Ok people of teh interenet, I bring you yet another Richtofen x Nikolai story. First off just so we're clear, in the begining there is a SPOILER ALERT! Secondly, I have to say, this is one of my more detailed and more indepth stories. When I first played Moon I loved it, but I was actually kinda sad that Richtofen won and left the others to die. SO! I decided to do my own version of what should have happened. There is breif mention of violence, but it's mostly non-violent and more of a "Romantic 'What If'" story. So anyway, please enjoy my story, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. If it wasn't for Dempsey being a potty-mouth it'd be rated K+ but eh, whatever. Please enjoy.
Richtofen sighs as he enters the Pyramid, immediately feeling the limitless power course through his soul. He could see what every zombie saw, tell them to do whatever he wanted, he could summon anything and everything but he instead started looking through all they zombies eyes, seeing what they saw. He saw Dempsey and Takeo fighting side by side back at base teleporter on earth, waiting for Richtofen to kill Samantha and stop the zombies once in for all. Won't they be in for a surprise?
He then sees a slow walking zombie shambling down a hallway. It passes by a symbol on the hallway wall and sees that it is the American Presidential symbol. After what felt like ages of looking through zombies eyes, something catches his mind's eye. He focuses and sees through the eyes of a newly dead zombie and sees Nikolai, a state of aw and shock on his face… as well as a look of betrayal, hurt, and anger. He can hear Samantha in his body explaining what he had done, the little brat. But that face… Richtofen looks on and watches as Nikolai is running away from a pack of running zombies, completely out of ammo, cursing in Russian the whole time. Something then happens; the zombies' vision goes dark. Switching over to a crawler, who had been following the small horde of running zombies, he sees that the zombies were all dead, and their remains floating in the zero-gravity.
Richtofen paused for a moment, and pondered as to why he had done that. Had it been an accident? No, he had remembered getting angry and wanting them dead. Why did he get angry? Didn't he want Nikolai killed? No, not really, said a feeling inside him. It was a feeling Richtofen had suppressed for the past few years he had every time he was around Nikolai. Richtofen screamed obscenities at the feeling, cursing it and demanding it let him kill Nikolai, but it did not relent. Every time a zombie tried to take a swing at Nikolai, or got to close to him, Richtofen exploded that zombie. And every time he did that, that feeling grew stronger, more prominent in his soul. Richtofen was furious and lashed out by sending all the zombies he could at Samantha who was now in control of his body.
Unfortunately she had found the Reaper Gatling gun and was now mowing them all down making Richtofen start screaming into the void of power he was floating in. Suddenly though, as if lightening had struck, his mind became clear. For the first time since he was a young teenager, the evil thoughts and voices were gone. And in that clearness, a single image popped into Richtofens' mind.
"Nikolai…"
Nikolai Belinski… the drunk-off-his-rocker Russian. The feeling felt like it was about to burst forth, and Richtofen finally understood. That feeling… that overwhelming feeling that he felt… was guilt… but not just that… but also regret… and love. It all made sense now. Why he was always so friendly towards Nikolai, of why he always tried to impress him with his knowledge or when Nikolai was in trouble, helped him even when the odds were near impossible, Richtofen was even a tad bit nicer towards Dempsey when Nikolai was around because he knew they were friends, it all was clear as day now. And with that revelation, came the knowledge of what he had to do. He focused on all the zombies, every single one on the moon and on Earth, and killed them, every last one. And soon, he was blind; he could not see anyone or anything anymore, and the feeling of power almost completely gone.
Richtofen, with the last bit of power he had, forced himself back into his body and Samantha into the next world.
'Pain… I feel pain all over… am I dead?' Richtofen took a deep breath and exhaled, the sound of the P.E.S. mask filtering his breath the only sound to be heard.
'Ok… I am not dead… good… oh my head… why are my eyes so heavy?' Richtofen tried to move his arm but it felt much too heavy, as if it was made of metal. Slowly though a voice began to make itself known but it was too faint to be heard. Something grabbed Richtofens arm and began to drag him, to where? He does not know, for even his eyelids will not open on command. He floated a little which made his sense of balance do a back-flip, the grip the only thing guiding him. A few seconds later found Richtofen slamming down onto the hard steel of the station floor, Richtofen wanted to groan but now his body felt like it was ten times heavier and was caving in on itself. Suddenly his P.E.S. mask came off and the muffled voice was replaced by the thick, gruff voice of a Russian.
"Little Samantha is ok, da?" Nikolai… that was the first thought that registered other than pain. Then with that some energy came to Richtofens' limbs. And with that, came his weak voice.
"N-Nikolai?..." There was a pause and the sound of something shifting came from next to Richtofen. Followed by the sound of a cocked shotgun.
"Fucker! What you do to little girl ghost?" Richtofen managed to finally crack open his eyes to the sight of a SPAZ shotgun barrel in his face. He followed the shotgun to an arm, then to a face, belonging to none other than the one man who had just basically stopped a madman from controlling the world, without even knowing it.
"Sorry…N-Nikolai…" Nikolai pressed the barrel of the shotgun against Richtofens' pale cheek, the end of it still slightly heated from recent use.
"You kill little girl! You kill many innocent people! YOU MAKE US SLAVES! Why should Nikolai spare your pathetic life?" Richtofen knew instantly he was doomed to die, ironically by the man he only a few minutes ago found out he loved. Suddenly he is tired, with the last bit of energy he could summon from his drained frame he says four final words.
"I… love…. You…. Nikolai…" The last thing Richtofen sees is a bewildered Nikolai before he passes out.
Warmth… comfort… and comfortable silence…
'Ok… I am officially dead now.' Richtofen felt something soft against his skin, which was odd since he should still be in that itchy and uncomfortable space suit. Still half asleep, Richtofen turns onto his side and snuggles deeper into the fresh smelling covers and soft pillow. Richtofen did not feel tired like he usually was after sleeping, this sleep though was blissfully free of nightmares, voices, and dreams. And now, starting to wake up, he felt ages younger with an appetite to match.
Richtofen looks around through cracked eyes and sees a slightly dark room, but it was growing brighter as a sunrise came from a window at the end of the room. Now he was really wondering if he was dead.
"If this ish hell… vell… I guess it ish not so bad." All that changed when a voice came from a door on the other side of the room by the window.
"Hey Nazi! You up yet?" Richtofen face palmed himself and groaned.
"Oh Satan, zhis ish to cruel, even for you…" Dempsey then opened the door and stuck his head in.
"Well it's about time you got up!" Richtofen looked to the sky and yelled.
"I vill do anyzhing for you! Just make him go avay! I BEG YOU!" Dempsey rolled his eyes.
"Good mornin' to you to sleepin' beauty, but if you're not too busy PMSing and all, get your faggy ass downstairs, breakfast is almost ready." He then closed the door. Richtofen was now really confused, all things considered Dempsey had been slightly kinder with his insult. Richtofen crawled out of bed and noticed that he was naked down to his underpants. He didn't know how that happened and he doesn't want to know how (as long as it wasn't Dempsey who did it).
On a dresser next to the bed was a washbasin with a shaving kit, a towel, and a new set of clothes that consisted of a long sleeve white shirt, a faded black tie, a grey wool vest, grey trousers with suspenders, grey socks, and a pair of old looking black loafers. Richtofen sighed and looked in the mirror at himself, the feeling of being younger now gone. He touched his wrinkled face with one of his thin, boney fingers and pulled a little on the skin. He pulled it further away from his face than last time showing how much his skin was starting to age. Oh how long it has been since he had the time to actually look at himself properly? Not for a long, long time.
The last time Richtofen remembered himself in a mirror, he saw a middle-aged man, with one, maybe two grey hairs, a smooth face almost free of wrinkles, and a tad bit more rounder and full of life. The new Richtofen though saw an elderly man, a man that had more grey and white hairs than black, and instead of a smooth rounder face, he found a very skinny and wrinkled face that lacked that old spark of life it used to have. But what was worse… was that almost every feature he saw radiated one word and one word only…
"Old… mein gott … I am old…" Richtofen, after another minute or two of self pity, soaped up his face and shaved the growing stubble off. Richtofen used to be afraid of this because the voices used to urge him to slit his own throat, but now… they're quiet. As if something just snuffed them out. And then something else hit him… he wasn't mad. Not only in the sense of being crazy but… not as… angry with everything. Sure Dempsey still got on his nerves easily by just existing but that is more out of habit than anything.
Richtofen rinsed off his face and dried up with a towel. Now came the hard part. He picked up a pair of scissors and began to cut his hair, making sure to keep it long enough to slick back but short enough so it doesn't look fluffy.
When Richtofen finished slicking back his hair with what little hair gel was left in a jar, he put on the clothes set out for him. When he finished slipping on his shoes he looked in the mirror. An elderly man with sad eyes and in old looking clothes looked back at him. After adjusting his tie he exited the room into a long hallway filled with old doors with dust everywhere. But it wasn't creepy, nor did it have the usual 'impending doom' feeling that most other hallways gave off. Instead it was just peaceful with the window behind Richtofen letting in the new morning light, casting long shadows against him and a few small stands in the hallway.
Richtofen turned around and walked up the slightly dirty window and opened it wide open. No screaming, no groaning, no gunfire, just the song of a bird waking up in the distance, greeting the morning with a cheery tune. There was also a lack of ominous fog, yes there was indeed fog, but it clung low to the ground and looked more docile than the thick fog that was usually dense with the walking dead. Richtofen took a deep breath and exhaled, finding no smell of blood, burning flesh, or decay, just fresh air. A small breeze pushed passed Richtofen, it felt cool against his face.
'Did I have something to do with this?' He thought to himself. 'Did killing the zombies and Samantha really bring all this back?' The grass was long and green all over the rolling hills of the countryside; clumps of trees were everywhere including a hedge line or two. But what brought it all together was the long dirt path leading into the sunrise. Then Richtofen noticed something, there was someone in a famer's field near the building, appearing to be… well… farming. It was as if someone had put him in the most beautiful place in the world…
'I must be in heaven…' Richtofen then shook his head. If it was heaven, then why was Dempsey there as well? So the official conclusion was that he was alive, and by some miracle, ended up here. Before he could ponder any further the smell of biscuits and sausage assaulted his senses. He looked down and out the window and noticed that another window was open and the sounds of cooking were heard coming from it. Richtofen closed the window and made his way down the hallway and short flight of stairs. He ended up in what looked like a small foyer, where a wooden door was at and three pairs of dirty boots (including his own jackboots) were lined up against the wall with all of their jackets, and ammo sacks hung on wooden pegs above their boots. A pair of open double doors to his left led into what looked like a living room filled with a light blue sofa, a wooden rocking chair, a coffee table in the center, a large window was set behind the rocking chair, and a small radio sat on a small stand next to the sofa. But that was all he could see without entering the room itself. To his right was another set of double doors leading into a kitchen where the delicious smells flowed from.
Richtofen entered and was surprised to find someone getting biscuits out of an oven. But his jaw completely dropped when Dempsey turned around wearing baby blue oven mittens and an apron lined with lace to match, all while holding the biscuits he apparently had made. Richtofen was about to let loose a torrent of jokes when Dempsey growled out.
"Say one word and you get nothing to eat." Richtofen shut his mouth. He was in fact very hungry and didn't want to not eat. After all it did smell good, even if it was made by Dempsey. His stomach assented as it growled loudly. Richtofen took a seat at a round wooden table that was inside the kitchen. Already on it were a heaping plate of waffles, sausage, a small jar of syrup, and a pitcher of milk with four empty glasses surrounding it. Overall it looked amazing compared to the dirty water and whatever they could scrounge up for the past god-knows-how-many years.
Dempsey set the hot biscuits on an open windowsill that sat over the kitchen sink, before sighing and nodding at his good work. He then went through the cupboards and drawers taking out plates and silverware. Richtofen could hardly believe what he was witnessing but kept silent about it. But then a nagging feeling got to him.
"Dempshey?" Dempsey looked over to Richtofen, pausing pulling out a napkin.
"Vhere ish Takeo und Nikolai?" Dempsey returned to what he was doing but explained everything.
"Right now Takeo is working in a field he's been farmin', said we couldn't keep looking for food forever. This place had a shit load of seeds so he began working on it about a week ago. Nikolai, after sobering up last week, takes a truck that was in a barn near the house we're in to a nearby town and searches for non-perishables and survivors. So far he's found a few crates of preservatives but no survivors, plenty of dead bodies apparently but no survivors. And as for me, I stay behind and take care of the house, and for the past three weeks, you as well." He set down four plates, four napkins, and utensils. He then sits down across from Richtofen who is speechless.
"I vas out for three veeks?" Dempsey nodded and leaned forward on his elbows.
"Yeah. After Nikolai brought you back from the teleporter, you've been slipping in and out of it for a bit, long enough to do your business and drink a little broth, other than that, you've been knocked out." Richtofen nodded.
"Do you know vhere ve are?" Dempsey shrugged.
"All I know is that we're somewhere in Germany is all, and that all the towns we've gone through to get here while you were out of it, all the people were dead, but they looked like they were once undead before they died. Speaking of which…" Dempsey cleared his throat. "Thanks… for uhh… stoppin' the zombies… if it weren't for you Tak and I would have been dead." Richtofen was speechless… Dempsey has never thanked him… NEVER.
Before he could say anything though Dempsey stood and went over to where the biscuits were cooling off. He removed one of the baby blue mittens and touched the top of a biscuit. After a moment he nodded and then put them all onto a small platter. He carried it over to the table, set it down, then opened a screen door to the outside.
"Hey Tak! Breakfast is ready!" Through a large window next to the doorway, Richtofen saw the figure in the field stand up straight, wipe his forehead with his arm, then began making his way to the house carrying a sack on his hip and a field hoe on his shoulder. Richtofen took a moment to wonder if Nikolai remembers what he had said on the space station. But if what Dempsey said was true and he's now sober, he may not. The screen door closed and a sweaty and dirty Takeo walked in wearing an undershirt, working pants, and rubber boots.
"I wirr return aftah washing my hands and face of zis grime." Dempsey nodded and looked out the window and smiled as Takeo went to what Richtofen figured was the washroom. Richtofen looked passed Dempsey and saw in the distance a truck coming down the dirt path. Dempsey chuckled.
"I swear that Russian can smell my cooking from miles away… always comes back when it's time to eat." Dempsey then took off the apron and other mitten, putting them away before beginning to wash his hands. Richtofen began to get anxious, he had obviously not told them what he said but again he might not remember… hopefully it is the latter. The old looking truck rumbles on onto the property and stops out of view. As Takeo returns in a new clean shirt and pants looking clean himself, Nikolai opens the back door and enters.
"I'm back! And I bring good news!" Dempsey smiles and gestures for him to take a seat, Takeo nods but doesn't take much interest in him but in the food that was set out. Nikola sits next to Richtofen who is shocked beyond words at what he sees. Nikolai, the chunky, drunk-off-his-rocker Russian, looked… different… much different… His eyes were clear and cheerful looking with no dullness of alcohol to be had, they weren't even bloodshot. He had no bags under his eyes, his short brown hair clean and tidy. His stubble looked orderly, not the messily hacked at whiskers they used to be. And overall… he looked very healthy. And his once beer belly looked much more slimmer (from the shape of it anyway).
Dempsey passed around the plates and everyone grabbed the rest before digging into the food. Takeo horded most of the waffles and syrup, Dempsey took a waffle, a few links of sausage, and two biscuits, Nikolai had quite a bit of sausage on his plate and about four biscuits, all slathered in what little syrup was left after Takeo and Dempsey, while Richtofen had the rest.
In between chewing, Nikolai detailed how he had come across three pounds of coffee beans, a few boxes of canned vegetables, and a half a small crate of preservatives he had taken from the abandoned farmers market. Takeo and Dempsey both listened intently while Richtofen focused on eating and ignoring the gut feeling that Nikolai remembers what he had said on the space station.
Eventually after many jokes, recent event news, and just catching up for Richtofen, everyone finished eating. Dempsey went about cleaning up the dishes while Takeo excused himself and went back out to the field to continue planting more seeds and tending the ones he already planted. Nikolai on the other hand placed a firm hand on Richtofens' shoulder and sat him back down when he tried to excuse himself quietly.
Nikolai leaned close to Richtofens' ear and spoke softly so as to not attract Dempsey's attention away from the dishes. "There's something you and I need to talk about." Richtofen gulped, a shiver running down his back.
"About what Russian?" Replied Richtofen in a shaky voice.
"Ever since my mind has been clear of vodka I kept running over words you said to me back on station…" Richtofens' blood froze in his veins. "At first I wanted to leave you, it is beyond me why I didn't, but I brought you back here with me. And so I have been thinking and I have come to conclusion…" Richtofen gulped again when he didn't continue. So he asked.
"W-what was it?" Richtofen could practically feel the smile widen next to his head. But what happened next was a huge surprise. Nikolai grabbed him by the chin and quickly kissed Richtofen on the lips. Richtofens' eyes went wide but then fluttered closed in pleasure. When they parted Nikolai smiled.
"You may be old German man on outside Richtofen, but your heart is that of mighty young man. In my eyes I see man who wants love, who needs love. I give it to you." Richtofen's heart swells with joy and he cannot help the smile that breaks out across his face. But he shutters when Nikolai nips his earlobe. "Dempsey goes to help Jap out in field after cleaning dishes like second wife… come to my room… it is one across from yours, I want to show you how much this Russian loves you." He then quickly gropes Richtofens' boney ass then gets up from the table and goes up stairs, winking to Richtofen before he goes out of sight. After a few minutes Dempsey goes outside and Richtofen rushes upstairs to the waiting Russian.
Once Dempsey get out to the field he begins helping Takeo hoe the field and plant the seeds. After a few minutes of silence Dempsey asked.
"Do you think they know we heard them when they were on the station?" Takeo stood up after planting a seed before replying.
"No. Rets ret them think they have secret for a whiro rongah." Dempsey chuckles, nodding in agreement, and goes back to planting.
Officially: THE END
Thanks for reading guys, I hope you like it. Please review it!