A/N: Disclaimer is on Chapter 1 (don't ask me to try and reiterate on how I don't own any but Cassie and the Guild members stated in here.). And, once again, sorry for the delay. Been uber busy with work and whatnot and got this done over a month ago. So, enjoy!


"Oh this is a joke," Mal said as he looked at his younger sister.
"Do you have to do this?" Kaylee added as she now joined the group.
"Mistress Reynolds has to—one of our girls, Miss Costello, was offended and she's one of the mistress's students. She cannot ignore our queen's orders to Mister Wing—insulting a member of the Guild is not looked down upon lightly," Mathilda replied, seeing Kaylee's confusion and directing the mechanic away to explain more in depth.
"Sir Harrow, given the Guild's reputation with working with Captain Reynolds and his crew, may I inquire if you'll be needing your property off planet?" Cassie asked once she turned to face the lord.
"INARA!"
Cassie turned her head back to see Atherton holding out his arm to the Companion. Waiting until Inara was no longer present did Harrow reply.
"You mussed up Atherton's face…and that has endeared you to me somewhat. You might even give him a fight before he guts ya. However, if you survive, Ms. Reynolds…it'll be my honor to allow your brother's crew to aid me in my dilemma," he said before he too left the group.


"Why did this get to be so complicated, meimei?" Mal asked when it was just the two siblings later that night.
Cassie sighed as she looked down at the rapier in her hands. She was back in her normal clothes, having changed from her dress after being given quarters for the night. Her hair was somewhat damp from her shower and her face free of any makeup from earlier that day. Sighing again, her lavender-brown eyes looked up to hazel-brown.
"'Cause you'd be in my boots if I didn't intervene…Mal, you're not really good with a sword."
"And you are?"
Cassie didn't reply to that question…then again, Mal only shook his head after a pause. He let out a sigh as he rose to his feet from the chair he was in.
"Just…just be careful, ok? You're the only family I got left actually blood-related, dong ma?"
Cassie nodded her head at his concern. She gave him a hug before he left the room just as Inara was walking into the room.
"He doesn't know, does he?" the Companion asked once both women were alone.
"Nope…and neither does Atherton. Best let him believe that he is better than showing my hand too soon by showing off," Cassie replied as she stabbed at the air with such precision.


Morning came all too soon for the reader as Cassie was warming up a bit from the slight chill in the air. Dressed in proper dueling attire that wasn't that much different from her normal clothes, the petite reader closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Opening them, she noticed Harrow standing with Inara, Mal, Mathilda and her husband…but, the one person she wished to see…
"Looking for me?" Cassie turned her head to see Jayne, still in disguise, looking at her.
She smiled softly at her lover as she drew closer to him and gave him a hug, which he returned with one of his own.
"Hi, Jayne."
"You'll be fine, Cass—I know you all too well to know that you got this," he said as he pulled away to look at her while grasping her arms lightly. "DO what you do best…just don't kill him in front of Mal; he might not like seeing you enjoy yourself," he added as he gave Cassie a million dollar smile.
Cassie nodded her head as she laughed at the concern.
"You got it, tianxin."
"Break a leg…I'll see ya back on Serenity," he whispered as he hugged her again, kissing at her forehead and lingering for a breath or two.
A few minutes later, Atherton and Cassie were squaring off and saluted one another with their rapiers. Cassie had to mentally tell herself to hold back as the two traded jabs and parries before Cassie managed to nick her opponent on his cheek. She let a grin appear on her lips as she faked being hopeful before getting a slash on her left arm, which held the blade. Faking being hurt at that injury, she had to switch hands while pretending to go for the opening Atherton left intentionally open before her fingers were sliced open as a result. She placed her hand to her side to fake getting hit there.
"Atherton wait! I'll stay here, exclusive to you. Just…let her live," Inara said, distracting Atherton and everyone else.
Cassie smirked as she leaned towards Atherton and slashed at his hand, causing him to drop his rapier. Quicker than what most of the spectators could grasp, Cassie grabbed for it as she ducked to her knees, sweeping Atherton's feet from under him. In a whirl of pale colors, she managed to pull out a dagger from her boot and placed it under her opponent's exposed neck. Her eyes gave off a dull glow, scaring some of the spectators a bit at the sight and alerting Mathilda and Aiden of what was to come at that point.
"Admit it—you were NOT expecting to lose to a woman, were you?" she all but sneered at the man under her weight.
It took Mathilda's hand on her shoulder to get Cassie off of Atherton, but her guard was still high as she re-sheathed her dagger. Lord Harrow made mention to Cassie finish the duel, but the reader wouldn't do it.
"I've seen too many lives taken because of men like you…Leaving you alone in humiliation is suffice to his crime of belittling a fellow woman," Cassie replied as she kicked away the rapier at her feet.
Meanwhile, Mal was trying to make sense of what had just transpired in front of him. Aiden was quick to notice and explain to the former Independent sergeant.
"She had it under control. If she didn't, she would have ended it LONG before her hand started bleeding. See how she disguises it as a side wound with her left hand? All the blood's from her fingers—she's very knowledgeable with a blade, let alone a rapier."
"Huh…no wonder she was all calm last night."
"She was always calm in the heat of the battle—I'm told that you two were at Serenity Valley when it all ended…she never once spoke of a more heartbreaking time during the War without mentioning Serenity," Mathilda added. "I can attest to it in first person on how eerily calm she gets…scares me to even bring it up. I guess that, whatever the Alliance did to her and to those under the Academy, Cassie was changed in a way that could mirror how Miss Tam underwent. I could be wrong, but that's what I've heard of your sister, Mister Reynolds."
Mal nodded his head, his voice wasn't worth trusting on saying otherwise. He looked onward as Cassie glanced over at his direction and saw a glimpse of the Cassie that he didn't see often—the side of his baby sister that he was saw in the Battle of Serenity; the raw emotion of utter shock and despair…and something else that he couldn't quite put a finger to it. Cassie turned her gaze away from her big brother just as Atherton, back on his feet, was threatening Inara's career. Her face harden slightly as she stalked over to the man.
"See, that's not how it actually works, Mr. Wing. You see, having a black mark on your file, in the Companion's mind, means that no Companion will want to have dealings with you. As for my guild…well, you having a black mark will mean that everyone will be after you. We, at the Guild, do not take lightly when one of our own is slandered…or when you fought against the third in line of the Guild leadership," Cassie said as she tilted her head slightly to the side.
Up to that moment, everything that had been said caused a few people to react with shock; Mathilda and Aidan weren't too surprised because they already knew of that fact. With Mal and Inara, they both were wide-eyed at the news. However, that was nothing compared to what transpired next: Cassie had just turned her back when Atherton pulled out a knife from his second's belt and threw it…Inara and Mal shouted for the reader to look out. Cassie spun around so quickly that no one but the Guild escorts saw that Cassie had thrown a think needle at the man with one hand while the other caught the knife. Atherton grabbed at his wrist as he cried out in pain.
"You're lucky that THAT wasn't a poison dart…"Cassie spewed at the man as she threw the knife away to the side. "Cannot stand people who do just that," she added as she walked over to the two escorts from the Guild.


Jayne found his lover much later that night in the cargo bay. She was sitting on the metal plating, swinging her legs back and forth. Her hand and left arm were bandaged and a bottle of whiskey was in her right hand. She was looking down at Mal and Inara interacting as they were overseeing their cargo mooing in the bay. He sat down next to her and took the bottle, which was half empty, away from her grasp.
"Tough day?"
"Not really…more or less like I wished that I could have disfigured that man…although, I did stab at him a bit prior to sticking a needle with a toxin that will make him feel pain for a while in his wrist. Should have hit him with a numbing needle…" she muttered as she looked longingly at the bottle of whiskey. "Plus, the thought in his head throughout the entire fight was just disgusting…" she added as she shuddered at the memory.
"Sorry to hear that, darling. So, what next? You ever gonna tell me how you being third in line of the biggest guild in the 'Verse's underworld affects us?"
Cassie shook her head at his question.
"Not a damn thing, Jayne. Besides, it's best to just let you come up with your own conclusion…plus it's too long of a story for me to tell ya."
"Well, all we got, woman, is time…" The merc said as he took a swig from the bottle and winced at the aftertaste "Good lord, woman…what the heck did I just drink?"
"Only the finest from the Guild's private collection…" the Reader replied as she took the bottle and finished the rest of the bottle in one gulp.