Fire & Rain: Applejack and the Queen of Knives

by Limbo Theorem

Inside You, Forever Preaching

PRIPYAT, UKRAINE
212113BJUL30:

Night descended on hell.

Seated underneath the rusting ruins of the Ferris Wheel, Vytrachena Syhareta burned off the rest of his cigarette, then flicked it away. He knew he wasn’t supposed to smoke after dark – a sergeant had once told him the light of a smoke could be seen from miles away by people, much less the zalupa that were the Octos – but to be honest, he didn’t really care much. They had already ruined his life to begin with.

He had been a writer, working on his local newspaper the day Decimation came. The day when the aliens invaded and the so-called vaunted militaries of the West and the East crumpled like paper. Neither Washington, Moscow or Beijing was going to get the world out of this one, and unsurprisingly, when the world had started to gather its wits about them, 90% of humanity was dead.

Amongst that was his sweet Kvitka, his beautiful flower, whose face he would never see again. He still held onto the ring he was going to use to propose to her, that he wore around his neck. And since then, sure, he’d spent time with other women – he knew Zlata stayed with him only because she was afraid of being alone, pathetic thing that she was – he could never forget the woman that he truly loved, even after all this time.

At least Zlata was pregnant with his child, he mused grimly, fishing another cigarette out of his pocket and lighting it. He guessed she figured that now that he was going to be a father, he would stay with her. She was probably right, but only because the government had put a priority on better housing for soldiers with families, and if he were to leave her, he would probably have to move back into the barracks.

Not that that would be any better, not here in hell, anyway.

There was a time, fifty years ago, when this town had been important. And then Russian stupidity had doomed hundreds of lives and caused untold damage because those bastards couldn’t run a nuclear power plant to save their lives. The plant had been buried in concrete and steel, and the town, a radioactive hell, had been evacuated. International observers had been assigned here to make sure “it would never happen again” and in time, everyone forgot about Chernobyl.

Then Decimation came, and everyone ran for their lives. Now, people were living in the crumbling remains of Pripyat, not giving two shits about radioactivity – after all, the Japanese did okay after the Americans bombed the hell out of them nearly a century ago, right? Never mind the fact that Chernobyl was still within its concrete tomb, a dragon slumbering until disturbed and the world would suffer once again. People would die once again and this time there wouldn’t be anyone to give a damn, because the world was too busy fighting for its life while aliens were busy trying to kill everyone.

He took a puff from his cigarette and groaned; he needed a drink right now, but the still was broken and Arkhitektor, that bastard, insisted that they couldn’t fix it until replacement parts came from Kiev. Which was bullshit, he knew, because Kiev was a smoking crater. He knew; he’d been one of the refugees from there before he’d been drafted by the Ukrainian military, such as it was.

He was tapped in the shoulder and turned to see a flask held out to him. “Here, drink before I decide to finish this damn thing off myself.” Syhareta turned to see his old friend, Tsynizm, holding it out for him. Tsynizm had already been in the military when Syhareta had been drafted, and the two had become fast friends, sharing drinks, smokes, even a prostitute once. Syhareta, however, drew the line at sharing his girl with his friend, though; some things went just a little too far.

He took a swig, then handed it back. “This is good shit. Where’d you get it?”

Tsynizm laughed. “Mayor’s daughter. She’s a saucy little thing. Spent some time with her and she gave me this from the mayor’s private stash.”

“Mayor’s daughter? He finds out you’re fucking her, he’s going to cut off your dick.”

Tsynizm laughed all the more. “He’ll go after the Colonel, first, I’ll tell you that – the Colonel’s fucking his wife!” The two men laughed at that, then sat down as Syhareta gave his friend a cigarette.

Tsynizm took a drag and said, “Vytra, my friend, you need to go. We’re all dead here. No one’s going to notice you deserted – no one cares.” The look in Tsynizm’s face was bleak. “If the aliens don’t kill us, being here will. You’re going to be a father soon. There’s no life for a child here. Take your wife and go.”

“Tsycha, where the fuck am I going to go?”

“Why not Germany? You told me once you spoke some German.”

Syhareta took another swig from his friend’s flask. “That’s assuming Germany is still standing. Maybe the NATO bastards would welcome someone like me, but that’s assuming anything’s left. You remember what the Major said – even the Americans have fallen. And if they’ve shit their beds, I can guarantee Berlin’s a smoking fuckhole at this point.”

Tsynizm ran a hand through the blue curls on top of his head. “I’m just looking out for you. Trust me, I’m thinking about it, too.”

“Oh? What, Mayor’s daughter thinks that because you dicked her that you’re going to stay with her for life? I know you, my friend. Moment you get bored of her, you’ll find some other beauty with big tits and a wicked smile.”

“Maybe,” he said, nodding. “Or maybe I will stay with her. I stay long enough, might get me some points with Daddy and might be a way up the promotion ladder. Only way to make sure I stay alive.”

“You’re a cynical bastard, you know that?”

“My mother didn’t name me for nothing, you know. What about you? Thought about what you’re going to do when this is all over?”

Syhareta stared into the darkness for a long time, listening to the crickets in the distance. Somehow only the insects had survived the nuclear hellhole this place had become and though animals had long since returned to this place, they still gave Pripyat a wide berth. Maybe they were smarter than the humans that had returned, he mused darkly.

“Don’t know. I don’t love Zlata; I only hooked up with her because she was stupid enough to spread her legs for me. But now, with her pregnant, she’s all I have left. I don’t love her at all – but I probably should.” He finished off his cigarette and flicked the butt away again. “Isn’t that a laugh? I’m going to be a father soon and I really couldn’t care less.”

“Oh, you’ll care enough if she gives birth to a girl. Then you’ll be the father and I’m sure you won’t let her end up like—” The bray of a wolf sounded in the distance, and was immediately cut off with a yelp.

“What the fuck was that?” both men said as they went for their rifles. They stared into the darkness, pointing their guns and waiting for something. After a few seconds, there was no response.

“Hopefully it was nothing,” Syhareta said, unconvinced.

“Yeah, but I’d better call it in, just in case,” Tsynizm stated, reaching on his belt for his radio. “The major will have our asses if we don’t.” Bringing it to his head, he clicked the button and began. “Base, Patrol 1. We think we may have fo—”

Tsynizm never finished his sentence as a blast of white cut through the air and hit him straight in the head. His head, hand and the radio exploded in a spray of blood, bone, flesh and plastic, his body wobbling unsteadily as impulsive motions occurred. What was left of him took three steps towards Syhareta before it fell to the ground, spraying blood all over the remaining soldier.

Syhareta screamed in panic, falling to the ground and scooting away from his now-dead friend.

It was the one thing that saved his life.

Three beams cut through the air where he’d been a second before, and one more towards the ground a second after that. Knowing he was now in danger, he ran behind the safety of the ticket booth; hopefully he would be shielded from the alien rays long enough to get away. Panicked, he gasped out in deep breaths, his mind caught up in fear.

His mind flitted between shards of terror as he felt icy cold fear pour down his back. He immediately thought of Zlata, and the fact that he would never get to play with her body again; or the child she carried – he would never see it be born. His child would grow up without a father and would either turn out to be a bastard like him or the kind of woman that dallied with same.

No more beams came, and he risked taking a peek on the side of the building.

There, standing a distance away like robotic beasts of the damned, were a group of Octos. They looked armed and from their posture, it was clear that they had either thought they’d killed him or he mattered so little that he was no longer a priority. He watched as one of them walked over to Tsynizm’s corpse and poked it a couple of times with their energy rods before wandering away from it, uttering a watery, unnatural sound that must have been its native language.

If they were here, there had to be more. And given they had killed his friend without so much as a thought, they would easily do the same to the civilians.

He forced down his panic and picked up his radio, readying to call.

That was when he heard the first of the explosions in the distance. He turned to look towards the ruined city and the great concrete sarcophagus and it was alight with fire and detonation. The aliens had begun their attack on the city and the power plant.

He then realized if they destroyed the sarcophagus, the radiation released would be worse than the initial disaster. Everyone around would be killed instantly, and who knew how much else. And this time there would be nothing to stop them.

He tightened his grip around his gun, a weathered and battered AK-47 that had already been obsolete back well before Decimation. Now it was all that the Ukrainian Ground Forces had and needless to say, it would likely be no match for alien armor. Still, he had to do something, as the screams and smoke in the distance began to sound and the fires rose higher.

He would die, but at least he would die defending the Fatherland. Taking his final breath of life, he stood up, screamed and aimed…

…only to find the aliens dead and standing amongst them, holding a staff that seemed to be made from pure electricity, was a strange figure. Dressed in what looked to be some bizarre body armor based on medieval plate. The whole thing looked like a mix of carbon-fiber, light metals and various other things. But the strangest thing was the cape, which the figure wore as if it was some sort of American superhero.

He looked at the figure blankly, along with the dead aliens at its feet. Whatever had happened, the newcomer had destroyed the aliens quickly and without mercy.

The hooded stranger looked at him and spoke: “Ти поранений?” It was a woman’s voice, soft and cultured, so much so that he couldn’t put together the juxtaposition of brutal lioness with the gentle voice.

He stared at her and she spoke again: “Ти в шоці? Вам потрібна медична допомога?”

He then realized she was speaking to him. “I…no. I’m fine.”

The stranger nodded. “Good,” she said. “We have work to do.” She flexed her left hand and the energy staff went away as if it were nothing.

“What…what are….”

“A friend.” Her words were now terse. “We need to get to the center of town before it’s too late. If they destroy the sarcophagus, they’ll have easy access to the solar station.”

He’d forgotten about that: there was an automated solar power plant that had been built back in 2018. It had been fully automated since 2022, and even now after Decimation had served as a vital energy source for Ukraine. “Why would they want…?”

“They don’t,” the woman told him as she started running towards the town. Despite her armor and trailing cape, she moved as if it weighed nothing at all, and he found himself struggling to keep up with her. “They plan to use the destruction of the sarcophagus to kill everyone here, then destroy the solar station. Without anyone present, there won’t be anyone to repair the solar plant.”

Magenta eyes opened in shock. “What? But the people here are refugees! They know nothing about repairing complex machinery!”

“The Octos aren’t inclined to care,” the stranger said, as they reached the center of town. Around them, buildings were burning, people were screaming and bodies lay still on the ground. Above them, an Octo ship opened fire on the sarcophagus, burning it with great beams of energy.

“Here’s where we make our stand,” she told him.

He looked around – they were out in the wide open, with no cover around them. “Are you crazy?”

“Yes. But I’m getting better every day,” was her only response. She looked at him once more, her face unreadable behind the silvery mask. “I want you to evacuate everyone you can – leave the aliens to me and fire only if you must. Is that your weapon?”

“Um…yes?”

“Worthless antique.” She ripped it out of his hand, throwing it into one of the burning buildings. She then somehow magically called something from nowhere, putting it in his hands. “Use this instead.”

He looked at the weapon she’d given him. It was like nothing he’d ever seen before: a sleek and futuristic bullpup rifle, its black-and-cobalt color scheme looked more like something the Americans would use than anything else. Hell, if he had to guess, it looked like something out of Japanese science fiction. He almost wondered if he could point it at the enemy and fry them in laser fire, just as they had done to his friend.

She pointed. “Go. Save your people,” she ordered.

He turned to do so, then turned back and looked one final time at his benefactor. “Who are you?”

He swore he could feel the woman smile, despite the fact that he couldn’t see it.

“Королева ножів.”

She then rushed towards the nuclear power plant, moving even faster than she had before. He in turn moved towards the survivors. He had his family to save, and then after that, the town.

---

Coming to a stop before the toppled brick wall that had once been the perimeter of the former Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, she looked around. Groups of Octos were fighting a pitched battle against the Ukrainian soldiers that had been stationed here to prevent the breach. The Octos were on the verge of victory, both on the ground and in the sky, where their starship floated, unopposed, firing down on the steel structure. Amazingly it had withstood the plasmafire, but it couldn’t hold out forever.

The Queen looked at the odds and decided it was time to change them.

“Computer,” she told her combat gear, “Music selection, if you please.”

{{QUERY: MUSIC REQUEST?}}

“Something…classical,” she said, as she called blazing fire to her hands. A second later, a fanciful revolver that looked more like a work of art than a weapon appeared in her left hand, and she pointed it.

The trigger was pulled and as it did, music began to pulse in her ears, thunderous guitars and chunky bass that accompanied the blast of burning starfire that slammed into the side of the alien ship. A second later, it cored through it, sending the alien ship listing towards the Earth, smoking from the massive hole that had been torn through its hull.

All eyes – human and Octo – looked at her.

She stepped forward, into battle.

“Hey you, hey you, Devil’s little sister –
Listening to your twisted transistor
Hold it between your legs
Turn it up, turn it up
The wind is coming through,
Can’t get enough”

The Queen rushed towards her opponents, who immediately began firing on her. Bolts of white-hot plasma began to tear through the air towards her, yet somehow missing. As she got closer to them, she leapt into the air, spinning like a ballerina of war as she began to glow with that same fiery energy again.

“A lonely life, where no one understands you
But don’t give up, because the music do!
Music do!
Music do!
Music do!
Music do!
Music do!
Music do!”

A storm of fireknives boiled away from her, rushing towards the enemy like warbirds in flight. Each knife that hit an Octo incinerated the alien on contact, and within less than a second, a dozen of them simply ceased to exist, felled by the literal power of the sun. The Queen landed amongst the remaining members of the first group, and with a scream, summoned two knives of burning violet energy…

…then vanished.

“Because the music do
And then it’s reaching
Inside you, forever preaching,
‘Fuck you too!’
Your screams will whisper
Hang on you
Twisted transistor”

A figure of smoke zigzagged between the remaining Octos in the first group. In each case the figure coalesced into the figure of the Queen, slamming her opponent with explosive power before turning into smoke and going after the next one. Time after time the Octos fell to her blades, and by the time her spell stopped, most of the first group had been removed.

She turned and looked at the shellshocked soldiers and screamed at them, “БОТИ ДО ОСТАТОРИ!”

One by one they moved into action, stirred by the incredible figure before them. A second group of Octos began to move toward them, firing at them, filling the area with sulfuric white plasma bolts as the two sides traded fire.

“Hey you, hey you, finally you get it
The world – it can eat you if you let it
And as your tears fall on
Your breast, your dress
Vibrations coming through –
You’re in a mess”

With a cold fury, the Queen summoned an amethyst bow made of the same dark energies as her long knives. Without a concern, she immediately drew back the energy bow and fired.

“A lonely life, where no one understands you
But don’t give up, because the music do!
Music do!
Music do!
Music do!
Music do!
Music do!
Music do!”

Several blasts of energy slammed into the Octos, anchoring them in place, tractor beams made of spellfire. Held in place by the energy tethers, the aliens could only move slowly, unable to fire and or do much more than scream in rage. Sensing the advantage, the Ukrainian soldiers fired in their would-be assailants, cutting them down with countless rounds of depleted uranium.

The Queen turned and tethered a second group of them, deciding to go after them herself. She bolted towards them, calling forth her staff, lightning tracing a path up and down the length of the electric-blue staff. She tore into the center of them, sending pieces of aliens flying, attacking without any mercy whatsoever.

“Because the music do
And then it’s reaching
Inside you, forever preaching,
‘Fuck you too!’
Your screams will whisper
Hang on you
Twisted transistor”

Within minutes, the tide of the battle had turned, and the invading Octo forces suddenly found themselves repulsed by both the Queen and the rejuvenated Ukrainian Ground Forces. They would hold the line, prevent the destruction of Chernobyl and save the lives of the refugees hiding in the ghostly buildings of Pripyat.

Stories had been told about the Zone of Alienation, from the truth to the fanciful, from poachers to stalkers. And now, it would tell of heroes, as the defenders fought to the last, men and women bringing their might against the Octos.

---

“ZLATA!” Syhareta raced towards the building that she and he had been living in. It was on fire and there were several aliens around it, trying to burn the structure to its foundations as if it were all one great campfire.

Without even thinking twice, he raised his new rifle and fired. The weapon complied without so much as even bucking from recoil, sending out a lick of gunfire. Across the yawning distance, an Octo went down in bloody chunks, cut down by the gunfire. Emboldened, he continued to fire, not giving them even the slightest chance to return fire.

As he reached the door, the flames had begun to climb to the second of three floors. “ZLATA!” he screamed. “WHERE ARE YOU?”

“Vytra!” He heard the voice behind him and turned. Once, she had been this alluring sweet thing, with a perfectly fuckable body, smoky gray eyes and long gold-and-violet hair. Now, her hair had been cut short, and her belly was swollen, preventing him from getting between her thighs anytime soon.

She had never looked lovelier to him than in that moment.

She moved forward, holding him, crying on his chest. He held her close, stroking her hair as he slung his new rifle around his shoulder. Strangely enough, even though it didn’t have a sling, it adhered to his back without so much as moving.

“I thought…I thought I’d never see you again!” she sobbed. “I thought you’d leave me behind or you’d died or….”

“No,” he told her, and within his heart, he knew it. Despite everything, he knew he would never leave her. “You are my wife,” he told her gently, lifting her face up so his magenta eyes looked into her gray ones. “The mother of my child. I would not leave my beloved behind.” That made her cry all the more, and he held her closer for it.

The aliens tried to take everything from him – from both the Ukraine and from him personally.

He would see to it, thanks to his mysterious benefactor, that they would be very mistaken.

---

The Queen moved amongst friend and foe, acting with calculated efficiency. To her fellow humans, she offered words of encouragement, strength and support. To her enemies, she offered the slings and arrows of war, each aimed with a cold cruelty towards those who would slaughter mankind.

Each wave of Octos that came was met with a fierce response, and as the hours wore down, the waves became less and less, spaced out more, and though a brave defender or two fell occasionally, it paled beside the numbers of the alien dead that littered the grounds of the derelict power plant.

Finally, the first rays of light began to peek over the horizon and the alien starship, having been heavily damaged earlier, returned to the scene, and as one, the aliens began to vanish, clearly teleported within the vessel. Finally, the large ship moved away as the scream of Russian Air Force Su-57 stealth fighters sounded in the air above. Though the fighters immediately gave chase, they could not keep up as the alien ship breached the atmosphere, heading into the inky darkness of space.

A few moments later, additional sounds could be heard: the sound of helicopters, as forces from the Russian and Belarusian militaries moved in to relieve the beleaguered Ukrainian forces. But the reinforcements had arrived at a time when they were no longer needed, as the valiant defenders threw up cheers of victory and prayers for those lost in battle. In the end, the bodies of both victors and assailants would have to be buried, the dead honored and plans made to continue to protect Chernobyl. Now more than ever, its defense had to be carefully maintained, now that they knew the risks and the potential for disaster.

Walking through the fields of the dead, checking to see which of the downed somehow managed to remain alive, she methodically executed any that did, while she called for medical attention for the wounded humans that had miraculously lived through the battle. Many of them would have injuries that would be lifelong, but at least they would live to see another day.

As she finished up and the sun rose in full, her armor glittered in the light, giving all the impression of an angel amongst them – an angel of war, having come down from the heavens to punish the wicked and save the faithful. Several people rushed up to her and gave her thanks, chittering along in Ukrainian, Russian and even Turkish in one case.

She gave them all her thanks in their native languages, much to the surprise of those present, answering their questions patiently and carefully. No, she wasn’t Russian – or American or Chinese or anything like that. Yes, she was using magic. Yes, she was human. Yes, she was single – but she was planning to stay that way. No, she couldn’t stay; others needed her help as well and she had world to defend.

Finally, as she began to wind up, she encountered Syhareta. He had a fierce, protective look in his eyes, and the woman holding onto his arm was likely the reason why.

“I see you survived,” the Queen told him.

“I did. I presume you’ll be wanting this back?” he told her, offering the gun.

She looked at him, then shook her head. “No. The Ukraine needs brave soldiers like you, effective ones.” She then glanced at the woman, adding, “ones that know what to fight for. That weapon will help. In fact….” She moved her right hand as if performing a slight-of-hand trick and produced a glass disc, handing it to him.

“What is this?”

“It’s a 5D Memory Crystal,” she told him. “They were experimental a decade ago – hopefully someone should be able to read it now. The designs for that gun are on that disc. It will help in the battles to come.”

“Should I give up my gun as well?”

She shook her head again. “No – that one is yours. It will only be yours. The disc will create others.”

“I see,” Syhareta said, confused but taking the disc nonetheless. “I will do what I can. You have my word.”

“I know,” she said, then turned. “It is time for me to go. Others need me as well.” The Queen started walking away, and dissolved into motes of light, and was gone by her third step.

“An angel,” Zatla said to Syhareta. “She had to be an angel sent to help us.”

Syhareta looked at the crystal in his hand and his promise to the Queen. He would not fail her. “We need to go.”

“Go?”

“This is no place for our child, amongst this radioactive hell. This is no place for you. Our world is in peril and we have been given a chance to save it. We need to take this information to the government. They’ll know what to do.”

Zlata looked at him. “I go wherever you go,” she told him.

He put his arm around her, holding her close. In a matter of hours, his world had completely changed. As the days wound on, how much more would change?

---

APPLE CORNERS, COLORADO
220921TJUL30:

“Roger that, Colonel. We’ll be back by 1200.” Applejack closed her phone, ending the call. She looked at Flash and Fluttershy. “Change in plans: Col. Armor wants us back after breakfast. We need to move up the mission timetable.”

“Why?” Fluttershy asked.

“There was an attack in the Ukraine yesterday – the aliens tried to hit Chernobyl.” A plate shattered in the background, and the three military personnel turned to look at Trixie, who was at the stove, making breakfast for everyone and having dropped the plate in shock.

“Chernobyl?” the woman said with shock. “Isn’t that the place where that nuclear accident happened?”

Applejack nodded. “Apparently the Octos were trying to set whatever off again. But they were stopped…by the Queen.”

Macintosh, who had went over to help his wife clean up the mess, looked at his sister. “I get the feeling we’re not supposed to hear this.”

“It’ll be public soon enough,” Applejack told him. “Given where the attack happened, it’s not going to stay quiet, and given that the Queen stopped it, there’s no way that the Ukrainian government can keep it quiet. If they don’t say something, the Russians will – they owe her.”

Flash looked at Applejack, his face an unreadable jumble of emotions. No doubt he wondered if his former girlfriend was behind the mask and armor, leading a one-woman war against the aliens. “Do you think it’s her?”

“I don’t know,” Applejack told him. “But I have to believe. If it is her…I can’t let her do this alone.”

“We can’t let her do this alone,” Fluttershy reminded her friend.

“Yeah.” Applejack rose from her chair, pushing away from the table. At the moment, she was dressed in a simple T-shirt and jeans. She would have to head back upstairs and change into the all-familiar clothing she spent most of her time in – her NAVPATs. Throwing herself into the grind once more, as befitting her life’s calling.

She just hoped there was a light at the end of the tunnel…a dying light, preferably.

Author's Note:

I'm back!

Comments

[diablo4000]

Glad to see you back.

Love the new chapter, was fantastic, but got to ask one question will the other Rainbooms be seen soon or so?

[WhitewolfStormrunner]

Author's Note:

I'm back!

Welcome back!

And with yet another excellent chapter, Limbo!

Can't wait for the next one to see what happens next!

Again, great chapter, and a job well done!

[Shadow_Wolf]

That. Was. Awesome!

[Edguy0009]

Nice.

[HF Fury]

Everytime I reread this I keep forgetting how much the fight scenes with the Queen are seemingly inspired by Destiny the game and it's commercials.