The incident had forced the guards to full alert as the garrison commander found himself confused by the events that had transpired that afternoon. He sat behind his desk as Artyom watched him take the accounts into consideration. The bald man leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "So let me get this straight, you joined the trio when you saw them in danger on the surface?"

Artyom nodded his head. "Yes sir, they were being attacked by a pack of mutants."

"The girls immediately recognized you, yes?"

"Yes sir."

He straightened himself out in his seat and gave out his hand across his desk. "Papers, please."

The young man was about to reach to his pockets, but he remembered the four men on his flanks. He was a complete stranger to these people and given that this was the Red Line, their suspicion was enough for him to be cautious. Artyom's fingers pulled out his passport and handed it over to the garrison commander. "Here it is, sir."

Pages were flipped open, most of them blank pages, save for a few stations he had been to. Then the authority glanced up from the passport. "You have been to Kuznetsky Most back then? What business did you have there?"

"I was looking for a local's help. It was my first time I've been to the station and was looking for someone to help me with my weapons." It was a half-truth. He went to look for a local forge master's help to smuggle him to the frontlines and sneak through. Well, it was after the Reds tried to hunt him down and kill him for a failed arrest.

The garrison commander shook his head. "I don't like your story. Arrest this man."

He wanted to get a word in, but Artyom didn't have the time to speak until someone stormed into the office of the room. "Comrade-captain, what a pleasant surprise! What's with all of the commotion?"

He looked past the stalker. "This fellow who came with you, he's under suspicions of being a spy."

"Eh, if he was a spy he had plenty of opportunities to kill me already." Artyom looked over his shoulder to find out it was the communist officer who accompanied the princesses from earlier.

"With all due respect, comrade-major, he-"

There was no chance to reply. "I completely understand your concerns, it is your duty. Everyone in this room has their duty, but I will vouch for this man. He is no spy."

A moment of silence between the two men before the garrison commander broke it first. "Yes sir. At ease men, the major vouched for him."

Artyom walked out of the room, relieved he wasn't going to be shot in the back of the head or hung by a noose. Then the major confronted him outside the door. "You seem to be a decent fellow."

It was a bit embarrassing for him as he was talking to an officer of the Red Line. "Why did you do that?"

"Why did you save my ass?" The man shrugged with his shoulders, "You spent a bullet on me, I think that deserves a bit of respect when you didn't have to. Nonetheless, I want to get to know you. After all, Princess Elsa seems to have a close relationship with you."

He was reminded by that scene at the hermetic door. "Oh, that."

"Not going to lie, one can call it romantic, but I am a bit on a slight tangent."

"So you vouching for me is not a coincidence?"

"Yes," His hand was presented to him as he smiled, "Major Pavel Morozov, but you can call me Pavel."

The young man eagerly shook his hand. "Artyom Alekseyevich Chyornyj, son of the station commander at Exhibition."

It was then that the name surprised him. "I have heard of your name before."

"You have?" He wondered, "I don't remember encountering you at all. No offense."

The officer chuckled. "None taken, comrade. Several months ago, I had a task force sent to infiltrate the Nazi's side of the bridge and they told me that you happened to eliminate their captors. Did you have a hand in that?"

Artyom knew what he talked about. The moment he discovered the Red prisoners at the mercy of the Nazis. "Yes, I was there."

"Now that takes a lot of courage for someone like yourself since you don't look like much."

"Thanks for the compliment, if it sounds like one."

"You're welcome."

Now there were questions that needed answering since he was separated from the others. "So where did you take the girls? Don't tell me you left them alone."

Pavel shook his head. "No, if I did leave them alone Anna would definitely cause some trouble with her antics. I doubt the station would have survived her. They're at the Bolshoi watching the show."

"The Bolshoi?" The theater was one of the few places in the Metro where some aspects of pre-war culture survived the post-apocalypse and hearing that was like a child with a toy, "Can we go there?"

"Of course, consider it a warm welcome from the Red Line."

Anna was completely surprised by the displays at the show. Although some of it involved scantily-clad women in exposed clothing, there were some that just fascinated her. There were old men whose fingers were almost magic-like with a guitar, there were men who were waving around the sticks of fire in front of them or a drinker with an accordion. All of it was exciting for her. One could find themselves forgotten in the midst of entertainment.

The curtains began to close on the latest showing as the speaker in a trenchcoat walked center-stage and showered himself in the light. "Ladies and gentlemen, our next act is a man who has faced the monsters of the surface and has tamed a mutant to his will. I present to you, the Terror of the Night." Then he immediately walked off the stage as the curtains began to slide open.

She was surprised that they're letting one of the monsters in here. Then she leaned to her sister, sitting on her right. "What do you think it will be?"

Elsa stole a quick glance. "Who knows? I overheard that those creatures come in all shapes and sizes."

When the curtains were gone, a man stood tall with his arms stretched. Two stools were placed on the ground - one empty and the other occupied by a mutant. It was different from the ones Anna had encountered on the surface due to its size. The man carried a stick in hand as he glanced at the creature and pointed at the other stool. "Olay, go!"

The creature leaped across as the man commanded. Its eyes stared at him eagerly.

"Olay, go!"

Once more it followed his commands.

"Olay, go!"

The mutant refused and roared at him.

"Olay, go!" He commanded as he strode towards it.

It refused and growled at its master.

"Alright freak, do you really want to test my patience." The man tried to walk up.

Then he took a step back when it swiped its claws at him. Afterward, it stormed off the stage behind the stage.

Anna could not help, but feel sorry for him. His act could have been more. Instead, he faked a smile towards the crowd as he began to bow while the speaker expressed his disbelief with a hand over his face.

The speaker stepped out from the shadows and smiled. "Here you have it, comrades. Even when our world has been destroyed, humanity will always come out on top."

When he finished speaking, the curtains closed and the princess could see the man storm off. "Hey you, get back here!"

"That was short-lived." Elsa remarked, earning Anna's chuckle.

Someone's head peaked out through the curtains and the speaker was drawn to the man. He slipped through and a conversation began to occur from behind the scenes. Then the audience in the theater room began to whisper amongst themselves.

Princess Anna looked around and noticed the concern amongst many. "They don't look too happy."

Elsa leaned her head over. "I think there are some problems backstage. Everyone looks antsy."

The speaker returned to the audience and smiled. "Ladies and gentlemen, there has been a wonderful change in plans. We have a special guest for the stage."

They were caught by surprise when Artyom took a seat beside them. "Sorry, I was busy with my papers. What did I miss?"

Elsa pulled a small set of papers and showed him. "You missed most of it already. Where's Pavel?"

"He said he had to report to his superiors before he joins us."

Once he returned to his place on the side of the stage, the curtains began to open once more, but with dozens of armed soldiers in well-dressed uniforms. They were tall and disciplined in their appearance as a pair of footsteps echoed to their right. Then their heads immediately turned to the source while an officer in a peaked cap walked in front of them and stood in the light. "Comrades, I present you General Secretary Moskvin!"

Whoever this man was, he seemed to be special enough that the audience was clapping and standing up for him. However, Artyom knew who he was. "Oh, this is a surprise."

Anna looked past her sister to see his eyes widened. "You know who he is?"

"Yes, General Secretary Moskvin is the leader of the Red Line."

All eyes were turned on the stage when an older individual walked past the men, their heads shifting forward as he took center stage. Anna expected him to wear an elaborate set of clothes, but it was surprisingly humble and shared the same appearance as the officer behind him. "So, how is everyone's day? Are all of you enjoying the show?"

One of the men in the audience shouted from behind the princesses and their friend. "You're the best! What brings you here?"

"I came to check up on my comrades," He answered in a fatherly tone, "Then I heard that there was a showing and came to see for myself, but it looks like I took the wrong entrance."

Many laughed at his comment; however, his eyes seemed to take notice on the girls.

"What do you know, we're not the only guests here."

"Who is it?!" A woman cried out.

His hand gestured to the royals in the front seats. "My dears, welcome to the Bolshoi. Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce all of you to Princess Anna and Elsa of Arendelle, the royals from the other world."

The lights shifted upon them as the girls stood up from their seats and waved their hands at the crowd in front of them. Anna couldn't help, but notice the awe in their eyes. Were they that special that they would be welcomed by the leader of a foreign power?

Pavel entered the room where General Korbut resided. "Sir, I have news for you."

The intelligence commander had his back turned, looking at the map of the Metro with various pins placed on the stations. "Major Morozov, do you have the girls in hand?"

"Directly? No, sir. I did manage to bring them to this station. They should be at the Bolshoi."

He turned around, expressing anger. "Are you an idiot? General Secretary Moskvin will be there. He will treat them as delegates instead of bringing them in."

"Sir, wouldn't this be a prime opportunity for the state?"

Korbut shook his head. "No, not at all. Andrey is a fool. Our war with the Nazis was the only thing keeping the Red Line in a powerful position, but his weakness to bring the war to an end only exacerbates the issues. Those girls were our bargaining tool for the revolution."

The major felt a strange sense of fear of him. He did not want to confront it at first, but the general was far more bloodthirsty than he realized. "We could capture them after they meet with the secretary general."

"No, you will find his brother. You are lucky enough that I still haven't fired you," He replied, "Go find Andrey's brother. I will need to speak to him when this is over."

"Yes, sir."

When Pavel was dismissed, he walked out of the office and made his way to the station's streets and alleys. The latter were less-traveled by people due to their isolated nature. There were few that would be at the risk of getting robbed, despite the Red Line's communist beliefs. Some people were just that greedy… or desperate.

The man's thoughts were troubled by what he saw about Korbut. His superior was a very harsh man, someone who had fought in the Hansa-Red Line War where the revolution was stopped by a coalition consisting of the Hanseatic League and anyone who didn't share the sentiment. Yet, the conflict was such a damaging event that it was the reason for the Metro to be as it was. The question was why did he harbor such hatred towards Andrey Moskvin? After all, he was a man who was able to strike a deal with the enemies of the revolution and convince them to stand down.

He was loyal to the state, but somehow General Korbut seemed to differ.

A hand had caught his collar as he turned around to find an old man releasing his grip on him. "Hey, what was that for?!"

The stranger expressed a calm demeanor. "You are Major Morozov, yes?"

"Who's asking?"

"Young man, General Korbut is planning something to the detriment of the Metro. You need to stop him before he does. He does not realize how much he is over his head."

Pavel slowly reached for his holster. This person knew too much. "Lubianka wants a word with you."

"Don't. Threaten. Me. You are far too weak to do so." His words felt like venom and somehow, Pavel was shaking before him.

"What do you want?"

He let out a deep breath before he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Andrey Moskvin is in danger. Korbut intends to remove a thorn at his side."

"Why would he? The Red Line loves him."

"Do not be so naive, young man. Even in a communist state, there are those who are given the power that no man should ever have. Your superior is one of those men, he intends to take control of the situation so he may lead the Red Line in the way that he wants it." The old man explained.

"Who are you? Why do you know so much about Korbut's plans?" The officer asked.

He smiled. "My name is Khan. Follow me, Maxim will have a squad outside his door."

Once more, Artyom was separated from his friends thanks to the secretary general's brother. Apparently, he wanted to have a word with him.

The two sat quietly in his office as he poured out tea for themselves. "My informants tell me that you're Sukhoi's adoptive son. Is that true?"

The young man was reluctant to speak at first, but took a quick sip of the tea his host offered. "Yes. What does this mean for me?"

He laughed for a moment as he drank his tea. "Ah, Sukhoi and I went to the same officer school together. He's a good guy."

"Sir-"

Artyom was interrupted with a hand wave. "Call me Maxim, I hear enough comrades and sirs from the men that loses its charm."

"Maxim… why did you bring me here?"

"I heard that Exhibition had a thing for tea and who better to ask than Sukhoi's boy," Then he downed his tea in one sitting before placing his steel cup on his desk and adjusting his glasses, "No, there is much more involved. There are rumors in the northern territories about your mutant problem. I hear that Exhibition found a new race up there. At first, I saw them as unfounded nonsense, but then reports of the Polis Rangers were enough to arouse suspicion. Are those rumors true?"

It took him some time to weigh in the question since it was so personal to him. Why did this stranger want to know when the issue had resolved itself? He would never know, but it was a surprise to the stalker that there were others aside from the Order who were interested in a former threat. "Yes. They're true. At Exhibition, we called them Dark Ones because of their pitch-black skin turned inside-out. Why do you want to know?"

He nodded his head. "Some of the intelligence officers and the researchers seemed a bit… alarmed and pulled my sleeve to look into it. So here I am."

"Your people should be lucky that you didn't have to fight them. It's a horror on its own."

"How so?"

Artyom paused for a moment. The experience of fighting such a creature was something else compared to the usual tunnel trash. "Imagine trying to shoot at something that can look into your mind and break your sanity. They are not for the faint-hearted."

"I see."

The room's door was opened up as two men armed with Kalashnikovs entered unannounced.

"What is the meaning of this? Can I get a bit of privacy?"

One of them was masked, leaving his eyes only. "Glory to the Red Line."

Artyom knew he would never stand a chance if he tried to reach for his weapons. Everything changed when a bolt flew into the man's back and protruded out of his chest. The other communist turned around, receiving a gunshot to the head as blood splattered across the wall. "What the hell?"

He stood up and saw Khan and Pavel walking into the room. The Red officer lowered his weapon and spoke. "Sir, your brother might be in danger. We need both of you to find a safe spot to go to."

Maxim was shocked at the situation. "Is this some kind of coup d'etate?"

Pavel nodded his head. "Yes sir. General Korbut intends to remove your brother and capture the Arendelle delegates."

"Shit, I need you to warn him. I'll try to reach the station's communication's room and notify the other stations," He ordered, "Korbut might have men loyal to him here."

Khan began to load his crossbow. "I will go with him, but you two should find the secretary general before Korbut gets to him."

Elsa was surprised by the fact that the leader of these people was personally leading them on a tour throughout the Metro. Although he was flanked by guards, his welcoming act was certainly helpful in assuring her sister and herself that she was in good hands. Some of the locals they had bypassed were eager to hand off their salute to the man as he smiled and waved at his citizens.

Anna seemed to be enamored by some of the items being sold in the markets. After their encounter with the mutants on the surface, she was eager to learn more about the weapons these Russians created.

The crown princess was not as willing to explore for her own protection. If she wanted to look into something that fits her, Artyom would already fit that specific role.

Lights went out as the entourage found themselves drowned in darkness. It was incredibly difficult to see through all of this, but the guards began to turn on their flashlights as they look around to find the civilians terrified around them. One of them expressed her concern. "Why did the power go out?"

Another shared her sentiment. "I work there and it should be quite easy to fix."

The open street finally turned itself into a kill zone as the group found itself under attack. Gunfire erupted from the blackness as several guards were cut down in quick succession. Elsa reached for her sister as they dropped to the ground, hearing the bullets whistle over their heads. At the same time, the guards were quick to protect their leader by shielding their bodies in his way. Civilians screamed and fled from the scene, avoiding the danger as much as possible.

Anna pulled out her sidearm and took cover behind an empty market stall. She peeked over the wooden floorboards and immediately took cover when one flew past her head. "Okay, I have no idea what's going on."

Elsa slowly crawled towards her and crouched beside her sister as the secretary general took refuge in a nearby room across the street. There were dozens of men firing back at their attackers while Andrey gestured them to get across. "We can't, we're stuck as well!"

The air began to change into something different. She could not put her finger on it, but they were beginning to feel very sleepy for some strange reason. The guards seemed to take notice as they looked around with their flashlights, seeing strange smoke seep out of the vents. "Gas, gas, gas!"

Gas masks were being brought out from the pockets of the soldiers, placing it over their faces as they fought on. The girls were quick to follow the same routine, the air becoming easier to breathe and were not as drowsy as before.

Princess Elsa looked over the stall to see the street they were in was just one large hallway. Then she found a solution to the issue as she slowly removed the gloves from her hands and reached out to the area before her. Ice began to flow out of the palms and onto the floor. Snow followed after, turning that particular side of the street into a freezing winter wonderland. Elsa quickly gripped her hands and pulled them upward, creating a wall of ice that grew towards the ceiling. Bullets were exchanged through the few gaps and ice was being chipped away, but once the wall was solidified, their assailants' gunshots were muffled on the other side.

Anna patted her on the back. "That will hold them."

Voices echoed from the other side of the ice wall. "Get a grenade in there!"

Another stopped him from following up those words. "No! We can't compromise the station. Search for a flank."

The dozens of Russian guards that survived had begun to escort their leader as the royals followed after them. Andrey looked around and was shocked by the ice wall. "What the fuck?! Who did that?"

Elsa admitted as she slipped her gloves back on. "That was my doing."

"We have a literal magician among us. The Politburo is going to lose their mind once I explain that to them."

Anna took a quick glance at her pistol before asking the right question. "Okay, where are we going?"

"There's the local armory," Andrey answered, "The garrison will protect us from these assassins and we'll be better armed to fend them off."

The party continued to make their way through the station with the lights off. They stumbled through the stalls and made their way through some stairs before they found themselves in another hallway. Everything changed when the guards stopped and began to huddle to the side, hiding behind stalls and inside homes filled with civilians. One of the men crouched behind cover as they alerted everyone else. "They're coming this way. Turn off your flashlights. Do not make a sound."

It took a few seconds before the communist guards shut down their flashlights, shrouding everyone in darkness. Anna was unnerved by how silent it was at that moment. Her experience with the rest of the Metro was that they were loud and silence being a rarity. Here, the expectation was drastically different.

There was light on the far side of the hallway coming in from the left. The ambushers seemed to be coming out of the section as they began to shift towards them, completely unaware where their targets were. Anna aimed her pistol down-range and hoped they wouldn't notice them as they proceeded to approach them.

The situation changed when one of the men in their group fell to the ground, their light looking up at the ceiling. It was a sudden surprise towards their group as they turned around weapons drawn. "Man down! Shit, where is he?!"

Another one was struck as he stumbled back and laid himself up against the wall.

"Behind us!"

The group immediately looked to the entrance from whence they came, firing their guns at the unknown threat. However, a shadow descended from above and unsheathed a sword upon one of the assailants. Then he managed to make an upper slash against another gunman who took notice of his attack.

Despair erupted from their group as they tried to fire their weapons at the swordsman while they retreated from him. "No, no, n-"

The silence returned to the station as the shadow appeared amongst the bodies of the fallen. He carried a sword and knife in hand as he quickly put them back into their sheaths. His helmet having a strange device over his eyes. "Are you guys okay?" He shouted in their general direction.

The princesses were quick to recognize his voice as Elsa rose up from hiding and walked towards him. "Artyom, you came here just in time."

"You know this man?" Andrey asked.

"Yes, he's a friend."

"Comrade, do you know what is going on?"

"Major Morozov told me that someone called General Korbut is trying to get rid of you and capture the royals of Arendelle." He answered.

"Is he that mad?" The secretary general wondered, "Where is this Major Morozov?"

Artyom pointed towards the path he came from. "He's going to the power room to bring back everything online. Your brother, Maxim, is trying to call for help from the other stations to assist."

He nodded in approval. "Thank you for the news, this is too much of a coincidence."

Anna wondered about what this Korbut had in store for them. "What does he want with us? We didn't do anything to your people."

The guards turned on their flashlights as they began to secure the perimeter. "Korbut tends to be on the more war-like side of foreign policy. The moment the Politburo and I heard about your delegation, he was proactive in trying to convince all of us that it was an opportunity to use you as bargaining chips. Anyone sensible in these affairs would call him an outright fool for trying to stir trouble with the Order now that they have the help of authorities in Novosibirsk."

"Why would he go through all of this trouble?"

"Do you not know?" He replied, "You hail from a world where your people live in the sunlight and fresh air, where radiation spots are nonexistent. Almost everyone in the Metro wants that and there are those more foolish than I would go to extreme lengths to make our people live in that world."

It was here that Anna felt like she stumbled upon something that Elsa would have to decide somehow. Despite her friendship with Artyom and some of the members of the Metro, the fact that some of his people were outright hostile to them did not help the situation at all. She thought about the decision her sister would have to make there, but the question was whether Elsa would make the right call.

The station lights flickered to life as a relieved secretary general let out a deep sigh. "Okay, everything is back in order. Korbut is now a dead man for trying to pull this off. It's only a matter of time before reinforcements throughout the Sokolnicheskaya Line isolate him into a corner."

Elsa nodded her head in agreement. "Let's go. We don't have much time to lose."

The armory was quite literally near the station's platform where troops were being transferred off the train to secure the Theater Station. Elsa was pleased to see more troops arrive in droves before their officers led them into the station. She sat quietly in a chair, watching the men greet her with a wave of their hands before they went off to fulfill their duty.

She had gone through a lot at this moment in time. Her train was attacked, nearly taken captive by the local factions, and had to fight on the surface against unimaginable monsters. Part of her wondered how she did not break down despite all those pressures against her.

Artyom showed up with a chair and sat beside her. "It would be a nice time to drink some tea, but I think a bit of vodka wouldn't hurt."

Princess Elsa turned her head towards him. "Is this how you felt when you left your home? I feel very different after what had just happened."

"Yes," He answered, "There is a moment in your life where you take a good look at where your life lies and think about how different you were from the beginning. Sometimes, I think it was all a coincidence that I was the right man in the wrong place."

She began to slip her shotgun into her lap. "Anna and I should return home. This was too much of an adventure for me."

"Totally understandable."

A commotion occurred on the platform as the Red Line soldiers made way. There was a man with a scar over his eye as he was put in cuffs. "Get your hands off of me. I am General Korbut!"

Elsa saw Pavel guiding his prisoner past the two as he smiled in their direction. "It's good that both of you survived. Artyom, Moskvin says he might award you for your help."

The Russian shook his head. "Perhaps he is mistaken. The honor should go to you. After all, I wouldn't know a damn thing about this plot."

"Both of us are getting a medal for this," He added, "So we'll find a way to celebrate after this former general finds a place in Lubianka." Then he made his way past them and continued to his work.

She smiled at her friend's expense. "You're becoming a hero. This seems straight out of a fairy tale."

Artyom chuckled before he took a glance at her weapon. "A Duplet. When did you start getting your hand with firearms."

"Pavel said that Anna and I needed some kind of protection against the monsters."

"Well, I think you would appreciate a gift of mine," One of his weapons was slung off his shoulders as he presented it to the princess, "It's an ugly piece of work, but if you used one of our weapons it would be this."

When Elsa received the weapon, she could feel the weight in her arms. "What is this?"

"It is a Shambler, one of the finest weapons that my people crafted in these tunnels, and it has done more to save my life than you could ever imagine. I think you would appreciate it. Even if you never have to use it, consider it a gift from me."

"You're lucky that Anna isn't here. She might get jealous of its size compared to what Pavel gave her."