This is my first Firefly fanfic, although I have written some other fanfics. Hopefully I'll actually get around to finishing this one P.. Rated for later chapters. Please enjoy and let me know what you think.
I own none of the characters, just the story.
Summary:
After Miranda, River is faced with more problems. After a trip to Persephone she ends up in a self induced coma. Soon after one of the crew is kidnapped and they find out that the Academy has a new plan for River. This time however, their plans include a certain merc. The crew of Serenity has only a little time to plan how they can save their captured crewmember and River. And what will they do once they realize the outcome of the Academy's new study?
----- -----
Agony
Intro to Agony
River Tam exited the ship behind the rest of the crew, blinking in the bright sunlight of Persephone. She started along after the others, and then it was back; the mind-splitting agony.
The thoughts of the millions of people around her crashed into her exposed mind all at once, sending little sunbursts of color to rupture in front of her eyes. She fumbled to close her mind as she had learned in the Academy, but her defenses soon weakened and the emotions of others swirled in mercilessly.
Her onerelief was that she had also been taught to shield her emotions to the outside world. Nothing about her face would betray the pain she endured. Instead she put up more walls, locking her conscience away. If she couldn't lock away the emotions, she would lock herself away. She let her body go on autopilot, and tucked herself away once more in the vast caverns of her mind. The only indicator that something was wrong was the blank stare that crept into her eyes.
Although she was now accustomed to the thoughts and emotions of the Crews' minds, she was still vulnerable to the foreign thinking of the outside world. Even she, with all her training and discipline, was rendered helpless before the mass of thought ramming all at once into her brain.
'There must be a way to block this out,' she thought. 'What is wrong with me?'
-----
"She's doin' it again."
Simon whirled around to look at the big merc standing awkwardly behind him.
"What?"
"Crazy. She's got that gorramn crazy look on her face again," replied Jayne, jabbing a thumb at the young girl walking behind him.
River had the now-familiar distant look on her face. Ever since Miranda, River went into a sort of trance whenever she came onto any of the overly populated planets, like Persephone. The upside of the whole disaster was that she was much more herself when she was with the crew.
Although she was still 'weird' to the rest of them, Simon could see more and more glimmers of his sister shining through. The more she interacted with them, the more 'normal' she became.
But there was this regress every time she left the safety of the ship. Simon wished he could figure out what was wrong, but as hard as she tried, River couldn't explain what happened to her when she went into this trance.
"Mal, I need to take her back to the ship," Simon said, coming out of his thoughts. Turning, he saw that the rest of the crew was staring at him, waiting.
"If I take her now I might be able to catch and counter whatever is happening to her. And I don't want to lose all the progress she's made. Every time we take her planet side, she slips back a little more and it takes days for her to return to normal again," Simon explained.
Mal stared from Simon to River, and then back again. Sighing, he said. "Alright then, as long as it's for her own good. But give Jayne the list of supplies you needed."
Simon thanked him, and handed the neat list over to the grumbling merc. He stepped over to River who was still standing with the empty stare on her face.
"Come on mei-mei, we're going back to the ship," Simon whispered into his sister's ear.
He thought he may have imagined it, but she seemed to relax at his words.
----- -----
Very short, sorry about that, but I'll start working on the next chapter ASAP. Hope you enjoyed that little brief intro.