Legate Lanius walked forth - whoops, wrong fic. [Insert Shit-Eating Grin]

Author's Note: This is perhaps the first time I decided to rewrite a fic. The only other attempt was a fic called Heroes of the Gate, but that was a terrible fic to begin with.

It's been a long time since I touched a Gate crossover, particularly my Metro/Gate one to be precise, but I finally gotten around to this moment. For those who are confused why I am making a new story with the same premise, the reason is rather simple. My first try at a Metro/Gate crossover lacked direction for the plot, but was really just a bunch of filler chapters that didn't help the story aside from being "Metro dwellers are awesome" stuff. I'm leaving the previous story up since there might be stuff I could salvage and there is always that lot who still enjoy it, so I'm doing it for their sake as well.

This story will have a similar concept, but will drastically be different from how it begins and changes over time. The JSDF will be in the fic, but I will have the Metro dwellers meet them at a certain point and things will go on from there. Unlike the previous entry, the story will start off with Artyom since writing Khan is rather difficult to do since he's rather difficult to do.

How different will this… redux be?

What if Artyom got the "Enlightened" ending instead? I haven't seen many authors on SB and on FanFiction try that one out. It should be… interesting.

Off to the story.

Ever since he shot the target designator, Artyom was frustrated at what had happened. Of all of the things the Dark Ones were trying to ask of him, they wanted peace. There was a gut-wrenching feeling of regret and his silence ever since these creatures - homo novus, a name his step-father had once described about them - had done in the name of peace. How many lives died trying to get him to this point in life? Hunter, Bourbon, Pavel, Stephan, Boris, and many others - good people.

It was a tragedy in its own right, was fate trying to make a terrible sad joke on him?

Despite his thoughts, the stalker sat quietly in his seat with no weapon while the man who risked his Rangers and himself to help him deal with the threat. "Tell me boy, why did you shoot the designator?" The aged bearded man demanded. He had every right to be angry, Polis got into the matters that threatened the safety of the Metro and problem was one of them and he just blew his opportunity to destroy them. "Answer me, Artyom?!" The colonel slammed his hands on the desk.

Artyom shook in fright, he didn't know what to say. How could Polis understand something beyond their control? The Council didn't even believe him when he tried to convince them about the threat the Dark Ones possessed. The politicians told him they had to be responsible with their power, but the scientists believed he passed through a tunnel notorious for its delusional gas. He wanted to condemn them and openly call them cowards, but how could one understand when even he didn't want to believe the Dark Ones were real.

Memories of Exhibition flowed through his minds, the sight of the bravest men shattered in the medical wards and crying like children. It almost seemed like he failed to do something they were not able to do in the first place. Then he thought of his last memory of Hunter, a vision of a man he aspired to be, only to be fought off by Dark Ones.

Colonel Miller grabbed his attention once more and sat across from the stalker. "Young man, do you know what you did to the Metro? We now have a threat that is beyond our control and shooting that laser designator was our best chance at destroying the creatures. Think about the men who sacrificed their lives to get us this far." Then he sighed and glared at the stalker. "Artyom, you need to talk to me. The Council is considering on executing you for threatening the safety of the Metro. I know you didn't come all this way just to be told no."

Artyom was reluctant to speak, but he knew better than to remain silent any longer. "The Dark Ones, they spoke to me." He began. "At the last minute, they were trying for peace."

The colonel shook his head. "You were going to kill them off, of course they would try and cede for peace."

"There is a chance that may be true, colonel, but evidence says otherwise. Do you recall that awkward moment when you, Vladimir, and Uhlman saw me drop?"

He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "Yes, I recall that moment. What of it?"

"They were trying to call out to me." Artyom answered. "Apparently, I could understand them unlike the other humans they tried to contact."

An eyebrow was raised. "Really? Why didn't you come forth with this information, it could have helped us earlier?"

The young man lowered his head. "Would you have told your fellow soldiers that you heard voices in your head? It was bad enough I was ridiculed by the Council for claiming there are psychic creatures attacking Exhibition, I didn't want to embarrass myself any further."

"I see. That I can sympathize with." He answered. "Thankfully, the specimen found at the top of the Ostankino Tower should verify the threat the Council had dismissed. This should also get them to call off your execution since you have a connection with these creatures."

"What will happen now?" Artyom questioned. He had endured plenty of events in the Metro and knowing what to do might help him find purpose now that he was far from Exhibition.

"Considering that you survived your encounter with the Librarians, the Kshatriya would make good use at finding artifacts." The colonel answered.

The door swung open with a guardsman drawing his weapon. "Colonel Miller, Polis is under attack."

The Polis Ranger rose from his seat at the news presented to him. "Which direction and what kind of force are we up against?"

"I don't know," The guard replied. "All I know is that Petrovich and his men are holding off the attackers from one of the western tunnels."

"Thanks for alerting me." Miller was quick to press a button onto the speaker as his voice echoed throughout Polis Station. "This is an emergency lockdown. All civilians are to head to the nearest shelter in an orderly manner and all military personnel are to reinforce the western gate." When he was finished with the public emergency announcement, he glanced over to the stalker. "Artyom get your gear. We have a station to defend."

The last time Artyom had heard the sounds of war was when he was passing through the frontlines between the Reds and the Nazis. Thankfully, he bypassed such route through an underground passage that one of the supposed deserters talked about. It was a good thing that he saved the deserter for such information. Unlike that time, he was going to participate in the fighting.

He sat quietly in his seat while he inspected his Kalash. It's former owner was supposed to hand it to him once he got him to his destination. However, the deal would never be completed since he was captured and killed by bandits. Now it was in the hands of a new owner with attachments he bought from Kuznetsky Most.

As he attached his knife onto the barrel to become a bayonet, the stalker heard the great doors open with the volume of gunfire increasing. Machine guns, rocket grenades, and the screams of commands to hold the line. The discipline of the Polis Rangers was unmatched by the rest of the Metro as the trolley arrived at its destination.

Colonel Miller jumped out of his seat and charged his weapon. "Quickly, to the defenses!"

When Artyom stepped down from the trolley, he saw dozens upon dozens of Polis Rangers converging on the defenses consisting of metal sheets and sandbags. The stationary defenses fired away from their bunkers as the timed-grenades flew towards the direction the defenders directed towards the darkness.

Aside the distraction from the gunfire, the young man saw torches of armored men raising their shields as they made their way towards the protectors of the Metro. Despite their appearance, they didn't have the fear of the Librarians nor the vicious intent of the Nosalises. They tried to advance towards the defensive line, only to be killed by the constant gunfire.

The colonel stood behind his men, directing them to secure the flanks. "Snipers on the flanks, heavy troopers at the center!" Miller shouted to the top of his lungs.

Artyom joined the Polis Rangers, blending in their ranks with his unmarked armor. He could turn on his flashlight and blind his enemies, but he enjoyed his night vision goggles whenever he had the opportunity. After he lowered his goggles and saw the tunnel through vision of green, he aimed down his sights and saw the hundreds of people marching towards Polis with their shields raised. Despite their numbers, he witnessed the bullets penetrate their ranks as the pile of dead began to rise.

He almost pitied them, but these people were directly assaulting the Metro's center of civilization. Whoever they were, there was a punishment awaiting for them for such a deed. As he aimed down the sights of his assault rifle and pulled the trigger. The men in the front ranks were marked for death as he saw their numbers dwindle faster than he anticipated.

To his surprise, the unknown enemy began to fall back with their shield wall stepping away from the ground gained in their assault. Then his goggles saw tall muscular figures charging forth with blunt weapons in hand. Others didn't even resemble anything human, were they mutants? Monstrous growls screamed towards the defenders as they faced the guns head on.

Then there was a sight he didn't expect to see. Three heavily armored individuals stepped forth with their gatling guns in hand. Their barrels spun and fired a hail storm of death towards the invaders. These strange-looking individuals succumbed to the firepower while those behind the shield wall had performed a retreat with these strangers to shield them away from the death the Rangers brought.

When the surviving stragglers were gunned to the last, Artyom raised his night vision goggles as the big Polis lights flashed open to life. There were no words to describe the carnage that was presented to him, but perhaps one - death. Despite the sight, the Polis Rangers cheered at their victory at repelling their invaders. "Yeah, you don't fuck with Rangers!"

Colonel Miller stood beside the young man as he lowered his advanced Kalash. "That was a strange event. They didn't even shoot back at us."

Curious about this development, Artyom asked. "Sir, what are you saying?"

"There is something off about these guys and I don't like it one bit." He answered. "The Council will have to check this out, no one in the Metro has the guts to directly attack Polis without risking their political standing. There is something wrong about these guys."

Author's Note: I hope you guys enjoyed this beginning chapter.