The business was booming as Kristoff arrived at the base camp in Arendelle with a sled full of fresh ice. His arrival did not go unnoticed as the otherworldly Russians welcomed him and began to unpack his inventory for what went on in their underground fortress. As he walked out the seat of his sled, he brushed Sven's back after their journey up the mountains. "Hey buddy, you doing alright?"
The reindeer turned his head towards him and managed to let out a tired smile.
He looked around to see what went on with Arendellian and Russian soldiers going deep into the caves. Then he noticed one of the castle attendants walk up to him with a pouch in hand. "Young man, thank you for this ice. You have no idea how much of a blessing this is."
Kristoff straightened his composure as he continued to pet his childhood friend. "I'm glad to have helped out."
"Here, I think you earned this for helping her majesty on this expedition," The attendant handed him the pouch and the ice harvester could feel the weight of gold coins press against his fingers, "Keep going, we'll have more for you."
He thought of a nice comment for his friend. "Sven, I think you'll get yourself a nice bag of carrots for by the time we're done with this."
The young man looked to his left, just to find large stacks of crates and boxes being brought into the cave's entrance, one-by-one. Even though he was contributing to the effort with Artyom and the queen in search of the princess, he still felt out of place among these people. Then he considered making his way towards Oaken's trading post and fetching those carrots.
While he waited for the Russians to finish carrying the ice from the wagon, Kristoff decided to explore around. It was surprising to find that these crates were mostly from the castle as he walked over to open one of the tops, only to find jars of food inside. Part of him wanted to steal it for himself; however, he had no intention of getting himself in trouble with the people who needed this.
His ears perked up from the sound ahead of him, hearing a whisper in an aisle in front of him. Then he focused his attention on the words being said. "I understand that you're having trouble, but I need to time this right. The moment you help me deal with the royals, I can perform my end of the agreement. Do I make myself clear? You will be rewarded for helping me."
There was a small pause in-between before the conversation continued.
"Yes, no need to threaten me if I don't live up to it. Besides, I'm coming over to make sure it looks clean."
A moment later, it sounded like it was a crate being covered up, just like Kristoff was doing. Rather than get associated with the trouble, he quickly rushed back towards his sled as if he didn't hear the conversation. By the time he returned to Sven, the last of the ice was being carried away as a Russian gave him the all-clear to move out.
He nodded his head before climbing back into his seat and grabbing the reins. Before he could leave, his eyes took a quick glimpse of the crates where the quiet conversation was taking place. A lone man walked out from the aisle in an elaborate set of clothes, ignoring him as he went his way. Suddenly, he heard the conversation from one of the Arendellian attendants. "Prince Hans, thank you for the supplies. We'll get them over as soon as possible."
The combined Moscow and Novosibirsk forces had prepared their assault on the abandoned port with the crane. Companies of troops masked their approach through cover and concealment in complete darkness with night vision goggles over their eyes. Their approach on the bandit positions remained unnoticed as they moved in-between ruins and wrecked vehicles. Colonel Mel'nikov participated among the vanguard as he directed the few Ranger squads attached with the various factions of the Metro alongside the OSKOM troops. He knelt behind a broken-down car as their forces slowly approached the fence perimeter that separated them from the bandits.
His eyes scanned the enemy defenses, only to find a few sentry stations planted around campfires. Although there seemed to be some who were attentive in their duties, the old officer looked further in the back and saw the rest of their number in the back playing card games and drinking. Even when they were nearby, the lack of discipline still got the better of these bastards. The colonel looked to his right to see two snipers from the Red Line positioned atop of a shipping container with their bipods planted. They turned their heads towards him and gave him a thumbs up.
The officer pressed forward with a squad of six followed after him. Their only sound was the shuffling of equipment on their person. When he arrived at the fence perimeter, he took a glance over his shoulder to see a four-man heavy machine gun team lug around an unmounted Dushka in a trolley. One of the men ran up to him and whispered, "Where do you want us?"
Mel'nikov looked back to see that the largest concentration of troops was positioned underneath the port's crane at the end. Upon closer inspection, though, he noticed that there was only one exposed path between the crane and the defensive positions manned by the sentries. "Do you see that? I want you to hose down that area with as much fire as possible. They must not reach those defenses."
The team leader nodded his head before looking over to his men. "Set them here."
Once the heavy machine gun was adjusted into a tripod position, the gun crew loaded the weapon with fresh ammunition before they silently waited for the moment.
Soon the Spartan Commander grabbed his radio and spoke. "Assault teams, take their positions before they do. Then we'll push over to the crane and the port will be ours. Begin when the shooting starts."
His thumb switched the safety off his assault rifle before the old soldier looked around to see the anticipation amongst the men. The night vision goggles revealed infrared lasers painting their targets on the unaware enemy standing in the open. He wanted to fire immediately, but he waited for a moment by taking a glance at his watch. While the old man steadied his rifle and selected a bandit standing atop of a tower, his eyes focused on his wristwatch about to turn the needle into the next minute. Three… two… one…
When the watch flickered into the next number, he fired. The target he had set his eyes on was dropped like a ragdoll and the moment his body slumped into the sentry below him. For a moment, fear had overtaken the enemy who frantically searched for the origin of that shot, but they never got the chance.
Soldiers positioned at the fence perimeter and beyond had unleashed an enfilade of fire across the open ground as the sentries were taken aback by the firepower smashing their defenses. Those who were not killed or wounded had taken cover behind their barricades and those waiting in the rear were quick to reinforce their positions. Yet, the Dushka opened up and ripped through the first wave of men crossing the exposed bridge from the port crane towards its defenses. The rest saw the carnage and immediately stayed underneath their original positions.
The machine gun suppressed the ground while the perimeter entrance was broken open by a few men smashing the butts of their rifles at the locks. Soon, they began to make their way towards the outlying barricades, tossing grenades behind the positions. Some bandits were turned into pink meat while others found themselves fleeing across the open path, only to get shot in the back.
It was time to take the initiative. "Move, comrades!"
Fifty plus men charged in the open and began to join the initial assault force with earnest vigor. The only true risk came from above. Several shots rang out from the crane's railing, zipping past the air and finding its mark on an unfortunate soldier. In response, a terrifying shriek flew overhead as a rocket-propelled grenade smashed into the structure, letting shrapnel and metal parts sprinkle atop of the bandits below.
Queen Elsa and Princess Anna walked near the edge of one of the cliffs, only to see flashes in the distance and the flickers of gunfire from the battle. A loud explosion erupted as the royals watched helplessly from afar. It was all for their sake; however, Elsa felt a hint of regret that the bloodshed was to save her sister.
Anna began a conversation while they watched. "Did anything interesting happen while I was here? Everyone seems to have been busy trying to rescue me."
The young lady did have something worth telling her sister, the fate of their parents was too important to pass up. She turned her full attention, doing her best to ignore the battle, "Artyom told me something that you would like to hear."
"What is it?" The princess stared at her sister with concern on her face. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Our parents are still alive."
Her eyes widened at the revelation, surprised about her sister's words. "Elsa, are you sure about that?"
She nodded her head. "Artyom brought some kind of captain. Both of them apparently found this Arendellian ship, but the captain said he rescued the people who were grounded and brought them to his city."
The expression on her face changed as her eyes were filled with tears of joy. "That's wonderful. We should get back to Arendelle as soon as possible. If our parents are still alive, we can finally be whole together."
"Of course, but we'll have to go to this captain's city and find them in the first place."
Anna began to wipe the water from her eyes. "It wouldn't take them long to recognize us, you know."
The queen of Arendelle shared that very same sentiment with her sister; however, she thought about the last time she had been with her parents. They wanted her to control her powers and make sure they got out of control and now she did the complete opposite, using it openly thanks to Artyom's help. Part of her wanted to tell Anna how she felt, but maybe she needed to talk with him about it. Maybe he still had a few words of wisdom to rub onto her?
Footsteps shook the ground as the girls turned their heads to the lighthouse, only to see Olaf sitting atop of Marshmellow with joy. "Elsa, Anna, you should try this out! It's really fun!"
She smiled at her handiwork, Olaf was a culmination of what she and her sister could do, but Marshmellow was her power in its raw form. Elsa wondered about the possibilities in the future when she was out of this forsaken desert.
Anna brought her out of those thoughts, pointing out the obvious. "Not going to lie, a snow monster is not something I would expect from you."
"Then what would you expect from me, then?" The queen wondered, "It was done at the moment when we were ambushed on our way to you."
"Well, I kinda was hoping you'd make something nice like a sculpture of a horse."
"Easy for you to say. I still need practice whenever I can."
Mechanical machinery spurred to life as the girls turned their heads towards the lighthouse as they saw Artyom descend from the elevator and onto the sand. His boots left their marks on the ground as he slowly made his way towards them. "Giul is awake and no worse for wear."
Anna walked up to him, curious about the whereabouts of their other companion. "Where did Pavel go?"
His head gestured towards the entrance on the other side of the island. "He's keeping an eye on the traps. Making sure someone doesn't manage to get through."
"I'll go check on him. He could use the company." Soon, she made her way with Olaf and Marshmellow following after her.
The duo found themselves alone once again as Artyom walked to the royal's side and watched the battlefield from here. Elsa stole a quick glance, seeing the stalker's eyes trained on the battle ahead of him. "Are you okay?"
Her words seemed to have caught him out of his thoughts as he realized he was still there. "It's been a long time since I've seen a battle like that."
"You've been in a few?" She wondered, "Is there a chance we can avoid it?"
"Possibly," He replied with earnest honesty, "If we focus on not getting dragged down in fights like the one we had earlier, I think we can all return to Arendelle and your sister will be safe."
Then Elsa thought about the future afterward. What will happen when they finally leave? Will the Russians stay and keep fighting or leave and be plagued by another incident that got her sister kidnapped? It was strange to think about the comforts of being the crown princess and not worrying about the future of the kingdom right now.
"Elsa? Are you alright?"
She realized that he noticed her in deep thought as her cheeks warmed up to her embarrassment. "I'm fine, it's just that I don't know how things will ever get back to normal after this."
Artyom began to laugh as he tried to hide his smile. "I suppose that makes two of us. If there is one thing I can say is that we'll never be the same as the people we once were. So much change can do that for you."
The queen appreciated his feelings on the matter. His company and thoughts were always valued before she made a decision. Time passed as she grew bored of the waiting, but Elsa was in no mood to sleep. Rather, she wanted to appreciate the moment with her friend. "Do you want to dance?"
"D-Dance?" He was taken aback by the question as if it was a part of his life, "Why me?"
That was a good question as she looked to the skies to find the moon watching over them. "I don't know, it seems perfect. A beautiful moonlight across the land and nothing left to do except waiting for our departure."
He took off his helmet and laid it out on the sand beside him. "I'll try, but you'll find out how much I don't know."
Elsa reached out for his hand. "For once, I'll take the lead."
She did not mind her friend's surprise due to his background since she doubted he had that kind of time on his hands. The queen reminded herself of how Prince Hans taught her and slowly let her friend get accustomed to his role. It was funny to note how Artyom was this fearless warrior of the apocalypse but transitioned into this child-like timidness when asked to dance.
No matter, Elsa remained patient with his inexperience and continued to teach him on the go. Occasionally, his boots would step on her toes, only for him to apologize afterward. She did not mind it since there was genuine care for her behalf. The two were embraced into the motions that the slow-moving waltz accelerated with Artyom's smile at his own performance. As the dance continued, the two had begun to pull each other close and before the pace of their waltz slowed down in the sand. Her eyes looked up catching a strange spark in his soul before she smiled. "Do you see something?"
Like a thief caught in the act, he shook his head and paused the dance. "No, no, it's nothing."
"Artyom? Is there something that needs to be said," Elsa addressed as she expected his response, "Whatever it is, we can talk about it."
There was a slight smile on his face before he let her go. He walked over to his helmet and picked it off the ground, wiping the sand out. Then he walked over to a slab of flat concrete and sat down, "I don't know where to start. Half of me wants to tell you and the other half wants to flee to the nearest cave and hide."
Elsa walked over and sat beside him. Rarely did he reveal his vulnerable side, but that did not matter to her. What really concerned her was his feelings. "If you feel like it isn't right to talk about it, you don't have to. Patience is something I am quite familiar with. You'll come around with it when you do have the heart to say what needs to be said."
He immediately hugged her for a moment. "Normally, you would be the one doing the hugging, but your willingness to understand is something I need right now. Thank you."
The radio crackled as gunfire echoed nearby. "Artyom, we need to leave. We have an army of bandits tailing us and they're getting through the last traps."
The Russian pulled away and reached for it and spoke to Pavel's voice. "How many? Can we rush past them to our vehicles?"
"There's too many to count and they're pouring through! Giul says that we should bring the snow monster towards the east side of the island. There's a garage door we can use to leave."
His eyes shifted towards the Queen of Arendelle as she realized their conversation had to end. Elsa rose up from the slab of concrete and screamed out for the creation. "Marshmellow, where are you!"
The duo made their way towards the east side as the ground shook with purpose, Elsa looked back to find Marshmallow running after them with Olaf on his back. At the same time, the young man guided the queen down the uneven cliffside as they noticed a road leading into a metal door.
Elsa looked towards her massive creation and spoke her request. "Can you open it for us?"
Marshmallow nodded its head before the construct's hands smashed through the small gaps in the door and pried it open like a can of fish. "It's done."
Artyom quickly ran inside with his flashlight on, scanning the entrance of the garage before finding a single armored truck inside. He looked back at her and pointed at the seat. "I need you to drive the moment they get here. I'll give you a quick run-down. It should be easy."
The heat of the Caspian did take its toll on the Prince of the Southern Isles, but he could endure it since he had no intention of staying long. His compatriots on the other side would be preparing their assault on this place and they would back him up in his endeavors. The crown of Arendelle would be his.
Prince Hans walked out of the airfield where the Russians made their base camp as he looked off to the west, only to see a few strange creatures stare at him from afar. He wouldn't earn their ire, but he hoped they wouldn't be in the way of what was to come. Then he walked back inside the compound where the Russians busied themselves with their daily chores; however, he would walk around and wait.
A guard in the watchtower pointed his hand to the northwest. "We got company, Colonel Mel'nikov is returning!"
The royal stood clear of the entrance as two vehicles arrived. Then the ground shook as everyone in the compound had paused, only to see a giant snow monster standing over them. Everyone, including himself, was surprised by this creation of Elsa's power.
People stepped out of the vehicles as Colonel Mel'nikov turned his head towards the sentries in the watchtower. "Eyes up people! They'll be looking out for us. Now open the teleporter, I need to get the girls out of here!"
Hans perked up at the news, he had hoped the bandits would handle them, but they failed to keep their end of the agreement. Still, he would try to appeal to them. As the prince plotted on how to take the throne of Arendelle for himself, he smiled upon seeing Elsa. "You're majesty, I'm glad you're safe!"
The queen eagerly embraced him with a hug. "Likewise. We have to return to Arendelle before they catch up with us."
"Yes, it would be best," His plan had been ruin; however, he could still salvage it if he pretended to love the queen so much, "How's Anna?"
She nodded her head. "Fine. She only has a few scratches here and there."
A sudden screech had flown over their heads, leaving a smoke trail behind. An explosion splashed into the tower overlooking the whole perimeter as Artyom brushed out from the back of the vehicle. "Get to the teleporter!"
Prince Hans noticed that Princess Anna and Elsa's creations were following after her as the colonel guided them into the large warehouse where the machine resided. At the back of the group were Artyom and his companions as they heard gunfire and bombs outside. It continued to get closer in volume as the machine whined to life with a portal flashing open.
Colonel Mel'nikov walked through and quickly gestured his hand to him. "Come on, come on!"
When the royals were back in their world, the two snow creatures managed to get inside despite one's immense size. He immediately entered as he looked back at the portal to see Artyom about to accompany them; however, one of his companions screamed out. "Shit, I think they hit the power supply."
For a moment, the portal began to flicker a few seconds as Artyom turned his head. Then it closed, leaving them behind. It was indeed a surprise, but Hans mentally supposed that it would be easier to persuade Elsa without her dangerous friend beside her. Yet, he quickly hid his smile while the queen ran past him and looked around. "Artyom?!"
She had reached out where the portal was just to catch air. Then she fell to her knees in defeat as if he was supposed to come along with them. He walked over and knelt beside her with his hand on her shoulder.
Behind his back, Colonel Mel'nikov spoke up. "Reconnect the teleporter!"
Yet, one of the men managing its function was quick to reply. "We can't! We lost connection to the Caspian. Until they fix whatever problem they have on their end, we can't do anything!"