Times were changing with the Kingdom of Arendelle after that fateful day. The Russian prince had learned much about the situation of this land and its people. His regiments had gathered their belongings and marched back to the ships for departure. The surprises he had in the short span of time was more than enough to report to his tsar. It was an interesting situation that had occurred in this part of the world, but his time here was finished.

Vaska Dolokhov stood tall at the docks as Kai approached him and bowed. "I hope you have enjoyed your stay at her highness' kingdom."

He smiled at the head servant's commitment to his duties. "I must admit, this small kingdom has quite a history."

What did he mean by that? His face expressed his confusion as he stood straight. "Pardon?"

The prince reached into his jacket and pulled out a stack of papers to be handed over. "Some of the documents I have inspected have provided more than enough information that Arendelle has a history with these… Soviets."

"The people from Artyom's world? What does that have to do with anything?"

"There is much to learn, but they knew some secrets that the Arendellian royal family wouldn't share so easily," He answered, "One of those papers mentioned about a place called Northuldra, do you know anything about that place?"

It was very difficult not to forget that name. Every single citizen of Arendelle knew the name of the place. After all, it was not easy knowing that one of their kings did go north alongside his expedition, only for two survivors to return. "Yes. King Agnar - bless his soul - and his father went north for some kind of important meeting. I do not know what had occurred there, but he came back with a girl that would later become his wife."

He nodded his head after the information was passed onto him. "It might be necessary to learn what had occurred there."

"North?" Kai was surprised at his recommendation, "That is too dangerous to even consider it."

Vaska let out a deep sigh. "I have talked with Artyom alongside his compatriots from the other world. You have a man in your company who is quite familiar with such dangers and has a history of dealing with them with extreme prejudice. Perhaps you might be able to find some guidance."

A sailor cried out from behind the prince's back. "All aboard!"

"It is time for me to go. I wish you luck in your service to your royals."

Kai remained silent as he thought about what to do in the future. As the prince walked onto his ship, he wondered about how he was going to tell Elsa and Anna about the secrets within their walls.

The arrival of the otherworldly foreigners made Elsa both nervous and terrified at what she had to deal with. She had lessons with her father on what to expect once she became the ruler, but those expectations would come after her coronation. Artyom's reconnection with the people from the other world had changed everything and now she found herself preparing for a proper meeting with the newcomers.

The princess, her sister, and Artyom were walking through the remains of the forest alongside a retinue of guards. Those who joined them were going to serve their ceremonial roles once more while acting as protectors. The fire's aftermath left little in its wake, but a trail did reveal itself as the group approached the camp of the outsiders.

She looked to her right to find her friend was dressed in his uniform and armor while weapons hanged from his person. He was looking forward to this moment since he regained his memories. Artyom had been separated from his home for a while and it seemed like a welcoming thought to someone who felt homesick. Elsa welcomed the thought, but a part of her wanted to say that his company would be tremendously missed.

When they neared their destination, the princess caught a glimpse of more strangers that had arrived in her hope. These men stood tall on the large rocks and boulders atop of the hill or sat in the branches of the trees with their weapons laid out. Had she been further away, Elsa would not have realized that there was anyone watching out for them from those vantage points.

A man walked out of the camp's entrance as he took off his helmet and smiled. He shouted out in Russian with a welcoming gesture as Artyom replied back with a smile on his face. After they exchange some words with each other, the young man turned his head towards her. "Uhlman says that they're waiting to talk with us." Then he walked ahead of the group and led them into the camp.

Elsa felt the urge to ask him a question, specifically, his history with these people. "So what is your relationship with these people? You seem to have a personal stake with them than what we expected."

"I came to their people when my home station was under attack by monsters," He began, "Those they served told them they couldn't help and despite those limitations, the commander did his best to bend his orders to the best of his ability to help my home and they did."

After they walked past the sentries, Elsa looked around to see the camp was mismanaged with equipment and tents lying around. "Their commander? So how close are you with these people to have a meeting with their commander? I would doubt that they would let anyone talk with someone so important."

Artyom continued the conversation as they made it to the other side of the camp to find an entrance to a cave. "A friend gave me his tags to get an immediate audience with Colonel Miller."

Princess Anna was quick to make her comment, "What kind of person is he? He sounds interesting."

"He is. The colonel is someone who can leave an impression on you," Then he stopped to turn around to see the group, "But beyond the hardy exterior, he is a nice guy."

Someone came out of the cave with his hands resting on his weapon. He immediately grabbed the young man's attention with his hand gesturing the group to stop. There was a moment of silence that followed as the Arendellian guards remained at the side of their royals. The clicking of boots in the cave had expressed a disciplined approach to the princesses as four masked soldiers had stepped out from the shadow and took positions adjacent to the entrance. Then two men stepped into the light, their uniforms different from each other, one man was well-dressed while the other was no different from the combat uniforms of his men. Yet, it was not the only difference between them as one was clean-shaven and the other carried a full-grown beard underneath his chin.

A strange feeling came over Elsa as she smiled and nodded in their direction. She may not know their language, but they produced an aura that demanded respect. Her eyes noted the bearded man and the large scar on his face that expressed his experience. Little did she realize that he was also inspecting her group as well. When he recognized Artyom, his stone-cold face changed to that of a fatherly figure that had rediscovered a son. He and the young man exchanged words with each other, revealing happiness that lay within his persona.

Artyom turned around and exchange glances with the princesses. "Your highnesses, I would like to introduce you two to Colonel Miller, Commander of the Spartan Order's Polis Rangers." The title did more than enough to bring weight in the meaning of that title. It was strange, but it almost sounded like she was meeting a commander of knights for some odd reason. The comparison had merit given the appearances she had witnessed.

She managed to overcome her social fear and slightly bowed her head in his presence. "Tell him who I am and say that I am quite honored to meet you in person."

He turned his head back to the colonel and explained in complete Russian. The colonel's reaction seemed to have been surprised by what Artyom had told him before he was quick to reply back. Elsa noticed Artyom put a hand behind his back as his cheeks were red in embarrassment. "He is in disbelief that he is talking to an actual princess."

"Artyom, what's wrong? Why are you embarrassed?"

"I… the colonel thinks you're my girlfriend."

Anna giggled beside her, "Wow, not even several months out of your room and you already have a lover. What would father and mother think of this?"

Elsa shook her head at the thought, "Are you really going to go there? Artyom and I are friends."

"You would be surprised how much love can occur between friends."

The Russian responded to her comment. "I'm with your sister on this one, we haven't even gotten into that sort of relationship."

Somehow, she managed to interpret it differently. "So both of you are in a relationship."

"Nevermind." She was certainly having fun with this.

A large commotion had interrupted the session as the delegations from two different worlds had looked to the camp's entrance. The posted sentries were alert and were immediately converging on a single spot as they ran over to see the situation. Foreign soldiers drew their weapons on a single young man holding the reins to a reindeer pulling the sled. He remained still as his eyes looked back and forth to find out that he was flanked by the guards. If he did something rash, a horrible result would likely to happen, especially with the attitude like the sentries. "Look, I don't mean any harm."

Artyom approached him and managed to scrounge up his name. "Kristoff?"

Anna noted his knowledge. "You know this guy?"

He looked over his shoulder. "Yes, we've met before," Then he glanced back at the young man in his seat as the Arendellian and foreign groups approached Kristoff in his sled, "You're lucky that the Rangers didn't open fire on you. What brings you here?"

"Grand Pabbie heard a commotion about the forest and I brought him along to check it out. He's in the back."

Elsa grew curious as she walked past the driver to find a large rock lying in the back seats. "Wait, is he who I think he is?"

The rock in front of her had transformed, confirming her suspicions. Those around were surprised at the new appearance of the creature that revealed its identity. It had been a long time since she met the troll that night and now she was meeting him again after she grew up. The grass cloak around his neck and the old 'hairs' on the troll was enough to display his age. At the same time, those around were confused by him as he bowed his head in her presence. "Princess Elsa, I am quite honored to meet you again. How goes this auspicious day? You seem a lot more comfortable than we last met."

"We are all here under the meaning of peace and friendship," She added, but then she felt like she deserved to tell him about how her ability to control her powers, "Hiding my magic was a lot harder than I anticipated… too much for me to handle."

"I see, but perhaps we can talk about this for another time," Then he looked past her and called out someone's name, "Artyom, it has been the last time since we saw each other and who are these people?"

The young man spoke up, "Grand Pabbie, these people are from the other world, my home. We are in the middle of a meeting between two different worlds and I am acting as its translator."

"It has been a long time since that had last happened in Arendelle," Wait, what did he mean by that?

The troll reached for a yellow crystal that was wrapped around his person and crushed it within his hands. Gold dust slipped through his fingers and began to spread across the land. Princess Elsa looked around to find her people and Artyom's people look around in awe as they looked to the horizons to see where it had gotten off to. Then she heard one of the men speak alongside a thick Russian accent, "What just happened?"

She looked around to see whose voice it came from. "Who said that?"

"I did," As it turned out, the man who had just spoken was Colonel Miller, "What did he just do?"

Grand Pabbie chuckled as all eyes were totally focused on him. "The translation barrier is broken so you and your people can talk freely without that obstacle."

The commander nodded his head as he approached the troll. "Thank you, I appreciate your assistance."

Everyone was on alert when a Polis Ranger shouted to the top of his lungs. "Form a circle, I think we saw a Dark One!"

Elsa did not understand what he meant by that, but she looked around to see the fear and terror in the ranks of the foreigner. The mere mention of that name seemed to express doom as soldiers ran towards the mass of people surrounding the sleigh. Weapons were pointed in every direction as if the threat could come from that angle.

Another one of the men spoke up, "What the hell is a Dark One?"

Colonel Miller was quick to answer, "Damn it. Colonel Klebnikov, they're the most dangerous mutants we have ever come across. Stay on your toes!" The way he said it made her feel like it was a monster from their world, but what did it do that was justifiably worthy of fearing it? "Artyom, can you sense where it is?"

Now that he mentioned his name, she looked to him, only to find him step out of the defensive circle with no weapon at the ready. "Colonel, I don't do anything. What is about to happen might make a difference."

"Are they here or not?"

He was in the open, looking around to see where they were. "Colonel, if they wanted to kill all of us they would have done so already."

She kept her eyes on him, only to see Artyom stop and a shadow of a creature appear in front of him. It almost looked human, but to say it was human was wrong. There was nothing normal about it at all as it was not an animal, but something far more alien and terrifying. She sensed power around her and it was mostly emanating from the creature in front of him. Suddenly, she noticed a dozen red dots painted on the creature, "Artyom, step away from it so we can put it down."

"With all due respect, I want you to trust me. These creatures do not want any harm." He explained.

"We don't know that!"

The crown princess felt fingers grab ahold of her hand as she looked to see her sister beside her. "I don't want to admit it, but I am scared."

"It's okay, Anna," She assured her.

All eyes were focused on the Dark One, bystanders who had no idea what would happen alongside men who were willing to fight this threat themselves. Artyom and the creature had given each other head nods before they turned away from each other. He returned to their company while the alien disappeared in thin air.

Colonel Miller stepped forward and approached him. "The Dark Ones are on this world. We have a lot on our plate and having those bastards around won't help."

He looked at the commander with honest eyes. "I've managed to get peace from them."

"What?" Whatever was going on, it seemed like they had a history with these creatures, "Are you mad? They're the most terrifying creature in the Metro and you're letting that one go?"

"Yes," Artyom paused for a moment, "It's complicated and not easy to explain."

Elsa walked over to him. "You have a lot to tell us."

He let out a deep sigh. "I know."

Sukhoi busied himself with the reports of what went on in his station. Times have changed for the better now that the Dark Ones had stopped attacking. Yet, some things would never return to normal. The souls who had spent their lives to stop the mutant threat would never go back to the bars to celebrate the victory of enduring sentry duty. The old station commander's thoughts were reminded of the faces of those whose minds were destroyed, their personalities ripped from their souls, leaving lifeless faces in their remains.

A lot had been lost - friends and neighbors alike - but he had a personal stake in this. His best friend had sacrificed his life to save this station and then his son followed his footsteps. Even though Artyom was not his child, he raised him as his own and it ate away at him knowing that his efforts in protecting his friend's son was in vain. He had found the habit of drinking since then, wanting to kill himself in sorrow for his failure.

There was a knock on his door as he tried to get himself from being sober. "Who is it?"

Someone opened the door and slipped into the room. He looked up to see the newcomer, but he did not recognize his face.

Sukhoi's hand reached out to a pistol underneath his desk. "Who the hell are you?"

He noticed an old man with a red bandana on his head. "Stay your hand, I have no intention to harm you."

"I don't know you, so why should I trust you?"

The old Mongolian man stepped forward. "What would your boy think if he saw you like this? Artyom would not be happy at your current state."

His name was enough to bring the station commander out of his spell of drunkenness as he looked hard at him. "How do you know?"

"We have met before," A smile came on his face, "I've come bearing news, he is alive."

"He is?" It sounded too good to be true, "Where is he?"

The smile began to fade. "There is too much secrecy surrounding his whereabouts, but Artyom is alive. Just be there for him."

Sukhoi looked down at his desk and noticed his half-full cup of alcohol. "I need to clean up." When he regained a full view of the room, the stranger was nowhere to be seen and there was no trace of him left. His office door opened when he recognized an old friend. "Petyr, did you see someone leave the room?"

His lieutenant in the wool cap shook his head as he looked around in the room. "I've been out here the whole time. No one has entered the room. Perhaps you have been drinking too much."

He glanced at his metal cup. "Perhaps I am."