Kai and Gerda did their best to maintain their demeanor as two guards brought them over to a reclusive area of the station. The lights were not as common as the open areas where everyone can be found. Instead, they were met with a hallway where candles were everywhere. Silence came over them as the servants noticed that beside each candle was a picture of someone. On the other side of the hallway, was Sukhoi with his back turned towards them.

One of the guards whispered into Kai's ear. "It's okay, this is a shrine. Go ahead, talk to him."

The duo strode forth with reluctance as they made their way to the station commander. Kai could not put his finger on it, but this sanctified part of the Metro was a vast contrast to the warm attitudes of its people. "You wanted a word with us?"

The old man turned around and quickly approached them. "I know you and your royals have to move on as with life sooner or later, but there are some details to work out."

"Did we do something wrong?" Gerda questioned. "What do you want exactly?"

He paused for a moment and slipped his hands into his pockets. "Can either of you keep this discussion a secret?"

Kai nodded his head. "We will do our best."

"I suppose it will be enough," The station commander replied, "Do you know of a Prince Vaska Dolokhov?"

Both servants stole a glance at each other before returning their gazes upon him. It seemed impossible that he would know that man. "Excuse me, how do you know that name?"

Sukhoi assured them with a smile. "We have met before, a long time ago."

"This has to be long before I was a servant of Arendelle," Kai admitted, "Otherwise, I would have recognized you."

"I see," He added, "I recognized the coat of arms long the moment you showed up. Tell me, how is Agnarr and Iduna?"

He knew about the royals. This was far beyond their expectation from a man who ruled a small state in some tunnels. Gerda gathered the courage to answer. "It is sad news to say that they died. They took a ship to god knows where and were taken by a storm."

The station commander expressed a sadden expression. "It appears my circle of friends are getting smaller through time - in this world and in yours. Still, I must thank you for telling me, even if it is bad news."

"How do you know so much about our world?" She wondered, "The people of Arendelle would have known about your people."

"I was part of an expedition team tasked by the Soviet Union when we accidentally created a portal to your world," He began, "We explored it in secret. When we encountered Agnarr and Iduna, we managed to convince them to maintain this secrecy prior towards their marriage."

Kai was fascinated by this hidden past, but the purpose of the expedition did little to comfort his fears. "Why did you want to hide so badly?"

"The old authority has a long history of keeping silence on important knowledge. Your world is a wonderful place to see, but there are those who would exploit that knowledge for themselves. It had to be handled… delicately." The old man explained in detail.

"In what manner would they try to exploit Arendelle and the rest of the world? How serious could those possibilities be."

Sukhoi raised his head. "There were possibilities of a full-scale invasion. Even hardliners of my country were all for it when they discovered its existence."

His eyes widened at the risk of Arendelle being attacked from otherworldly threats. "If it was a possibility, why did your people not do so?"

"One of our team members, a good friend of mine, got himself in trouble," He let out a slight chuckle, "A Soviet soldier smitten by a princess and went through a lot of effort to bring her to our world. I knew it was he would regret that, but I doubt he would erase that mistake if given the opportunity."

"What does this have to do with anything?" The old woman questioned. "How does this relate to your expedition?"

"He compromised our secrecy. We had to return to our world before the truth spilled out," Came his answer.

"Then why haven't you returned ever since? Why wait all this time until now?"

The station commander brought his hands out and gestured around him. "The shitty parts of life happened. The bombs fell and our people were forced to live in Metro tunnels ever since. Hell, I didn't even think about this possibility until your people showed up. We were so busy trying to save others from despair."

"My apologies, sir," She stated with genuine care, "I did not mean to offend you in any way whatsoever. It's just that this is so alien to all of us that we wish to understand the situation at hand."

"No, I should be the one to apologize for lashing out. The stress as the leader of this station has been a heavy burden on my shoulders."

The way he spoke about these bombs as an event caught his eye. "What did you mean by the falling of bombs? You speak of this act as a great event that changed everything."

The shift of the subject changed the tone in his voice. "About twenty years ago, there was a great mistake humanity made in this world. The most powerful nations carried these nuclear missiles, great bombs that were designed to wipe out cities and possibly nations. This… catastrophe caused everyone to live in the squalor of our own destruction."

The shocking revelation was enough to make the servants still and quiet. Both needed time to register what they learned about this place and the destruction they stood in. However, Kai felt like he needed to know more. "What can you remember about the event? Surely, you could tell us?"

"That is the horrifying part, it happened so quickly that I only have faint memories of that time. Five minutes… It took five minutes for an advanced civilization such as ourselves to throw everything to hell. I was only lucky enough to be near a Metro entrance to get inside in time."

"It's the reason why you never came to Arendelle, right? Your world destroyed itself before another expedition could be made."

"Yes," He added, "My world changed and priorities of survival took precedence over exploration. I hope you could understand that."

Gerda brought up a point that Kai did not consider. "The princess, what happened to her?"

The blood on Sukhoi's face was drained as if he had seen a ghost. "The princess?"

"Yes. You said she came to this world. Do you know what happened to her?"

The servants could tell that he was reluctant to reply, but he nodded his head. "She did survive the bombs, I was assigned to protect her while her husband tried to find a place to settle down."

Kai felt his stomach churn at the feeling of dread. He could not find out the reason why, but what could come next made him feel like the truth was far worse. Yet, morbid curiosity got the better of him. "Anything else?"

"We found refuge at Timirevskaya. I was a sentry guarding the southern entrance," He began, "It was supposed to be a quiet night, but the tunnels had other things in store for us. Rats swarmed the station and she was amongst the many victims eaten alive by that ocean. The rest of my men were lucky enough to escape on a trolley."

"The princess died shortly after. Why didn't you try and save her? There should have been a chance to hold them back." The Arendelle servant stated.

He was taken aback by his reaction. "What was I supposed to do? Out of the hundreds of people at that station, only five escaped and we were not the only station to have suffered the same fate."

The old woman spoke. "We did not mean to offend you. It's just too-"

"Heartless? Cold?" He finished, "If there is one thing I have learned as a station commander, you cannot save everyone… you save as much as you can. Even a single soul is enough to be the difference."

"Wait a minute," Gerda stopped, "Would that mean that you saved someone from that place? Who did you save when a princess was not worthy of living?"

He looked at the servants with sorrow. "Her son."

It was at this moment that Kai felt regret at pointing out his mistake at leaving the princess behind. A caretaker of royalty knew that feeling as he had been in that position before. This was far worse than that. "He lived when she died."

"She sacrificed herself to give us time to save her son. I wished I could have brought her along, but she insisted. The princess gave us a chance to let him live. He is still haunted by those memories till this very day."

"He is still alive? Where is he? What happened to him?"

Sukhoi gave the duo a good stare. "You should already know who it is. He accompanied your royalty."

The head servant realized what he implied with that hint and he could never see Artyom the same way ever again.

It was time to leave the station.

The luggage that the Arendellians brought with them was back where it should be, on a trolley that was ready to return to Polis. It did see half of its cargo being dispersed amongst the locals as gifts from the princesses. Artyom knew his people would appreciate the gesture as he leaned against the wall by the platform.

The celebration of his return was a chaotic time and many enjoyed the excitement that came with it. When the metaphorical confetti and trumpets were finished, Exhibition station went back to normal. The markets were busy with salesmen trying to preach their wares to a passerby or farmers finding spots to set up mushrooms or plots for pigs to grow fat. It almost felt like the Dark Ones didn't even attack them, but the young man knew better. The faces of familiar friends and neighbors, absent from participating in commerce, was the only evidence of the event itself.

Heels clicked on the platform as the stalker looked to his left to find Elsa and Anna wearing a new set of outfits. The former was dressed in a purple dress embroidered in gold and the latter was wearing enough orange to match the color of medkits. It was completely obvious that they finished changing clothes given that it was too clean for the station's usual appearance. The princesses took their seats in the trolley and readied themselves to set off, but the moment they noticed him the atmosphere changed.

Artyom stepped forward and smiled. "Send me a letter if you want me to visit Arendelle every now and then."

Anna looked like she did not know what to say. "Thanks for the party. I hope we'll see you again."

Elsa seemed busy as she grabbed one of the luggage and opened up hers for a moment. Kai was surprised by her action. "Your highness, is something wrong? Did we forget something?"

She pulled a strange piece of fabric out. "No, not at all. It's something I think Artyom will appreciate."

"What is it exactly?" The Russian wondered.

The princess passed it over to him and he quickly got his hands on it. Then Anna recognized what it was. "That's mother's scarf."

"I know," Elsa admitted, "But it's a gift for a gift."

He knew what she meant, but her sister was completely out of the loop. "What?"

She looked at her sister. "I'll tell you on the way back."

Artyom took a closer inspection to find the scarf to be embroidered with strange symbols. "Are you sure you want to give this to me?"

"A night in these tunnels has shown me that it's a bit chilly down here. I think you need it more than I do."

There were no words to describe the importance of the moment, but this situation was vastly different from fighting mutants or bandits. He had no social decent social experience that didn't involve mushroom tea or sentry duty.

The station's gates creaked open and the trolley slowly moved. His eyes trailed over to the princesses, Elsa quickly speaking. "Goodbye, Artyom. I hope we meet again."

One of the guards shouted to the top of his lungs as the station's gates opened. "All aboard!"

Squads of Polis Rangers marched past Artyom as they took their respective seats. Somehow, he wanted to get a word in, but part of him never managed to scrounge up the courage. When the trolley made its way towards the gate, the Arendellians expressed their farewells and left him speechless by the platform. All he could do was whisper words to himself. "Farewell, your highness."

The delegation was stuck. Not long after their departure from Exhibition station, the trolleys started to have mechanical failures. This forced them to take a detour to Prospekt Mira, causing the royals to sit on benches, waiting for news. The boredom was killing Anna as she leaned her head back. "They are certainly taking their sweet time there."

Elsa placed her hands on her lap as she breathed out a deep sigh. "I don't mind that. It gives me a bit of thinking time to make a decision."

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just thinking about that council meeting. Ever since I woke up, I just realized they're going to ask me that when I return to Polis."

"Oh yeah, I remember that," She replied, "How about we focus on something else entirely?"

"Like what?" The princess retorted, "We've been told to wait here until they can find the problem."

Anna thought about the moment earlier. "You did say that you'll tell me about that moment at the platform. You gave Artyom our mother's scarf."

Elsa looked down at her knees. "You're probably shocked I'd hand something that important to us over to someone else."

"Well, it's that, but something else entirely," She began, "I know how important it is to you ever since our parents died, but you mind explaining why you were willing to give it to him? It has to be really special for you to do that."

"Artyom handed me something important to him and thought about giving me something to remember him by." She reached into her dress and pulled out a strange necklace.

The princess was surprised when she was given the opportunity to look at it. Once it was in her hands, Anna inspected the two pieces of metal. One was explicitly written Russian, but the second piece was marked by a strange symbol. There was a circle surrounding a letter 'M' in the center, but beneath that was a strange skull-like shape with an object covering the mouth.

"It belonged to one of the Rangers. Somehow, I have a feeling our escort might know him."

Anna stared at her. "You mean, this is not Artyom's."

She nodded her head. "He told me that it belonged to a close family friend of his. The chances about him are that he's dead."

There was a thought that stopped her from continuing. When Artyom was Alex, it never occurred to consider what he had been through. At that point in time, he seemed like a normal man living in a normal world.

A pair of footsteps was rapidly moving out of the office on their right. One man stepped out into the light, Kai was smiling. "Your highnesses, I have bad news and good news."

"Go ahead," Elsa stated.

He pulled out a handkerchief and swiped the sweat from his brow. "The bad news is, our trolley won't be working for a while. The good news, we're taking a train instead. The circle stations are willing to let us pass through. It won't take as long as the route we took."

"I suppose it beats having to constantly worry about monsters."

Kai appreciated the remark. "The issue is that we have to split the caravan in two."

"Wait, what?" Anna was flabbergasted, "Why can't they make an exception? We're royalty."

"This station's commander told me that they already have their goods and passengers inside. It would be time-consuming to switch people and luggages out on our behalf."

"So what happens now?" The crown princess asked.

He was quick to reply. "We do have a solution. Your highnesses, both of you will go together with half of the escort and make your way to your destination. The rest of the servants and escorts will wait for a second train to catch up. They have enough room for your luggage."

It was enough for Anna to agree. "Okay, so we have something to work with. What do you think, Elsa?"

She did not have to think long. "That works with us. Is our group ready?"

"Yes," Kai answered, "The rangers have already taken a suitable section."

The princesses rose from their seat. "I suppose there is no time to wait. We will wait for your arrival, Kai."

"You do not have to worry, it should be a short affair."

When they parted ways, the princesses were quick to get to the train on time. They walked past the merchants who tried to grab their attention, but they did not have the time for it. By the time they arrived at the platform, there were a trickle of people climbing into the train as a Polis Ranger stood beside one of the doors and waved his hand at him. One of the passengers turned his head, for a moment and Anna let out a gasp. "Is there something wrong?"

Her sister leaned her head as close as she could for a whisper. "I recognize one of those people. He's the one who rescued me."

"Really? It must be a coincidence that he's here again."

"It could be. I'll have to talk to him."

The 'town hall' was a place that would be filled with station citizens bringing their issues to the administrators. It's halls would have businesses trying to get into the pockets of men and women to be sympathetic to their stores or neighbors who desired to settle a dispute in court. Yet, it was rare for those moments to happen since Exhibition station was well-off when compared to others throughout the Metro. Oftentimes, it was someplace where Artyom would take the time to sit down and think to himself while the rest of the station was at work.

He may have been the son of the station commander; however, he had duties to attend as well. There was always room for an extra farmhand for the pigs, a banker needed someone to count their bullets for them, or mushrooms that needed to be cut for a stew. The young man would have to accept the reality that he was not going to be free from work at the station, but his mind was on other affairs at hand.

Princess Elsa's departure from his home was still on his mind. It was odd not to be in her company despite knowing her for so little time. If his childhood friends were still alive, they would have made fun of his reaction and perhaps accuse him of something so innocent. After all, his experience with life was limited by his fear of being lost in the shadows. The day he went up to the surface still put chills down his spine.

A door creaked open and he looked back to find his stepfather entering while he sat in his seat. "Good morning, dad."

He smiled at the statement. It took a long time for the stalker to call him that. "I figured that you would be thinking to yourself. Did you manage to get a job for tomorrow?"

Artyom nodded his head. He did receive an assignment that he could relatively relax in. "The quartermaster needs me to check out the new batch of weapons. He's worried about the quality."

"Very good. People were wondering if their hero was going to be lazy and not make use of his weight. This will ease their concerns," Sukhoi came over and took a seat beside his adoptive son, "It seems odd that you would be alone after what we've been through. What is on your mind?"

The young man leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling. Although he was back in familiar territory, it just did not feel the same as before. "I don't know. After I've traveled through the Metro and to Arendelle, my world doesn't feel the same as it should be. How can I put it? Life won't let me back to being normal."

"It is just as I feared," Artyom looked at him to find the man staring at the wall on the other side of the room, "I knew one day that you will seek out the opportunity to see the world when given the chance. When you did, I had hoped the world would convince you to stay. Now, wanderlust has taken over and part of you would seek out darkness that shapes our home."

"You did not want me to go and you're worried I'll go out there again."

He let out a depressive sigh. "There are people who simply can't enjoy the sedentary life and safety that most of us enjoy. You are not the only one who shared this sentiment and you won't be the last. Perhaps when you have children you would understand, but the desire for adventure will be too much for me to stop you."

"Dad, it's not like I don't want to stay here, but being a stalker has changed me from the boy I once was." The young man replied.

"Artyom, you are still my boy," He added, "but you are right that you have changed. Sooner or later, you would have left the nest."

Sukhoi's response to the matter was far more surprising than what he had expected from his stepfather. When he was young, there were strict rules he had to follow for his own safety. "It's not like I don't care about the station. I do, but my place is out there. The only way I can protect our people is to be with men like Colonel Miller."

A nod of his head was all he could do. "I understand."

His leg shifted on the seat as a rattle of his sword caught their attention. "Sorry about that."

"Is that a sword?" The young man was surprised by his knowledge.

"You know what it is?

The topic shifted onto a less serious note. "Of course I do. Back in the army, I was an officer and anyone of that rank usually had access to one.

He grew curious about that past. "What happened to that sword?"

"I have it in my bedroom. It's still with me after all of these years."

"Why haven't you told me about it?" Artyom asked, "After all of this time, you never said a word about it."

Sukhoi laughed. "That's because I did not want you to cut yourself or anyone else. Speaking of which, how did you get one? Did you buy it?"

He untied the sword from his belt and showed it to his stepfather. "A blacksmith's son owned a pet and I saved it from some wolves. He forged this sword to reward me."

"You do know what this means, right?"

"No, what do you plan to do?"

"There is still time for you to enjoy yourself before you get to work," The old man began as he rose up from his seat, "Let me fetch my sword, both of us are going to fence."

Pavel kept his eye on one of the royals. She was sitting comfortably with some Polis guards at the front of the passenger car. He had to plan this carefully lest the escorts and the train security catch him in the act. Worse, he had to try and get off the train with her as well. Yet, he was given the full backing by his superior to make sure no one would stop him. His hand reached into his coat as he grasped his pistol.

A pair of footsteps were behind him and he looked to his right to find the other princess taking a seat beside him. "This is the second time we've encountered each other."

Shit. He couldn't make a move with her here. Then he stole a glance from her and realized it was the one from before. "You scared me. Do you always do that to people?"

"What's wrong, major? Is it that easy to surprise you?" She replied.

The mention of his ranks seemed to receive eyes from the rest of the passengers. Then he whispered into her ear. "Please call me Pavel. I prefer not to be called that."

Anna placed her hands in her lap. "Okay, okay. I understand if that embarrasses you. So what brings you here for another encounter between both of us?"

Pavel had to think quickly. "Errands for my boss. It involves plenty of traveling throughout the Metro. This train is how I get between places."

"Wow. That means you have seen a lot in your work. Anything interesting?"

He nodded his head from side to side. "Eh, it's mostly papers and whatnot."

She gave him a skeptical stare. "Really? Explain that time you rescued me."

The communist officer was about to make a reply, but something interrupted the train's peaceful ride. A great explosion erupted ahead and shook the passenger car, frightening those who rode within it. Pavel held onto his seat as the princess wrapped her arm around his. There was not enough time to process the moment until they started to bounce in their seat and felt a great derail.

A sudden crash was enough to toss people against the windows or out of their seats. The weight of many on one side was enough to tip the car off the tracks as men and women screamed at their situation. Glass was shattered and injuries were born from this disaster. Major Morozov found himself pressed against the window as the princess hugged him. "You can let go. I think it's over."

She looked up at him. "How can you be so calm in a situation like this?"

He shrugged his shoulder. "It's not the first time this has happened."

"I have to go check on my sister."

Pavel nodded his head as she stood up inside the overturned car and made her way towards her sibling and disoriented Polis Rangers. At the same time, he glanced at his holstered pistol inside his jacket and was pleased it did not go off during the crash. Then he pushed himself off the ground and approached the royals and their escort.

There was somebody approaching them on the other side of the passenger car from the outside. He quickly came to everyone's aid as he raised the door and took a quick look at those inside. The markings of Hansa were apparent on his shoulders. "Is anyone hurt?"

One of the Polis Rangers walked up to him. "We're shaken, but everything is fine. Do you have a clue what caused the explosion?"

His masked head shook at the question. "The military personnel are checking it out. I'll-"

The air was stricken with death as a bullet whistled through the darkness and struck the ranger at the doorway. His body slumped at his wounds while the princesses were shocked by the attack. The Hansa guard closed the door shut as he grabbed his weapon hanging from his person and smashed the window beside the entrance.

"There's a roof exit! Get out of there!"

Pavel heard gunfire erupt outside as an occasional bullet landed on the passenger car. Heeding the guard's words, he walked over to the roof side of the car and pulled the lever open, opening a hatch. Then he looked at everyone recovering from the crash. "Everyone, through here!"

He slipped through the opening as he brandished his pistol from his coat and looked around. Then he looked at the front of the train to see Hansa soldiers taking cover beside the burning engines. Gunshots flickered in the darkness as the communist officer helped the passengers and the Polis Rangers out of the car.

A strange sound sizzled through the air and caused him to look at the fighting. There was a light flickering above the Hansa guards, only to explode above them. They were launching rocket grenades, which meant that the assailants were no mere bandits.

One of the princesses stepped out and took a good look at their surroundings. "What is happening?"

"We are under attack." He answered. Then he glanced at the Polis Rangers, "Get everyone to the other direction, I'll stay and help anyone inside."

They agreed as they rallied the surviving passengers and helped them get away from the fighting. Anna slipped out and looked at the Hansa soldiers at the front of the train. "Why is this happening?"

"I don't know, but you better join the others. Those guys won't hold them forever."

"We're going to leave them. Can we warn them to come along?"

Pavel shook his head. "No, they're already dead. Somebody planned this to happen."

He stole a glance from the princess to see her acknowledge the situation. She realized what had befallen on her sister and herself. "Who would want to do this?"

"I'll figure it out when we have the time. Just go."

Several rocket grenades were fired from the assailants as they smashed into the front train and incited an explosion from the wreckage. The defenders who held the line would not survive as the inferno consumed them. Yet, the fire was enough to block the attackers from coming after them.

The last passenger got out of the car and immediately joined the others who trekked towards the rear of the derailed train on foot. Those who straggled behind watched the fire with morbid curiosity before moving away from the damage. Some complained about how the world was giving them hell while others took a moment to sit down near the luggage car.

Pavel walked past them, seeing their fearful gazes of losing their only material belongings to the flames. He could only pity them, knowing full well they had no chance of salvaging what they brought with them. The young man accompanied the redhead with his pistol in hand as she looked back at the passengers who willingly stayed behind. "Are we going to help them?"

He shook his head. "There is nothing we can do."

"Why not? They're innocent people we're leaving behind. It's bad enough the guards died in the explosion, but defenseless people."

"I've been there before," He replied, "No amount of convincing will tell them to leave it all behind them. By the time we do, whoever is trying to kill us would have gotten through."

The princess was distraught at his harsh words. "How can you be so heartless for people? Do their lives have no meaning to you?"

Pavel wanted to say a word; however, he had a strange feeling over his head that the group of refugees and Polis Rangers were not alone in this part of the tunnel. Then he noticed shadows move and the occasional red lasers flickering to life. His pistol was brought forward and fired ahead. "Ambush!"

The cry was enough to alert the Polis Rangers to bring their arms ready, but the civilians were unprepared. A firefight erupted between the two groups as the princesses found themselves quickly sought out cover as soldiers and innocent were cut down in the midst of the fighting. The young man ran towards his left to find a Polis Ranger dead on the tracks as his weapon lay there. He immediately picked up his assault rifle and joined the others in dealing with the assault.

The adrenaline kicked in as the communist officer gunned down their assailants one by one. Yet, his allies were also dying as well. Still, he continued to fight without a care, using every effort to save himself and the others. Soon the flickering lights that lit the tunnel were cut down to a mere soldier crouching above the body. All was silent as Pavel rose up from a corpse of a fallen soldier, the only one not to die in the attack. "I think that is all of them."

He quickly took a look at the bodies around him, only to realize that the Polis Rangers were all dead alongside the civilians. A part of him wanted to see who decided to attack them and he walked over to one of the fallen assailants as he turned on his weapon's flashlight attachment. Then he knelt over one of the bodies and took a look at a dead man's clothes. His blood boiled at the hated symbol of the motherland.

"Fucking Nazis!"

Anna's voice calmed him down as she expressed her terrified reaction to the situation. "Is it over?"

Pavel looked over his shoulder to find the princess keeping herself away at the bodies, but horrified at the innocents among them. Her sibling was also not taking it well as her hand was covering her mouth. "Oh my god, they killed them all. Why would they do such a thing?"

He made his way over to the fallen soldiers and began to salvage their bodies. "They're Nazis. It's what they do. Now check the bodies for any bullets and weapons you can carry. We're going to need it to survive."

"You want us to loot them? Do you have any respect for the dead?!" Anna cried out.

"We don't have any time to respect the dead!" The officer shouted as he was annoyed with her naivete, "Any minute now, their buddies are going to get through and kill us as well! We have to get as far away from the train as possible. They are hunting us."

The princesses gave each other a reluctant look and hesitated with inaction. Then they began to kneel over the dead for their valuables.

They were certainly new to this way of life that the Metro dwellers were all familiar with. He hoped they wouldn't experience it for long.