The Eternal Imperium

Chapter 15: Cheers to Suffering

A shot glass is set down on a bar table. Red watches as the bartender pours him another shot.

Red's time in Kuo Kuana had been eating going. He hadn't had to stress much about the overhanging shadow of the Imperium. He had kept in touch with Coco as she and the other Huntsmen were utilized to clear out the Grimm across the island. Eventually, Coco informed him that she found the Resistance that had been rumored to exist in Menagerie.

Kali seemed to have allowed them to assemble and use old White Fang bases as long as they dealt with the Grimm that encircled Kuo Kuana. From what Coco told him, the Resistance was led by an old Ace Ops member named Clover Ebi.

Downing another shot of Vodka, he felt the presence of someone else sitting on the bar stool next to him.

Kali: "Shot of vodka on the rocks, lime juice, ginger beer." The bartender nods as he begins to make her drink.

Red, slightly surprised but more drunk, eyes Kali as she receives her drink and nonchalantly downs the drink. Then, she watches as she orders another.

Red: "Ya know. There are a lot of other seats in this bar. Pretty empty." Kali doesn't even bat an eye as she downs another shot.

Kali: " *sigh* Would've sat somewhere else. But you took my usual spot. So I had to come up with something."

Red: "Usual? What could the Cheiftess of Menagerie be doing in a dive like this? No offense, barkeep."

Kali: "You, of all people, know why I'm sitting here. No one else knows the kind of pain I'm in except for you." She gulps down another shot of tequila.

Red: "Fair point. Drink on then." He drinks his glass of vodka.

Kali: "What brings you here? Thought you'd be gone from here by now."

Red: "Thought I'd stick around. Kinda difficult to live on the mainland when you're apparently the most wanted man in the world."

Kali: "Evidently." She yet again downs another shot. The two continued to drink as the silence between them was almost eerily present.

Red: "So what's it like? Being in charge."

Kali: "Not as easy as leading a small team, that's for sure. Everything is on me, and they're quick to turn on me when it goes wrong."

Red: "First thing about Leadership, it's all your fault. That's why I never got into the whole leadership gimmick."

Kali: "And there's the real you again. Always find a reason not to be a part of something more than yourself. I thought it added to your roguish charm when I was younger and more stupid, but Ghira was right. This facade you employ only hides the coward you are." Anger is beginning to well up in her voice.

Red: "You think you know me so well, do you? But you don't. Everyone keeps telling me to be a part of something because it's the right thing to do, but I never ask if it's what I want to do! I won't let anyone or anything dictate how I live and make my choices. You hate me because I see from an outside point of view. See how the world really works because it isn't clouded by bias and rhetoric from self-righteous people like you!" He slams his drink on the counter as he begins to grow louder in tone.

Kali: "Oh! So that's how it is! You think yourself so high and above everyone else because you choose not to take a side. That just makes you nothing more than a scared fool. Too frightened of his own failure to ever commit to something that isn't going to benefit him in any way, shape, or form purely. You used to be someone with actual credibility, but ever since Ginger-"