Maggie's conscious drifted away until she was no longer in her mind. She wasn't on a planet or even in her own body. Her bullet wound was gone and her pants were no longer stained. Her clothing had completely changed into a white silk dress. She was somewhere…else. She was on a cliff high above the salty ocean. A small peninsula stretched farther out from the mainland and she was standing on the edge. The blue sky shone bright and a peaceful wind blew her hair across her face. Small waves crashed on the rocks below.

Maggie looked above and below and from side to side. Happiness and relief was all she could feel. The greenest grass she could ever imagine was spread out behind her. Patches of the stuff grew lower on the cliffs.

Maggie twirled around with her arms in the air. Glee filled her every muscle and she breathed with utter bliss. It seemed like nothing could go wrong here. She stopped in her tracks when she saw a man with blond hair was standing alone a few feet away from her. He looked around him, startled and confused. He finally stared at Maggie. "Huh, that's new."

The man standing in front of her was a few inches taller than her. His bronze hair was sticking out in all directions. His ears were big and he wore a goofy grin. The wind rustled a Hawaiian shirt with palm trees and such that hid a green cargo shirt.

"I mean, that's weird. I was…up there and now….I'm down here in this…strange land." He said. He looked at Maggie then behind himself and then to Maggie again. He scratched his head as he tried to figure it out. "Where are we on Ariel? One of those fancy Alliance resorts, maybe? Or, no, don't tell me. We're on one of those exotic moons! Anastasia or Boros, perhaps? Yes, Boros! I've always wanted to go Boros!"

"Um, who the hell are you?" Maggie said.

"Oh, right. You haven't met me yet. Sorry, you can call me Wash." He said. He held out his hand. Maggie didn't shake it. He let his hand stay in the air for a few seconds before it dropped awkwardly to his side. "I'm a pilot, actually. Though, I'm pretty sure you're lying unconscious on my ship."

Wash cocked his head to the side. "You're Maggie, right?"

"Yeah. How do you know that?" She said. She looked at him with a cautious look.

"Ugh, how do I explain this? Um, I'm…" He took a deep breath before blurting out, "I'm dead." He was uneasy and it was starting to freak Maggie out. "I know things. I can see and feel everything that I want to. For instance, I know that you're running from Alliance feds."

"I was shot. You could put two and two together." Maggie said. Her tone was skeptical, but she was unusually relaxed.

"The rambling was kind of exaggerated earlier on. I didn't want to go all ghost of Christmas future on you." He laughed, but stifled the chuckle when he saw Maggie's face. He quickly tried to change the subject. "So, what's this place, anyway?

She took a deep breath and walked to the edge of the cliff. Her toes brushed the edge. She felt the wind flow against her cheek. She took comfort in the breeze, but it was tainted with the strange sense of déjà vu. This place seemed all too familiar. It was just on the tip of her tongue, just barely out of reach. She whispered to herself. "I can't remember. I can never remember."

She looked up at Wash. He was standing there, doing the only thing he could do, listen. He was goofy and odd, sure. But something about him connected with her. She strangely felt like she could trust him. Wash said, "Ok then, is it an animal, mineral, or vegetable?"

A single laugh came from her mouth. It was her first laugh in a long time. A smile briefly appeared on her lips, before something went wrong. She had a strange feeling that someone had done something to her, that something was off. Her head suddenly exploded with pain. Her hands cradled the sides of her head as she let out a tormented cry. Wash rushed to her side with worry. "Maggie, what's wrong? What happened?"

Her vision went haywire and Wash's personality completely changed. He now was standing away from her. He rolled his eyes. "Stop complaining, you stupid brat!"

"What?" She gasped. She had to concentrate to focus on anything. Her eyesight went haywire. Wash was back at her side, still worried. She fell down to her knees. Her vision blurred once again. Wash's outfit changed in the blink of an eye. His shirt was stained red and a giant harpoon was impaled in his stomach. His hand was clutching his gut. His looked slowly upward and stared at Maggie. A trickle of red fell from his lips.

Maggie screamed and recoiled. Her thoughts were scrambled. Her head erupted with pain and she fell backwards. Her head hit the ground with a hard thunk. She jolted back to reality. She was back on the ship, but she was standing in the middle of the cargo bay.

She looked around. A captain and a black woman had guns pointed at her. In her hand was a small pistol. She turned around quickly and whirled the gun around unsteady, still aimed and cocked. A Captain was yelling at her.

"Stop right there, tah mah de!" He screamed. "Don't move!"

The entire crew had surrounded her. Maggie immediately took in all of the sights around her. Nothing escaped her sight. A big brute was lying unconscious on the ground. A girl covered in grease was looking all around trying to figure out what was going on.

A man in a silk vest was standing in front of a young long-hair brunette. His body was stiff and he glared in a curious manner at Maggie. The girl by his side caught her eye. She seemed to look at her the way the others didn't, like she recognized Maggie. The girl's eyes widened and glassed over. A sleepy little smile came to her lips before she said, "Oh, the oceans! The tiny waves lay before the mean grassy cliff. But don't fall over, no! Be careful not to lose your mind..."

The man in the vest quieted her. "Hush, mei-mei."

Author's Note: OK, so this chapter was the hardest to write and would really like comments on it. More Comments = More Chapters!