AN: Hey all! I have finally updated this after a number of years. It still isn't done, but I am going to try and complete this sooner rather than later. Hope you enjoy this short update and the direction it takes the story.

Chapter 12: Running out of time

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…Elsewhere…

The wasteland was vast. Full of hidden scars and memories of a forgotten past. He had crossed it once, back when he was still a man, instead of a myth. Back when he was still Colonel Joe Moore.

But he wasn't that man anymore. No, he had risen, risen to something more. His was the word of god, the word of Immoten, he was Immoten, destined for the gates of Valhalla. But the further he went from the Citadel, the further back he travelled thru his memories and scars, the longer the others could see those scars…

They had stopped on the edge of the wasteland. Stopped to strategize, to think. Where would they have gone, what would they have done? His brother had called him foolish, told him to cut his losses before the debt grew higher.

"Patience." He had growled at the man.

That was several hours ago, and while the People-Eater hadn't approached him since, he felt his brother's critical stare as he watched the horizon.

Now, he was growing impatient. He wanted his property back.

He kept scanning the horizon, looking for any trace of them. Anything to point the hunt, the furious vexation, in the right direction. And as dusk was creeping over the wasteland, he saw what he was looking for… he saw his sign, his beacon, leading the way.

The red trail of smoke showed him the direction, and the lookout confirms it not a moment later.

"Flare!"

He watches the plume disappear into the sky as the engines roar to life around him.

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Max's POV

We had turned back not long after the dusk had fully set onto the wasteland, taking our time and overseeing the camp. While there was still tension in the air, there seems to have been an unspoken agreement between them.

But before we get the chance to rejoin either group, a crack breaks the air, and all hell breaks loose.

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River's POV

She didn't feel them, but she should have. She had been wistful, allowing hope to invade her senses and dull what she was feeling in the back of her brain along her spine.

The gunshots from the scouting war boys ring out and everyone immediately begins to take shelter wherever they could. There are at least three Vulvalini on the ground dead by the time her senses come back to her and her fight response takes over from flight. Everyone is shouting and the engines roaring around them makes it hard to hear what anyone is saying.

In her peripheral vision she sees a flash, and her brain registers what is about to happen before she can warn her, warn Furiosa to move.

Her eyes widen in horror as the warrior of woman goes to fire her side arm, only to be shot in her side.

"NO!" She yells as she dashes forward through the gunfire to try and get to her. She manages to, but it's too late.

"Take… them out… of here." Furiosa says through gritted teeth as she tries to hold pressure to her abdomen.

"SIMON!" She screams as she looks around.

Her brother is trapped on the other side, standing next to Kaylee and Angharad, who is desperately clutching her baby to her chest. His eyes meet hers and for a brief second before the wind it knocked from her lungs. It takes a second for her to register why… the ghost has tackled her to the ground, and spiked pole vault whizzing past their heads as they do.

"Thanks." She says as they both scramble to their feet.

Mal, Zoe, and Jayne are returning fire with the remaining Vulvalini, and in the not so far off distance she can begin to see and hear the furious vexation approaching.

"We need to get them out of here. Lead them away." The girl says as she points to the noise approaching and runs towards the War Rig.

They hadn't seen Serenity, they would follow the War Rig, they would follow her away. Max nods and they both start running to the rig.

She hears them calling through the gunfire, Mal…Simon… the others, but she doesn't stop. Neither does Max.

"You have a plan?" Max says as he climbs into the passenger seat beside the girl as the War Rig roars to life.

"You won't like it." She says as she begins driving.

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Max's POV

I begin reloading whatever guns are still left in the War Rig as she drives towards and then parallel to the oncoming horde.

"We go back." She says without looking at me.

"Back?"

She glances to her left and sees that the horde is indeed following us rather than continue to where we had been camped. She breathes a small sign of what I imagine is relief, but her knuckles grip the steering wheel tighter. "Through the canyon. We charge it right through the middle of them."

I pick up on what she is planning now. "We can decouple the tanker...at the pass."

"Shut it off behind us." She says as she throws a small smile my way.

It's a good plan, albeit the only one we have. "How much time do we have?"

"Not enough… but, we might be able to buy some."

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River's POV

The girl slams the gas into lock position. "Can you take the wheel?"

Max quickly slides over to drive. Once he is in and unlocks the gas pedal, she shimmies under the dash to see if she can buy that time. After a minute of connecting certain cables, she emerges to see what can be done.

While the War Rig was antiquated, Serenity's own internal com system wasn't much different that the old radio in the cab of the War Rig. If she can just get the right frequency…

"Serenity… hailing Serenity."

Static.

"Serenity… hailing Serenity."

"River?" Wash's voice comes through, slightly crackled, but still there.

"Yes… It's River."

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…On Serenity…

"Wuh duh ma huh tah duh fong kwong duh wai shung! MAL! Get up here." Wash yells as he moves back to quickly getting the ignition sequence up and running.

Mal's thundering footsteps are quickly head behind him.

"River? How the hell are you tapping into the coms?" Mal asks as takes over from Wash.

"No time, not important." River's clipped voice comes through. "How many?"

Mal doesn't need to clarify she's asking how many they got on board when she took off. "We got all the ones still breathing." Mal studies himself as he feels Serenity lift off. "Wash keep us in atmo." He says as he waits for River to respond.

"Furiosa?" River asks.

"The one with the arm? Your brother is doing his best. Now you want to tell me what's going on here?"

"Furious Vexation… Leading them… back… to"

"KAYLEE! NEED YOU TO FIX THIS DAMN THING!" Mal screams down the corridor.

"COMIN' CAP!"

Kaylee runs into the bridge and quickly gets to work tinkering with the coms. She's followed by Nux, Jayne, Book, Capable.

"You got a plan little albatross?"

"Going back… the same way we came. Through the canyon."

Mal looks at the unfamiliar faces standing on his bridge as if they may know what she is talking about.

"She's heading back tot he Citadel, through the canyon." Capable supplies. "He brought all his war parties through, but it's narrow and would funnel them down."

Mal looks skeptical. "Either of you know where that is from here?" He pulls up a topographical scan Serenity's scanner can quickly gather on one of the bigger screens.

Nux walks over and starts to take a look. "Here." He says as he points to the spot he means on the map.

"Once we are past, we decouple… tanker. Close it behind us." River's voice says over the comms.

"Mal… you may want to see this." Wash says with concern laced in his voice.

Mal moves over to look at what Wash is talking about. There are at least fifty vehicles with torches, polecats, and flame cannons trailing behind the vehicle he is assuming River is in.

"Assuming you're still alive by then." Mal says grimly.

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River's POV

She can feel it. Feel what Mal is looking at prickling at her skin. She turns and looks out the window behind them… at the furious vexation, flaming with anger… charging behind them.

"Mal… the girl knows… I know… this can work. But we will need help."

"What do you need?" Mal quickly responds.

"Distraction. Grenades… dropped from above. Not too close that they can fire at you. Darkness will help keep them blind to Serenity."

"What happens if… catch up to you?"

She looks back out the window again. The angry maw of flames and Immoten Joe was quickly approaching.

"She… I'll get back to you."

The girl turns to Max. "Any ideas?"

Max looks behind them. "He'll try to get in front of us. Spike our wheels." He looks back again as the roar of one of the smaller vehicles begins to peel off from the mass to try and get ahead.

"Take the wheel." Max says as he locks in the gas pedal and moves to allow me to take the wheel again. I watch as he grabs one of the gas canisters from behind the passenger seat.

"Gonna nudge it. Just a little." He says as he then opens the passenger door and begins to scramble up and onto the hood of the War Rig.

After a few mouthfuls of spit gasoline the War Rig roars to life and maintains its lead over the other cars.

But just as we begin to gain some headway against the horde, I feel something sink its claws into the back of the rig and there is a stutter to the vehicle.

"Harpoons and plows! They're hauling us back!" Max yells as he scrambles back into the cabin to grab a wrench. "We need to drop the tanker now." He continues towards the back to undo the bolts that hold the tanker.

The girl looks to the left and sees the car from before almost parallel with them now. They are about to nudge their car, when all of a sudden she watches as an explosion goes off and it bursts into flames.

"Keep it straight River… grenades incoming." Wash's voice comes over the coms.

They weren't close to the canyon. They wouldn't make it… even with Serenity dropping grenades on the vehicles that got too close. She feels the drag on the back of the War Rig release, and turns to see the plow cars suddenly crashing into it and igniting in flames. But there were too many vehicles and they were running out of time.

Max rejoins her into the cabin of the Rig a moment later.

"Any ideas?" He asks her.

For once, she didn't know what to do.

XXX

Translation

Wuh duh ma huh tah duh fong kwong duh wai shung! - Holy Mother of God and All Her Wacky Nephews