The Queen of Arendelle made preparations for her foreign delegations, specifically from the Holy Roman Empire and Russia. The Germans were a complicated mess just as her history books mentioned when she was a child. Yet, they were relatively easier to handle in comparison to the Russian delegation. What reason would their delegation seek out a small kingdom when they had an empire to fulfill everything they wanted? That question alone was an unknown she had to face.

Someone knocked on her bedroom door and the queen made her way over to open it. When she opened it, Anna was standing there with a smile on her face while wearing a purple dress. "How's your afternoon?"

Elsa returned with her own smile. "Fine. The waiting for the delegations is killing me."

"I heard that Prince Vaska Dolokhov was coming."

"Yes, if we have anything planned, I'll be off tonight."

The princess seemed to be filled with an idea. "How about I save you some trouble? I take Vaska off your hands and you go ahead and deal with the Germans."

She was skeptical at the thought of her sister handling a diplomatic affair with the same finesse as herself. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Besides, Colonel Miller is keen on looking for help beyond our country. So it would be a good deal for both of us."

"Okay, but don't cause too much trouble," Queen Elsa warned, "I am entrusting you to handle this well."

Anna bowed with excitement. "Thank you, dear sister. I won't let you down."

The cheerful response alleviated the queen's worry as she returned back to her room to continue her personal preparations. Then she walked back to her desk and opened a drawer filled with opened letters between Prince Hans and herself. Elsa reached out for the latest one and began to quietly read it.

Prince Hans would have to hold off the visits due to personal reasons at home. It was most likely that it was his family that forced him to deal with that issue. The queen had no problem with that and can admire his face in adversity against a family that did little to recognize him as their own.

There were other issues that seemed to have cropped up on his home island. The king was being besieged by imperial diplomats from the German states to be incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire. This was because the prince and the rest of his family were from a long line of imperial merchants that were given extreme power to be free from taxes.

She thought about it and realized that perhaps those German delegations intended to do the same to Arendelle. Well, Elsa would have to provide them with a firm no on that subject matter.

A young Polis Ranger leaned forward at the front of the moving train. His Geiger counter occasionally picked up small doses of radiation, but it was nothing too serious. Yet, he needed to be attentive to prevent the entire expedition from walking into a pit of death. Ever since the departure of Novosibirsk, Artyom could not believe that his world still had some beauty after humanity's hand at self-destruction. He had come across some pockets of civilization in the wildlands; however, they were just simple farmer markets or caravan bands who were lucky enough to not encounter bandits.

There was a time when all of this would seem ludicrous to his ears. The idea that people, other than Moscow, had survived the apocalypse. It seemed that the impossible had broken his suspension of disbelief after all of these years of feeling like the world had forgotten them.

Someone's hand rested on his shoulder as Artyom turned his head to find an acquaintance when he left Exhibition standing beside him. "Khan?"

The old man smiled as he brought his hands into his pockets. "It is only for the time being, young man. I just wanted to check on you and see how you were doing. You're doing a lot better than I imagined you would."

"I would be comforted by your company, but it seems like you leave more questions than answers," He added as he stared towards the front of the rails, "Why did you come to Elsa instead of me?"

"She was just like you when we first met - scared and afraid of the world may bring," He answered, "I suppose she needed some form of guidance, just like you."

Artyom felt embarrassed as he leaned over the railing. "You wanted me to understand the world around me, but I almost damned myself in the process."

It was a low chuckle from the stranger elderly man. "You stopped at the critical moment to acknowledge what could have happened at Ostankino. It is more than enough to recognize that there are worthy souls that make this world worth living."

The young man's encounter with him was always related to some kind of future fate and so he began to think of the right questions for Khan. "What reason do you have to be here?"

"You are a lot more attentive than the last time we have spoken. Perhaps I should get to the point? Life will get complicated and there will be a time when you find yourself at a crossroad, one where you could sacrifice much to obtain a moment and another where you might regain what was once lost."

"Something bad is going to happen and I have to make a decision when the time comes?" Artyom considered the vague meaning of a companion as he thought about the future, "There is still time for me to prepare myself for that moment."

"It is not as easy as you think, but perhaps I will be proven wrong," The old man added, "Yet, I wonder how such a man could be able to obtain both paths with little resistance? Well, you can think about the future after this particular issue."

The Polis Ranger turned around to question him, but it was as if he was not there in the first place. There was a possibility that his mind was playing tricks on him, but experience said otherwise. Maybe Khan was giving him a chance to prepare for the future? His eyes wandered on the railroad ahead, but then he noticed the train was arriving at the outskirts of the expedition's destination.

It seemed like they were making their way into the train yard; however, his eyes noticed movement in a few towers before red laser sights were lining on his person. Artyom ducked down and took cover behind the metal sheets in front of the railing as he grabbed the radio and alerted the others. "Stop the train, contacts!"

Gunfire erupted from the control towers as the young man braced for the bullets, his shoulders feeling the vibrations from the impact of the shots.

The train began to slow down as Artyom waited for a pause in the attack. When the vibrations ceased, he rose from behind his cover and brought his Kalashnikov to bear. The scope zeroed in on the three men in their tower, peppering the train in a few short bursts while ignoring him outright. He took this chance to return the favor as his assault rifle bellowed out its roar and eliminated the first offenders.

Eyes shifted away from the tower as the rolling stock found itself passing by a platform filled with hostiles firing upon the armored sections. After the train slowed to a halt, he noticed how the enemy began to overturn tables and take cover behind boxes and animal cages. Yet, the young man knew it was not enough.

Colonel Klebnikov's voice had assured him they would pay for shooting first instead of talking. "Opening gun hatches."

Artyom looked to his left to find the shutters open and the machine guns protrude out of their positions. Heavy caliber rounds were unleashed upon the attackers as streams of tracer rounds unleashed a hailstorm downrange and into the defenders and their protection. Materials made out of wood or slim sheets were ripped apart without mercy. Bits of concrete found themselves chipped away while blood splattered across the platform.

Silence followed after as the barrels smoked from the prolonged firing of their guns. It was a vicious affair, but Artyom had to admit that it was far more impressive than he realized.

Uhlman's voice came to life as the train's expeditionary forces began to dismount. "Captain Krasnov speaking, all Rangers, dismount and secure the loading area. Everyone else, watch your fire."

Artyom climbed over the railing and walked across the platform with his weapon raised. The destruction that lay in the train's wake was more than enough of a message that they were dangerous to deal with. As the expedition quickly secured the surrounding area, a building on the far side of the train yard had slowly opened its doors.

A man slowly stepped out with his hands open. "Hey, don't shoot! We mean you no harm."

He approached the masked man as he placed his strange assault rifle on the ground. Then he lowered his weapon, feeling confident that the strange had no hostile intentions. "Who are you?"

"Me?" He wondered, "I'm a local gang member. My boys behind me and I were just about to catch these bandits by surprise, but you guys got here first."

"You're not associated with these people?" Artyom asked, "How come?"

"We're part of the Vladivostock survivors. Bandits are constantly coming to the city to attack us and we have to come out here to put them in their place. If you permit the opportunity of a radio, I can tell our boss that we have visitors from out of town."

A pair of heavy footsteps came from behind. Colonel Khlebnikov spoke. "Who is he?"

He turned around to see the armored officer. "Colonel, it appears that we got in the middle of what was supposed to be an ambush. This man and the building behind him were about to eliminate a bandit post."

"Ah, I see," The senior soldier acknowledged, "Do you have a radio?"

The stranger reached for a walkie-talkie on his shoulder and adjusted the frequencies. "Here, Cat will talk to you."

A voice spoke up, but the accent was unlike any that Artyom had ever heard of. "Gentlemen, did you eliminate the hideout?"

"No sir. Someone else got there before us?"

"Is it another gang?"

"Out of town people. Want to talk with them?"

"How important are they?"

"They just arrived by train," He answered before stealing a quick glance at it, "This one is heavily armored and has heavy machine guns."

"Okay then," He said, "Let me have a talk."

Colonel Khlebnikov spoke up. "Who am I speaking to?"

"Tom the Cat. Either one works for me. Now, who brought a train to Vladivostock?"

"My name is Colonel Khlebnikov, I'm a soldier of OSKOM from Novosibirsk and working in conjunction with soldiers from Moscow."

"Novosibirsk and Moscow?" This Tom seemed to be impressed by the knowledge alone, "I thought those cities were wiped off the map."

He laughed. "Almost. We were just lucky."

Tom joined in on the laugh. "It's been a while since I heard good news from the outside that didn't involve roving groups of bandits. Are we able to meet?"

The colonel looked around the platform the mess the expedition unleashed upon the bandits. "We will get a proper meeting after we set up shop at the train yard. There are some details we can talk about in private."

"That is good to hear. We'll clear the surrounding areas from bandits in the meantime."

Prince Vaska Dolokhov had arrived at the underground fortress of the otherworldly Russians and when the princess of Arendelle felt his eyes upon him, it was quite clear he was unsure. Those who worked here had to pass through a strange checkpoint where belongings were separated from their owners before they crossed over.

Anna did her best to assure him. "You just have to pass through here and then ask about Colonel Miller."

Vaska raised his eyebrows. "Things are a little strange here despite being related to my people."

"No doubt," She added, "They haven't had the luxury of meeting outsiders like us on a daily basis."

"So once I am through, they'll lead me into a room full of their representatives?"

She nodded her head.

"Well, here goes nothing."

The princess noticed Pavel accompanied by two men as he approached the duo. "Anna, is there something wrong?"

She quickly took the initiative of the conversation. "Pavel, I would like you to meet with Prince Vaska Dolokhov. He's a representative of Imperial Russia."

The two aides had a scowl on their faces as they quietly whispered amongst themselves about what she said. It seemed that her introduction had a negative impact on the otherworldly Russians. Then one of them spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. "So we have an imperialist within our midst?"

Pavel looked over his shoulder, revealing an authoritative gaze that was disappointed with the reactions of his people. Then he turned his full attention towards the princess and the Russian prince. "Forgive my comrades for their lack of professionalism. The Red Line holds a certain political leaning which does not approve of a certain way of life."

Vaska was taken aback by the reply. "Truly, you would let your political leanings get in the way of humanitarian aid to your people?"

"Perhaps there is another time and place for that," His eyes glanced over to the checkpoint as he called out for the guard standing by, "Damir, let the prince through. Find Colonel Mel'nikov."

The man immediately approached the group. "Right this way, sir."

Prince Dolokhov nodded his head, acknowledging the man as he followed after him.

When they passed through the checkpoint and were out of sight, Anna was curious about the moment between the Russians. "Why were your people so hostile against him? He did nothing wrong."

"The Soviet Union… or what's left of it has a very dark and violent relationship with Imperial Russia," Came his answer, "We communists do not look highly upon those who position themselves above others."

"You don't like him because he has noble blood?"

He nodded his head.

Anna was shocked by the silence in his tone, but it begged a question that was more out of morbid curiosity. "Does that mean you don't like me as well?"

Pavel seemed like he didn't have a reply for that as well, but he tried. "You are a good person, but my people do not agree with you being a princess."

She didn't like the answer and all it did was hurt her feelings as she turned her back on him to find a corner to be lonely in. Anna placed a lot of trust in him, especially since he went out of his way to help them in Moscow. Yet, his blunt response was more than enough to be in tears.

"Anna?" His words fell upon deaf ears as she shut him out.

Wanderlust took over as she did her best to get lost in the underground fortress so close to her home. It had gotten to the point where she did not even recognize the layout anymore, walking through doors she was never allowed to go through. Then she ceased when she entered a large room that was too big for a meeting hall.

Bright lights shined over most of the area as Metro dwellers were discovered to be taking inventory of everything that was inside. Strange war machines lay dormant while crates and a whole assortment of weaponry were passed around for inspection. The number of equipment was too much for a small group of armed soldiers and would generally fit a small army instead. "What are they doing?"

Alarms blared to life as red lights appeared from the darkest corner of the room. Soldiers shouted orders in the chaos before her ears called out gunfire echoing throughout the hallways. The danger caught her attention as she tried to make her way back to familiar ground. She crossed through doors and various hallways, stumbling upon squads being sent to where the danger was present.

Anna followed one of the squads who were unaware of her presence. Then a hand grabbed her shoulder. She turned around to find Pavel standing behind her with his pistol drawn. "We got to get you to safety. Come with me!"

It seemed like he knew what was going on, but there was no indication of the details. They returned to the room with the checkpoint on their left. Before they could proceed any further, Anna noticed movement on the far side. Dangerous men in strange armor had appeared from another hallway. "Watch out!"

Pavel immediately fired his gun, his bullets killing two men in the process. However, a third had appeared, but far more armored than they expected. A few bullets were spent, but his steel hide was too much for him before the hostile returned fire.

Anna sought cover to her right behind a desk as she looked to her friend, only to hear several shots ring out and find Pavel on the ground. He ached in pain as he placed his hands on the wounds. The princess peaked over the desk to see who did it to her, but someone was aware of her hiding spot.

A middle-aged man with short dark brown hair had seized her by the shoulders through force of arms. "Hey, lock her up and send her through!"

It seemed like he was the one in charge as one of his men spoke. "Do we send her to the Baron?"

"No," He shook his head, "We'll decide afterward."

She did her best to fight him as she threw punches and kicks in her direction. "Let me go."

"She's a feisty one, I'll say."

The man took one long look at her with a smile on his face; however, she took the opportunity to spite him with a throw of her spite. His expression changed as the last thing the princess of Arendelle had ever seen was a swipe of his hand.

News quickly followed about the attack on the bunker-complex. Elsa rode on Alastor to arrive at the base camp to learn what had happened. Wounded men were being brought out from the side of the mountain as the guards held their hands out to stop her. "Let me through, my sister is in there!"

Then she recognized one of the men being carried by a cot. "Wait, I need to talk to her!"

The queen dismounted her horse and walked up to him. "Where is Anna? What happened?"

"We were attacked," He stole a quick glance at his patched-up wounds, "They took her."

"Who took her? Who took my sister?"

"I don't know."

A man in a white coat walked up to her. "Ma'am, we need him to rest and recover. You can ask questions right after."

It was at that moment that she was distraught at the news as she slowly walked away from the Russians and took the moment to realize that her only living relative was taken away from her by force. Part of her wanted to rage against a cruel reality that didn't let her have simple moments of comfort. Yet, Elsa could only cry.