The lesson in swordplay was a tiring affair, but Artyom had to admit it was surprising to learn more about his stepfather that way. A simple interest in his blade was enough to spark some kind of connection that didn't involve Timiraevksaya. Perhaps he could approach him later on and try to learn how to make use of his sword to become more than a decoration by his belt.

He opened the door to his bedroom, but he froze at the figure standing at the center of the room. A curious pair of eyes were studying his humble abode before he paid any attention to its owner. "You have quite a collection, but I expected the son of a station commander to have finer living quarters."

Artyom's first words came into mind. "Khan, why are you here? In fact, how the hell did you get here? I always keep this locked when I'm away."

"There is a pressing matter I think you deserve to know," The old Mongolian answered, "I just thought it would be interesting to see how much has changed since your departure from this world."

Most people would be asking simpler questions; however, the stalker knew better than to ask a man acquainted with the mysterious anomalies of the Metro. "You're not here for a quick visit, are you? There is something else involved."

Khan nodded his head. "You are correct. There are machinations at work that need to be resolved quickly. The Metro remains to be in an uneasy situation."

The young man glanced at his surroundings to find the streets to be deserted, which was a blessing given the kind of forbidden knowledge this acquainted stranger brought with him. "Be quick."

"Your friends, the princesses of Arendelle, are in danger. The Order and OSKOM are not the only ones interested in them. There are others who will go to extremes to fulfill their objectives."

His eyes lit up with worry now that he learned of the danger that was upon them. "Elsa and Anna? What happened to them?"

"The Nazis ambushed their train," Came his answer, "They attacked the Polis Rangers escorting them."

"Survivors?"

The old man shook his head. "I am afraid not. The soldiers and the civilians didn't survive the encounter. From what I learned, they don't want witnesses."

Artyom thought about the colonel's orders to stay put, but the threat was too much to ignore. He brushed past the old man and began to reach for his weapons and equipment. "It will take too much time to get through the tunnels. We would have to go through the hermetic doors. Do you have a gas mask?"

"Yes. I would be a complete fool to go without it."

"I'm just asking," Artyom replied as he began to grab his armored vest and slipped it on.

The dresses that the princesses wore were now tattered and covered in filth. Their companion was forced to find alternative routes in order to escape their pursuers, but they were now tired and exhausted from the constant running. Elsa hoped she could receive a nice bath by the time she returned home. Unlike the vast tunnels they had to traverse, they now took refuge in small rooms that were no larger than bedrooms. The priority of utility over decoration was apparent with lifeless stone halls and equipment that was unlikely to be moved.

Pavel was ahead of the group with his weapon drawn as his flashlight scoured the darkness for something. Then he looked at a wall to find a large box ready to use. "There you are." He made his way over to the piece and began flicking switches until the lights were green.

The princess and her sister shielded their eyes from the bright lights that filled the room. "Why does it have to be so bright?"

"I wouldn't complain about the light." He replied before making his way towards a table in the center of the room. What objects there were tossed aside with the communist officer clearing everything before he glanced at the girls. "Put everything you have on here. I want to take an inventory before we set out."

Anna stepped forward with a large bag hanging from her shoulders before she slammed everything onto the table. "Did we really have to loot everything off them? A lot of it seems so unnecessary."

"Yes," Pavel answered, "We have a chance to escape the fascists, but I want to make sure we have enough. You can never be too careful." He walked over to the bag and spilled everything it had across the table.

Elsa could not help, but feel like they were carrying an armory of weaponry and ammunition with them. Then Pavel began to make his way towards every weapon and pull out the ammo it contained. She needed to know what he had in store for them. "It has to be important if we're all here to see how much we have. What is your plan?"

He stole a quick glance from her as he pulled out a belt of ammo from its container. "We just passed by a ladder that led up to the surface. Unless they send their stalkers at us, they won't come after us. The problem is that once we're up there we cannot fuck around. Sooner or later, we have to find a way back to the Metro stations. It's a dangerous route, but it's better than having platoons chase after us."

"How dangerous are we talking about?" Anna wondered, "You're putting Elsa and myself in danger if we're going with you. Can't we find another route without getting killed in the process?"

Then he began to sort equipment by how closely identical they were. "That's the problem. If they planned for that ambush, they'll have people waiting for us. There is nothing we can do about it. Yeah, we'll have to wear gas masks and worry about breathable air, but we stand a better chance there."

"Why is the air unbreathable?"

"Toxic chemicals combined with radiation is bad for your lungs," Pavel answered, "You'll be a fish out of the water if you take one gulp in."

Elsa was surprised when he loaded a weapon and handed it over to her. "Are you arming us?"

He gestured his hands to the table. "What makes you think I brought all of this with us? If we were fighting humans, this didn't need to happen, but once we're up on the surface anyone who can carry a gun should have one."

"Including princesses?" She asked.

The officer paused for a moment. "Neither of you have been up there. That is how desperate I am to get both of you to safety. Both of you need something to protect yourself and one gun is simply not enough."

"Okay, so what am I going to use?"

A pair of tubes was handed over to her alongside belts of cylinders. Then he walked over and began to demonstrate how to use it. "This is a Duplet it will sweep up anything that gets in its way. So be careful where you aim it."

The crown princess nodded her head. "Are you going to show me what happens when I run out?"

He immediately opened the other side of the tubes and grabbed the ammunition, showing where they will fit. "Shells go here."

"That is surprisingly simple," Elsa expected it to be more complicated, "Is it that easy to use?"

"Yep, even an illiterate peasant knows how to use it."

Her sister seemed a bit excited about what he had in store for her. "So what am I going to get?"

Pavel reached into his coat and handed it over to her. "Take my Lolife, it's a lot easier to handle than a revolver."

Anna was surprised he handed that to her. "What's so special about this one?"

"You don't have to reload as much," He added as he took off several pouches and showed her the loading process, "The bullets are small, but the magazine can hold plenty and you can still get enough shots off before you need to reload."

"Will this be enough to fight off the monsters on the surface?" Elsa did not want to admit it, but her sister was asking the right questions.

He chuckled. "Our people wouldn't be using it if that was not the case. The issue with pistol rounds is that they tend to be short-range. So don't try to snipe something in the distance unless you have a scope."

The princess understood with a nod of her head. "If you say so."

Pavel walked away from the duo and kicked down a closet in the side. Then he began to rummage through the belongings swiping the cobwebs.

"Are you looking for something?"

"Yeah, clothes. It's winter up there and both of you need to cover up for the weather," Out from the closet, he pulled out two worn jackets, "It's not much, but we don't intend to stay up there for long."

Elsa noticed that the belts could be attached to each other and then she realized it could be large enough wrap around her body. She slipped it over her chest, surprised at how useful this was. Perhaps she could get something like that for outdoor wear.

When they were ready, Pavel was the first to walk out the door with one of the more sleeker designs in hand. The princesses followed after him and found themselves moving through the hallways again, stopping when they finally reached the base of the ladder. Then he reached into his pockets and handed the girls two masks with strange cylinders. "Put the gas masks on, they will help you breathe."

They did as they were told, but the crown princess disliked how stuffy it was. How could Artyom tolerate such restriction on his face?

Anna was able to slip in a question about their appearance. "Does this make me look scary?"

She stole a quick glance from her. The straps did well to hide her face, save for her eyes.

The man climbed up and looked down at the girls. "Make sure those straps are tight, you don't want any toxic air seeping in. Now if the air becomes harder to breathe, tell me immediately. I have fresh air filters for both of you."

Elsa nodded her head as she began to climb up the ladder. Now that she was carrying a weapon on her person, the weight was apparent as she rose to new heights. Yet, there were other worse things to worry about such as her heels. Now she wondered if there were any boots around.

Pavel reached the top and began to open a hatch inside out, scrambling out into the open. Then he looked back and helped the girls out one at a time.

The surface was something to take in when she realized she was standing in ruin. There were too many buildings for her to count; however, they had one detail in common - they were all ready to collapse on themselves. Yet, they were not alone in this at all. What was once roads were filled with fissures in the ground that split the earth open while strange objects littered the streets. There were no words to describe the devastation she was seeing.

What is perhaps the most terrifying sight the crown princess had to witness was the sheer amount of skeletons surrounding her. Some still had patches of clothes on them while others were completely bare. The horrifying fact was the sizes between the skeletons and how they were mortified. Skeletons clutched each other, it could have been lovers or perhaps a parent keeping their child close.

Part of her wanted to go back into the tunnels and face the Nazis if this was what she had to go through. How could this… Hell even exist?

The soldier walked past her and grabbed her attention. "Stop looking, we're wasting air time."

She needed to ask this question. "How did all of this happen?"

"This?" He gestured towards the surrounding areas, "Welcome to Moscow. This is the result of something called nuclear bombs. To be frankly honest, we are the lucky ones right now."

"Lucky?" Anna wondered, "You mean to say that whatever caused this could have been worse?"

Pavel encountered a fissure and began walking atop of a strange carriage that bridged the gap. "Yes. From what I have been told from my comrades, the city of Moscow had some kind of missile defense system that was able to shoot back at the bombs before they could wipe us out. Thing is, they exploded right on top of us and is the reason why we have to wear gas masks."

A bestial cry echoed above them as Elsa looked up to see a strange flying creature flap its wings and circle around them.

"Damn it, I thought we wouldn't have to deal with them!" He swore to himself, "Girls, follow me! We're sitting ducks out here!"

Anna didn't seem to understand what he meant by that. "What do ducks have to do with any of this?!"

"Follow me and run!"

The beast had come again, making a quick dive at the group as Elsa brought her Duplet to bear and fired in its direction. It seemed to acknowledge the danger it was in and broke off from the initial run. Then the crown princess followed after her companions, who immediately took refuge in a nearby building.

Pavel brandished his weapon and fired into the sky, created repeated loud noises from his weapon. "Get in!"

Elsa managed to slip inside before he closed the door and shuffle his way to the backside of the room. "What was that?!" She demanded.

"That was the demon," He answered with short breaths, "Those bitches are the reason they keep us down in the Metro. One snatch off the ground and you're a dead man or a meal."

"Why does this place look like a clothing store?" Her sister asked, "There are so many mannequins around here."

"It probably was. Let's go, we got to reach the Theater."

A couple of days on Dead Moscow was enough for Artyom to be an experienced stalker. The long break since his previous expedition to the surface was enough energy to be used to the usual weather. He and Khan passed through several apartment districts, avoiding watchmen and demons alike.

The young man rested his railgun's barrel on the window sill and used the scope to scan the open ground. Then he glanced at his older companion, "Khan, are you sure that they are coming to Theater station? It seems a bit too far from Hansa's network."

"I am sure of it," He assured him, "The princesses are being escorted by a Red Line officer so he'll seek out protection in the form of a friendly station."

"That means they will trek across a lot of ground in the meantime." Artyom realized as he hoped the horrors of the post-apocalypse could somehow be minimized for his foreign friends.

Khan busied himself by adjusting his Helsing and changing his typical design to fit a single large bolt with some cable wire involved. "It's okay, your friends are in good hands. I know you're worried how they would handle this new world, but trust is how people survive in these parts."

He couldn't help himself from looking. "What are you doing?"

"Turning my crossbow into a zipline. If we see them, I can launch it across the area and both of us can get to the entrance in time." The old man answered. Then he handed a hook belt to him.

"I suppose this is how we get down from here?"

He began to lock the belt onto his person. "Attach it to yourself, we'll need it for the zipline if it holds."

Artyom did as he was told before he returned to the window and scanned the area surrounding the remains of the station's entrance. Most Metro buildings were still standing after the dropping of the bombs, but this station was completely different since a plane's nose had smashed through it's entrance. From what he could see from his position, there were still ways to get inside thanks to some of the doors appeared to be in such a state of disrepair that the wood would be easy to smash through.

The wind blew hard as his weapon swayed and threw off his aim, but he managed to endure. When he looked back into the scope, he saw movement of three individuals in the distance. After he focused his full attention on them, he recognized the princesses following a complete stranger through the ruins.

He turned to his left to find his friend still adjusting his weapon. "They're here. Hurry up."

"Keep a close eye on them, I need more time to finish this."

Eyes returned to the sights; however, he heard the sounds of watchmen alarming the rest of their kin. "Where are they?!" Artyom kept looking around, but the mutants were nowhere to be found. Frustrated with the lack of results, he trained his weapon upon the trio. They were making their way towards the crashed plane and climbed atop of its wings. It appeared that they were trying to get inside as the girls joined in to help him pull the door open.

There was movement coming from the right, where a mutant slowly approached the group from above. The watchman remained unseen as it approached the edge of the roof with the hopes of catching them off-guard.

The Hellbreathe swiveled to the target and stabilized his pulled the trigger and the electrified ball-bearing flew across the distance towards the monster. Then the watchman received the full impact of the shot being slammed into its side as it slid across the roof.

Artyom noticed the man of the group stop and looked back at him. He was aware that he was being watched, but then he flickered three lights from his flashlight. The message demanded a response and he was quick to flick the power switch to return the understanding.

Khan rose up and shifted to a window on the right with his crossbow ready, pumping air into it's system. "The zipline is coming up. We will be there in notime."

The mutated pack began to make its way towards the plane as the trio pried the door open and quickly slipped inside. Yet, they were still being followed.

One of the watchmen was running atop of the plane itself, trying to get ahead of the prey, but it would not happen. Another shot from the Hellbreathe made it fly off the downed airplane as the rest of its kin rushed into the Metro building from multiple points of entry.

A long cable wire flew out of Khan's Helsing and penetrated itself into brickwork of the ruins. Artyom looked to his right to find the man holding the cable. "We need to get in there!"

He stole a quick glance as he wrapped his hands with the cable itself. "Both of us can't go together. Artyom, hook yourself on the line and go down there."

"What about you? I can't leave you behind!"

"Worry not, young man. Those girls need you more. I already did my part," Khan followed that up with a hesitant chuckle, "Get on before my hands tire."

There were no questions as Artyom swung his weapon across his chest and let it hang from his back. He grabbed his belt hook and attached it to the wire before he gently moved through the window sill. "Safe travels, Khan."

"Likewise, Artyom."

Everything changed when he pushed himself off the building's window and slid down the cable towards the end. So much ground was skimmed over in such a short time that he wondered if he should get such equipment. Nonetheless, it was irrelevant to the situation at hand. The young man brought his legs up and stopped at the bricks before unhooking himself from the zipline.

When he was back on the ground, he saw a doorway on the right side of the building and immediately ran through it. Gunfire was heard, but was close enough for him to come to the aid of the girls. Then he equipped his Shambler to bear and stormed into the building.

Bodies of watchmen were littered at the top of the escalators and he hoped that they did not do any lasting harm. Then he took the chance to see what was in store for him at the bottom. As he made his way down, he recognized Elsa and Anna below with the stranger knocking on the airlock door. "Open up, there's people out here!"

It appeared that the princesses were armed with some of the hand-made weapons of the Metro. He was impressed to a degree until Elsa brought her double-barreled shotgun in his general direction. "Hey, watch where you're pointing that thing!"

She did not say a word as she fired, pellets flying past him as he looked over his shoulder to find a watchman killed on the spot. "Artyom? I thought you were still at Exhibition."

The communist officer turned around and both Russians drew their weapons upon each other. "Hey, who the fuck are you?!"

Anna was quick to speak up. "Don't shoot him, he's a friend. My sister and I know him."

He stole a quick glance from her before lowering his weapon. "Alright stalker, you're lucky they'll vouch for you."

Bestial cries echoed from above as Artyom made his way to the bottom and aimed at the top of the escalators. "How long till the guards open the doors?"

"Don't know. We need to hold out until they do."

The group of four stood their ground and fired as the first wave of mutants rushed towards them. Dirty ammo, shotgun shells, pistol rounds - they all played their role in holding the line. The creatures had no means to properly fight against the man-made designs. If there was one thing about humanity that made them stand apart from the animals and the radioactive monsters, it was killing others with quick efficiency.

Alarms blared through the speakers behind them as yellow lights flickered from their flanks. The doors whined open as a voice commanded their attention, "Comrades, get inside! We'll cover you!"

The party immediately sought the safety of the station as two burly men with flamethrowers stepped forward, spewing flames towards the watchmen. Then the doors began to close as everyone began to lower their guard.

Artyom was surprised when Elsa reached out and embraced him with a hug. "You came for us, thank you."

He was glad that his gas mask was still one. The princess managed to steal his breath at that moment.