Recovery was a bitch. It was unlike Colonel Miller to be idle and wait until he was better. He was a soldier and it was expected of him to be in the field alongside his men. Yet, he was forced to come to terms with the reality by the doctors and medics of Exhibition. The colonel accepted their professional advice with resignation in his mood and was forced to work with the current situation from his resting place.
The cause for his wounds began when he and Artyom were confronted by a flock of demons. Few have encountered a demon on the Moscow surface, but fewer manage to survive when in close quarters with such beasts. The only reason he was alive was the young man who accompanied him to see his home station safe. There are few who were just as brave as he was despite such dangers in his quest. It was a pity that he went missing-in-action after he disappeared at the top of Ostankino with only a target designator as his last trace of existence.
The colonel raised his head from his thoughts and looked around at the happenings within Exhibition Station. He had heard rumors about what happened at this station, but like all rumors, he maintained a healthy level of skepticism in the claims about the undead or humans turned inside out. That attitude changed when he arrived at this very station. An aroma of fear had swept through the station with many of its citizens coping with the reality that they could possibly be next. These people had every right to be afraid and the patients in their cots proved that. They were survivors who fought in the battles against the Dark Ones and some simply died when the crying and the whimperings stopped.
The door to the patient's room had swung open as the commander of the Spartan Order recognized a patch with a stylized letter printed on the shoulder of his go-to man. Colonel Miller sat upright when he approached him. "Uhlman, do you have something to report?"
His man had begun to take off his helmet and loosen the straps of his gas mask that hid his face. "Yes. The men and I have been doing our daily patrols to see if the Dark Ones are still out there, but there is barely any activity beyond the few nosalises that show up." When he finished talking, he began to brush his goatee after being under his gas mask for how long.
"No sign of the Dark Ones? That's strange. It's been months since this station last saw them, but I doubt they would immediately leave all of a sudden. They could have broken the morale of these soldiers right here and have the rest of the station would have followed." There was something about the nature of the Dark Ones that did not sit well with him. They were too… unnatural of this world. "Ladna, their inactivity does give this station some respite and so we have enough time to build some defenses in the meantime."
"Also, I got word from Polis," Uhlman added on, "The Dark One body we found at Ostankino is being processed."
Miller nodded his head in approval. "Good, perhaps we could discover some weaknesses about the bastards?" There was a somber change in his tone. "Artyom deserves this at the very least."
The weather seemed to hate Alex as he trekked through the wilderness. The forest he was supposed to be at was close to the North Mountains and the blizzard was not letting up for him. His boots crushed through the snow as his hands kept his crossbow close to his chest. He had to continue on this journey to dispatch the creatures as the weather might force the wolves to go hunting and Kai was willing to pay him extra for dealing with him… if he could survive. Thankfully, his options would get better once he reached the only trading post on the outskirts of the kingdom.
When he arrived at the trading post, he could see that its porch was beginning to get covered in snow. He had hoped the owner would recognize him as he holstered his crossbow over his back and reached for the door. The transition between the unrelenting cold and the welcoming warmth was as different as with night and day, but he expected that from this place. The last time he was here was when the owner gave out some business advice that was probably the best thing for Alex to listen to.
He looked to his left to see a huge mass of a man with a smile on his face. "Yoo-hoo, nice to see a familiar face."
The former hunter approached the counter and looked around. "It's good to see you too, Mister Oaken."
"Your speech improved since my family taught you," The shop owner said with surprise. "So, what brings you back to my shop?"
"A boy lost his pig, but I would be lying if that is what I'm here for," Alex answered. "I have been told that there were some wolves nearby and I hoped you encountered them at some point."
Oaken's expression changed the moment the topic came up. "They're definitely out there. You probably did not see it because of the snow, but they left scratches outside." Then he began looking down at his counter. "I might be wrong. They might not be wolves in the first place."
"What makes you say that?" He wondered.
"Wolves are not really known to bother people. Even in times of winter, they know better than to harass us." The shopkeeper explained.
That detail alone was worth noting. "So this means that these aren't wolves in the first place?"
"Possibly." Then he reached under his counter and placed a large bag of bolts on the counter. "Since you're going out hunting, here's something for you to use."
"Am I going to pay for it?"
He shook his head. "No, I'm nowhere close to that. This one is free."
Alex smiled. "Thank you, but you don't have to do this."
The huge man pushed the bag across the counter. "Have it, you need it more than me."
There was a strange feeling in his mind that told him to refuse the offer as if it was unnatural for him to accept. He did not know why, but he hoped there would be a way to satisfy this feeling within. "If that is the case, I'll have to buy something from you." Then he looked around at Oaken's store to see anything of value within. There was not much beyond simple equipment and tools, but there were two surprisingly beautiful shoes on display. "Those shoes, they look nice."
"Ah, those just came in. A trader from the east came by and I bought it off of him. He said those were the latest products from his country." He explained. "Why do you ask? You're not the type who wears women's fashion."
The young man could not help, but feel embarrassed at replying. "You see, there are these two girls where I work. Both of them do not get out much, but fetching them a gift would be nice."
A wide smile came from the older man. "That makes a whole lot of sense. I'll make sure you get a discount, but buy it after you deal with the would-be wolves, ja?"
Alex nodded his head and grabbed the bag of bolts. "I'll be back. Give me a day or two."
When it was time to leave, Alex walked out of the trading post and find himself back on the porch. Oaken's mention of the scratches on the porch was enough for him to stay a bit longer as he brushed the snow off potential areas. His investigation did not go unrewarded when he discovered the traces of their last whereabouts.
Hours were spent in looking for his prey, but darkness fell and there was little he could do about it. A small campfire was made in the midst of the forest as he huddled next to a tree with his crossbow in his arms. The cold was unforgiving… that was odd. It almost felt like he could recall his home and his past life, but why couldn't he remember? For some strange reason, he was a fingertip away from reaching out to his personality back then. What was repressing the very person he could have been?
Alex checked his crossbow, making sure the tension in his weapon would remain strong. After all, it was the only weapon he could reliably use. He did have a sword with him, but he was unsure of using it as a weapon. There was something alien about it that just did not fit with his style if he had one in the first place despite every single guard being armed with such a blade. Maybe it was just preference? Nevertheless, he kept his concerns to himself as time passed on.
The warmth of the flames embraced him as he comfortably let his guard down. The wolves would not dare catch him that close to the fires. As he closed his eyes, Alex took the opportunity to rest before he would set off.
A moment later, he sensed the heat intensify as his nose caught the scent of ashes in the wind. The young man opened his eyes as the world around him was changed. Instead of the freezing open forest, he found himself enclosed in a place that was too alien, but recognizable. Alex wanted to call it a tunnel thanks to the fire and darkness that surrounded him, it was too unnatural to be called that.
He was too shocked at this transition from his reality to his dream to do anything. His ears heard the screams of women and children while he walked around. There were loud volumes of bangings that echoed through this place as Alex walked around to explore what had caused this destruction. Then his boots felt like they were entrenched in something.
A horrible scene had laid before him with piles of humans and unnatural creatures lying atop of each other in the pools of their own blood. Part of him wanted to puke at the sheer amount of dead, but his body and mind felt like they were used to this - that scenes like these were normal to him. He was accustomed to this and it terrified him that he wanted to scream, but could not.
Alex felt a cold chill over his spine as a voice echoed into his soul. "You cannot be allowed."
Who was talking to him? He turned around to see a humanoid figure standing in the shadows with nothing more than the dimly lit hallway to reveal what it looked like. The limbs were too long for the usual person and its obsidian appearance horrified him. "What the hell are you?"
It took a menacing step while the eyes focused solely on him. "Punishment for your sins."
He looked towards a nearest exist in this artificial tunnel as he fled for his life. This was going to be a maze, but perhaps this was better than being next to that thing. Alex's legs sprinted to the best of his ability as he saw a light on the far side of the tunnel he was in. "I need to make sense of all of this."
A recognizable voice on his right flank had caught him off-guard. "You do not have to look too far."
There was a person hiding in the shadow as Alex stumbled forward and landed what had appeared like tracks. He looked up to see a stranger wearing a mask over his face. "Who are you?"
"I'm you." Came his reply. What did he mean that he was him? "We can take that conversation at another time when you're not freezing your ass off. Now wake up."
The moment the stranger said those words, Alex returned to reality the moment he opened his eyes. Adrenaline shot through his body as he readied his crossbow in alert to what had transpired, but he was back where he was before he rested. His mind became confused at this occurrence and questioned his sanity.
A sound of wood being snapped from his left had demanded his attention as he turned with his crossbow in hand. Someone was approaching him, but before he could fire the bolt, a red-haired maiden froze upon being threatened. "Princess Anna, what are you doing all the way out here?"
When he lowered his weapon, she relaxed and reluctantly smiled. "I saw you going into the woods to look for Anders' pig. So I followed you."
He raised an eyebrow. "How did you get out of the castle? The last time I checked, there were guards posted at the gates."
"I have my secrets," She answered, "but you seem troubled."
"A bit. I just had a bad dream and just woke up." That was an understatement.
"So you're going around hunting wolves. Do you mind if I help you out?"
Alex shook his head at the thought. "I do not mean any disrespect, your highness, but do you have any clue how to properly hunt or have anything useful that can help."
Princess Anna let out an uneasy smile. "Now that you mentioned that… I am probably more trouble than I am worth right now."
"Perhaps, but maybe you can keep me company or act as my second watch." He noticed her eyes pique up at the mention of the role.
"Really, you will let me come along?"
He looked past her. "Honestly, if you went back to the castle right now I have a feeling the wolves would have stumbled upon you. Let me escort you back to the castle once this matter is dealt with."
She was elated at his acceptance. "Thank you, I'll do everything I can not to disappoint." Anna reached for something on her back as she pulled out a small pig in her arms. "I also found this on my way to find you."
Alex raised his eyebrows. "That is the boy's pig."
"Yep!"
"Okay. You've proven that your less trouble than you are worth."
"Come on, I just got here."
The warm atmosphere changed when a bestial cry echoed in the distance. It was not a howl of wolves, but something different. "We're not alone."
"Are those wolves?" Anna asked.
"I don't know," He answered as he rose to his feet and started looking at the tree where he resided. "Get on my shoulders and climb on these branches."
The princess did what he told her, climbing onto his back as she reached up into the tree. Alex did not complain as he helped her get to safety. Yet, he seemed vulnerable doing this and wondered if Anna was strong enough to get him up there as well. By the time she found security, she expressed a horrified look on her face. "Alex, behind you!"
He looked over his shoulder to see a creature clad in grey-blue colors running towards him. His hand instinctively reached for his crossbow as he fired a bolt in its direction. When the projectile had landed, it's head recoiled at the pain before he reloaded the weapon and fired again. This time, it struck it in the head as it died in the snow. Taking a closer look, the young man discovered the truth that it was no wolf. More appeared in the forest as he recognized their hides eagerly brush past the trees. "Take my crossbow, use it from there!"
Princess Anna found herself surprised as the pig was crawling all over her for some solace of safety. Then he handed her the large bag of bolts before she let it hang on the branches, causing the animal to find shelter inside. "I don't know how to use it."
"Just pull the string and fire the bolt, it's not hard." After he said those words, Alex drew the sword hanging from his belt to be confronted by a pack of seven beasts. He took a quick glance at the fire to see a piece of wood sticking out. An idea occurred in his head as he grabbed the burning stick and watched as he and the princess were surrounded.
They were patient in their opportunities as they remained cautious of the man wielding both blade and torch. A big creature had begun to approach him and sized up to force him into an easy kill, but Alex would have none of that. Then a flying bolt had forced the monsters into action as their pack was cut down by one.
The young man kept his torch out to keep them back through the fire alone while he swung his sword to strike back. Strangely, his mind began to recognize them. What were they? Watchmen, right? Out of all the moments his mind had to act oddly, it had to be in the middle of a battle between life or death. A watchman leaped into the air as he brought an overhead swing into its neck. Another had fallen in this fight and he hoped to whittle down their number enough to scare them away.
Anna's proficiency with the crossbow seemed to be improving the more time she had with the weapon. The watchman pack had been brought down to four as their pack leader appeared to be more angry at the losses. As she fired another bolt, Alex braced for the impact.
He found himself in the snow with the beast trying to close in for the kill; however, he resisted with his sword arm still able to swing. His left arm found itself in its mouth as its mouth attempted to chew it off, but lucky pulls away from danger were enough to spare him the pain. The sword hacked away at its side while Anna called out for him. "Alex, don't die! Please hang in there!"
His mind was beginning to change between reality and memory. There was something about this moment that was triggering a piece of his prior life back to the surface. Yet, the difference was that he thought he was wielding a knife instead of a sword as he punched away at the watchman pack leader in the face. Whether it was out of desperation or fear for his life, Alex viciously hacked away at its side.
The moment his sword was embedded into its chest, he was able to get its body off of him allow him to rise from the ground and swing at the fallen. Suddenly, Anna managed to stop him from this madness. "They're dead! You can stop now."
"W-What?" He stuttered as he shook his head and hopped this bizarre moment could end.
"The monsters, we killed them all." Then the princess grabbed the bag of bolts and slipped down beside him. "Are you well? You do not seem too good."
"I'm fine. I just need some rest."
"Are you sure?" She wondered.
"Yes," He glanced at the corpses, "Kai will want to see this."
This confused the princess at this moment. "The bodies? Why?"
"They're not wolves," Alex said, "Maybe he could find someone to identify them? Something about them says they're not from around here."
"I suppose its time to head back to the castle, but let's pass by to Anders' house before crossing that bridge."
Eyes turned towards the pig hiding in the bag of bolts. "Yeah, let's do that."
Alex returned back to the castle as Kai scolded the princess in getting herself into trouble. He could not blame her in the search for the thrills that can satisfy her boredom. The young man would not envy her as he received a small token of a reward for himself and the trouble he went through to bring a corpse back for study. Someone far more knowledgeable than he would look into the matter.
When midnight was at its peak, he walked to a certain part of the castle for a simple talk. He stood in front of the door and waited. There was a bit of hesitation on his part since he did not want to disturb her; however, he knew it was better to give her this gift rather than wait around for it to hide in his room. His hand clenched into a fist as he knocked on the door three times before he paused and relaxed at this moment.
Minutes started to feel like hours as he anticipated for the moment he would get Princess Elsa's attention. Then the door swung open as he found the beautiful young woman standing before him. "Alex, what are you doing at this hour? Shouldn't you be asleep?"
"I should, but I thought it would be nice to know that Anna is… unharmed."
She brushed her hair behind her ears. "I heard what happened. My sister was with you on your little hunting trip."
"She shouldn't be there in the first place if you ask me," He replied as he brought up a box for her, "I got you something on my way back."
Elsa reached out and lifted the lid. "You didn't have to buy me this. I'm royalty, it doesn't take much for me to get me something."
He handed the box over to her. "I got these shoes for you and your sister so I hope you like them."
"Like them? I love them."
This brought a smile on his face. "You honor me with those words." Now it was time to speak of a different matter. "Since I am here, do you have a name for your horse the next time you show up at the stables?"
She looked to him as she closed the box. "How about Friday night?"
"Okay, I'll wait for you till then."
When the princess retreated back to her room, Alex turned away and walked through the hallway where her sibling was hiding. The moment he turned the corner, Anna was looking around the corner before she spoke. "Did my sister say when?"
He smiled. "Friday night."
A moment later, he found himself hugging a princess.
Author's Note: So there was a mix of schooling and procrastination during the development of this chapter. Now that I'm done with this, I hope this is an improvement over my previous take on the crossover. That being said, what do you guys think of this story? Is this rewrite weaker or stronger?