Tsar Mikhail walked to the front of his ship with the wind blowing past him and a mist that clouded the shore. It meant that the sails were being pushed and the rest of the Baltic fleet would arrive on time with reinforcements. There required some convincing from his generals and politicians but they granted him enough regiments to reinforce the Kingdom of Arendelle, presuming that the Southern Isles had not taken it over or the fighting was ongoing. He was so eager to return with an army as his grandson was waiting for him. After all, they have been through, it must have been hard on Artyom to endure a life without his parents but the old man would be at ease, knowing that his lost family had returned to the fold.

Birds flew high in the sky as a sailor in the crow's nest shouted to the busy crews below. "Land ahead."

Soon the mist began to slowly clear as the old emperor saw the fjord still guarded by the ships he left behind. Along the surrounding mountains, gun batteries imposed their will on the surrounding waters and he was glad that the artillery brought along had proved fruitful. Yet, the scenery had changed since his departure from these lands as he noticed the great destruction within the town and the nearby castle, all covered in snow. The capital had received the full brunt of bombardment but any signs of serious fighting in the streets left much to mystery. He would have to ask questions once he got on land. Bells rang out from the church and castle, notifying the Arendellians of the army that had come to bring security to its kingdom.

The captain and his sailors busied themselves to slow the ship down as they brought the vessel into the docks and lowered its anchor. As soon as the ramp was placed down, he was the first to leave while the local fishermen stopped working and bowed in his presence. Then the royal smiled and nodded his head at their humility before making his way towards the open square. The ground had been damaged by cannonballs while the defensive earthworks remained but the war machines that once occupied these spaces were nowhere to be seen. Mikhail was doubtful that they had been destroyed but life enjoyed the schadenfreude of pulling surprises. He made his way to the castle but the commonfolk began to form a group around him and his bodyguards, expressing their gratitude at returning with reinforcements. Every one of these people deserved to hear that. "If you could excuse me, I must speak with the royals of Arendelle." A path was opened for him with a clear way for the monarch to leave through the crowd.

Soon he crossed the bridge and the gates opened upon his presence. Prince Vaska Dolokhov was standing tall and waiting for him. The nobleman let out a brief smile before bowing. "Your majesty, it's good that you have arrived. Much has happened since you left."

"What happened?" The tsar wondered as he entered the castle courtyard and was made to witness hundreds of wounded soldiers from both sides, being cared for by Arendellian servants. "Was the fighting that serious?"

"The otherworlders say that Prince Hans has allied himself with armies of bandits and slavers who brought a weapon called poison gas. These men are somewhat fortunate but we have suffered significant casualties when they deployed them."

He truly couldn't imagine what had happened on that battlefield as he turned to his trusted servant. "What about my grandson? Did he survive?"

"Alive but barely," Vaska seemed saddened by the subject before stealing a glance at the door, "They say that his highness is in critical care, and if it wasn't for his vest, he would be among the dead."

"Where is he?" The love of an old grandfather took over as he desired to see the current state of Marya's son.

"Resting in one of the bedrooms. The queen, her family, and Sukhoi are currently taking care of him as we speak."

"Lead me to them?'

He nodded his head. "Yes, your majesty."

The prince walked towards the castle's main entrance as the tsar of Russia followed after him. Even the interior was no better with signs of damage from cannon fire and the impact of the shots ruining the flooring. Yet, it was of little concern to the servants as they gathered food and drink for the wounded outside. They continued deeper as they encountered the otherworldly Russians present. He wondered how the royals of Arendelle could tolerate having their home turned into a headquarters, but he would never know. Then they made their way to the second floor where the commotion of guards and servants was less active than on the previous floor. It was much quieter than before. Soon Vaska approached a room before he stopped and turned his head. "Is he in there?"

"Artyom is sleeping inside." The emperor's most trusted man had knocked on the door three times. A few minutes of anticipation passed before it was opened from the other side and the sight of Queen Elsa standing at the doorway in an orange dress.

"Prince Dolokhov, what brings you here?"

Mikhail stepped closer. "I'm here to see my grandson. How is he?"

"The doctors gave him some medicine to heal his wounds but he needs some sleep. I've been taking care of him ever since we drove Prince Hans out of Northuldra." She gestured for them to come inside as the two older men entered the bedroom. The very young man who was left behind was sleeping soundly as the Queen of Arendelle adjusted his blanket to be more comfortable. Soon the grandfather came to his side and felt the urge to hold his hand. It was a small moment of reprieve as he was unsure whether Artyom would survive his wounds. Then he turned his gaze towards the young woman taking a seat on the other side of the bed with a tray of soup on a desk. The tsar thought about the previous conversation he had with him while admiring the ruler.

"So you are the lovely queen that has been the talk of Europe and the one who smitten his heart?"

"Yes," Her cheeks were briefly red as roses before they disappeared upon stealing a glance from the Russian heir, "He has saved my life in ways few people would understand, and for that alone, I love him."

Those words were enough to give further insight into his grandson's character. If he wanted to give Artyom a wife, she certainly earned his approval. The long wait to bring the last trace of his family home. With the war going on, Mikhail would see if he could do everything in his power to let the young lovers live on without being molested by that merchant upstart. He placed those thoughts at the back of his mind to save them for the future to avoid spoiling the mood.

Men of great importance were gathered in the royal study. Although the royals of Arendelle deserved to be present, these affairs were quite technical and they would summarize the details to their allies. Couches and chairs were sat upon as some of the castle servants arrived to bring tea and chocolates - compliments of Princess Anna. Colonel Mel'nikov leaned forward in his seat on the sofa just to take a sip of his cup before placing it down on the table and addressing the situation. "Prince Hans has left with his fleet. We are still dealing with leftovers of his army but they're more likely to surrender now that they're trapped between us and the spirits of Northuldra. Now we shouldn't be too hasty to conclusions as I doubt this would be the last of our enemy in the Southern Isles."

General Vinogradov was one of the few men standing in the room while wearing his winter greatcoat. He was across the table and expressed his serious concerns. "How bad were the losses? I heard they used poison gas on our men."

"Our guys were okay. It's the imperials who suffered the most." The lack of gas masks for their allies had painted a horrific picture only seen since on the battlefields of the First World War. A somber memory baked in the colonel as he tried to move on from that image.

The old Captain Baranov of the submarine had a black bottle with him as he sat back in his chair on his left. He seemed relieved that the fighting was over for the time being. "My vessel needs to replenish its ammo stocks if we're going to have a second round and that means we need to head back to Vladivostok. Problem is that we need one of those strange storms to occur and it's not exactly easy to account for that."

"As far as I'm concerned, what are we to do in the future?" Mel'nikov turned his head to the right past his OSKOM counterpart sitting on the same sofa as him. Tom was leaning against the bookshelf, "Go on the offensive?"

"With what? My submarine can probably transport a small group of soldiers out there but an army is out of the question."

"We can't sit back and wait out for another offensive. I am sure the Arendellians can't take this kind of pressure as we can."

Mel'nikov thought about the possibilities. With reinforcements arriving from St. Petersburg, they had the strategic reserves to bring the war away from Arendelle and bring it to a close. The question was how to get thousands of these troops over to the Southern Isles. Now it was probable that everyone could use the arriving fleet to transport their men over; however, none of the tanks and helicopters would be able to join them. Yet, by doing so, they were bound to be spotted and give the prince ample time to make some form of preparations for their arrival. If only they could find a way to also bring them along. It was now that he remembered a while ago about one of his latest finds within the underground bunker complex, which worked in conjunction with the teleporter system.

Someone noticed his thinking as Colonel Klebnikov voiced his observations. "Comrades, I think our Spartan Commander may be up to something."

He looked up to see the officer eating chocolate. "It is a hell of a gamble but it could possibly work."

"What do you have in mind?"

He turned to the OSKOM general. "Comrade Vinogradov, do you remember sending a message to me through one of your soldiers about finding something called teleporter stakes?"

"What the Hell is he talking about?" Tom wondered as he pushed himself off the bookshelf and stood straight.

"A while ago our search teams were discovering what our bunker complex had in store for us but OSKOM managed to find some equipment that connects with our teleporter. This means that if we can deploy it over there, our combined forces can get to the Southern Isles at the drop of a bucket and he won't be able to prepare for us." He relaxed within his seat and its soft cushions.

Everyone stole glances from each other as they took in this information. Captain Baranov smiled and chuckled. "All it takes is a small team to infiltrate over there and activate it. The plan sounds foolproof but I think we should try to see if they even work before we go ahead with it. Don't want to have a massive army waiting while the scouts are trying to figure it out."

"We could also use this time to rest and recover. The tanks and helicopters need their maintenance and get our comrades to acclimatize to the cold. Let's not forget that we're walking into enemy territory so we need maps and intel on that place before we give our officers the green light. The holidays are coming and it would be nice to give the lads a bit of a morale booster until we get there." Klebnikov commented as he picked out another chocolate.

Princess Anna felt tired after helping the servants care for the wounded, friend and foe alike. Her dress was worn but she appreciated how it was a display of her hard work to the public. She entered the kitchen and raided it for its chocolates, the sugar being enough to spike her energy levels before departing from the cooks with a smile. She made her way toward the living room while observing the changes in her surroundings. Parts of her home had been attacked; however, it was surprisingly resilient given the amount of artillery fire that was thrown at the castle. Then she entered the room with relief on her shoulders upon seeing Pavel and Olaf playing chess on the table at the center of the room with the fireplace full of logs above the flickering flames. "I'm back."

"How was work?" Pavel wondered as he moved his pawn forward, "You sound like you've been through the wringer."

"Lots of standing and my legs were about to collapse." She stated before walking to the couch where he was sitting and jumping into the unoccupied spots. "So who is winning?"

"I am," Olaf answered with a joyful mood as he moved his piece. "This is surprisingly a hard game."

Anna saw a smile on the Russian officer. "It's great for training the mind; especially, in my line of work. Unfortunately, you had to be lucky to be using actual chess pieces from fifteen different sets."

"What did you use for stand-ins?"

"You see, I would tell you but then you'd smack me on the back of my head for being so filthy-minded."

Her eyes widened with a slight laugh of disbelief. There was an implication of a strange scandalous thought that she didn't want to uncover. "That would certainly be the last thing on my mind."

The snowman joined the conversation. "You could always take a bath."

"That's a low blow coming from you." Replied Pavel as he made his move, "Also, checkmate."

He was exacerbated by the surprise but a smile fell on his face as he made his move. "Nope, it's a check. Also, checkmate."

Anna stole a glance at the chess game to see her friend facepalm at his defeat. He eagerly reached his hand out and Olaf extended his twig of an arm to shake on the end of a game. "It's the second time you lost to him."

"It's nothing really," Pavel dismissed the loss before helping her sit upright and allowing her to rest on his shoulder, "How's Artyom and Elsa? Were you able to check on them?"

"Not yet. She's taking care of him but I'm not sure how he'll recover from his wounds. One of the doctors said that he should have died. How true is that?"

He leaned his head back as he looked at the ceiling. "His Kevlar was the only thing standing between life and death. Even then, he took an entire magazine, which is a lot harder than it sounds. My comrade is probably in great pain right now."

"I hope he lives," Anna remarked as she wrapped her hands around his arms and thought about the relationship between him and the queen. "He is one of the few people outside of my family who make her happy."

"There is another, Prince Hans."

It was a disturbing thought that someone so close to her had betrayed their trust. To think that he would throw it all away just for the power of being a king. Arendelle wasn't even a minor power in Scandanavia. The worse part was what came next after this attempt at an invasion. "It's hard for me to think how all of these fights will end."

"It will end," Pavel answered somberly as he brought her closer to his side, "Men like him are relentless when they hunger for power. He will haunt us till we are dead and the only currency they understand is blood - a currency we are too familiar with."

It began to snow in the castle garden while the servants cried out about trying to move the wounded inside and reached out from beyond the perimeter. A long time had passed since Sukhoi had experienced snow without a gas mask on but even longer since he stood in this garden. He remembered hiding out and listening to the cute conversations between Princess Marya and Hunter ever since they were introduced to the tsar's court. Trust but verify as they say but he had to be sure the relationship was genuine.

The doors behind him had swung open as the old soldier from the Guards Rifles turned around to find the former King Agnarr leave the castle with merely his formal royal uniform. Footprints were left in the snow as he stepped closer. "Daydreaming?"

"You could say," Sukhoi expressed a small smile as he looked to the snowing sky, "I am just reminiscing about the old days when we were younger and alive."

Agnarr chuckled as if the duo was even acting like young men in their primes. "It's a surprise that you have never married. Part of me was certain it would happen."

"I always thought the same. Then Artyom came into my life." He remembered those days after the death of Marya and his adoption of the boy. Every time he tried to make his position work, there was always that thought of finding a woman who would settle down and help him raise this prince in secret. Yet, when his workload was finally loosened, he was too old to marry. There were certainly some Valentine's flings; however, they never developed into anything meaningful. His duty to Exhibition station took over every aspect of his life.

"The things we do for our children. You seem to handle Artyom's wound quite well."

He spoke with Colonel Mel'nikov about some of the dire stories his boy had gone through. They were brief and the tribulations merely showed his uncanny ability to endure. It was as if death was averse to taking his soul. Then came the talk about the Dark Ones when they posed a threat to Exhibition. It was perhaps the only time that the Spartan Commander didn't boast about their encounters with them. "It's not the first time he has leaped into danger. There was a time when I would do everything to discourage him from being so eager to emulate his father for the risks that entailed. Like father, like son. Yet, if it wasn't for that quality of his, he wouldn't have met Elsa."

The Arendellian stood beside him as he too looked up at the snowy sky. "Safe to say that you were probably a better father than I. She took my advice to heart and from what the servants have told me, my daughter would have locked herself away from the world to protect her sister and everyone else. Then your Artyom came along and guided her away from her fears."

"You are too hard on yourself," Sukhoi assured his friend as he patted him on the back, "We all make mistakes as we too are not flawless above our children."

"Winter is coming. So how do you celebrate your winters?"

Now that was a thought he didn't think of for a long time. It was a tradition in his unit and he had managed to sprinkle it onto the inhabitants of Exhibition to make it stick. "It's best if we saved it until Christmas."

Khan passed through the town outside of the castle. The Battle of Arendelle may have been over but its people were reeling from the aftereffects of war. Still, it was a brief encounter and not a life like most who lived in the Moscow Metro. He had no reason to be here among the locals when he should be on his lonesome with his isolated thoughts. Then news of Artyom being wounded had spurred him to make his way towards the castle. The young man would need his help to get through the recovery process despite all of the efforts of the medical professionals.

He crossed the bridge and approached the gate on the other side. Two Arendellian soldiers were on guard duty but they stole a glance from each other and one of them addressed him. "State your purpose."

"I am a friend of Artyom's," The old Mongolian replied as he attempted to enter past them; however, one of them lowered their spear and blocked him from entering, "What do I need to get in?"

"Not anyone can just enter the castle. You must have a reason for being here."

"Is Colonel Mel'nikov inside? He knows me." He answered albeit irritated by the guards stalling him.

"He's in a meeting. The commander is not going to waste a breath on you."

Khan gave a hard stare to both men. "If Artyom learns that you've turned me away, furious would be a complete understatement."

"You're just an old man," One of them replied, "I'm sure he has better things to worry about."

A Polis Ranger approached the gates from the inside as he put his hands over his mouth for a warm release. Uhlman seemed pleased with himself for interrupting the entrance guards. "Let him in, he's one of us."

They turned around and were exacerbated by the soldier. The guard to the left seemed to disagree. "He's just an old man."

"Looks can be deceiving. A strange man but he and Artyom are well-acquainted with each other."

The guards raised their polearms as Khan entered the main entrance. "I appreciate your timing."

"Not a problem," He answered as he escorted him inside the castle, "We last met at the church. I still don't know how you've managed to track him down but that's not for me to question that. So what do you intend to do here?"

"You are a good friend of Artyom but this is a secret I can't reveal. What I can tell you is that it will help him recover."

Uhlman shrugged his shoulders. "Fine by me. Though, I'd wait until he's alone. The tsar and the queen are spending a bit of time with him."