Ever After

Black Lagoon Part One

Roanapur...

It would not be an exaggeration to call it 'a den of scum and villany.' Of course, you'd be risking being sued by Lucasfilm, but eh. It was that kind of town. It was a hub of many criminal activities, constantly on the verge of a gang war, one that was kept from breaking out only because of how frightening the lead mob was.

The gangsters of Roanapur were jaded as hell, and had thought they had seen everything. Today, they were in for a surprise.

"Hup!" the one woman grunted as she swung her katana, her movements nearly a blur as she cut the bullets from the air.

"... the fuck," Mr Chang blinked. The local boss of the Triads had seen some shit. Including Chinese Vampires, once. But slapping bullets out of the air with a KATANA?

"Boss? What do we...?" one of his gunmen asked.

"Stop shooting," Mr. Chang yelled, noting that crazy sword lady was only blocking their shots. If she charged them with that kind of speed? They'd be picking up severed limbs.

The black haired woman lowered her blade, looking around warily. A pretty blonde in a revealing witch's outfit stood nearby, as well as a vaguely mid-eastern looking woman. All of them were gorgeous, too.

"Cover me," Mr. Chang ordered, then after holstering his pistols walked up to the three women, keeping his hands visible and trying to look un-threatening.

"Yes?" the black haired woman studied him warily.

Mr. Chang decided just to cut to the chase, "You ladies are aware you are in Triad territory? And we've recently been attacked by members of a new Japanese faction here?"

The three strange women exchanged glances. "We literally just arrived in town," the asian woman told him, "on a personal errand. We're looking for a missing person."

Mr. Chang studied them, ultimately deciding they were probably telling him the truth. He wanted to curse, but held it back. Getting innocent people involved with gang business here could have unexpected repercussions.

"All right, Miss...?" Chang started.

"Hazuki," she introduced herself, adding, "and this is Lilith and Quill."

Chang wondered at the odd names. Then he noticed the eyeball on Lilith's hat was moving. And looking right AT HIM. Right then he decided he did not want anything else to do with this.

"I'll have one of my people escort you to the Yellow Flag," Mr. Chang said briskly. "The bar is neutral territory, and someone there might help you find your missing person."

"Thank you," Hazuki bowed slightly.

"Shenhua!" Mr. Chang yelled, and soon the knife fighter was leading them off.

"Was that girl REALLY cutting bullets out of the air?" one gunman wondered aloud.

Mr. Chang lit up a cigarette, "That wasn't the weirdest thing." Several men looked at him as he continued, "Bullets were just... stopping in mid air in front of the OTHER women."

Everyone exchanged vaguely worried looks at that...

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The Yellow Flag was bustling as Revy leaned up against the bar, scanning the crowd. She was hitting the bar alone, tonight, as the other members of the Lagoon Company were being sticks-in-the-mud. Besides, after the craziness they had seen lately she needed a drink.

"Bao! Rum!" Revy ordered briskly.

"Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on," Bao mildly complained, putting a clean glass down along with the bottle.

"Thanks," Revy unscrewed the top and poured. She cheerfully tossed it back, then sighed. "Aww, that's good."

"You think the local trouble is over?" Bao asked curiously. "Who'd have thought Japanese yakuza would hit Roanapur and wipe out the Italian mob!"

"I think things have settled down. For now," Revy noted.

Nearly a month ago she, Rock and the Lagoon Company had gone with Hotel Moscow to Japan to negotiate a deal, Rock working as translator. Things went south, and a faction of the Yakuza fought Hotel Moscow. The the Washimine Clan, realizing they were horribly out-matched, met with Balalaika and struck a deal with her: she would let them live in exchange for them wiping out an enemy of hers, the Italian mob in Roanapur.

Revy figured that Balalaika had thought that either the Washimine would be destroyed, or they'd kill the Italians but be wrecked by it and easily eliminated. But apparently Yukio had learned a LOT watching Hotel Moscow rip into them in Japan, and applied that to beating the italians with minimal losses. So now she was a 'power' in Roanapur, and no one really knew what was going to happen next.

"Revy!" Eda yelled as the bosomy blond sauntered up to her. "Heard there was trouble in Triad territory. Ladies shooting up against Mr Chang."

"Then they're probably dead," Revy noted irritably as Eda sat beside her.

"Here's the crazy bit: one of them slapped the bullets out of the air with a sword!" Eda revealed.

"More weirdness from the Washimine clan?" Revy wondered as she tossed back more rum.

"Who knows. Certainly makes things more interesting, though," Eda grinned, then both looked up as several people came into the bar.

"Ha. You fun to travel around with," Shenhua noted cheerfully to three strange woman. She had some blood splatter on her, and her clothes were ripped. Didn't seem to mind though.

'Fuck. That chick is carrying a sword. Is she...?' Revy blinked. She also noted that the other two girls were nearly as busty as Shenhua. They rivaled Greenback Jane even.

"Think that's them?" Eda had to ask.

Revy just ignored that, watching as the four approched various groups of patrons fearlessly. They appeared to ask about something, then move on once they got an answer. One or two guys tried to get grabby, but a glare from the sword chick made them back off.

Overhearing, Revy noted they were looking for a blonde with red eyes, oddly enough. Named Hatsumi, or maybe Eve of all things.

"Doesn't that sound like the counter girl Rowan had working for him?" Eda noted.

Revy blinked. "Yeah, actually... he claimed he was saving her for some deflowering event, but I think he just felt sorry for her," she noted.

Annoyingly the sword chick heard that. "Who is this Rowan and where can I find him?" she demanded calmly, but with a dangerous glint in her eye.

"He runs a sex show up the street," Revy noted calmly. "You're probably too young to get in, though," she added.

"Let's help them out," Eda offered, grinning.

Revy gave her a look, "What."

"I totally want to see if they murder Rowan or not," Eda said cheerfully.

"Okay, point...," Revy conceded.

"Thank you!" Hazuki smiled after the introductions were done. They paid for their drinks then headed out of the bar together.

"What an interesting place," Quill noted.

"This may be the most violent book we've been to yet," Lilith observed cheerfully.

Revy wasn't sure what the hell THAT meant.

"How did you get banged up?" Eda asked Shenhua conversationally as they walked up the street together.

"While we were walking to Yellow Flag, Hazuki see pimp strike hooker. She beat him down, his friends got involved, much fighting followed," Shenhua said cheerfully. She clearly didn't care about the morality of the situation, she just enjoyed the fight.

Eda had to admit, the kid kind of reminded her of when Rock first arrived there. Trying to hold onto a moral code despite basically being a pirate.

"So, you think she's going to just shiv Rowan?" Revy had to ask.

"Let's find out," Eda grinned as they reached Rowan's place.

"Well, hello," the good looking woman in a transparent nightie smiled as they came in. She knew Eda, Revy and Shenhua, of course, but her gaze fell on Quill, Lilith and Hazuki curiously. A impish smile appeared as she lingered on Hazuki, "We normally just do guys, but I could see making a exception..."

Amusingly, the blushing Hazuki had no idea where to look. Revy also noticed that Lilith looked REALLY pissed off at the woman flirting with Hazuki.

"We need to see Rowan about something," Eda told her firmly.

"Aww," she pouted but sauntered off to get the boss.

"Whew," Hazuki sighed quietly.

The group was ushered into 'Jackpot' Rowan's office, where the afro haired black man waited. "Ladies!" he beamed cheerfully.

Hazuki walked up to him, scowling down at him. "You had a blond haired girl here, with red eyes. Where is she?" she demanded.

Rowan looked like he wanted to order her to back off, but her pure aura of dangerous fury held him back. "Uhm, I...," he started.

"That mute chick," Eda reminded him.

Rowan looked like he wished she hadn't reminded him. "Yeah. She took off not that long ago. Just left a note and," he shrugged, "gone."

"A note? Not just disappeared?" Lilith jumped in. "Did it say where she went?"

Rowan looked even more nervous, "Hotel Moscow."

Revy, Eda and Shenhua all froze. "Fuck," Revy blinked.

To be continued...

Notes: Trying to write the chapter from Black Lagoon character points of view. Let me know if it works OK.

This also is a divergence from Black Lagoon canon, as I decided to have the Washimine Clan characters survive. Will go into them a bit more next chapter...

Ever After

Black Lagoon Two

"Fuck," Eda said as they left the brothel.

Revy was frowning as she looked at the three newcomers, "Looks like you've got to go see Hotel Moscow."

The Japanese chick looked confused as she asked, "Who's Hotel Moscow, and why are you both scared of them?"

Revy snorted while Eda just shook her head.

"I forgot you kids were new in town," Eda noted. "Hotel Moscow are the local branch of the Russian Mob. They're huge in this town, supported by an ex-military unit and lead by a woman called Balalaika. She's a stone cold killer."

"If your lost friend went to Hotel Moscow and pissed Balalaika off, somehow," Revy noted, "she might already be dead."

All three strangers exchanged oddly amused looks. The witchy looking girl then calmly noted, "Doubt it."

Eda gave the three a quizical look.

Shen-hua looked amused, "So, you going to Hotel Moscow next? I not want anything to do with that." With that the cheery knife fighter strode off.

"Thank you for your help," Quill called.

The sword using girl coolly watched her go, then turned to Eda and Revy. "We need to go there, but you don't have to come along. Just give us directions," she said seriously.

Revy looked at her blankly a moment. Her first temptation was just to give them the directions and walk away... but she KNEW her boyfriend Rock would scold her for just abandoning them. And the rumour mill in town meant he WOULD find out.

"Fuck," Revy muttered, "I'll take you there."

"What," Eda looked at her blankly.

"But I am NOT backing you up against Balalaika," Revy added hurriedly, "if she decides to off you, you're on your own."

"We'll be fine!" Lilith reassured her breezily.

Eda again looked at the girls like they were insane. "Fuck, I'm coming too," she decided, "if only to see how this all turns out."

And with that the five women set out.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

"More Japanese?" Balalaika asked.

"Well, one Japanese for certain. A women with a katana who, apparently, can slap bullets out of the air. She's accompanied by an attractive blonde, and an apparent mid-eastern woman," Boris, her second in command reported.

"Another strike by the Washimine Clan?" Balalaika wondered.

"They don't appear to be connected. According to reports by our informants, they are searching for a missing person," Boris said.

"Hmm," Balalaika murmured. "Do we know where they are going?" she asked.

"They visited Rowan's," Boris said, "and are heading in this direction. They have Eda and Revy along with them."

'Well, well. Why would they be helping them?' Balalaika thought silently to herself. "Very well," she murmured, "Watch for them. If they do come here, let them in... I'm curious." With that, she dismissed him.

The white-blonde haired woman took out a cigar from the humidor, snipped the end off then put it between her teeth. She lit a match and brought it to the end of the cigar, putting it alight. She took a long drag, sitting back and thinking.

Part of her still felt they were connected to the Washimine Clan. What were the odds that more Japanese would just randomly come to town? Plus, a member of the Washimine also had that same talent to block bullets with a sword.

(That, in itself, rather boggled her mind. The sheer speed and reaction time required to slap a bullet out of the air with a sword! Yes, it was only effective against small weapons, and a machine gun would likely kill them. But still! It was an impressive feat.)

Balalaika puffed on her cigar thoughtfully. There was the possibility this might be an assassination attempt, too. Being very obvious and public coming there could just be a cover. Still, Balalaika was confident in her own skills, plus she had her people guarding her. Even if they succeeded, they wouldn't escape alive.

On impulse, Balalaika picked up the phone and dialed. "Ah, Yukio," she smiled wolfishly, then informed the woman about the three ladies.

"Thank you for the information," Yukio Washimine sounded both formal and respectful, as was befitting a Japanese school girl. Amusingly, she was also the head of her crime family, and had in less than a week after arriving, wiped out the Italian mob in town. "I'm sorry, but they don't sound familiar to me," she added.

It was harder to say with them not being face to face, but Balalaika thought she was telling the truth. Pity. "Well, I'll let you know what happens with your countryman... they are apparently coming here," she added.

"Please remember there are people with pure motives in this town," Yukio said, "Rock, for example. Please don't kill them out of hand."

"I'll consider that," Balalaika hung up.

With a certain amount of irritation Balalaika took a few more puffs on her cigar, then crushed it out in the heavy ashtray on her desk. So, judging how long the girls would take getting from Rowan's over to here...

"Ma'am! Eda and Revy are here, along with three strangers," a soldier reported. "They want to see you."

"Send them up," Balalaika ordered.

A few moments the group of women came in, and Revy waved. "Hey, big sis," she said, "I'm just the guide, this time."

"Me too," Eda agreed.

Balalaika nodded to the to, then studied the three. She somewhat dismissed the mid-eastern girl... she looked around curiously, but there was no fire in her eyes. The pretty blonde was a threat, Balalaika assessed, and not just physically. There was something weird and unearthly about her. She was reminded of old Russian folk tales of unkillable witches...

"My name is Hazuki," the Japanese woman said as she met Balalaika's eyes fearlessly, "these are my friends Lilith and Quill." She took a steadying breath as she said, "I'm told you took in a mute, red eyed blonde...?"

"I did," Balalaika said. The girl... yes, this one was the dangerous one. Her eyes had a passionate intensity in them. She would see the world burn to reach her goals.

The girl seemed to sense what Balalaika wasn't saying. "Hatsumi disappeared?" she asked her flatly.

"Indeed. On her birthday, she just... disappeared from her room," Balalaika said, watching the intense young woman flinch in pain.

"EVE...," the witchy looking one cursed, looking like she wanted to kick something.

The mid-eastern girl asked, "How long ago did this happen?"

"Two months, October 2nd 1996," Balalaika said.

The three women moved aside to talk, as Balalaika sat back. 'Books' she overheard, 'different rates of time' and other phrases. Clearly the three were involved in something unusual.

"Hey, big sis," Revy asked curiously, "Why did you take in that mute chick, anyway?"

"I wanted a secretary who wouldn't blab my secrets to anyone," Balalaika said dryly.

"Ha!" Eda smiled.

And the girl had reminded Balalaika of herself, when she had been younger and much more innocent. But she wouldn't admit that...

The three young women finished their discussion, and the sword girl bowed to Balalaika. "Thank you for taking care of Hatsumi," she said, "I don't want to imagine what might have happened to her otherwise."

Balalaika considered waving that off, but the girl's sincerity was powerful. "It was nothing," she answered, "besides, it seems the lady inspired people to care for her. Even Rowan did, it seems."

"Yes, well," the girl looked uncomfortable, "I'm sorry we troubled you."

"This wasn't trouble," Balalaika said, amused, "killer maids, vampire twins... that's trouble."

"Don't remind me," Revy muttered.

The three young women gathered together, then the witch-clad girl began to glow an eerie green. The light grew brighter, then in a flash all three simply disappeared.

"WHAT THE FUCK!" Eda yelped.

"Shit," Revy agreed.

Much more calmly Balalaika murmured, "Well, that's a thing."

To be continued...

Notes: It's REALLY HARD writing this just in POV of the outside characters. Eeep. Anyway... Black Lagoon is set in the '90s somewhere, so I had Balalaika mention the exact date too. She also apparently thinks Lilith is Baba Yaga from Russian folklore.

Ever After

River Song One

"Who the hell are you?" the woman demanded as she blasted a Cyberman in the head.

"Hazuki. This is Lilith and Quill," Hazuki swung her sword, cutting an attacker in half.

"River Song," she replied as she shot another.

Quill blasted another away with her staff. "I still cant get over them being former humans," she sighed quietly.

River noted, "Cyberforming is basically irreversable, sorry to say." She shot another, "And if it helps, you're relieving them of unbearable agony."

Hazuki cut another one down, "Lilith, could you...?"

"Yes, yes," Lilith began to glow, floating off the ground. She scowled, "Eve is long gone."

"Eve?" River Song asked, intrigued.

"My sister, Hatsumi. We're trying to find her," Hazuki explained.

"More cybermen coming," Quill noted.

"Well, I found what I wanted," River Song noted. She activated a device on her wrist as she said, "Excuse me."

In a burst of temporal energy, River Song was gone.

"We'd best get out of here too," Lilith noted as they disappeared too.

River Song Three

"Why didn't you tell me you had met the Doctor?" River Song demanded, accosting the women at the Locket.

Hazuki, Quill and Lilith blinked at her, "We haven't?" Quill replied.

River blinked, realizing that they were out of sequence. "Oh. Spoilers!" she blurted.

"What?" Lilith sigh.

"Please just forget I said that," River added. "Buy you all a drink?" she offered.

The four ended up at a table together, where one of the temp waitresses took their order and dropped off a few drinks.

"So, you have the ability to move through space and time," Hazuki noted.

"Yes, via a Vortex Manipulator," River waved the device. "It's crude, but it works."

"So could you use it to jump to where Eve is?" Lilith asked.

"Hatsumi," Hazuki corrected.

"Whichever," Lilith waved it off.

"There's the question of what's in it for me," River Song noted. She continued, "However, I have the same problem you do: I don't know where she is, so I can't just jump there."

"Hmm," Quill frowned.

"What's in it for me?" Hazuki echoed.

"I'm a historian from the future. Most of my time trips are related to that," River explained.

"I suppose so," Lilith drank from her glass of red wine, that she had somehow managed to get served to her.

"Beer!" Rived waved.

Hazuki sighed and contented herself with juice.

River Song Ten

The Sontaran troops advanced, the lumpy, kind of potato looking aliens bearing weapons.

"These AGAIN?" Quill asked, blasting one with her staff.

"Where's your other teammate?" River asked.

"What?" Lilith asked.

"Whoop. Ignore that. Spoilers!" River said.

Hazuki growled under her breath.

"Sorry," River added.

"If I remember right, they have a vulnerable point on their neck," Hazuki recalled.

"All right. You and River distract them!" Quill ordered.

"Hey!" River protested, "I didn't volunteer..."

"People are in danger," Hazuki said as she charged the Sontarans, sword in hand.

River scowled, then opened fire with her blaster, keeping their attention.

As they fought, Lilith and Quill fired off a cloud of magic bullets, homing in on the weak point on the back of their necks. In moments, the Sontarans were down.

"That was.. most dishonourable.." the general managed before falling too.

"That might not have been the best of ideas," River noted, "Sontarans bear grudges."

Lilith shrugged eloquently.

"Did you manage what you were here for, miss historian," Quill asked wryly.

"I was trying to find out why the Sontaran attack failed... and now we know," River noted somewhat wryly.

"Ah," Hazuki looked sheepish.

"Well, at least we know," River noted. She added, "I'm joining an expedition to investigate a planetary library in the 51st century. Wish me luck."

As River disappeared in a vortex jump Quill started, "Wait!"

"What?" Lilith asked.

"I remembered hearing that was when she died...,"

River Song Two

"Why, exactly, should I trust you?" River Song demanded.

There was an odd beat of silence as the three looked at each other.

"What?" River demanded.

"We're going to have several adventures together," Quill said.

Lilith added, "Spoilers. As you're known to say."

River paused, then nodded. "Time travel gets confusing," she conceded.

"So we've ended up in the same place again... what were you looking for today, Miss Archeologist?" Hazuki asked mildly.

"Looking into the disappearance of a historical figure," River started, then trailed off.

"What?" Quill asked.

"A child prodigy writer who disappeared without a trace at sixteen," River sighed, realizing who it was.

"Eve!" Lilith scowled.

"Hatsumi," Hazuki nodded.

River sighed, "Let's see..." She took a device out of her pocket, searching for something. "Is this her?" she asked, showing the image to them.

"That's her," Hazuki confirmed.

River cussed mildly.

"Sorry," Hazuki apologized, though it wasn't exactly her fault.

"Not your fault," River waved it off.

RANDOM UNIT INTERLUDE

"Eeep," Hazuki yelped as they were suddenly surrounded by troops.

"What the...?" River muttered.

"Targets secured!" one soldier reported in to a radio.

A few moments later a sandy brown haired woman strode up, lecturing the soldiers oddly. "I said detain them, not go full attack squad," she scolded.

"Sorry, ma'am," the lead soldier apologized.

"Sorry," the woman addressed them, "the boys get over enthusiastic at times."

"Ah," Hazuki blinked.

River frowned, "UNIT?"

"United Nations Intelligence Task-force," the woman agreed, "Kate Stewart, I head the group."

"So why... ?" Lilith waved.

"We picked up the tacheon surge of your transit, I wanted to check it out," Kate admitted cheerfully.

"Looking for the Doctor?" River teased.

"Possibly," Kate shrugged.

"I think we'll leave you to your fun," Lilith noted as she wisked them away.

To be continued...

Notes: I liked River Song, wanted to do a thing where she shows up in non-linear order. And tossed in UNIT because, again, liked it.