Although the events of yesterday had an effect on her, Winter didn't see the full impact of Hunter's disappearance compared to what she noticed about Artyom. Where she became indifferent about the man, he was worried. Despite the massive differences between the two, the Atlesian Specialist noticed the sparkle in his eyes when he looked up to Hunter. A trait she noticed from her siblings.

However, she was surprised to know that Alex was in fact the head of the entire station. A leader who was worried about his station's well-being. Among those people, she was considered part of the station as his son was somewhat of an heir in a manner of speaking.

In her quarters, she was rubbing her shoulders before she looked to the doorway on her left. Alex was standing there with a bundle of clothes in his arms. "Winter Schnee, I hope I am not interrupting."

She was quick to shake her head.

"I don't know how you managed to survive the surface along with Hunter, but here are some clothes to keep you warm and get rid of your shirt." At first, Winter didn't understand what he meant until she realized that her white Atlas uniform was covered in blood. "If you continue wearing that, you'll get an infection and your chances of survival are going to be short." He continued.

Winter gave out her hand to him. "Thank you for providing me a place to stay." She began. It was a perfect way to not anger or upset the person who took her in this strange place.

Alex smiled as he handed the bundle to him. "So you are from Smolenskaya?" He asked. "What is it like there? I heard that they've been on Hansa's pay roll for quite some time."

"I can say that living there is quite better than here." She answered from her bed. Hopefully, he could take that excuse.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I figured that part out. Hansa has enough bullets to pay for the loyalty of that station."

She was confused. "They have them at gunpoint."

"No, not at all. They pay them bullets so they can keep their standard of living while Hansa always have the rounds to flow back to them. Besides, Smolenskaya relies basically relies on them to survive." Alex explained to her before. "I'm going to be honest, I thought you knew that, but you're not from around the Metro, are you?"

The specialist was quick to shake her head. "No, not at all, but how did you know that?"

"No one wears that much white in the Metro." He answered. "Not only do the demons easily see you, but you'll stick out like a sore thumb."

"Demons, you have spiritual creatures lurking above."

"No, nothing like that. I'm referring to the flying demons. If you ever go up on the surface and find a demon, may God help you. You're on the bottom of the food chain."

"Thank you for the advice." She said before she was about to get into her clothes.

"Your welcome, but I need to ask you something? Where are you actually from?"

Winter looked at his weary gaze as she found a suitable answer. "I'm from a place called Remnant."

"A fitting name I should say." He replied. "After the bombs, I don't think we would have thought of something like that. Though I do have one more piece of advice that might help you understand the Metro more than anything else. You should go to Polis station."

The specialist raised an eyebrow. "You're encouraging me to leave."

"It's for your own protection." Alex explained. "With someone of your beauty, you are a piece of ass to anyone here, but there are worse things that might happen. If the Red Line, the Reich, or Hansa tries to attack our Commonwealth and take control of it. They might see you differently if they start asking questions. You're tall and that doesn't go with Reich specifications and so you will be shot, the Reds are likely to suspect you to be a spy, and Hansa would make a profit out of you in some terrible ways."

"Why Polis?" She asked. "Why that place of all places?"

Alex sighed. "The Polis Rangers are the only good force that represents humanity in the Metro. The Nazis, Hansa, and the Reds will not touch you if you are Polis." He answered. "Besides, I think people over there are more welcoming to all stations and they bring out the oddities of the Metro."

"You think I would simply go there because of Hunter?" She asked. "Can I do something in your station?"

"Unless you want to chop shrooms with that sword of yours, I don't mind, but you don't look like someone who would want to stay here." He noted. "I'm a commander of Exhibition, but I know people long enough."

"If I am going to Polis, wouldn't your son be coming with me?"

Alex shook his head. "No, I don't want to lose him to the tunnels of the Metro. Whether it be humans or mutants, I just can't see him going on the dangerous road that Hunter placed for him." Then he glanced back to her. "If you want to leave Exhibition early, I would look for Artyom and go on the trolley that is heading towards Riga. That is your only chance to get to Polis with an armed escort." He explained. "Once you are there, you are on your own."

As the leader of Exhibition left the room, Winter began to take her shirt off.

. . .

Despite the uncomfortable itching the clothes gave off to her skin, Winter Schnee her body was warm in the cold tunnels of the Metro. The only distinct part of her that remained was her snow-white hair which only brought attention upon herself as she made her way towards Alex's office. She would notice the men around her try to get her attention and some even whistled for her attention, but she ignored their calls.

When she arrived at the doorway, she was surprised to find Artyom standing there with his weapons hanging from his person. He turned around as Alex was sitting across the table from his son. The armed man expressed a smile and waved his hand. "Good morning, Winter." Artyom greeted.

Alex nodded as he gestured Winter to come over to his table. "Young lady, I don't want to show any favor, but you don't have much to start off in the Metro." He began. "Rather than convincing the bullet exchangers, here is something to start off with." The leader checked for his pockets as he brought out seven magazines of shining bullets and placed them on a desk. Then he brought out a bag from behind his desk.

This only confused Winter even further. "You guys use bullets?" She asked. "Has your society degraded so terribly?"

"Yes. In the old world, paper money was the currency." He continued. "When the nuclear bombs were launched and destroyed the surface, our paper money lost its value." Then he brought out his assault rifle and pulled out a bullet from his magazine. "If you want to tell the difference between the dirty and the military grade rounds, this is it." He displayed the magazines of the same caliber, but only difference was that one of the rounds was "dirty" while the other was polished. "I take that you don't use bullets as currency where you come from."

Winter shook her head. "No." She replied. "Back on Remnant, we use this currency called Lien. Hopefully, I can pay my way for a safe travel to Polis."

"I'm going to be honest, I have never heard of a currency called Lien." He stated. "Though its probably better than what we're going with in the Metro." Then he handed the military grade ammo to Winter. "While that idea might be useful sometimes, I would rather that you spent your MGRs on weapons and air filters. This is for your own protection in case you come across bandits, mutants, or worse, Nazis." Alex explained. "Plus, it can intimidate a man when there is a woman walking around with three different guns."

She accepted his suggestions with a nod. "I see, where is your armory?" Winter asked.

Alex glanced to his son. "Artyom, you can show her. You still have plenty of time before the railcar departs."

The young man nodded before he looked over to Winter. "Follow me."

. . .

It was strange to see these people confined to tunnels of a Metro system as she looked across the entire path before her to see people gathering to watch a man standing on a platform above him. "People of Exhibition, due to the increasing numbers of mutant attacks on our station we have formed an alliance with Riga in order to increase the amount of patrols and the protection of our home. Although they are newcomers to our station, you will treat them with the same respect as you do to our home guard."

They both turned to the right as she saw a brightly-lit room on the other side of the path. However, she heard Artyom speak. "Winter, how do you like Exhibition?" He asked. "While I know that you're not from around the Metro, I am a bit curious."

She looked back to the young man. "Despite of its flaws, I wonder how you have managed to create order."

"Mutants." He gave one word. "While the bigger factions are fighting for the control of the Metro, stations like ours just make sure the mutants don't break into the iron doors and kill everyone here. God knows how many stations fell because mutants broke into the stations." Once they had arrived at the armory, Artyom stood besides the doorway. "The armorer is inside, he'll give you a quick rundown on the equipment you need to survive in Moscow."

Heeding his words the specialist walked into the room, only to be met by a middle-aged man with glasses. He glanced over to see her as he expressed his surprise when she forgot she still had her weapon. "My goodness, is that a genuine sword?" He asked.

Looking down to her belt, she noticed her blade gleaming in the room's light. "Yes." She answered. "Yes it is."

"Huh, you'll survive more than the men. I would pity the poor bastard who gets on your bad side." He replied before he got to the point. "Alright, you're new here. So I guess that you'll be needing the necessary equipment just like the rest of the militia." He pulled a weapon off the rack from behind his back. "Here is a Bastard gun, it has poor accuracy and overheats like hell. Just shoot in short bursts and the bullets will hit your target, trust me using this thing is a goddamn nightmare." The armorer explained.

When she inspected the weapon into her own hand she was puzzled. "It's made out of trash."

The armorer shrugged his shoulder. "Unless you can get me high-quality materials with high-quality tools to make these weapons, this is all you're going to get. Besides, we don't have the same luxury as the other factions in the Metro." Then he brought out five magazines of ammo for the weapon. "Here are your bullets."

Winter quickly snatched her ammo as she placed them in a bag that Alex gave to her. "Thank you."

"No problem, but you need a few more things to survive in the Metro." He stated as he brought out a gas mask with three cylinders that could connect to the mask. "Here is your gasmask and your air filters. If you go up to the surface, hopefully you won't, these are the things you need to survive. However, I must give a piece of advice. If your gasmask is broken and you find one that is in pristine condition, take it. It helps you on the long way."

"Okay, thank you for that." She replied as she loaded her Bastard gun in front of the armorer. "Does it go like that?" She asked as she inserted the weapon into place.

"Almost, you forgot about one thing." The armorer said as he nodded to her to give it back to him.

When she did, she observed how he did adjusted the magazine in the right place before landing his fist on the top of the weapon. "Is that how you load it?"

He nodded. "Yes, now let's get to a few more." After he handed the Bastard back to the specialist, he brought out a small orange case on the desk. "This here is a medical kit. They always come in these nifty little bags. You can only store five at a time, but use them for complete emergencies." He advised before he handed out one last item. "Last, but not least, the battery charger. You are going to need this to power up certain power stations and your flashlight. Good luck."

As Winter walked out of the armory room, she found Artyom looking at his watch. "We better get going, the trolley is going to leave soon." He said before he led the way.

After going around corners just to find the trolley, she was convinced there would be more men to join her. However, the trolley before her was filled with three people and only two of them were armed.

One of the three was older than the rest. He glanced over to Artyom with a smile. "Artyom, right on time. We were just about to leave." Then he glanced over to Winter. "Looks like you brought a lady friend."

However, the other armed man smiled as he noticed Artyom's presence. "Artyom, come take a seat by me. Whose your friend?"

As Artyom and Winter began to walk into the trolley, the young man sat besides him. "Eugine, this is Winter." He introduced to his friend. "She's not from around the Metro."

This immediately garnered attention from the older armed man. "Really, that's quite a story to tell. Once we get to Riga, you can tell us along the way." He began as he gave out his hand to the woman.

She immediately shook his hand to be polite. "And you are?"

"Boris, I'm the man who travels from Exhibition and makes sure the tunnels are safe for passengers."

The first thing that Winter thought of was the hunstmen and huntresses of Remnant. They went around and protected people from the creatures of the Grimm. 'I guess he would be considered the equivalent.'

Boris looked over to the civilian who was sitting besides him. "So, where are you from?" He asked the young man before he began to grab the pulley between the group and push down on it.

He shrugged his shoulder. "I'm a bullet merchant from Riga." He began. "I buy materials for bullets all across the Metro."

Then Eugine was quick to ask a question. "So you've been around the Metro for quite some time?"

"Yeah, though the tunnels to Polis are getting harder by the day and are even worse thanks to the fighting between the factions. While Hansa is tightening security over in their stations, the Reds and the Nazis are really going at it." He explained. "They're fighting for the control of several stations and if they're not fighting everyone else they're fighting each other."

A question occurred to Winter. "Are there any more factions in the Metro?" She asked.

"Of course, there is Polis station where the Order and the Council are located. It's neutral ground for everyone. Hell, not even the Nazis would cross the line with the Rangers."

"What's so special about them?"

"Have you been living under a rock. The Rangers and the Order are actually what keeps the Reds and the Nazis from getting too far. They remind all of the factions that the safety of humanity comes first and if they get in their way, the Council will give them hell."

Boris stopped pushing down the pulley before he glanced over to the merchant. "Hey, it's your turn."

"Okay." The Riga merchant replied before he began to push down on the pulley.

As the small caravan began to leave the confines of Exhibition, Winter noticed various patrol groups of armed men gathering passing by the trolley. There were several cases of civilians and even children walking around, but that was under the supervision of the adults. Once they set off from Exhibition, Winter noticed how calm the tunnels were.

Then she heard Boris comment on the party's situation. "I think we'll all make it. Five should be good enough to keep the mutants back if they do try and attack." The trolley continued to move into the darkness as they passed the outer outpost.