIS ZONE IS AS DEADLY AS YOU SAY IT IS, WHY WOULD MY MOTHER GO THERE? BUT I HAVE TO FIND HER AND GET SOME ANSWERS FROM HER.

I'LL ADD MORE IF I NEED TO.

Artyom would put the PDA in his pocket while admiring the sight of the sea. The weather today was peaceful and sunny with no Grimm sightings. Now that Artyom thought about it, he had never left the city. If he had vacations, they were in protected zones. He wasn't crazy enough to head to the ruins of Mountain Glenn. As he sat there admiring the scenery, someone's steps would catch his attention, and he would turn to see the man who had helped him.

"Enjoying the view?" Asked the man.

Artyom would shrug indifferently. "That or stay in the community room."

"I'm not a fan of those either" Said the man, leaning against the railing. "My name is Jean Scott. And you?"

"My name is Artyom Berlynsky, a pleasure, Scott" Said while looking at him.

"Aren't you a bit young to be here?" Asked Scott.

"I know, but I have to take risks."

"Well, I wasn't that young when I joined the hunting party either" Said Scott with a chuckle.

"Are you a hunter?" Asked Artyom excitedly.

"Sip, I am. I'm part of the BRIZ team" Said Scott, taking out a collar with the emblem of a hawk.

"I bet you've had many adventures outside the kingdoms."

"I could say that, Artyom...Why don't we make a deal, Artyom? You tell me why you're coming to Arcadia and I'll tell you about mine."

"Deal" Said Artyom, calming down.

"You're looking for your mother, she was in the Zone and you want to know why."

"Right, that's what I'm looking for. I was wondering about your mission."

"Well, as you know, the hunters have the mission to protect people from grimms. When I heard about the dangers in Arcadia and the lack of information, I decided to talk to my team about it. But they were unsure, I told them I'd go and mark the areas and send a message" Scott took out his scroll for Artyom to see. "So, my mission is to help the people there with whatever problem they may have."

Artyom felt moved by his words. "I wish you luck. I wanted to be a hunter, in fact, I was thinking of sending my papers to be admitted. I hope this won't delay me in achieving that."

"Good luck with that" Said Scott.

"Oh, Scott, do you have any stories about hunting?"

"Well, I'm not sure, it's better than drowning in the sea"


"Hey, attention! We've been spotted by military! Prepare for the assault!"

Artyom woke up with a start, seeing the others taking their things and disarming their guns and getting out. He only heard sounds and lights.

When he got out, he saw that on his right side, a fleet of Atlas's ships were approaching the boat, but were pushed back by the men and women who held them at bay.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, KID?"

"DEFEND YOURSELF!" Shouted as he was pushed towards the area where Atlas's soldiers were.

Artyom would crouch down, trying to avoid the shots.

"THIS IS THE ARMY OF ATLAS! THE STALKERS ARE UNDER ARREST FOR CROSSING INTO ARCADIA. LOWER YOUR WEAPONS NOW!"

"FUCK YOU, ATLAS!" Shouted a woman, firing a submachine gun at them.

Artyom would stay crouched down and try to run away from the battle area towards the cabins. He would turn to see Scott pulling out his weapon, which was that cord called "Wing" that he would throw at one of them to tie them up and use their body as a shield against several hunters.

"ONE OF THEM HAS AURA!"

"IT'S OUR OPPORTUNITY! DESTROY THAT BOAT!"

The others would give a cry of support and start firing. Artyom would run away from the battle area to a separate location. Why? 1) He doesn't have a gun. and 2) He doesn't want to get a Dust shot.

"HEY!"

A series of lights would shine at him from the military who were approaching. Before they would even touch him, something would fall between them and explode, dazing him and causing a buzzing in his ears. While he recovered his vision, he would see from the corner of his eye with a delay, a man running towards them, firing his gun at one of the soldiers to finish him off. The other one would give one of them a blow with his rifle to pull them to his neck and take out their gun and shoot three and knock over the one they were holding and shoot him in the head, and then pick up his gun.

When he recovered his vision, he would see the bodies in disbelief, but before he could even step back, he would be tackled by another man and they would fall to the ground, where he would see a soldier with a knife and push it into his shoulder and take it out. Artyom would shout with pain, and this man would aim for his eyes, and he would force him to move away.

They wrestled; one to kill the kid and the other to save his life. Artyom would use his legs to push the man's chest and push him backward, managing to free himself from his grasp and he would stand up quickly.

"AHHHH!" Would throw himself at Artyom with the knife in hand.

Artyom would roll forward, evading the attack and seeing on the ground a small shovel that he would take and hit the man in the back of the head, dazing him and another to throw his helmet and they would both fall to the ground.

Another one.

Another one.

Another one.

...

Artyom would see the scene disoriented. The man had a broken head with blood coming out.

He had killed someone. He would step back, his steps faltering, ignoring the sound of explosions in the distance. He could only see the shadows passing by. One of them would take him and lift him up to take him to some place before he fell unconscious.


Wake up, my child, it's not your time to die yet

Artyom would wake up, dazed, and feeling pain in his shoulder to see that it had a bandage attached to it. He would see that he was lying on a bed next to a medicine cabinet

"Finally wake up"

He would turn to see Scott, who would look relieved.

"What...what happened?"

"You got stabbed in the shoulder and fell unconscious."

"By Omm" The memories of last night would come back to him like a cold wave. "I..."

"Let me explain, I understand what happened" Said Scott, looking at him with a sympathetic expression.

"I killed someone..." Said, without believing it.

"I wasn't feeling proud either...During the attack, I think I killed someone with my lasso, because these soldiers didn't have aura" That would calm Artyom down, temporarly.

Artyom would try to get up, and Scott would help him.

"Listen, I think you'll be fine, you still have to accomplish your mission."

"I know..."

"Come on" Said Scott, to take Artyom's backpack and carry it.

"We're about to arrive in Arcadia."

"Alright" Said Artyom, already standing up and able to walk on his own.

As they left the medic's room, they would see the rest of the passengers with their equipment ready and in the distance, they would see Arcadia and the megaphone would shout:

"Attention Stalkers! We're headed to the old port of Smurk, there's a stalker called Boris, he'll take you to the town of the novices! Good luck!"

"Well, that's...nice" Tried to ease the atmosphere. It didn't help that as they approached, he could see in the distance some boats from Atlas's control and the ruins of the old maritime port, along with a fog that covered the distance and barely saw the sun.

When they landed, they would get out and Artyom would see a man with a brown beard and a thick leather brown jacket with a rifle on it.

"Hey, novices, welcome to the Zone! Follow me" The group would follow him.

Artyom would walk alongside Scott, who was the only friendly person he knew. But he could swear he heard a whisper; a feminine whisper.

Welcome home, my son.


How do you like it? See you in the next chapter.