The Fall to Darkness
Chapter 1: Leaving the Twilight
Rock and Bao were behind the Yellow Flag's bullet proof bar. They were trying to stay as low as possible as bullets whizzed by overhead when Revy jumped over the bar and joined them, smiling, "Hey, Rock," Revy said as she reloaded and holsterrd her cutlasses and turned to her co-worker, "Pass me the rum, would ya?"
"Revy," Bao screamed, "This is no time to be drinking. And you're going to pay for these damages."
"Give me a fucking break, Bao, all I wanted was a drink. I had nothing to do with this. Rock, the rum."
"Here," Rock tossed her a fresh bottle. Revy uncorked it and downed about half the bottle in an instant.
"Revy, you bitch, first you piss these people off enough to shoot up my bar, and now you have the nerve to drink my booze. You'll pay for this."
"Bao, you really need to relax," she reached over and ripped off a strip of his shirt, causing him to yell even more, unintelligible things. She plugged the bottle with the shirt and checked her pockets, "Shit. Hey, Rock, you got a light?"
"Yeah," he tossed her a lighter, "don't blow us up."
"Yeah, yeah," she said, catching the lighter, "Rock, I need a visual. I need you to look out and tell me where the shit head is."
"The one with piercings or the one with the tattoos?"
"Well, both would be nice. But the pierced fucker slapped my ass, so I'll take him out first."
"Wait, Rock," Bao pleaded, "I'm begging you, don't do this to me."
Rock, ignoring the bartender, took a deep breath and looked over the bar at the crowd and quickly ducked back down as another wave of bullets flew overhead. "He's on the middle of the righthand wall from the entrance's perspective."
"Perfect," Revy smiled as she lit the rag on her molatov cocktail. She tossed the lighter back to Rock, who quickly lit a cigarette, and pulled out a Cutlass in her free hand. Her sinister grin widened as she stood up, fired a few rounds, and threw the makeshift bomb before ducking back down behind the counter moments before an explosion was heard along with several screams.
"Did you get him, Revy?" Rock asked.
"Yeah, and the tattooed fuck, too." She pulled out her other cutlass, "Okay, Rock, let's get out of here." The two started crawling toward the back entrance.
"Hey, wait you two." The two stopped and looked back at Bao, annoyed, "You two better pay for the damage to my bar."
"Ugh, Rock, you wanna deal with this?"
"No problem, get the car started," he tossed her the keys and she headed out.
"Well, Bao, first off, you hold no insurance. Second, we did not fire the first shots, nor did we intentionally provoke those responsible into doing so. And third, we have no obligation to pay you, and the only person you would turn to to make sure someone paid you for damages would be Balalaika. And, to be honest, she likes us more than you and knows the situations that we get involved in at this bar."
He took a long drag on his cigarette before flicking it away, "So, why don't you stop using Revy as an excuse before her love of shooting overcomes her love of booze?" Rock smiled, "Good night, Bao," and left through the passage that led to the back door.
Rock casually walked out of the back door as if the bar he just walked out of wasn't being destroyed from the inside out, "Hey, Rock," Revy said, leaning against the car, "you're driving." she tossed him the keys.
He caught the keys, "I thought I told you to start the car." He said as he and Revy calmly got into the car.
"I'm not driving this piece of shit. Besides, I'm too tired to drive."
"Whatever." he started the car and started driving.
After a few minutes in silence Revy started laughing, "What is it, Revy?"
"This place sure has fuckin' changed you, Rock. I remember when we first picked you up, you were a whiny bitch when you got caught in the middle of that bar. Now you treat it like just an everyday thing. So, what the fuck happened?" she smiled, "Finally grow a pair of balls?"
"I don't know. I think I just lost sight of the point, you know? Like, it just doesn't matter any more. If I panic it's not going to change anything. In fact, it will probably only get me killed quicker. So, I figure it would be best just to let it happen. The calmer I am, the better chances I have of not fucking up, I guess."
Revy just stared at her coworker for a minute before sighing, "Jesus fucking Christ, Rock, can't you just say 'yes' for once and be done with it? That mouth of yours is what's going to get you killed, not your composure."
"I guess," he said, letting out a laugh.
"What's so funny now?" She said, obviously annoyed.
"Nothing. It's just that, well, you've changed too."
"What do you mean?"
"The old you would have left without me."
"Pft," she crossed her arms and put her feet on the dashboard, "I just don't want to drive is all."
"Heh, sure," Rock said, still smiling.
'The truth is,' Rock thought to himself, 'I don't really think I've changed. I think this part of me was always there, but…it's like the panic was my place in the world outside of Roanapur. But now, I know I can't go back there, so I've just thrown away the panic. I think I may be losing my place in the twilight.' Rock looked over at Revy—she was sitting in the chair, half asleep—and sighed.
The two continued down the road toward the Lagoon Company…