Finally the second chapter is up. I'm really sorry to everyone who has read the first chapter when it came out at the start of the year. I just completely lost the buzz to go on with it for some reason. Hopefully I won't have that problem from this point on. Anyway, I hope you all like this latest chapter. And again, I do not own Black Lagoon, the series and all its character (aside from any OC's of course) are the property of Rei Hiroe.

Forever Changed

Chapter II

The woman sat within the dark. She leaned back into a not so comfy chair, not that this really bothered her in any physical way. Her legs were outstretched, her feet resting on the hard surface of a thick desk. She was dialling a number; her eyes were closed, wrapping her perception in a further sheet of darkness.

A window sat behind her, the blinds shut, giving the sunlight of the outside world not even the barest peek into her pitch-black solitude. There were only two simple abilities she needed for the moment, and those were hearing and speech. That was all.

Despite herself she had begun to feel an odd sensation beginning to churn deep inside, one she hadn't experienced in a good long while. Some people might have identified this feeling as excitement. She hadn't been certain at first; recalling such a strong wealth of feeling in the past was no easy task. But nevertheless it was there, beginning with its ever so subtle lurking at the pit of her stomach, rising and rising gradually. It had now matured into a full-blown flutter that rattled through her chest. It was the anticipation of the next few days. She knew this to be fact, wholly and truthfully. At first this course of action hadn't interested her in the least, despite the raging enthusiasm of certain other parties. But now it was upon her. The thrill of a new age, a new calling, a new purpose that she hoped would bless her with some sense of meaning once again.

Too long had she and her own resided in their seclusion, cast away from the naïve reality of so called civilisation. She and those like her had remained in a stagnant state of limbo, shielding themselves for months on end. It went on until their minds could no longer fathom what it meant to be truly alive. The world could have been a much more interesting place if they only had a reason to exist, to taste life after so long a time. Now she thought that perhaps they had found that reason, or at the very least the birth of that reason.

She held the phone to her ear, clucking her tongue as the seconds rolled by, as the phone continued its monotonous ringing at the other end. If no one answered she would just ring back a minute or two later. But waiting caused irritation within her, and oddly she found the sensation almost pleasing; experiencing something genuine was a rare thing for her, and it spawned a smile that felt almost alien. But her impatience wouldn't entertain for long, not when her hopes of achieving some semblance of a reason for being had finally took root within her mind.

After an unbelievable number of seconds someone finally answered. The female voice that arrived at the other end was the very one she had hoped for. However before they could properly begin she got there first. "Christ, I thought you'd never answer."

There was a momentary silence. "Who is this? If you're looking for– "

"Oh, sweetie," she said, an almost uncontained amusement filling her up. "Do you really need a reminder? It hasn't been that long, has it?"

There was another stretch of speechlessness, but although the woman said nothing her breathing had grown somewhat strained. " …You."

"Yep, it's me. I know it's been a while, but one would think you'd have recognised my voice from the start. So how is life treating you, Sister?"

"How did you find me?"

"Remember who you're talking to. We come from the same place, more or less. Not that you've seen much of home lately. Are you really enjoying that dump? How long has it been since you were given that assignment?"

"Cut the bullshit, Claudia?" the voice snapped. "What do you want from me?"

She silently seethed at the use of her name. "So much for the small-talk then. Funny, I remember you being quite the social loud mouth. Has so much changed?"

"I don't know what your game is, you crazy bitch, but I'm warning you– "

"Warning me?" Claudia, as she was once known, was beyond amused. "You are warning me? The way I see it, you're not in much of a position to threaten anyone, given how prickly your situation is in that rat-hole city. I wonder what would happen if the carnivorous population were to discover where your loyalties really lay."

Her old acquaintance didn't respond to her words. This increased the dripping enthusiasm of her smile, causing it to pull horridly across her face; it stretched every muscle, almost causing her to experience the barest traces of pain. It had been so long since a smile so large had graced her lips.

"Got nothing to say? I hope you're not thinking of hanging up on me. That would be a terrible shame."

"Why are you calling me?" the woman asked. "What happened before you disappeared had nothing to do with me."

Claudia smiled again. "And I have no intention of wronging you in any way. No, I don't want blood from you. What I need is something else."

"Something else?"

"A favour. Nothing too stressful."

There was another brief pause. A harsh sigh slipped into Claudia's ear, brushing its way into her with its defeated confirmation of the woman's reluctant surrender. After all, Claudia knew everything about her.

"What king of favour?"

Her smile faded. It was time for business. "I need something smuggled into Roanapur – well below radar obviously; I wouldn't want any of the local heavy hitters turning their eyes toward an unknown element. There's a friend in the city that will be eagerly awaiting this gift I have. All you have to do is make sure it reaches them unnoticed. I should imagine that you are more than capable of handling that, that is if sitting on your ass for so long hasn't dulled you down too much."

"This isn't the States, Claudia. It isn't the kind of town where you can just waltz in and cause trouble. And I'm not taking any of your– "

"Perhaps you've forgotten me after all," Claudia said. "If you remembered then you wouldn't be arguing. And did I make it sound as though you had a choice? The rest of The Pack is with me one hundred percent."

" …The Pack? They're… t-they're all still with you?"

"Oh course they are. They've been out of the game for too long now. We all have. Its time we got our hands drenched in red again."

"Claudia. If you're thinking of– "

"Oh I'm not thinking. I'm doing. Which is what you should be doing as well. And I wouldn't think of calling Langley either. And you know why I'm saying this, don't you? Also, I don't know what your Chinese friends will do if you're exposed, but I imagine that their Russian neighbours will react to the news in some not so subtle way. It will be a bad day to be a nun in that town, that's for sure."

Again, no response came from the other end. Claudia (she still couldn't call herself that without cringing. Claudia. Claudia. She counted herself fortunate to have so many other alias' to choose from) knew that the first step was complete.

"Well?" she said. "Tick-tock, Eda. I don't have all day."

"Fine."

"What was that?"

"I said fine!"

"Excellent. So there are details to go over. Lets not waste any more time, shall we?"

The tension that swirled throughout the office took on a near tangible form, so much so that a person might be able to cut it with knife if they felt so inclined to do so. Rock paced about in silence, barely taking notice of his surroundings. His mind was racing at two hundred miles per hour, fighting with an all too obvious futility to uncover an answer, a scrap of spoken language that he might use when the door to the spare bedroom finally opened.

He couldn't avoid it; he had to at least try to say something to her. The prospect wasn't pretty in any way that he could name, but he had to make some sort of effort. Now that he'd been back on dry land for the past three hours he was already well within the clutches of a choking perspiration, not all of which was generated by the day's searing heat. He couldn't help but feel that he had managed to step over two separate lines today. Both of which could have dangerous consequences. Although a brief glance at his co-workers offered him some fraction of ease. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing at all.

Benny was lying across the length of the couch nearest the window, quietly flicking his eyes through lines of text in a magazine. Rock had noticed a picture on the glossy cover, an assortment of computer items. It wasn't that he was in any way curious about his friend's reading material, but anything that could subdue his growing anxiety would be a godsend at this point. His nerves were shattering, and for the life of him he couldn't stop moving for so much as a second. He'd been at this ever since they got back to the office; his legs had now taken on a rubber-like quality that was gradually wearing him down even more.

"Why don't you sit down before you give yourself a heart attack?"

Rock heard Dutch's voice, but only just. It reached his ears as a muffled call from a place that he had not been occupying, as if in a different world all together. No actual words could have been pieced together right away.

"Rock?"

"What?" Rock asked, finally retreating from his frightful trance.

"I said why don't you sit down before you give yourself a damn heart attack?" Dutch repeated from his place on the opposite couch. "Just watching you is tiring me out."

Rock just shook his head. "It's ok, I– "

"Look Rock," Dutch said, taking a short drag of a cigarette before going on. "She'll come out when she's ready. Hell, I'm amazed you even want to be here right now. She was pretty pissed when she got out of the water."

"You don't need to remind me, Dutch."

"And what do you think has changed in the last couple of hours? Probably nothing. Its gonna take at least a couple of days for her to cool down after this."

"It's not like I did it on purpose."

Rock saw one of Dutch's eyebrows rise up from under his sunglasses. "And, you think Revy's gonna see the difference?"

"I think Dutch has a point, Rock." Benny said, his eyes still scanning through pages.

"Don't get me wrong," Dutch continued. "If Benny or me had done what you did, we'd be picking bullets out of our kneecaps right about now. You two have been getting along like a house on fire these days. I don't know what your secret is Rock, but if I were you I wouldn't waste it."

Maybe around so short a time as a minute had passed – or such a long time considering the course of events and Rock's chill of panic – before the boat was sitting just where she had fallen in. Dutch had tried to raise her on her earpiece but obviously that had been out of the question. Rock had to run back to the bridge and let his boss know what was up. They had turned the boat around, and located her fairly quickly after that.

The last of their attackers had already ceased to be so much as even the faintest speck on the horizon, his tail set firmly between his legs. Whoever they had been, Rock didn't think that Lagoon Company would be hearing from them any time in the near future, certainly not if they knew what was good for them.

Rock remembered the rest of what took place with a vivid clarity, drumming away at his heart with near shuddering hammer blows. He saw her, treading water, silently glaring up at him as he ran to her aid.

He was certain that his apology had been profoundly etched into her face at that time, so he never bothered to say anything at first. He supposed that she'd be in no fit mood to give his words a moment to come out anyway. But the look she gave him, like that of a lone wolf staring down its prey forced him to act with an even greater haste than before. Most people – most folk that cherished their own lives and well being – would have fled in the other direction at the very sight of such an expression. However Rock, being the person he supposed he always would be, acted in the opposite manner. He didn't run, he never ran. Not from her.

He leaned himself over board, reaching out and offering his hand. Surprisingly enough she accepted, rolling her eyes in a maddening sort of way as she grasped his hand. He helped her out of the ocean, her drenched body coming to a sitting halt on the deck beside him. For a short time no words were exchanged. The two of them simply sitting, looking back at one another. The fearsome glow was ever present in Revy's narrow stare; her hair was soaked through with salt water, waves of dark reddish brown glistening from her pony tail, falling over her shoulder, producing clear pearls that raced down her body.

"Are you ok?" he finally asked.

There had been the faintest of twitches in her wet features, the smallest thing that almost never happened; it was the kind of thing that a person could miss if they were to blink at that exact time. Only Rock hadn't missed a thing. For a few seconds he was convinced that he would be in for her usual display of anger. What if its something worse this time, he had thought? What if she had finally had enough? What if the partnership, the friendship that had grown between them, had been broken in one clumsy and irreversible instant? What if she chucked in the effort of putting up with him and decided to cancel him once and for all? These questions danced their irrational waltz through his jumbled brain as she looked back at him. And all that he could do was sit there in silence, waiting for some kind of reaction. Any response would do, as long as she did something.

"Rock," she murmured, not a shout or scream this time, making him believe that he might be off the hook. "Say another word and I'll feed you your fuckin' balls."

With that short sentence spoken, Revy picked herself up and trod off below deck. Rock had been left speechless, silenced and guilt ridden. He didn't know why at first, but her response – while only being mere words – had stung him more than anything else she could have done. It was like a confirmation. 'Yes Rock,' it said. 'You have fucked up. Can't fix it now, dumb-ass'.

For the entire journey to Chang's Revy hadn't said a single word. The most Rock had heard from her had been after she had stormed off after getting out of the water, mainly in the form of her screaming something at Dutch; strangely he hadn't heard his name among the stream of curses. But it was the silence during the drive back to the office that bothered him, clinging to him like a bad stain.

And now he was walking back and forth, trying to fully understand everything that had taken place. Why hadn't she ridiculed him like so many times in the past? He would have to uncover an answer sooner or later, although right now he was certain that he'd have better luck taking down a T-rex with a feather duster.

"I wonder what Mr Chang will come up with?" he said, deciding to shift his mind toward something a little more easy to process.

Dutch had managed to get enough of a description from Revy so that they could pass it on to Chang, letting him know that there was an unknown group out there, possibly looking for more trouble in the future. The Triad leader told them he'd see what information he could dig up and that was that. He had said it would be the least he could do after a job well done on Lagoon's part.

"If a new player is moving in then you can bet somebody has heard something by now," Dutch replied. "But if that was all they had then it wasn't much of a debut. Like lemmings, throwing themselves off of the first cliff they can find."

Rock finally allowed himself to slump down on the couch next to Dutch; an astronomical wave of relief washed throughout his legs at the sudden act at of sitting down.

"I wonder who would want to muscle their way into this city?" Benny said, letting his magazine fall to his chest. "With so many players already rooted deep into Roanapur you'd think they'd try looking some place else."

The stirrings of realisation hit Rock, and then took full form within seconds. "Just because they tried to kill us doesn't mean someone's looking to mark new territory. What if they– "

"What if they were just sent for the soul purpose of wiping us out?" Dutch finished, rising from his seat and heading toward the fridge.

Rock shook his head. "We should have considered that from the start."

Benny nodded. "It wouldn't be the first time some merc crew has tried to fry our ass'."

"Balalaika and Chang have got no reason to want us dead, and we'd already be toast if they did," Dutch closed the fridge and came back with three beers, passing them around before settling back down and popping his can open. "So it's a case of taking your pick of everyone else in this fucked up town. That might not be a long list anyway, at least not one filled with people we should be worried about. On the other hand it's still a list of enemies. Whatever's going on, Chang will give us the heads up sooner or later."

Rock leaned his head back, resting his neck against the cushion as he stared at the ceiling. "Make's me wonder,"

"Wonder what, Rock?" Benny asked.

"Who we might have crossed the line with this time?" Rock said, letting a sigh fall out of him. "So we just sit tight in the meantime, huh?"

"That's about the size of it," Dutch replied, sipping his drink before speaking on. "In any case we might hear something later at the Yellow Flag. I'll make a few calls before we head out as well."

"Maybe the sister's at the Rip-off church have heard something? Or Miss Balalaika?" Benny said as he rose from the couch. "Anyway, Dutch, if you don't need me for a little while I'm gonna go online and say hello to Jane."

"Knock yourself out Benny boy,"

Benny and Janet: Roanapur's one and only romance. Rock smiled at the thought of those two, who had actually been able to find some peice of happiness despite the shifting chaos of their lives. He wondered what that could feel like?

After Benny left there was a deep silence yet again. Rock didn't even open his can, but instead just sat there, thinking on what the possibilities were of someone new on the horizon. Those people had been turned back, and for all anyone knew that was the last Lagoon would ever see of them. So then why was he filled with such a rotten feeling of impending doom?

"Its not over." Rock whispered. Why do I think that?

He noticed Dutch's questioning glance, and could feel the examination going on behind the lenses of his shades. His employer opened his mouth, about to speak when the door to the spare room opened. The sound caused Rock to flitch slightly. Revy came strolling out, holding a tattered old backpack as she crossed the space of the office. Her eyes flicked across Rock for just a slither of a second, and then she was staring forward again. He couldn't help it; he thought that now he was back to square one again. He didn't like the feeling it gave him, now more than ever.

"You ok, Revy?" Dutch asked, looking up from his seat.

"Fine." She never stopped walking.

"Two-Hands?" the boss called, raising his voice just a touch.

Revy ceased her tracks at the door, swinging around to face the large man, staring right past Rock as he looked on. An aching helplessness filled him up at seeing this, seeing her gaze shoot right by him. He saw the swelling of aggravation crawl into her face.

"Look Dutch. I'm fine."

"Well– "

"Agghhh! What the fuck!" she growled, taking a deep breathe a second later. "Look, I'm heading over to the Yellow Flag to drink myself into a fuckin' coma. Ok? I'll catch ya later."

Dutch didn't seem to want to press her anymore. He simply shook his head. "Just keep your eyes open."

"Always do."

Rock couldn't hold his choking silence anymore. "Revy– "

"Rock," she cut him off, but she didn't sound half as angry as he had thought. In fact her voice had that same drained quality it had on deck before the attack. "I just spent ages taking my Cutlass' apart and salvaging dry gunpowder. You owe me for the bullets you got wet." And then she left, going through the front door at a hurried pace.

The quiet that followed was so heavy, so dense that it could have suffocated him. He continued to look at the closed door, thinking that at any minute she would come back to scold him in true Revy fashion. But she never did. Something was different with her; the way she had spoken to Dutch was consistent with how she reacted to most people when she was pissed off. And then she had spoken to Rock, and that tone of voice was so different in nature that it was in some ways scarier. The fire wasn't there. Why? What was happening? Rock didn't know, but it was chipping away at him bit by bit.

"Rock," Dutch suddenly spoke, and Rock could feel the man's scrutiny on the back of his head. "Don't think I don't know that look in your eyes. I don't even need to see your face; it's the same as on the boat after Revy walked out of the bridge. What's going on?"

"I… " Rock found his words were now more unenthusiastic than ever before. "I'm not sure."

In truth he was sure, as certain as a rising sun of what was going on – at least with himself anyway. He didn't know for certain, but he was almost positive that Dutch was aware of these facts as well. There wasn't much that got past Dutch; the man was like a walking talking river of awareness that never stopped flowing. Even so, he still couldn't bring himself to explain his feelings. Keeping those emotions to himself, for the moment at least, was something he couldn't help but do.

Ok, I know this chapter was shorter than the last, and also that there wasn't any action. But don't worry, it won't be long before things get chaotic. Again, I hope you enjoyed this. I'll be back with an update as soon as possible.