If I didn't know any better, I'd say some of you saw this coming ;)

What we have here is an idea that I had before I even started the last arc of 'Friends with Benefits'. The whole time I was writing that, I wanted to be writing this, hence it took just a few days to complete.

It is short, simple, and rather depressing. As a warning, this short story deals with the death of a main character. If that is not your cup of tea, you might want to turn around now, no hard feelings ;)

Oh, and I still don't own Black Lagoon.

Bao stood outside the Yellow Flag, his eyes closed and his arms folded across his chest as he waited. The rumble of an American V8 permeated the air, bringing the proprietor of the Yellow Flag to open an eye. The Lagoon Company's GTO slowed in front of the building, and Dutch quickly exited the car.

He closed the door behind him and flicked his cigarette to the street as he asked, "Has she shot anyone?"

"I haven't heard any shots, but she almost put a bullet in me for not pouring her another drink," Bao replied.

"Fuck," Dutch muttered. They turned and headed to the front doors and he asked, "How much has she had?"

"I'm clean out of Bacardi and last I tried to get in her way, she was going for the Jack Daniels," Bao replied as he pushed the door open.

Revy sat with her back to the bar, her right elbow propping her up. Her head was tilted back while her left hand directed a fresh glass of booze down her throat. The glass now empty, she wiped her lips with her hand before throwing the glass behind the bar. She leaned forward and her body swayed about. Bao, nor Dutch had ever seen her this bad off. She drew one of her cutlass in her right hand, it too swaying with her.

"What the fuck happened?" Dutch asked.

"Same as last night," Bao replied. "She came in, sat in that same seat and ordered a drink for her and…"

Bao's words dropped off and Dutch's head sank as he commented, "Fuck." He looked up, only to find Revy now attempting to stand, as she screamed and cursed at the crowd that had formed around her.

"No one's tried to touch her, right?" Dutch asked.

"You kidding? This room'a regulars, none of them are that stupid."

Dutch shook his head as he watched his employee stumble around.

"What the fuck are you staring at?!" Revy shouted at a random bystander. "Never seen a drunk bitch before?!"

"Just cool it, Rebecca," One of the patrons calmly begged, his hands raised in peaceful submission.

Unfortunately for him, Revy's eyes locked with his and she stumbled over to him. She wrapped her left hand around the back of his head, and the barrel of her cutlass closed in on his face. As the barrel touched his lips, he flinched slightly and Revy grabbed a tight hold of his hair as she ordered, "Open you mouth."

She slid the barrel around his face as he struggled with her and the pain she inflicted on him. Again she ordered, this time screaming in his face, "Open your fucking mouth!"

Finally, his lips broke loose and she forced barrel into his mouth. The group of onlookers slowly backed away and again, she denounced her authority over him, "Now what was that cocksucker? You told me to cool it, right?"

Tears slowly rolled down the man's cheeks and he nodded furiously.

Her finger tightened on the trigger, the 92's double-action slowly pulling the hammer back. The denizens of the bar cleared out of the way behind the man who was about to have his brain removed.

Running out of time, Dutch walked over to Revy and placed a hand on her gun, clicking the safety in place just as the hammer snapped forward. Revy's eyes didn't deter from the man she had every intention of killing, as she calmly addressed her boss, "There a fuckin' problem, Dutch?"

Dutch pushed the man away from her, removing the gun from his mouth in the process. He quickly collected himself and ran from the bar as Dutch scolded his employee and friend, "This is the third time this week, Revy."

The rest of the bar quickly vacated behind the man Revy had nearly killed. At the sight of his customers fleeing, Bao's hands flopped to his sides in disappointment.

"So what?" Revy asked calmly. "Who the fuck cares, Dutch?"

"Let's get something straight, Two-hands; you work for me. What you do on your own time reflects on me. You want to go fuckin' crazy because Rock got killed…" Revy's eyes widened and her world came to a screeching halt as Dutch continued, "…you do it--"

Having not heard a word passed 'killed', Revy interrupted her boss, "Go fuck yourself!"

Dutch pushed her back onto a barstool and again addressed his employee, "He was my friend too, Two-hands."

"Fuck you."

"It wasn't your fault, but if you keep this up, I'm gonna be out a gunslinger and a businessman in the same week."

"Shut up," Revy demanded, her voice breaking slightly.

"Let me take you to your place; stay there and sleep this shit off. Take as long as you want, but get your fuckin' head on straight."

"Fuck you."

Dutch sighed as his head fell into his hand. He had nothing to offer her that would make the pain go away. It didn't matter how fast she had moved, or what she did, all she could do was watch as some random street punk put a bullet in her partner. All he'd dealt with since he'd been in Roanapur and it would be a common street urchin who got him.

"Come on, Revy," Dutch quietly asked, as he offered her a hand. "I'll take you back to the office, you can stay as long as you like."

Calmed slightly, Revy turned back to the bar and clumsily poured herself another glass, "I'm still drinking."

"No, I think you're done for tonight," Dutch didn't so much assume as order.

"I'm a big fuckin' girl, Dutch. I know when to stop," Revy slurred after pounding the shot.

"How about you take the bottle with you then?" Dutch asked, looking for anything to simply get her out of the bar.

Again she pondered his words. Finally, a vague voice of reason broke through her thoughts and she stood from the stool. Her legs wavered and she would have collapsed right there if Dutch hadn't caught her, "Easy…"

She took the bottle from the bar and stumbled along the floor towards the exit. As she passed Bao, she screamed, "What the fuck are you looking at, fucker?!"

Dutch pulled her away from Bao and again offered her a somewhat soothing tone, "Come on, Revy."

As he led her through the door, Revy flipped Bao off and shouted back into the bar, "I'll be back tomorrow, asshole!"

-

Outside the Yellow Flag, the crowd that had walked out moments earlier, waited to go back inside. They all watched as Dutch helped Revy to the GTO, some of them quietly commenting among themselves, "I can't believe she's still standing…You ever seen her like that?…What the fuck was that all about?"

As the doors to the Yellow Flag closed behind the last of the men who'd gone back inside, Dutch opened the door for Revy. As he helped her into the car, she pushed him out of the way and leaned over the door before letting loose the contents of her stomach.

"Is she gonna need a hospital?" Benny asked from the driver's seat.

Watching as his gunslinger vomited what seemed to be an endless stream of liquid, Dutch replied, "Don't know yet."

Finally through throwing up, Revy attempted to right herself and simply fell onto the backseat. Dutch sat in the passenger seat and by the time he had turned around to check on her, she was already working on the bottle of Jack Daniels.

"Fuckin' hell," Dutch quietly muttered before reaching behind him to try and take the bottle from her.

Without stopping what she was doing or diverting her attention, Revy drew her cutlass and cocked the hammer, stopping the boss in his tracks.

"Fuck it," Dutch commented as he turned back to the front of the car. "Just get us to the office."

Benny got the car rolling as he asked, "What about--"

Dutch quickly interrupted him, "She wants to kill herself over this shit, who the fuck are we to tell her otherwise?" Dutch continued as though she weren't even there, "Rock was a good guy and a good friend, but clearly we've had our fuckin' eyes closed."

"What do you mean?" Benny asked.

Dutch looked back to Revy who continued to drown herself in that bottle as he asked, "You ever seen her like this?"

Benny looked in the rearview mirror to observe his colleague and replied, "No."

"Exactly," Dutch replied. "Whatever the fuck is going on inside that head'a hers, I'm glad I ain't a part of it."

"Aside from bringing her to the office tonight, what do you think we should do?" Benny asked.

Dutch turned back to the front, "Whatever this is that she's going through, I suggest you and I steer clear of it. If we get in her way when she's less drunk, she won't think twice about putting bullets in either of us."

Benny swallowed the lump in his throat as he again checked the rearview mirror. Revy now lay passed out, still holding the neck of the bottle as it rested on her chest.

-

Outside the Lagoon Company's office, Dutch reached into the backseat of the GTO and carefully removed Revy's limp, and unconscious form. He draped her over his shoulder and proceeded to carry her upstairs, Benny following behind. As they crossed the threshold into the office, Benny paused at the door as he took in the empty seats for a moment. That single chair that Rock had always managed to claim as his own sat empty, the impression of his body still in its cushions. Benny's eyes closed and his fists balled up in anger.

In a spare bedroom in the back of the office, Dutch found himself incapable of treating Revy with anything other than delicacy. Even though she had drawn her gun on him twice in the past half-hour, he still laid her down so very carefully. He pulled a sheet over her and she groaned as she weakly tossed from one side to the other.

Dutch watched her in tormented thought of what she was going through. He knew there was something between her and Rock; a strong camaraderie at least, a casual indiscretion at most. Whatever the case may have been, the boss had seen Revy through all manner of death, but nothing had ever brought her to this level of depravity.

Dutch closed the door to the bedroom behind him, and found Benny seated on the couch with an anxious look on his face, "She alright?"

"I think I'll be stayin' here for the night," Dutch replied. "Make sure she lives through it."

"Do you mind?" Benny asked as he threw his feet up on the couch, indicating he too would stay.

"Not at all," Dutch replied. "The company is probably good for all of us."

Dutch took a seat on the couch and lit a cigarette. After a brief silence, Benny addressed the boss, "I still can't believe he's gone."

Dutch exhaled a mouthful of smoke as he replied, "I keep expecting him to show up every morning."

"Do you think we should…" Benny paused, trying to be as respectful as possible, "…try and find a replacement?"

"I doubt we'll ever come across another package deal like Rock, Benny boy," Dutch replied. "Besides, with the way she's dealing right now, I know Revy won't hear of it."

-

In the spare bedroom, Revy tossed and turned in the bed. Her lips were dry from the heavy alcohol consumption, and she panted and gasped for air as the poison in her veins took its toll on her body. The surreal wanting of nothing more than to jump out of her skin and scream plagued her, though she was too weak to even sit up. Revy's eyes opened slightly as she tossed about, and she groaned as her hands clawed at the surface of the mattress.

Her eyelids closed once again as memories of Rock berated her thoughts. How a year ago, she'd nearly killed him herself, and now, she was punishing herself for failing to keep him alive. She could barely place all her feelings as they coursed through her. She hadn't known guilt for years, but now it consumed her completely. Guilt over his death, guilt over her treatment of him, but then again; why did she care at all?

He was just like her, wasn't he? Just another face among the walking dead of Roanapur.

She shook the thought from her head as her adrenaline levels inexplicably elevated. Her shifting became more sporadic and finally, her movements ceased and her eyes shattered open.

-

Just as Dutch and Benny's eyes had closed in the next room, they were woken as Revy kicked the bedroom door open. Before their attention completely shifted to her, she was walking a jagged line towards the cabinet containing the office booze cache.

Dutch stood from the couch, while Benny merely watched as Revy knelt in front of the cabinet and ripped the cap off of a half-empty bottle of Bacardi. She quickly began to pour the alcohol down her throat as Dutch approached her.

"Revy--"

She pulled her lips from the bottle, just long enough to interrupt him and take a breath, "Fuck off."

"You're gonna set a world record for shooting your liver, you keep this shit up," Dutch replied.

"I'm fuckin' fine, Dutch," Revy barked.

From the couch, Benny tried to get through to her as well, "Revy--"

"Fucking you too, Benny?!" Revy shouted. She waivered about as she stood from the floor and again addressed her colleagues, "I'll be fuckin' fine, just leave me the fuck alone!"

Silence fell on the room as she leaned over to retrieve another full bottle of booze, almost falling to floor in the process. She zig-zagged her way to the office door, and slammed it behind her.

"Well that went well," Benny calmly stated. He turned to Dutch and asked, "Should we go after her?"

"And do what exactly?" Dutch asked.

Dutch leaned over to the phone mounted on the wall behind him and started dialing.

"Who're you calling?" Benny asked.

"Chang, then Balalaika," Dutch replied. "See if maybe I can play on their good sides, and ask them not to shoot her if she happens to mouth off to them."

-

Revy fell through the door and out onto the street outside the office, sure to fall on her side as to not break the bottle of Bacardi. Her shoulder ripped across the concrete as she fell, shredding her skin in the process. She slowly picked herself up, completely unfazed by her injury and proceeded to walk along the sidewalk, leaving a trail of blood in her wake.

Her left hand slid across the wall to support her, as her right hand poured the contents of the bottle down her throat. Every couple hundred yards she fell, once again injuring herself, then returning to her feet, only to repeat the process.

As she made her way across Roanapur, she eventually took a cutlass into her left hand. Not that anyone would be stupid enough to try anything in the condition she was in, but even in a state of alcohol poisoning, she knew it best to be armed. As the now empty bottle of Bacardi crashed against the concrete, she had finally gone too far. She could no longer keep herself upright, and her knees simply gave way as she crumbled to the ground. Her head fell to one side as the liquid contents of her stomach poured from her mouth once again.

Her eyes fluttered slightly before closing completely as the only thought in her head finally escaped her lips, "Why couldn't he just go home?"

-

Revy's eyes fluttered slightly as she regained consciousness. Eventually, her vision came into a hazy focus, revealing Eda standing in front of her, her typical pink glasses nowhere to be found.

"You awake?" Eda asked, her tone not in the least bit amused. She roughly lifted Revy's face by her chin, and the gunslinger's senses kicked in; she was tied to a chair, in what she only could have assumed was a back room in the rip-off church.

"What the fu--" Revy weakly spoke.

"Good," Eda interrupted before plowing her fist into Revy's face.

As she reeled from the blow, Revy's speech slurred as she asked, "What the fuck was that for?!"

"Do you think this is what he'd want?!" Eda shouted, and again slammed her fist into Revy's face.

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Revy shouted as she spit a wad of blood onto Eda's habit.

"Stupid bitch!" Eda's other fist crashed into Revy's jaw, and she continued, "He loved you! He cared more about you than anyone in this fucking place!"

Her body littered with bloody bruises from where she had fallen on the streets, Revy now also sported a bloody nose and lip. Still not feeling much of the pain Eda was inflicting on her, Revy's blood soaked teeth clenched together as she replied, "I don't know what the fuck you're talking about!"

Another slam of Eda's fist. The nun again took Revy's jaw into her hand, locking their eyes, "If you want to fucking kill yourself, I suggest you use your gun…" Eda pulled one of Revy's cutlass from her holster, "…it'll be a lot quicker."

A twisted smile formed on Revy's face as she replied, "But this is more fun."

Eda's knuckles slammed into Revy's temple, and now she felt pain. She screamed in agony and instantly her temple turned dark red from the blow. As she recovered from the hit, her head wobbled about as she struggled to gather her bearings.

Eda snapped the slide of Revy's gun and forced the barrel to her forehead, "Is this what you want?! Do you fucking want to die, Two-hands?"

"Yeah, bitch," Revy slurred through the blood that filled her mouth. She leaned her weight onto the barrel of the gun, "Come on and fucking do it."

"Why?" Eda asked.

Revy silently struggled through her thoughts. The answer was right there, and as she sat inebriated, exhausted and in phenomenal pain, she was unable to hold her tongue any longer, "I don't want to miss him anymore."

And that's that. If you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed it, well...at least as much as a story of this nature could be enjoyed.

The title comes from a Deftones song. Its lyrics dealing with being reunited with a loved one.

-jm