The Little Match Girl (chapter)

The Little Match Girl is a chapter in When the Cold Breeze Blows Away. In this chapter, during the battle of Tula Oblast on Boxing Day (December 26), the day after the Gulf of Bothnia Incident, the Unified Soviet Red Assault Command Army sniper, Fyodor Artyomov, was leading his squadron against the Global Confederation until all of his squadron were ultimatelly destroyed and he was killed by an Assault named George Bridgeton, then as the fourth trumpet is being heard across the multiverse, thus signaling that Wormwood (or Nibiru, aka Planet X) is coming to make a third of the light that shines from the Sun, moon and stars became dark from these celestial bodies being struck. This catastrophe caused complete darkness for a third of each day, during the day, even through night hours.

Later, on a cold New Year's Eve and after the battle of Tula Oblast against the Global Confederation, a poor, young girl, Alexandra Artyomova, tries to sell matches in the street. She is already shivering from cold and early hypothermia, and she is walking barefoot after losing her two large slippers that had belonged to her killed mother to an impertinent Glboal Confederation Heavy Assault, Michael Siddell. Still, she is too afraid to go home, because the Global Confederation peacekeepers will beat her for not selling any matches, and also as the many cracks in her shack can't keep out the cold wind. The girl takes shelter in a corner formed by two house projected further out into street and sits down, then she meets a ghost of her father, Fyodor, She was worried that she would be beaten by her father for not selling any matches at all. When the soldiers get mad at Fyodor for being too stern to poor people as part of the United Nations Military Laws of 2022, the girl cried harder, then Fyodor instead showed his kindness towards her daughter instead, hugging her.

Soon, Alexandra lights the matches to warm herself. In their glow she sees several lovely visions, starting with a warm stove, then a luxurious holiday feast where the goose almost jumps out at her, and then a magnificent Christmas tree larger than the one at the rich merchant (Dmitri Kozlov)'s house. The girl looks skyward and sees a shooting star; she then remembers her late grandmother, Mariya Artyomova, saying that such a falling star means someone is dying and is going to Heaven. As she lights the next match, she sees a vision of her grandmother, one of the only persons to have treated her with love and kindness all through her life. To keep the vision of her grandmother alive for as long as she can, the girl lights the entire bundle of matches at once.

After running out of matches, the child dies and her grandmother carries her soul to Heaven. The next morning, passers-by find the girl dead in the nook, frozen with a smile on her face, and guess the reason for the burnt-out matches beside her. They feel pity for her, although they had not shown kindness to her before her death. They have no way of knowing about the wonderful visions she saw before her death or how gloriously she is celebrating the New Year in Heaven with her grandmother.

Ralphie Tennelli, saddened upon Alexandra's death, comes near her dead body to dress her with fancy clothes (a pink sleeveless long dress with a sash on her waist, a hemline, a transparent neckline, a transparent skirt and encrusted jewels, a pair of light pink gloves, black leggings to be worn underneath the skirt part of the dress, white socks, black Mary Jane shoes, a tiara, a bracelet and a buttoned jacket) after Polina Petrov embalmed her, then a funeral was held.

A few seconds after she was placed on a glass coffin, hostiles attack the Russian opposition. The heroes escape and they reach a door, which Su Ji-Hoon tells Mary Joy Larionova to open. When he opens it, a stairway is revealed; then Dorothy Ann Rourke, furious over Alexandra's death, punches Larionova down the flight of stairs and holds her at gunpoint, demanding how she knows Vladimir Putin, Lisa Loud and Vladimir Makarov, which prompts a series of flashbacks.

Larionova and Putin, it transpires, were both present at the Dark Lord Knight, Strerkox, Gerard and Pianissima's attempted assassination on Jar-Eel in Reschensee. Putin and Larionova  were in the car, with Putin in the driver seat and Larionova in the backseat. Putin explains to Larionova the reason of the deal they were making. Jar-Eel was shot by Pianissima in the left arm and quickly gets in the car. Putin quickly drives, running over several of their own men in the process. She is then seen with Lisa, Makarov and Putin when they were ordered by Khaled Al-Asad to detonate another nuclear bomb that killed 50,000 U.S. Marines, including Sgt. Harry Yates, while standing at the safe distance as they witness the explosion. In another flashback, she, now with Walovlir Motovov attempts to stop Makarov from killing civilians in Zakhaev International Airport. It is learnt that she, Walovlir and Yuri tried to leak information that could prove detrimental to Makarov, but failed. Yuri was then shot in the abdomen, and left for dead. Makarov, aware of Joseph Allen's presence, kills the American after the mission. She, along with all the other the comrades of the Motovov family, managed to get into the elevator that led up to the airport lobby, shortly after Makarov's team opened fire at the civilians, and she attempted to kill Makarov with a guard (Andriyan Volkov)'s P99, but blacked out, at which point paramedics found her. After surviving Makarov's betrayal, a new burning hatred[[ for the man was instilled in the [[Unified Soviet Red Assault Command. When the flashbacks cease, he explains to Li that he was "a spy of Russia, not a taker of innocent lives." Li then tells Larionova that she's bought himself some time for the time being.

Some time later, Ji-Hoon and his friends are surrounded by Confederate Assaults; one tells the other that Lola Loud wants Arnold ("the youngest one") alive. The Assault, Logan Frederickson points his P226 to Cortes' head, but it shot by Lazarev via sniper fire. The heroes fight Confederate Assaults, taking their rifles while Logan can take the P226. Cortes contacts Lazarev and tells him to make it their way, and Lazarev says they'll meet in the house. Cortes attacks a room full of Confederate Assaults, upon finished the room, Hesh takes a Confederate talkey, some heard the noise and are coming. Lazarev contacts them and tells them they're too many, making it to the kitchen, SpongeBob falls on the ground in the kitchen (with his broken ribs). Grouping with Lazarev, the heroes hide in a room. A British Army soldier, David Hanshaw, sees the heroes and comes into the room, Lazarev kills him silently as the other soldiers still look for the heroes. Going though the town, Nicolae Carpathia comes on the comms though the town, telling them he wants the heroes dead or alive. Fighting their way though Confederate soldiers, the heroes make it to the exit. Confederate soldiers throw more tear gas, the heroes make their way to a window and jump out, Ji-Hoon catches a bar but lets go and falls unconscious. Cathryn helps Ji-Hoon up as Lazarev tells them to take it slow and they're going to be outnumbered. Ralphie sees Zwei get shot and the heroes fight their way, Ralphie tells them not to forget Zwei, Ji-Hoon picks Zwei up as the heroes fight their way to extraction.

Trivia

 * This chapter is an adaption based on "The Little Match Girl," a short story written by Hans Christian Andersen, but it has minor differences.
 * This version is set in Russia during both the World War III and the Resistance-Confederation War, and that is one of the major differences.
 * Another big reference is that her father, Fyodor Artyomov, does care about the match girl Alexandra Artyomova, since MJ doesn't like the original concept of the original match girl's father.
 * This chapter also explores one of the aspects of war in When the Cold Breeze Blows Away.
 * The events after Alexandra Artyomova's death are combined references to a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 campaign mission, "Blood Brothers," and a Call of Duty: Ghosts campaign mission, "Sin City."