Alana's World Tour: Roanapur
Chapter 1: Darkness approaches
Disclaimer: I do not own Black Lagoon or the concept of Intelligent Devices
The docks in Roanapur, Thailand were quiet but the thugs on the streets were stuck staring out to sea as they witnessed a giant fog bank slowly moving in on the docks before it finally began to dissipate to reveal an expensive yacht that had taken a place nearby the Torpedo Patrol Boat of Lagoon Company. Watching the yacht, the thugs were startled to see a black figure with glowing blue eyes appear on deck through the fog and walk down a gangway onto the docks, the shape revealing itself to be an unearthly beautiful woman with flaming red hair and blue eyes.
The woman, Alana Helsing, wore a pair of white pants with knee high riding boots, a frilly collared and cuffed white blouse, an aristocratic ruby red tail coat worn over her blouse with bushy, shaggy golden epaulettes on the shoulders, white gloves, a pair of Japanese swords on her left hip while she carried giant pistols in shoulder holsters, one pistol white the other black. As she walked down the docks towards the streets, the thugs who watched her noticed the calm yet kind expression on her face as well as the very graceful and elegant way she walked, as if she were a princess or a rich noble, which with the appearance of the yacht she arrived on was any indication, that was exactly what she was.
Walking into the city, Alana began moving through the streets and asking around, she had a job to do and had been ordered to go to the Yellow Flag for further instructions and information, but she hadn't been told where the Yellow Flag was so she began asking around, finding a group of men who looked like they might know where the bar was and asked them "Pardon the intrusion gentlemen, but might I inquire as to the location of the Yellow Flag?" her voice having a distinct nobility to it that entranced them as they told her where the bar was, and began following her at a discreet distance after she thanked them and walked away.
Inside the bar, four people sat at the bar itself.
One seemed like the everyday salary man, wearing a white button-up shirt, tie, black slacks, brown shoes. Of the four, he was the lawyer, negotiator, accountant, and secretary.
The next was a man who appeared to be the oldest, their leader and a former Vietnam vet. He dressed himself in military fatigues, thick boots, cargo pants, black shirt, greenish vest, and sunglasses. He was a tall, muscular man, bald head, dark skin, and always wearing his sunglasses. He seemed more quiet than the others, giving off the impression that he was just as jaded as most people.
The next was a light skinned man who sounded like the group's computer hacker/mechanic. He was dressed in a bright Hawaiian shirt, tan slacks, shoes, and glasses over his eyes. His blond hair tied back in a ponytail, about average height and from America, like the dark skinned man.
The last was a woman who appeared to be the team's muscle. She was dressed in a dark green tank top, a pair of cutoff shorts, thick boots with the strings undone, fingerless black gloves, shoulder holsters with two sidearms tucked under her arms, a tribal tattoo on her right shoulder and her long hair tied up in a pony tail. She seemed to be Chinese-American and was attractive but vicious. A real femme fatale.
After they had sat there for a while the door to the bar opened up and Alana walked in.
"Huh?" Rock, the salary man, gasped when he saw the woman.
"Something wrong, Rock?" Dutch, the dark skinned man, asked.
"That woman." Rock said, pointing to the woman.
"Oh, finally taking an interest in someone I see." Revy, the woman, teased.
"It's not that!" he shot back defensively.
Revy eyed the woman in the fancy clothes. She looked impossibly beautiful. Mesmerizing even. Even from their distance, Revy could tell that the woman could handle herself. She came up and started talking with Bao about something and surprised the group when she said "Sir Bao"
"Sir… Bao?" Revy looked incredulously at Bao and back at the woman as Bao looked out of his element before regaining his composure and saying "Miss Alana, I've been expecting you."
"Yes, I was told that you have information on my target as well as know where I might find an armorer to purchase my ammunition through." Alana responded and turned to Revy before saying "Sir Bao has served my family ever since the Vietnam war, when he was taken in as an operative of Special Operations Hunters, but do forgive me, I have yet to introduce myself. I am Alana Helsing."
"Alana-san! Is that really you?" Rock blurted out in shock and Alana was seen to look him in the eyes before her eyes began to shine in recognition as she said "Rokuro-kun, I am pleased to see you again" then wrapped her arms around him in a chaste hug before breaking it and holding him by the shoulders.
"You two know each other?" Revy asked as she pointed between them and Rock was the first to answer as he said "Yes, we were childhood friends." and looking back at Alana, he couldn't believe the difference. He remembered her as being extremely cute when they were children, and she hadn't disappointed him because now she had grown beautiful enough that Rock noticed a large group of men bust into the bar and march over to the woman.
"Miss!" the lead thug shouted.
"Yes?" Alana responded and Rock noticed her vocal tone was kind and gentle yet aristocratic, with a hint of pride.
"Would you go out with one of us?" the group called as one and Alana was seen to droop her shoulders as she calmly replied "I thank you kindly for asking, but unfortunately I must decline at this time, please forgive me." then she offered to buy them drinks, which all but one accepted as the group sat down at tables and waited for Bao to serve them. The one lone man shook in rage before yelling out "No one turns me down and goes unpunished!" before pulling out a knife and rushing Alana. Before anyone could do anything, Alana merely jerked her left hand, a quick shimmer showing something moving as the guy suddenly stopped, struggling to move as if wrapped up.
As the man stood there, Alana's voice rang out the same as before, but with a hidden menace as she said "I tried to be respectful of how you may have felt, but I guess that I was mistaken in my belief that you would care about a woman's feelings." then she closed her pointer finger and the knife in the man's hands suddenly split into slices as thin wires shimmered, the wires originating from Alana's gloves as she quickly shot forward and decked the man in the face, sending him right back through the doors to land in the street with his nose broken.
After straightening up she looked back at Bao and said "My apologies, I did naught wish to start an altercation in your place of business."
"It's alright, that guy attacked you and you took care of him without destroying my bar, unlike some damned people!" Bao quickly shot out at Revy as Alana turned to Rock and her eyes became unfocused as she went over to him and said "Do you remember, what we used to do?"
"You're hungry, huh? but I guess that's unavoidable, you did just get into a bar fight, and fighting during the day always did make you hungry. But that used to hurt like hell."
"It's fine, I have learned how to minimize my bite force so that it does naught hurt near as much." Alana replied and this caused Revy, Dutch and Benny to look at the two in surprise as Dutch asked "Rock, just what the fuck is she talking about, were you into some pretty freaky shit when you were a kid?"
"No, it's nothing like that, but, it's better if we show you. Alright Alana…" he said as he loosened his tie and exposed the right side of his neck. "…Go ahead." Rock finished as Alana went over to him and put her hands on his chest before very gently breathing on his neck and opening her mouth wide enough for her enlarged fangs to sink into his neck, surprising the pirates as they watched Alana's throat work like she was drinking something for a minute or two then she raised her head, exposing her fangs for a second as she loosed a contented sigh before gently licking Rock's neck and healing the bite marks as she looked up, her face had become flushed and she stumbled backwards due to a lack of muscle coordination and balance.
Revy and Dutch were forced to move aside as Alana stumbled backwards, hit the bar, and slid down till she sat on the floor, looking around in confusion. Bao to come out from behind the bar, looked at Alana one time and called out "Fuck! She's blood drunk."
"Blood drunk, what the hell is that?" Dutch mouthed off and Benny looked at Bao, silently asking for an answer himself as Rock stumbled and went to his knees before falling face down, prompting Alana to stumble as she pulled herself to her boots and try to reach Rock, stumbling and landing face down herself, her head coming to rest by Rock's side as her right hand ended up in the middle of his back.
"Aw damn it, now we have to move those two, can one of you help us with this?" Dutch smarted off as a bunch of the thugs got up from their chairs and assisted Lagoon Company in getting Rock and Alana in Benny's GTO as Bao said "Dutch, I'm gonna leave it to Miss Alana to explain what she is to you, but know this. With her here, Roanapur is gonna turn into a motherfucking bloodbath within the next 24 hours."
"Goddamn, is she really that dangerous?" Dutch asked and Bao replied "Miss Alana herself is nice and contained in what she does, but it's the things she hunts that make things bloody as hell. The Council of Lords wouldn't take too kindly to me spilling the beans about what it is they do when somebody goes rogue. After Miss Alana sobers up, she can tell you more."
"I hear ya Bao, here's hoping things stay nice and peaceful." Benny remarked as they struggled to get Alana in the car, she and what she wore was heavy as hell, then they got Rock in the car and left back to the office.
At the Lagoon Traders Office, Alana had been set on one couch while Rock lay on the other, Revy examining the guns sitting in Alana's holsters as Benny studied her two swords and Revy looked over at the decidedly vampiric styling of the hilt and crossguard and the cigarette in her mouth dropped when she noticed the two blades' appearance and she blurted out "What the fuck?" which brought Rock awake in an instant then when he looked around he laid back down and put his hand on his forehead as Benny said "I hear ya Revy, these two swords appear to be identical in the styling and etchings, Alana must have paid a small fortune to have these made. Look at the blades" then he directed Revy, Rock and Dutch's attentions to the blades.
"These blades have a strange look about them, I won't know for sure unless I study them, but it looks like they are made of pure silver."
"You're half right" Rock said as he laid on the couch before sitting up. "That daishō was especially made for Alana-san's use, the blades are forged of pure silver and titanium. I remember hearing Alana-san's mother talk about them one day, she said that the blades had been blessed by a priest after a sword smith spent weeks forging them as a matched set in the Soshu Kitae style famously used by the sword smith Masamune. If you look carefully, you can see the many elements of Masamune's work in Alana-san's swords." this prompted Dutch, Revy, and Benny to take a close look at the two swords, where they saw rich clear grey lines on the leading edges, lines like lightning streaking across them, and beautiful grey shadows on the front of the blades.
"What kind of woman would have two very expensive swords made for their underage daughter?" Benny asked aloud and they shrugged as they continued examining the two swords. They saw a pattern of kanji symbols on the blade next to the habaki and Rock read them aloud in English "The future exists through one who walks between life and death, neither of the living nor of the dead." and this prompted Dutch to say "Just what the hell does that mean?" and as they looked out the window they saw the sun begin to go down and Rock remarked, "You want to see something strange? Watch Alana-san." and the group looked over at Alana's sleeping form.
It shocked them to watch Alana's red hair begin slowly darkening and turning black as the sun sank lower into the horizon until finally her hair had turned a dark ebon black and Rock remarked "When she opens her eyes, they will be ruby red." and true to his word, Alana chose that moment to awaken and open her eyes, her eyes having turned the exact shade Rock mentioned. As she looked around, Rock was heard to say "Alana-san, how do you feel?" only for her to sit up with a groan and put her left hand to her head as she said "I feel like I had too much to drink."
Alana went to stand up, only to stumble and begin wobbling, causing Rock to quickly move over to try and support her, only for her weight to drop them onto the coffee table when she toppled on top of him, her head ending up next to Rock's as her hand ended up next to Rock's head and she breathed into his ear for a second on accident before she said "Rokuro-kun, I used to wonder what it would be like to experience your taste outside of a meal, but I guess that was naught but a dream." before passing back out, no one noticing an extremely slight blush on Revy's cheeks.
Rock chuckled for a minute before saying "Silly girl, that would only be a dream if you let it." prompting her to say even in her unconscious state "I am naught a girl silly, I'm a Dhamphir." causing Revy to get a look of surprise on her face as she snapped "What the fuck, Rock? Did she just call herself a Dhamphir?" then Dutch and Benny helped Rock get out from under her and laying back on the couch and he replied "Yea. Alana-san is half vampire. Her mother, Caitir-sama, is a powerful vampiress while her father is a human."
"Well ain't this just some crazy bullshit. Next you're gonna tell me that those big ass pistols of hers can't be used by humans." Revy smarted off as Benny went over to the two guns and undid the thongs keeping them in place and when he tried to lift the black pistol he tugged and tugged but was unable to budge the giant weapon and Dutch gave it a try, the dark skinned man managed to get the pistol from the holster but when he tried to lift it like he was aiming it, everyone was shocked that he had to use both hands like he was holding a carbine to keep it steady due to it's length and weight. Revy looked at the gun and read off the words engraved on the side in a cursive script "Let's see here; For Alana Helsing from Hunter Arms Weapon Industrials Inc., Hunters ARMS 13mm auto Anti-monster Combat Pistol "Gospel". What kind of fucking company is this?"
"Alana-san once told me that the Hunters are a secretive paramilitary group operating out of the North American city-state of Argall. They specialize in killing monsters and that company I guess is their in-house weapons manufacturer."
"Monsters? That's bullshit!" Revy yelled with a laugh as Dutch remembered what Bao had said and asked aloud "Just what the hell is a blood drunk?"
"I think a blood drunk is when a vampire drinks a certain type of blood, something about it is like a very potent alcohol. It's like giving Revy the strongest thing Bao has."
"Damn, I wonder how much rum she can drink?" Revy smarted off with an inquisitive expression as she looked over at the tail coat wearing Dhamphir sleeping off a drunk on the couch. Rock looked over and said reflectively "Alana used to not be affected by my blood like that, I wonder what changed?"
"Who knows" Benny said before he continued "I'm no doctor but I think that when you were kids, there were no hormones affecting either of you, thus when she fed off you there wasn't anything there to affect her. But since you two are adults now, the changes to your bodies might have caused you to change in such a way to affect her like that. But that is just conjecture."
"Yea, well what ever the hell it is, it makes sense Benny boy. Rock, get a blanket or something, we don't need her to catch a damn cold in my office. If she can even catch one, I just don't know." Dutch remarked as the phone rang and Dutch answered it "Lagoon Company, Dutch here."
As Dutch talked on the phone, Rock went into another room and brought out a blanket and set it over Alana's sleeping form after managing to get her other pistol from it's holster with Revy's help, finding that it bore the same to and from inscription as well as finding out it's name, the Hunters ARMS .454 Velsignet Vind Auto. Looking back at the Gospel and examining the Velsignet Vind, Rock and Revy both could see that the two pistols resembled enlarged Colt 1911s, but Revy had only to glance at them to see that they were top notch firearms, but she didn't wanna try her luck with the Gospel, not after seeing Dutch have to lug it around like a rifle just to keep it steady and for the fact she had trouble just lifting the damn gun, if she had to guess she'd say that the fucking thing weighed as much as a heavy machine gun.
Leaving Alana's side, Rock wasn't expecting her to subconsciously reach out and pull him down on top of her, then release a sigh of contentment before drifting into deep sleep as her arms gently encircled him and causing Revy to release a second unnoticed blush. Looking at the sleeping Dhamphir, Benny had noticed she stood about even with Revy for height even with her boots. Looking at the two after getting off the phone, Dutch remarked "Yea, something tells me that this city is in for one hell of a tough time."