DISCLAIMER: Firefly and the characters are the property of Mutant Enemy and Fox. I just like to play with them ( even though I´d much rather watch them on TV)

Notes: Still with me?? Yes, yes …..here goes the showdown, might be a little bit grisly, but it had to be ……

The story is far from over!

THE PRICE

In the blink of an eye the thing jumped for her, screeching angrily. It touched the ground right in front of her, sharp claws rushing for River´s neck.

River smiled fiercely. She didn´t even make the effort to step aside. Instead she caught the other thing´s wrists swiftly, mere seconds before they reached the soft, exposed skin of her throat. One of the claws reached her none the less, drawing blood, but River didn´t flinch.

The drugs were still buzzing through her system, she didn´t even feel the injury…..

The thing roared furiously as she forced it´s arms down slowly.

Leaning forward very carefully, River smiled and looked into the black oblivion of it´s eyes.

" This was your last mistake!" she whispered passionately.

" I told you, but you did not listen! You still thought that I wouldn´t really harm you…..that I would really kill you, but I told you so when we met by the lake!"

The thing changed back into her. River breathed deep…..it was like looking into a mirror. She knew it was nothing but a new trick, another attempt to manipulate her……..could she hurt herself?

Could she kill herself?

" You don´t have it in you!" the thing told her softly, staring back at her.

" What?" River hissed, careful not to loosen her grip on her mirror image´s wrists.

" Cruelty…you are not a killer!"

" We´ll see…."

In an instant River brought her knee up and rammed it into the things chest until she was awarded with the sound of cracking rips.

The thing stared at her in pure amazement. For the first time River could see something like understanding in her enemy´s eyes………the realization that there might be the faintest possibility that she might win this, that she would be the one to prevail.

The thing elicited an angry sound, somewhere between a moan and a gasp.

" You were wrong.." River said calmly, trying to suppress the sadness she felt.

" I don´t need to be a killer to end you here………you can´t be killed since you have never been alive! You are unfinished, incomplete……without their help you can never overwhelm my mind. You don´t feel, you don´t grieve ……you have no conscience, no concept of life. You are not even a part of my mind……"

The thing looked at her with a feral snarl.

River couldn´t help but feel for it ….after all that had happened, when she looked at it now she saw right through the camouflage. It looked like her, it used her voice…..but it was not her. When she looked into it´s face, it´s eyes……there was nothing, just emptiness.

In this moment River knew she had won.

The joke was on the alliance, River thought to herself …..poetic justice; the things the alliance had conditioned her with would now help her beat the demon they had planted in her mind.

She focused on her opponent, suddenly throwing itself at her. It tried to grab her, she could almost feel cold hands on her shoulder, but River ducked away.

Taking another step towards her the thing threw an enormous punch at her face with all it´s force..

It didn´t even reach her. Her hand caught the fist in mid-air, gripping it with her fingers, and squeezed. The things claw exploded like an overly ripe fruit.

Her nemesis was to stunned to scream, it simply clutched it´s arm with it´s other hand and stared at the damage River had inflicted.

His eyes red with anger, baring it´s teeth, it charged at her again. River whirled around, punching her small fist into her double's chest, putting all her weight behind the blow. The cracking of bones was almost drowned out by the howling wind.

Her fingers moved through ribs and skin like bullets piercing their target, without obvious resistance. There was a strange hissing sound as River´s white hand moved in a scarlet blur, pulling out of the wound.

Without a sound her enemy went down and River found herself sinking to the desert floor with it.

Blood ran from it´s nose and mouth, even the corners of it´s eyes, to River it almost looked like the thing was crying blood red tears.

" Who thought …..you had it in you after all, little sister!"

River gave a strangled cry and found tears streaming down her own face, cradling her mirror image in her arms.

" You won…" it rasped , coughing up more blood, drawing shuddering, irregular breaths.

River gazed into it´s eyes, biting her lip in order to force herself to stop crying.

" I´m sorry.." she whispered.

" Don´t be …I would not have shown mercy with you, much less mourned you….we both know that!"

" But you were made that way…."

" Even so …..we could have been invincible together, you and I!"

River shook her head, while it gasped for air.

" I want to give you something…..the truth, my parting gift if you will."

River felt it´s cold hand raised to her temple and threw her head back in pain and confusion as a thousand blurred images exploded behind her eyes. Memories, facts……all racing through her mind .

At the same timer she saw the expression on the thing´s face change into a malevolent grin.

" ……and as for defeating me…….I may be gone, but you will pay the price for casting me out!"

River screamed from the onslaught, violently struggling free, pushing the dead things head from her lap. Unable to get up from the ground River crawled away.

Then it was over, like a flash of lightning in the sky.

With an ear piercing cry River bolted upright, only to find herself blinded by the labs harsh lights. She jumped off the gurney, pressing herself to the wall, blinking.

" River.."

She heard Simon´s voice, felt herself being pulled into his warm embrace.

He caressed her hair, repeating over and over again…

" You´re okay, thank heavens ,River….You are alright."

He stepped back from her, cradling her face in his hands, looking at her in complete wonder.

River creased up her brow and smiled back at him mildly. Over his shoulder she could see several figures staring at them.

Taking her eyes off her brother's contented face, River let her eyes wander through the sickbay.

" We did it …" she whispered with a sigh of relief.

" You got me out, you saved me from the academy…"

Simon furrowed his brow, brushing loose strands of hair out of her face.

" Yes..I did!" he said finally, his face slowly filling with worry.

River smiled at him, sighing heavily. She felt an overwhelming wave of joy and relief wallowing up from deep inside of her, she drew a deep breath, forcing tears from her eyes.

" Thank god, Simon………it was horrible, you can´t image what they did …I …"

She could see her brother shaking his head and interrupted her ranting.

" Are you ok?"

" You remember?" Simon asked quietly.

" You remember what they did to you?"

River shook her head, trying to contain the memories his question brought up.

" Not everything, they had me sedated …I think …..but that is over now, you saved me!"

She laughed like the happy young girl Simon remembered from so long ago, her eyes roaming around the room again, over Mal and Jayne and the rest of the crew standing in the doorway, obviously not recognizing her environment or the people that surrounded them.

" Where are we?"

she asked him attentively

" Who are these people?"