Warnings again for spoilers for the Dark Tower series by Stephen King.

Chapter 2

Time to start calling in allies

The Lagoon company were back at their building.

The boat had been unloaded and Rock was left with multiple questions crossing his face, but all three Revy, Dutch and Benny just withheld the answers.

Because how did they begin to explain?

The only thing that mattered right now? Was that they get the help of as many allies as possible.

They didn't have much in the way of allies. Back in Mid-World? They hadn't had that many allies either. And those they had at the time? Most likely weren't alive any longer. And they had no idea if Susannah was still alive or if Roland was.

They knew that Eddie, Jake, Oy and Callahan were dead. But Roland and Susannah?

They had no idea.

And in this world? Where things supposedly made sense? What allies did they have? The Triad? Hotel Moscow? The Lovelace family?

Hotel Moscow might just help them, if Revy explained what was going on to Balalaika? Well, Balalaika might just think Revy was out of her mind, but if she ended up believing Revy? Then they'd have an unstoppable army on their side.

But unstoppable by the standards of this world. But by the standards of Mid-World and its inhabitants?

Now, granted, things were a lot different there. The most advanced gun that Revy had ever seen in that world, had been an army revolver of some type.

She had no idea if any of their advanced weapons would even work in that world.

Then there was the Triad. Revy knew that Chang had his own…agenda. Fuck, who didn't in this city? In this world? But Chang wasn't an idiot. If he was willing to listen to her, believed what she said, then he'd probably understand that the Dark Tower being brought down and the beams all being severed and literally every world that existed being destroyed in the process, benefitted them nothing. And would only lead to all of them dying. There was no profit there.

And the Lovelace family? Well, that depended entirely on if they felt that them getting involved was a noble thing to do. And only Rock could get them to believe that it was. Which meant that if they wanted the Lovelace maid to help? They'd need to tell Rock the truth.

Revy was not looking forward to that.

Considering…never mind. Revy just didn't want to fucking think about that.

What she disliked even less, was the thought of Balalaika getting involved in this shit.

Revy felt her throat become tight as she stood at the bottom of the steps going up to the front door of the Lagoon company's residence.

A war being offered? She might as well be giving Balalaika a gift several months before Christmas.

But it didn't change that this was a very different war than the type of war that Balalaika and her men were used to. And if they went against the Crimson King, or worse, if Revy's biological parents came across their path?

Revy wasn't sure she could handle that.

And yes, she feared her biological mother and father more than the Crimson King.

If anyone met her biological father or biological mother? They'd understand.

Their abilities were advanced and they were a lot older than they looked-especially Revy's father. If the Crimson King was a being whose mind was beginning to fail him, and wishing to control the ruins of the rest of the worlds, Revy's biological parents, were intelligent snakes, ready to snag forth and bury their venom coated fangs into any prey they found, and mold those they bit into what they wanted, into the weapons that they wanted.

Revy would take over a thousand Crimson Kings, over so much as one of her parents.

Then again, she'd say the same about taking over a thousand Crimson Kings, over taking so much as one Randall Flagg. And even her father hated that one.

But it didn't change that they now had a whole lotta shit they were going to be dealing with. One way or another.

Revy knew what it meant that the Crimson King still lived. It meant that she probably would be seeing her mother or father soon.

Not good.

If Roanapur was shithole and Balalaika was one of the few people keeping it together? Then her biological father, Marius, and her biological mother, Alessia, would bring this whole city down, and turn everyone inside out, watching with glee as the people in this city pranced around, thinking that they were making it big, when they were only fucking themselves over.

That was part of the fun of it when it came to Revy's biological parents.

They liked seeing people destroy themselves.

It was what they had done to Revy, themselves. They had twisted her. Revy knew that Dutch thought this, and she wasn't sure she agreed or not, but Dutch was certain that Revy wouldn't have that "Whitman fever" thing, if it weren't for Revy's biological father.

Revy suspected Dutch was right. But she didn't want to admit it.

Her getting like that…thinking that it was because of Marius twisting her mind to the point that she was acting the way her father wanted her to act. Like an animal. Like a force of destruction.

She was the force of destruction that her biological father wanted. But she had refused to do what he wanted.

All of Revy's ka-tet had suffered one trial or another. Roland had lost a few fingers, had to relive his past several times. Susannah had to confront herself, literally, so that her split personality disorder didn't get her and Eddie killed, not to mention she had been violated and forced to give birth to Mordred. Eddie, Jake, Oy and Callahan literally died.

Dutch was forced to remember the death of his son over and over again. And Benny had nearly been decapitated. Twice.

Revy? Her fucking cross to bear had been her biological parents and their manipulations.

Her time with them had twisted again, just like what that police officer had done to her in New York City, just like all the beatings she had received throughout the years in the foster system in that very city had.

But they were going to have to fucking do something. As much as they fucking didn't want to.

Dutch came down the steps of the building, to join Revy.

"Revy," he announced, "You know we can't just leave this alone, right?"

"Yeah," Revy snorted, "Fucking yeah." She then met Dutch's eyes, her gold-brown eyes narrowing, "Dutch, if the shit that was taken from Balalaika, was stolen from the ship by the Crimson King's thugs, then we've got a fucking problem. What the hell was it that sis wanted back?"

Dutch shook his head, thinking about it. "From what she told me?" He said, "Explosives. Real advanced explosives. Explosives that probably would wipe out all of Roanapur."

"Fuck," Revy groaned, teeth clenched.

"We need to move now," Dutch said, "I'll talk to Chang. But you probably should talk to Balalaika."

Revy snorted again, shaking her head, "Dutch, you think she'd believe me? You tell her. She'll think I'm fucking around."

It wasn't that Balalaika thought Revy made things like this up. But if Revy started talking about other dimensions, a tower where all the dimensions were connected to, psychic children used to bring the tower down and the Crimson King, Balalaika, like anyone, would think that Revy had gone out of her fucking mind-more than fucking usual.

But if Dutch told Balalaika about it?

That would be something else.

Revy and Balalaika had been together for four years now. And Revy had been careful not to tell her lover…certain things. Including about her biological parents. All Balalaika knew about her bio parents, was that they had messed Revy up and their names. That was it.

The scarred woman knew that Revy's biological mother, Alessia, was Asian-American, with a Chinese-American father, and an Italian mother. Revy hadn't uttered where her biological father was from.

Her biological father was the oddity here.

And far older than anyone, as far as Revy knew.

He had found a way of extending his life, past what should be possible.

Marius had told her when he had been born. And he never lied. He manipulated to the point where people were twisted versions of who they used to be. But he never lied.

Which meant that if Marius's words were to be believed, then Revy's biological father, was born during the 5th century. He was 1,621 years old, if what he said was true.

How the fuck did you fight someone like that?

Marius looked young. At the oldest he appeared in his late twenties. But he wasn't in his late twenties. Not by any means.

If you believed what he said? Marius Decimus got his powers during the beginning of the end of the ancient Roman era.

Unbelievable? Sure. but Revy, Dutch and Benny had seen over a million unbelievable things back in Mid-World. Marius's age? Didn't even reach the top five unbelievable things they'd seen.

Marius Decimus was born during the Roman regime. Was raised a Roman, and became repulsed by the Romans' doctrine, came to despise all humans. Killed his own mother and father and older brother.

And he escaped to Mid-World, where he came to know the Crimson King and later Randall Flagg.

Randall Flagg who stole Revy from her parents as soon as she was born and brought her to this world.

Randall Flagg, who her father had manipulated Mordred into killing.

And centuries later, after Marius had first entered the world where he was today, when he went back to the world where Revy was now, he met the love of his life. Alessia, in Italy, Revy's mother.

Just thinking about it, made Revy sure that anyone so much as heard her words, would think that she either was high or out of her mind.

And she wouldn't have fucking blamed them.

She snorted as she left the Lagoon company at Dutch's look. Yeah, there was no fucking way Balalaika would believe her.

She'd tell Balalaika as much as she could.

But there was no fucking way that Balalaika would fucking believe her.

Revy decided to suck it up and headed over to where Hotel Moscow was.

When she got through the doors and saw the two men there, she grinned greeting them, trying to ignore the anxiety at the back of her mind.

She said, speaking in Russian, "Yoh! Rudolf! Oleg!"

The two men looked to her, the corners of their mouths just barely turning up.

Revy had learned to read when they were actually happy or just humoring her. Emotion didn't come easy to these guys, any more than it did Balalaika. War and trauma had burnt them in more than one ways, and had made it difficult for them to show emotions outside of each other and those they trusted most.

"Rebecca," Oleg greeted, nodding to her, and he spoke in Russian, aware that Revy spoke Russian much better now than she used to, "Balalaika is upstairs, as I'm sure you know."

"Of course," Revy said, speaking Russian still, grinning and pulled off her belt of firearms from her shoulders, handing the holsters to the two men, then added, snickering, "Yah know that you don't have to take my guns. You know that by now, right?"

Rudolf nodded as he answered, "We need to take precautions, Two Hands. You understand."

"Yeah, yeah," Revy said, her complaint had really been to just try to pretend like everything was normal.

She knew the deal.

She said goodbye to both men and went past several others, greeting the soldiers as she went up to where Balalaika was.

She got to the door, went through, and saw Balalaika, the queen of Hotel Moscow.

The love of Revy's life.

Balalaika was on the phone, and when she saw Revy, she continued to talk to whoever was on the other end, but Revy saw Balalaika's eyes glint now with something other than enjoying having power in this city, and saw the corners of the older woman's lips turn up.

Balalaika ended the conversation and hung up the phone, regarding the younger woman before her as Revy closed the door.

"Rebecca," she said, standing up and walking around her desk, "You've come at an opportune time."

She walked over, leaned forward and pulled Revy into her arms, holding the younger woman to her chest, and Revy groaned, leaning her head against the scarred woman's chest.

Revy hugged herself to the older woman, as Balalaika wound her arms around Revy, cradling her carefully.

As Revy rested her head against Balalaika's bosom, her eyes closed. She wanted to just stay here, up against Balalaika, their flesh pressed against each other, not thinking about anything else.

Not have to think about how the whole world was going to come crashing down onto them soon.

More than usual, anyway.

Not wanting to have to think about her father, Marius Decimus, her mother, Alessia Huang, the Crimson King, Mordred, the Dark Tower, Roland, Susannah, Mid-World, none of it.

She tensed. She knew she was going to have to tell Balalaika, and risk being looked at as if she had either lost her mind or as if she were pulling some type of joke.

Or prepare for Balalaika to look overjoyed in a predatory way, at the prospect of being introduced to a new war.

Either way, it wasn't going to be good.

Balalaika felt Revy tense up in her arms and step back.

"Rebecca?" Balalaika said, her left arm rising and her hand cupping Revy's face to have her lover look up at her, "What is wrong, vozlyublennyy?"

Revy opened her eyes and stared up into the older woman's eyes, feeling the tension in her chest not letting up.

She knew what she had to do. She had to tell her. She had to tell her Sis what the fuck was going on. And why she could feel her heart slamming against her chest in what she knew she would never utter, was terror.

Revy inhaled harshly, then pushed words out in English, "Sis, there's something I gotta tell you. It's serious. Real fuckin' serious."

Balalaika's right eyebrow rose up, but she stroked her hand along the right side of Revy's face.

"Is it what happened with the stolen cargo?" She asked, sounding unbothered, "There are trackers on the cargo, we'll find it."

"It's not that," Revy said, "That's just a part of it. The thing is, I think we have a rough idea of who has the cargo now. But it's a lot more serious than just the cargo."

At Balalaika's curiosity, Revy said the next words and stepped back from Balalaika, knowing she had to get this over with.

She tried to ignore her unease at Balalaika's troubled expression, and told Balalaika. She told her everything.