The Children of the Forest were a strange sort of people as they escorted the two outsiders into their realm. It was a surreal experience to walk past the buildings in disrepair, only to find an entire encampment heavily defended. Small sentry positions were near the treetops, keeping a close eye on Artyom and his companion. Each was connected to a network of zip lines allowing swift transportation of personnel when attacked. The closer they had gotten to their destination, this very network led to a formidable wall where the locals could fend off attacks by both man and beasts.

A man was standing atop the gatehouse. "Roman is that you? I thought the bandits captured you!"

"They did!" He replied as he gestured towards the Polis Ranger and the communist, "But these two rescued me. Assemble the Forest Court, we must judge them."

The guard leaned back, pulling a lever before the makeshift gates rose high and allowed the party to enter. Their arrival did not go unnoticed as someone banged on a drum, loud enough to be heard throughout the settlement. One by one, people in ragged apparel began to form a massive gathering in the heart of their home, from animal skinners to weaponsmiths. The last time Artyom had to see such an event was when Colonel Mel'nikov ordered an emergency meeting with Polis Council.

A series of seats were placed around one large bonfire as the locals began to take their spots while leaving two for the outsiders. Roman eagerly guided them as they receive the looks of hostility and curiosity. When everyone was settled, a young brunette with tied-up hair walked into the center of the meeting and addressed everyone. "Let us begin by welcoming Roman back from the bandits. We rarely have such luck when they capture our kin."

Roman stood up and replied, "I am glad for such appreciation. Thank you, Olga."

"These men rescued you, yes?"

He nodded his head. "They mean no harm to us."

This earned a sneer from one of the few who sat here. "They are outsiders. Why should we tolerate their presence? Put a few bolts in them and be done with it."

"Who are you to say that?" Olga questioned as she turned towards the man who spoke from his ranks, "The teacher would be disappointed in that attitude. We defend ourselves from the bandits and don't attack those who have no ill will against us. Remember that, everyone."

Her eyes turned towards Artyom with interest.

"Why don't you introduce yourselves to us, gentlemen?"

The soldier rose from his seat, feeling the eyes of those around him. He would have been a bystander in another place and time, but not this day. Here, he was a leader of an entire train full of souls, and what words he said would decide their fates along with the people who lived in this valley. "My name is Artyom Alekseyevich Chyornyj. I am a Polis Ranger of the Spartan Order," He stole a glance from his friend as he gestured his hand towards him, "This is Major Pavel Morozov of the Red Line. We both hail from Moscow."

His words seemed to affect the crowd as they turned towards each other and whispered. Olga seemed to notice this as she stole a glance at her people before continuing. "I am pleased to meet people from Moscow. Why have you come to our valley?"

"My comrade and I are from a train full of refugees and soldiers," The young man began, "We're trying to link up with an expedition that was sent to Vladivostok, but our timetable is a mess and we're spending the winter here until we can proceed there."

"A train?" She cupped her chin as she thought to herself. When she was done, the woman returned her attention upon him, "You are part of the train people?"

"Yes."

The young woman appeared concerned before she continued. "Consider yourselves lucky that both the pirates and the pioneers have not considered a preemptive attack on the train. We can all agree that you two are not bandits."

"So what happens now?" He wondered, "Will you permit us to stay until then?"

"This forest is bountiful, but I am not sure that the company of your people will be tolerated. The valley belongs to the Children of the Forest and it would be in our best interests to keep it that way."

Still willing to be diplomatic he continued. "We are not asking much. Just a simple stay and we'll be out of your hair by then, but if you want my advice, you should leave as well."

Her eyes express a hardened glare, insulted by his latest statement. "You want us to leave this valley? Why should we?"

"Someone who has been to the top of the dam," Artyom answered as he pointed at the structure behind him. "Pavel and I have been to the top and it's not in a good condition. There is a sea of radiation waiting to kill this entire valley. I pray that we wait the winter out and leave before it happens."

A small pause between the locals and the outsider. It was as if their world had turned upside down. Then Roman took the lead in the conversation. "I think this is quite the news for everyone. We will decide the fate of our people, but until that happens, is there a consensus that these men and their train are not bandits?"

Murmurs of approval was the sentiment openly carried by the crowd. Pavel rose from his seat and approached Roman. "It seems like they agree. Can your people help us contact our people before they do anything stupid?"

"We will do everything in our power," He answered, "Just stay for a night and let us have dinner with you."

The Winter Palace remained as beautiful as the day the old tsar laid his eyes upon it. Yet, its halls remained silent during these hours. The tsar sat near his window, quietly drinking his tea, pondering about his daughter. He would never find solace or peace ever since she disappeared with that man. Then someone knocked on his door.

"Who is it?" He asked as he placed his cup down and turned his head.

"You're majesty, I have returned from Arendelle."

Mikhail recognized Prince Vaska behind that door. "Come in."

The door slowly opened as the nobleman entered the room and reluctantly approached him. Dolokhov took off his hat while his gaze was filled with sorrow. "I bring ill news about your grandson - Artyom."

"Explain."

"Princess Anna of Arendelle was kidnapped in a raid. Artyom and Queen Elsa joined an expedition to rescue her from an army of bandits," He paused for a moment before regaining the ability to speak, "The young man managed to save the royals, but the portal was cut off and now he is considered dead. Your majesty… I failed you."

Those last words were genuine. The Russian emperor could not blame him for his honesty, it was nearly an impossible task for anyone to even perform. "You did what you could and were the closest in finding my lost family."

"I was this close to bringing him home."

"It is time I learn much about a grandson I have never met," Tsar Mikhail said as he rose from his seat, turning towards his most trusted servant with his hands behind his back. Perhaps the royals of Arendelle could tell him what he was? "I need you to come with me."

"Sire?"

Prince Vaska was taken aback by this development, but the emperor was compelled to do this. "This Queen Elsa and Princess Anna. I would like to meet them and see what made them so important for my grandson to fight for them."

Princess Anna strolled through the halls, smiling and greeting Arendellian and Russian alike. Evacuations from the Moscow Metro seemed to prove successful with stations arriving in the kingdom full of hungry and desperate peoples. It was becoming a norm to have delegates enter the castle in the hopes of meeting with her sister and thanking her for the help they were given. Even the dinners were filled with more people wishing her sister well for saving their kin.

When she turned around the corner, she almost crashed into Artyom's stepfather. "Your majesty, it's great to see you."

The young woman smiled. "Sukhoi, how is your afternoon"

"Fine," He answered as he looked around, "I heard rumors about your parents being alive and I came here to see them."

"Why? Do you know them?"

"Yes. Believe me, it might interest you as to how I know them."

The fact that he knew her parents only sparked curiosity and so she eagerly led him around the castle. They went from room to room, finding servants busy with their tasks while she continued. Then she took a glance outside the castle, only to find the rest of her family talking in the garden. Anna immediately brought him towards the nearest exit as they stepped out into the sunlight to meet them.

Her father turned his head as if his face had seen a ghost before rising from the grass. "Sukhoi?"

Anna paused as she watched the duo approach each other before wrapping their arms in a massive hug. They smiled and laughed as her mother and sister turned their full attention on Artyom's stepfather.

The late king released his grip on him and took a step back. "My friend, it has been a long time since we last met. My wife and I heard about your world and thought you were dead for sure."

Soon the Russian let out a slight chuckle. "Fortunately, fate was on my side when the bombs fell. I also presumed that you two were dead when your daughters came to Exhibition station with my boy."

"You have a son? When can we meet him?"

Queen Elsa stood up and spoke. "Father, his son is Artyom, the one who rescued Anna and helped me."

The princess took one good look at her father's expression become horrified by what he said. "I'm… I'm sorry. We didn't know."

Sukhoi raised his hand slightly and gave a firm nod. "It is not your fault. Elsa and I have made our peace with his death."

"You were a friend back then, but you are still a friend today," He replied, "Our home is yours."

"Thank you."

Anna felt compelled to ask the question in the garden as wanted to know the truth. "How do you know my parents?"

The Russian turned around and slipped his hands into his pockets. "Two decades ago, I was part of a small expedition to learn about your world. The first people we came across were your parents."

"It should have been something Elsa and I would know if that happened."

"You are right, but the government back then was not keen to reveal ourselves so openly," He added as he took a moment to sit atop of a large rock, "Trust, but verify. That Soviet proverb was one we lived by and so secrecy was key in our operations."

Elsa seemed interested. "Why did you leave to your world?"

Sukhoi paused for a moment. "Artyom's real father, Hunter, fell in love with an emperor's daughter. He compromised the mission and we had to flee back to our world before anyone would have found out, save for a few people like your parents."

The princess was still able to be shocked about her late friend's past. He was quite the man her family had encountered, but to learn of the truth behind the mysteries and closed doors was an experience worth more than adventures.

Out of all the people in this conversation, the former queen of Arendelle remained silent until now. "You spoke of Hunter, but what of Marya. Where is she?"

"Dead," Said the Russian as he was filled with sorrow as he shook his head, "She died at Timiryazevskaya Station with the others. Almost everybody there was eaten alive by rats save for her son, a few guards, and myself. She sacrificed herself to give us time to escape."

"Perhaps I shouldn't have asked? What happened to her husband?"

"He tried to save us at Exhibition, back when our people were attacked by these walking vampires."

The girls' father sat beside him with a hopeful tone. "We're here if you need anyone to talk to."

A great meal was brought forth as the soldiers from Moscow received their share and found a spot nearby the large bonfire where the meeting took place. The first thing on Artyom's mind was the train. "Were you able to get into contact with them?"

"Yes," Pavel answered before digging into his venison, "It took a few hours to keep them from killing the first few guys. The crew is setting up camps alongside the tracks and the engineers seemed to be slapping some armor. I think we passed by a depot where there were even more fuel and cars."

"That is good. All we need to do is maintain this relationship."

Soon the communist stopped eating and began patting himself on the belts. "Shit!"

"You lose something?"

"Yeah, chuvak. I'm going to look around for a while. My canteen had this special drink."

When the officer ran off in search of his belongings, Artyom remained as he thought about returning home. Was Exhibition station home nowadays? He had gotten comfortable with the sheets at the Arendelle castle and the company there improved his outlook on the world. Much more importantly, how was he going to act when he came across Elsa? Would he finally tell her after being lost in the wasteland that was once his world or would he maintain that secret to the grave?

He was joined by Olga, who sat beside him as she began to start a conversation. "You and your friends are something, but you are more interesting."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Asked the Polis Ranger as he picked at his food, "There has to be a reason why you're here."

"There is. Rumor has been going around that you killed the Master of the Forest. I'm impressed and a bit scared. It is incredibly rare for someone to encounter him, much less hurt him. For you to kill him is something else entirely. This implies that you are a dangerous man, too dangerous."

Artyom turned his head towards this amazonian. "I hope that is not a threat."

She laughed at his reaction. "More like an observation. What is so important in Vladivostok that you had to go there?"

"A teleporter," He answered honestly. It's not like he had a reason to make it a secret, "The expedition I was with had the goal of looking for old government facilities and finding these teleporter sites across Russia. We got one to work in Moscow and managed to connect with the Metro stations in Novosibirsk, but that is not all."

"Oh, there's more?"

A piece of his meal was cut and he took the time to eat it carefully before swallowing to clear his mouth. "There is a whole other world, one free of this hellscape."

Olga's tone changed. "So that is why you have a train full of civilians. You are trying to get them out."

"That is partially the truth. You see, there are people in that world, helping us evacuate from our nuclear shelters. Some bandits in the Caspian found one of these machines as well and kidnapped a friend of mine. Soldiers from Moscow and Novosibirsk came out to rescue her."

"Did you?" She asked. "Were you able to get your friend out?"

His head nodded. "Then the teleporter was closed on us, forcing us to reach Vladivostok as quickly as possible."

Another question came from her. "What is it like to live in that world?"

"Beautiful."

Pavel returned from his search as he laughed to himself. "I nearly lost it! Thank fucking god it wasn't on the boat. Want a try, comrade?"

"Of course," Artyom answered, "It's been a while since I had a drink."

Sukhoi was brought into the castle library as he remembered the memories that were contained within this room. Yet, the time to reminisce was over since this was going to be a private conversation the moment the former king and queen had asked him to close the door. They all took their seats on the couch as the Russian began to ask the necessary question. "What is with this meeting?"

Agnarr leaned forward in his seat as he looked at him. "The reason why my wife and I were lost to our girls was that it relates to Northuldra. We were trying to reach its shores by sea, but it was too much for our ship. I wish for your help in this matter?"

"Why?" Was it that important, especially, after the loss he had suffered, "I just lost my son and now you ask me this request?"

"We are doing this because Artyom would want this as well," He said while his wife wrapped her arm around his, "Elsa didn't know how to handle her powers then until your boy helped her. It's just that we are worried it might get too strong for her and focus on her well-being instead of finding answers."

The fact that they were invoking his stepson's name almost made him angry. Yet, he thought about that moment at Exhibition station where Elsa hung out with him. The trust between the royal and the son of a station commander was strong. "What are you asking of me?"

Iduna soon spoke. "Elsa's power might be the key to opening the path to Northuldra, where we can find out what caused my magical homeland to be cut off from the rest of the world and my husband's father. Perhaps, you can finally find out about Hunter's grandfather while we are there?"

"Do you think he is there? Why should we go through the effort to find old corpses?"

"My people are there, trapped behind a wall of smoke and fog. Please, Elsa deserves to know about the people she needs to care for, but it is not all. The ice magic she wields… it's connected to that place."

It was a lot to take in, but Sukhoi remained calm as ever. Fighting the Dark Ones had rubbed off on him. If he agreed to help, he would be risking his position as the leader of Exhibition station. "Let me find Pyotr and perhaps we can try. There are no guarantees I would be bringing my people to help."