The Cossack and the Nazi

Nikolai Belinski, the once feared and infamous soldier in the Russian ranks, was reduced to skulling vodka in a dark, dank closet full of disfigured space suits. Of course he found it ironic, after dragging down anybody he could to get to his rank, he is brought out of his rapid ascension by those which are below him. (Sometimes literally.)

"Nikolai? .... Nikolai, I need to borrow your Ray Gun, I broke mien ammunition bag.."

A distinctly german accent awoke Nikolai from his drunken stupor. The nazi opened the closet door and peered inside at the cossack, who fled into the corner from the light like it burned the drunk.

"Y.. You only get if you.. Get me so-some.." Before Nikolai could finish his slurred sentence, he threw up in-between his legs. The vomit dripped from the corner of his mouth, onto his pus and blood stained jacket. He attempted to wipe it away with the back of his hand, but gave up quickly. Richtofen squatted next to Nikolai, taking in his drunken state with his sharp eyes.

"Nikolai, vhat vould cause you to get into a state like zhis? As zhe asian would say," Richtofen mimicked Takeo poorly, "..It ish 'NOT. Honorable'." He laughed shrilly,but stopped when Nikolai hadn't even glanced at him. He was busy caressing the vodka bottle to his chest, tears starting to well up in his eyes and fall down his cheeks onto the near empty bottle, and the puddle of puke on the floor.

"Nikolai? ... Nikolai, are you crying?" Richtofen had never seen Nikolai so depressed before. His view of him was a hardened ally, a russian brute, and a formidible opponent that killed anything his way.

"Has zhe skeletons in your closet have paid you a visit Nikolai?" Richtofen asked after a long pause, and puts his hand on Nikolai's shoulder hesitantly. Nikolai made no move to shrug it off, so Richtofen shook him slightly. "Answer me Nikolai. I vould help, maybe.' Nikolai breathed out shakily and dropped the bottle to the side, not noticing the glass crack loudly as it hit the concrete.

"I miss my Alinushka.." Nikolai mumbled. The nazi stared at the russian until he pushed Richtofen away slowly with a hand to the face, mushing up the german's expression slightly. Richtofen slapped Nikolai's wrist away and shook his shoulder a little more forcefully.

"Tell me, Russian. I am not about to gossip to zhe others around zhe pack-a-punch, secrecy is my only virtue." Richtofen kept his voice level, even though he was getting annoyed. Nikolai wiped his tears away from his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Alina is my daughter. Was.." Takes a moment to count on his fingers, but gets confused at five and lowers his hand. "... Little. Small child. I have not seen her for a long time. She would be dead by now from zombies." Richtofen was confused. He heard Nikolai mention he had a daughter at some point, but he thought he would have hated it like he had hated his late wives. Nikolai continued. "I.. I loved her much. Mother was nothing special, but she was like little angel..."

Richtofen nodded slightly, but didn't understand one bit how Nikolai could kill without a thought, but love something so unconditionally.
"Come on, get out of zhe closet before zhe damned monkeys come. I'm not going to do all the killing for you all zhe time." Richtofen stood up and looked down at the drunkSoviet, who grabbed Richtofen's pants and pulled himself up slowly, pulling the Nazi's pants down on one side to expose thigh. He quickly pulled his pants up by his belt and yanked the drunk up, and stepped out of his way as he stumbled into the wall and leaned against it.

"Hokay..If Takeo asks why I'm crying, tell him I hate him." Nikolai slowly pulled away from the wall and stumbled out, tripping over pieces of discarded metal and broken rock, forgetting his whole encounter with Richtofen.

But the Nazi looked back on the incident every day since. Everyone had some loss of relations in their life, something they looked back on and cried about. Richtofen's test subjects were regaining their memories slowly. He even found Dempsey lamenting a lost friend once, and Takeo a family member. Nikolai was only the first to succumb to grief.

And Richtofen was the only one that never had anything to lose.