Captain Eduard Baranov was given a place to stay in the castle's servant quarters. It reminded him of a time when he visited the Winter Palace at St. Petersburg. There was a funny detail now that he thought about it. He supposed that a name such as Leningrad still did not click with most of the Soviet Union unless you were ideologically a staunch supporter. It was rare to have men like him to visit these cities of great historical and cultural importance. They were places which reminded his people what it meant to be a Russian. TEduard doubted he would live to see it agai thanks to the warn.

The old Red Naval officer changed into his new set of clothes - uniforms of the Arendellian guards. It was a compromise for his appearance and the fact that his old uniform was being washed as he waited for a way back to Vladivostok. He thought about the fuel rods on the tugboat and smiled at the thought of Tom's anger at losing his chance to command the submarine. Even if the captain wanted to see that man lose out of spite, he made a promise and was damned to keep it to the end.

When he finished changing his clothes, Eduard walked through the hallways as he was buttoning up his shirt. There was indeed an ounce of doubt in his heart about Artyom's relationship with the queen, but he entertained the thought when he showed the drawing to him. There was the euphoria of happiness to know that she was real as it gets like an old grandfather pleased to see the direction his family went. Nonetheless, it felt strange that he would be brought into a new world beyond the hellscape he once called home.

A warm aroma filled the air as his nose took a quick whiff of the smell and recognized the long-forgotten scent - actual food. He traced its origins as the intensity filled his nose with joy as the captain stumbled into the kitchen, surprising the cooks and the servants coming through. They gave him an odd look at him for a brief moment; however, an old servant woman walked up with him. "Don't mind us, we normally don't get visitors lest the girls want something in particular."

He smiled at her honesty as he glanced at the breakfast being made. Not only was it be crafted for the recipients, but also for the servants as well. The stranger who had spoken to him and quickly grabbed a plate of an egg omelet and a few strips of bacon on the side.

"Here's your breakfast. Follow me, Artyom and Elsa are waiting for you in the dining room."

When he heard of that, Eduard was rather surprised he was invited to join them. For a moment, he thought the young man would have appreciated her company alone. After he was guided out of the room, he was surprised to see the lovely young woman sitting on the other side of the room and the table. She was flanked by Artyom on her right as he turned his head with a smile on his face; yet, his eyes showed that he was lacking sleep. Then he rose from his chair and spoke. "Elsa, I would like to introduce you to Captain Eduard Baranov. He was the one who found that ship."

The young man guided his hand towards the chair across from him as Eduard was escorted by the servant to take his meal beside the queen of this kingdom. It was a new moment for him as he never expected that a lowly Soviet officer would be brought before a royal. Everything about it felt wrong, but also exciting within him. After he took his seat and was given the silverware to eat, the queen smiled at him upon closer inspection. "Captain, I am rather glad to have met you in person."

He smiled at her genuine honesty as he cut a slice into his omelet. "Thank you, you're… How should I address you?"

"Just call me Elsa," The young woman said as she leaned back in her chair, "I usually reserve the honorifics for the special events."

"Well, Elsa, I am quite glad that you allowed me a place to stay and a meal to go with that," It was time to address the fact that he was here because of that particular ship, "So what do you want to know about that ship?"

The queen paused before she continued, her eyes filled with sorrow as he ate a slice. "You see, the ship is rather special to me because it's the one my parents left with when I last saw them. Since their disappearance, I never had any proper closure when I received the news."

Captain Baranov took his time to chew his food before he swallowed and allowed his mouth to talk. "You are probably thinking that I might know about their whereabouts? The truth is, it has been years since the incident and my memory is not as it used to be. A few details might be off, but if you had something to show me then I would gladly help."

"Thank you," She turned her gaze towards a tired Artyom, "Could you find a picture of my father and mother?"

He nodded his head and left the room with his food still half-eaten. Once he was out of the room, Eduard noted his appearance. "He looks like he had a bad night."

Elsa noted his observation. "Artyom said it was just the bunks. I should try to get those replaced."

The old man shook his head at the thought. It was a detail he had seen many times for men like him. Plus, it did not make sense since the beddings were so comfortable he slept soundly last night. "It can't be that. I had a good night's sleep."

"What are you suggesting about Artyom?" She questioned, perhaps she was unfamiliar with what Artyom was dealing with? "Sure, he looks bad, but it might be just that it was a single night."

"He has shellshock, ma'am. I've seen it before with men such as him. To the untrained eye, it's quite easy to overlook, but a soldier knows what his comrade is going through."

Elsa stared at him with fierce blue eyes, perhaps she was worried about what he might say about him. "What is going on with my friend?"

Eduard looked down at his meal. "Imagine you experienced a traumatic moment, even if it's a minute, but it stays with you from the moment onward. It haunts a person and eats at their soul for the rest of their lives. You could call it a nightmare, but that is a simplification of the experience. The difference between a nightmare and shellshock is that the latter doesn't go away when you wake up."

"Do you mean to say that Artyom has this… affliction all along? How can you tell?" She asked, "He seems fine whenever I see him and I know him longer than you do."

"It depends on how the person handles their trauma," He added, "Some drink their hearts away until they experience severe health problems others are much quieter about it and try to keep it in their heads where no one notices. Unfortunately, I had the experience of hearing him cry out when he bunked with me."

"I still find it odd that his affliction never came up during his stay at the castle. How could he hide it away from me without the servants noticing it?"

"Perhaps he repressed his memory so much that it never happened under your people until now?"

Elsa paused the thought before leaning back in her chair out of realization. "He did lose his memory a while back and recently remembered who he was. I think his memories have also caught up to him as well."

Before the two could continue the conversation, Artyom returned with a small painting in his hand. "Will this work?"

His question garnered the royal's attention as she turned away from the captain and inspected the small painting. "I hope this is it. Captain Baranov, do you recognize these faces?"

When she flipped the picture over to the old officer, his eyes blinked upon realization. There were two adults he recognized as a memory flickered back to the past. Eduard remembered when his submarine made its last voyage before he brought it back to the harbor. He was viewing the outside world through a periscope as a storm raged above his vessel; however, he witnessed these large waves swallow a ship whole. It was more out of morbid curiosity than genuine care about its crew. Fortunately, the waves forced the ship to be grounded as its crews did their best to survive on the chaotic shores. Then he remembered when the tides were calm enough for him to send a few boats of his crew to rescue the poor passengers. They spoke in a different language; however, he recalled that moment when his shore parties returned with the first two being a scared couple holding each other close. "I do."

Queen Elsa's eyes shot out, now hopeful when he began with those words. "You know where my parents are? Is there a way we could find them?"

"Artyom and I were about to return to Vladivostok before that storm transported us into your kingdom," Captain Baranov explained, "We would have been able to find them then, but unless we have a direct route towards the city, it's impossible to find them. The best I know about them is a bunch of old friends, who have maintained their loyalty to Tom and Klim."

"Who are they? Is there a way we can meet with them?"

The young Russian spoke. "I have spoken to them, but the captain is right. Until my comrades in the expedition find the teleporter in that city, we will not be able to reach them."

Eduard looked at Elsa and saw her lose hope; however, she seemed to be given some form of a conviction. "If that is the case, I think it is time to put it at the back of my mind. The search of my sister comes first and any good news would be great for the both of us."

"Let's go."

Anna busied herself by exploring the surrounding ruins where the lighthouse looked over. Giul had given her the freedom to look around while she was away; however, if any of her kidnappers came along she would take the elevator to the top and give the signal. She was not specific in what kind of signal she would have to make; then again, the princess was not exactly listening to her while she read through her books. It seemed harsh to find a lonely person such as her in a hostile place such as this. The local could have left this place, but maybe there was something that kept her tied to this place.

The ruins were just that, ruins. All she could find was that this place was once a village of sorts; however, the royal found that there was more to this place than meets the eye. Off in the sand dunes where various strange monsters crept, Anna noticed the rotting hulks of ships lost to the desert. Yet, the young woman noticed that the formations to this place were unnatural. If anything, it seemed like Giul's home was once an island surrounded by water, but the beaches were transforming into deserts. What kind of calamity was capable of doing that?

She tripped over remains of a stone wall, only to plant her head into the sand. As she looked up, there was a corpse resting against the wall. Anna immediately scurried back out of terror to find a skeleton wrapped in the remains of its clothes. The princess was horrified at the placement of a dead person before her. Fortunately, it did not move as she walked over to take a closer look at the skeleton. Old bloodstains were splattered against the wall as she looked down to find a hand tightly gripping a revolver. Curiosity took over as she pried the weapon off and inspected the chambers. There were six chambers altogether, but only one was truly empty.

Who would have considered suicide to be an option?

A strange chitter echoed to her left as she noticed an opening into the ground. There was a set of stairs that descended below. Anna rose from the sands and walked over to the edge of the staircase. Then she looked around to discover that she was in the remains of a building, but with no roof to cover the room and the walls collapsing out of disrepair. The princess went down each step with cautious curiosity with her recently salvaged pistol.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, the girl could barely see anything in the room except darkness. Suddenly, the chittering echoed louder when she heard a strange discharge coming after her. Anna stumbled back while a blob of white flew over her and as she looked to where the shot landed, a patch of cobwebs was stuck onto a wall. Goosebumps filled her with fear as she immediately ran back up the stairs for safety; however, something was chasing after her. The chittering noise terrified her thoughts at stumbling into a den of a monster.

Upon returning to the surface, the princess looked over her shoulder to find a large spider with a massive tail crawl quickly after her. Then she realized the weapon was still in her hand as the creature's speed began to catch up to her. As she aimed her pistol at the monster, a crack of sunlight flickered through the ruins and shined upon the spider. Its contact with the rays began to disintegrate parts of the beast itself with the skin darkening from exposure. The pain it received was too much and the spider lept back to the shadows, disregarding how close it was to kill her.

Anna was sweating heavily after that encounter and was so stricken with horror that she did not realize her hands were shaking. Perhaps it was time to go inside and rest.

The teleporter flickered in the warehouse as Polis Rangers, OSKOM, and soldiers from the various factions of the Moscow Metro consolidated their surroundings. Colonel Mel'nikov was glad that they arrived in force with the bandits fleeing in droves. It was so easy for their kind to attack the helpless or the unaware, but when met with stiff resistance from actual fighters, they melted back into the desert from whence they came. Unfortunately, he was not here for a full-scale war, but a rescue. If the situation came to that, then he would request the Council's approval for active conscription to deal with the local warlord who ruled these people.

He watched the former remains of the airbase return to its roots as a legitimate military installation. The control tower gave him a surprisingly useful vantage point where he could navigate his men past the various bandit holdouts in the region. What helped was that the enemy could not recollect their vehicles after the initial assault, meaning that he could send an advance team to map out the surrounding areas. Even if those moves were temporary, Colonel Mel'nikov needed to maintain the momentum and push his foes on the backfoot long enough for the search teams to find the princess of Arendelle.

The Spartan Commander looked below to find additional troops pouring through the warehouse; however, they were not the only ones. Queen Elsa and her entourage were finally in his world, experiencing the hellscape the wasteland could offer. Among those in her company, was an old familiar face holding a conversation with her and another guest she brought along. Then he noticed the queen entering the building as the colonel made preparations on the situation.

Queen Elsa entered the tower as he turned around to greet her with a smile. "Ma'am."

Behind the queen was a young charming man in elaborate wear. His eyes fell upon him and expressed a slight smile when the commander noted his inspection. Yet, he was not the only one accompanying her. A Polis Ranger stood behind the duo, but when he raised his armored visor Artyom's face was hiding underneath it.

"You were supposed to be with OSKOM in the Far East. What are you doing here?"

The young man saluted him before snapping his boots at attention. "Sir, I was, but a storm transported me and one other individual back into this world. It was an anomaly in itself."

Mel'nikov shook his head and accepted the situation as it was. "Nonetheless, I appreciate you coming here, all of you."

The fair maiden ruler brought a formal composure with her back straightened out. "Colonel, have you found my sister?"

"Unfortunately, no. The situations between my men and the other units are busy. As of right now, we have an army of bandits who might put up a decent amount of resistance during the search. North of us is an oil rig that is full of them, I would think your sister is there, but nothing is certain that she might be in the rest of the countryside."

The young man in the clean formal clothes voiced his opinion. "These are bandits, they should not be so much of a problem."

"You are right," The colonel replied as he leaned back against one of the consoles behind him, "But our people never had to deal with the number of bandits on this scale."

Elsa seemed to be in distress. "Please find her, she is the only family I have left."

It pained the officer to hear that, but until he had something there was little he could do.

A radio within the control tower had sparkled to life as one of the Polis Rangers on listening duty has reported in. "Colonel, I have something to report."

He walked over to the radio sitting on one of the consoles. "Go ahead."

"There is a local who is opposing the group of bandits who own this place. She claims to be friendly and wishes to help."

"Is she on standby?"

"Yes sir."

"Send it."

"Relaying signal."

The room fell quiet as the voice of the soldier transitioned into a woman. "Hello, is there anyone in charge of the base?"

Colonel Mel'nikov looked over to the buttons and increased the volume loud enough for everyone else to learn. "Yes, this is Colonel Mel'nikov of the Spartan Rangers. Who am I talking to?"

"My name is Giul and I am a fighter here to free my people from the Munai-bailer. Are you working with them?"

"Who exactly?"

The woman began to elaborate. "They are oil drillers but are also slavers. It is a difficult fight here and no one has ever entered this place except more of them."

"No," He answered firmly, "My people are from Moscow or Novosibirsk. They have kidnapped a friend of ours and we're here to rescue her."

"Our purposes align. There is someone here I managed to rescue from the Munai-bailer and she is not from here. Perhaps she is the person you are looking for?"

"Possibly, but the bandits have tied up most of the forces here. We can send someone to check out."

There was a pause for a moment. "I do not trust you, not yet, anyway. Send your man to meet me by the old post office, it's in the west of your base."

"Thank you. It's surprising how many lives you have saved today."

Only the static replied to him, but it was quite clear that the conversation was over as the Spartan Commander turned his full attention towards Artyom. "Ranger, there are some old ruins to the west by some train tracks. I want you to check it out. A woman named Giul might know where the queen's sister is."

Elsa's eyes lit up. "She has Anna. I have to come with him if that is the case."

The colonel shook his head at the thought. "Ma'am, I understand how much she means to you. However, risking you to the dangers of this world is not recommended."

"I understand," She replied in a firm tone, "But I will ignore your warnings and still join him nonetheless."

He was impressed at the spine of such a young girl telling an old soldier to shove it. "I understand, just be careful out there. This is not Moscow, we don't exactly have outposts to pitch in when you need help."

The queen turned over to the red-headed man. "Will you accompany us, Prince Hans?"

He turned towards everyone in the room. "Unfortunately, I cannot. My father has sent a ship of supplies to help us in this endeavor and I have to stay to coordinate where they go. In a desert such as this, it is necessary."

"I understand."

Another person had entered the room but in the uniform of the Red Line. "Comrade-Colonel, I couldn't help, but overhear your conversation. Mind if I join in in case Artyom needs an extra gun."

Artyom turned around and recognized him. "Pavel, you're here? I heard you took some rounds."

"I did, but I was insistent on getting a quick patch up."

Mel'nikov didn't like him when he first met him. Not only did he work for the Red Line, but also as part of their intelligence branch. Yet, the Order needs the support of its people as OSKOM could not be relied upon most of the time. Perhaps it was good that he was volunteering. At least, the secretary-general can close their eyes and ears at the same time. "Major Morozov, your help would be accepted. The Order is rather grateful for the Red Line's assistance."

The major gave him a slight nod. "Of course. You may not share our beliefs, but your efforts in helping our fellow man deserve the help."

Someone else entered the room as a kind, but optimistic attitude joined. "Hey Elsa, where are you going?"

The commander looked down to find an animated snowman enter the room. He was genuinely surprised to find Elsa's creation make its way down here. There were was rumors amongst his men that they were genuinely fine with the snowman's presence and the antics that came with it. Some even considered it the morale mascot despite the colonel not holding a conversation with the creation in person. "How did it get here?"

She looked at him with fierce and cold eyes. "Olaf has sentience of his own. Though, you are right. How did they let you through the teleporter?"

He chuckled like a guilty child. "I hitched a ride with one of the crates. Part of me wondered what it was like in the desert."

The queen shook her head like a mother dealing her child, but Mel'nikov found it rather adorable. "You should go back to Arendelle. It's not safe here."

"I know," Olaf replied, "But I heard that Anna was in danger. I came to help."

Artyom glanced towards him as he made a request. "Sir, is there a vehicle we can use? Walking in the desert is not going to be a pleasant affair."

Fortunately, the colonel did receive a report that his men captured a few bandit vehicles along the way. "Give me a moment, I'll see what I can salvage."

The sounds of warfare echoed throughout the area as the Polis Ranger drove the truck across the desert with a leisurely drive. Gunfire echoed in the distance with the bandits and the various factions from the Metro found themselves fighting in the ruins to the north. Artyom occasionally looked at the crane and felt there was a pair of eyes watching his party make its way towards the post office. Thankfully, the night covered their movement with Pavel and him being fortunate to have night vision goggles.

It would have been difficult to track down the building surrounded by sand if it was not for the train tracks. As they got closer, the Polis Ranger noticed two-thirds of the building had collapsed on itself. He slowed the van to a halt as he stepped out of the driver's seat and drew his assault rifle while Pavel flanked him on the right. Then Artyom looked to the back of the van to see the queen and the snowman sit quietly in the back. "Stay here, we're going to check it out."

The surviving third of the building was still intact, but only a door being the obstacle between the two men and the room inside. Quickly, the duo stacked up beside the door as Artyom took one side and Pavel the opposite of the door. He stole a glance from him and whispered. "Ready?"

Artyom nodded his head.

"Three, two, one."

Both soldiers kicked down the door as they immediately rushed inside with their barrels brought forward. They scanned the room for movement, only kicking up the dust and sand from the furniture. A simple pause existed between the two men until they saw an incredibly slender creature moving across the floor. Then a hiss echoed from below, causing the duo to open fire. Each flicker of the gunshot revealed a snake attempting to attack them; however, the bullets ripped through its hide, and the impact killing the animal.

Pavel let out a slight chuckle. "I won't lie, I shit myself when I saw it. I'll get rid of it and you check out the rest of the room."

Artyom fired three more shots at the snake's head just for safety before Pavel grabbed the whole body and dragged it outside. As he raised his night-vision goggles, he activated his flashlight and began to thoroughly dig through the furniture. Drawers were pulled open as he occasionally found more magazine ammunition for his Kalashnikov. His eyes continued to check around as he heard footsteps scurrying into the room. Then he looked at the doorway to see Elsa and Olaf rush behind the furniture. "What's wrong?"

Elsa grabbed Olaf and hid behind a desk. "Pavel said he saw some scouts. He's going to hide our transport, but they're coming to check us."

He quickly looked for one of the shelves laid against the wall and began to shift it around, creating a large enough room for her and Olaf to hid in. "Get behind her, don't make any noise."

The queen made her way behind the shelf as he ran towards the door with his assault rifle at the ready. His eyes shifted to the moving shelf in the corner, the naked eye would not notice her, but if they searched the room it would not be enough. He hid in the corner close enough towards the door as he waited for the enemy to arrive. Then he turned off his flashlight and hoped they would ignore them.

Noise grumbled from an oncoming vehicle as the young man quietly prayed for their ignorance. Yet, he was denied when he heard them stop their vehicle and a pair of footsteps approached the doorway. The only strength he had was patience for the right moment to strike.

When the doors were closed shut, two men had entered the room with their flashlights searching for anything of note. Unlike the armored and uniformed men he had encountered in his travels, these were much more ragged in clothes with simple plates of metal covering their chests. One of the men expressed his annoyance of the situation as their backs were turned towards him. "I knew that teleporter was bad news. Sure, the Baron found a new world, but that new gang managed to get there before us. Now we'll never hear the end of them."

The other bandit shook his head. "Those guys are definitely not gangs. They look military, the Baron pissed on the wrong people."

"Military?" He scoffed at the thought, "We've spent twenty years in this fucking desert and they finally show their faces. What a fucking joke?!"

"I wouldn't make fun of them. The bastards managed to steal the airbase right under Saul's watch. They're good, we got to be careful around them."

The man on the right reached for his lighter, "Want a smoke?"

"Sure, I don't mind."

Minutes passed as they pulled out their cigarettes and lit their ends with gusto. Then they began to smoke up the room with their breaths. Artyom was accustomed to it, but part of him realized that Elsa was not ready for it. His Kalashnikov was focused on one of the men as he patiently waited for them to finish their patrol. Suddenly, a faint cough was heard behind the shelf.

The duo immediately drew their weapons on Elsa's hiding spot. "Did you hear that? You there, you better come out!"

Artyom sprung into action as he pulled the trigger and opened fire. The first burst of rounds riddled the man in the back while his compatriot turned around in shock and horror. However, he did not give him a chance to react as his firepower shifted from the corpse to the next bandit. The impact of the shots made him stumble back as he fired his weapon upwards before succumbing to his wounds.

He slowly stepped out of the corner to inspect the bodies, but another figure stormed into the room, catching him by surprise. "You fucker! I'll make sure you'll be fed to the snakes!"

The bandit's body collided with him as their weapons were locked in brawl. Unfortunately, the enemy was bigger and had more muscle to press against him, forcing the young man into the corner from whence he came. His strength was failing him; however, he quickly shifted his hand from the trigger of his assault rifle for his holstered pistol. Yet, Artyom was not swift enough to reach as his foe pushed down on him and tightened his ability to move around. His eyes smiled in glee as he kneeled down on his torso and freed his one hand to choke him.

A white blur had jumped atop of the man's back with one of the worst war cries the Ranger had ever heard. Olaf's twigs of an arm mere annoyed him enough that he rose up to tear the snowman off his back. Then icicles punctured through his chest as he stumbled off the soldier in shock of his wounds. Artyom looked at the other side of the room and saw Elsa's reaching a hand out while catching the flurry of snow melting mid-air. The queen seemed stricken with fear as the bandit approached her, but instinct took over as the Polis Ranger pulled out his semi-auto pistol and double-tapped him before he could do more harm.

He rose from his corner while his throat felt stressed from nearly having his life taken from him. Then he made his way over to Elsa, only to find her hand shaking from the experience. The young man slowly grabbed the wrist of her reaching hand and guided it downwards. "Are you okay?"

She seemed reluctant to speak, but the Queen of Arendelle managed to summon some courage left in her. "I-I… He was hurting you."

Artyom realized that this was her kill up close with a human. The only thing left to do was to comfort her from the experience. "I'm sorry that had to happen."

Queen Elsa collapsed on the floor as Olaf joined in to help her. "There, there."

"Why don't both of you leave the room? Pavel and I will get this sorted."

A pair of footsteps rushed towards the door as Artyom turned around with his weapon at the ready. Pavel stood in the doorway. "Shit, sorry. I came as soon as I heard the gunshots."

He let out a deep breath as he helped the royal out of the room as Pavel slipped past her, noticing her shaken state. "Comrade, what is up with her?"

"That." Artyom pointed towards the impaled bandit, "It was her first kill."

The communist paused for a moment and realized the seriousness of the situation. "Damn, I hoped she is alright."

"Olaf is comforting her, but let's take care of this mess and make it nice enough to sleep in."