I own nothing.
This chapter is somewhat gory and violent. Be warned.
R-28678 watched as the Pigmen-ugly, boorish ex-soldiers who were nearing their own deaths-hung up the humans. They flailed in fear, somehow knowing they were about to feel death's icy fingers around their throats. The Pigmen hung them by their feet above the metal grating which covered the "River of Life" as Lord Malefice liked to call it. He watched as the Pigmen stepped back, drew their knives and slit each throat in one fell movement. They were called Pigmen for a reason. Once the bodies were bled dry they would either be incinerated or sent for processing to be made into food for the men. He never ate it and slowly R-28678 had begun to stop eating it. He watched the Pigmen poke and prod the bodies-not always with their hands. Even Reavers knew better than to mess with a corpse. The smell of death is like no other. It lingers, drawing death in like a black hole. It devours all. And R-28678 was about to let it run rampant. R-28678 trusted her. She could control him, control the death. He was god.
R-28678 watched for a minute as they played with the body of a dead girl, whooping and laughing. Once R-28678 was sure they were occupied enough that things could be carried out in an orderly fashion, he stepped back and held up his right arm, bending it at the elbow and gesturing for his men to move forward. One of the soldiers to his right snickered as they slunk toward the Pigmen. R-28678 turned on his heel and left, making his way quickly toward the testing area. There wasn't a single Ascillian lurking in the corridors-they were all at the Auction. He threw open the door to his room and stepped back, nodding at the red-eyed man. He stood and barreled forward coming to stand beside R-28678. R-28678 pointed in the direction they were to head, an unnecessary gesture as R-28678 could tell he knew which way to head by the way his nostrils flared and his eyes flashed. He'd had no idea his senses were that acute now.
The Reaver that greeted Mal was nowhere near as tall as the initial Reaver had been. It was somewhat crouched. Mal stepped forward quickly. Zoe was more hesitant. "Sir?"
"When they want ta fight us, Zoe, we'll know," Mal said as he watched his pilot and gunhand step forward as well. Inara's eyes darted around in open fear. "Mal, you can't possibly believe they won't attack at the first sign of-"
"I do. Got River's word. Her word's more good than most," he replied as they followed the Reavers. He could faintly hear the sound of Lord Arkham's voice bouncing off the bulwark of the ship.
"How will we know who we're fightin'?" Marcus asked. Mal gave him a grimace over his shoulder. "Oh, you'll know 'em when you see 'em."
Jayne pulled River up against him, cradling her against his body as he studied every inch of her. He gave her a swift, fierce kiss before pulling away. River ran her hand over his brow. "Ting wo men qu he zheng fu, wo de Jun. Ding wo men fang."
She turned from him as several soldiers stepped forward, each brandishing a separate piece of black armor. He kept his eyes focused on River as they began to carefully fit him with each piece. R-28678 handed him a large battle-axe. He took it, never looking at the ex-general.
River was standing on one of the rickety chairs. "First and second Battalion, you'll come in from the North Entrance to the Great Hall with us. Third and forth will come in from the south. Fifth, you will come in from the West. Sixth, you are posted in the East." She gave them all a hard look. "The humans are not be harmed unless you are given an order either from myself or the General. Clear?"
The soldiers gave out a series of enthusiastic cackles and River smiled. "Good. Prepare yourselves and await further instructions from R-28678."
The soldiers scattered, fighting amongst themselves over various weapons and suits of armor as they ripped off their metal collars; some with ease and some with needed force. River stepped down off of the chair and turned back to Jayne, smiling. She held up a large, black helm to him. Jayne took the helm with a grin before putting it on. River took up a sword off the table and twirled it, letting it cut through the air with a satisfying swoosh as R-28678 ordered the soldiers out.
The Reavers led the crew straight into the main chamber. Mal blinked when the Reaver in charge gestured for them to remain silent and wait. Beside him, Zoe inhaled sharply and he could feel Marcus shifting back and forth from each foot as they stared at the enormous mass of Ascillians that filled the main chamber. The domed ceiling carried Arkham's voice over the crowd from the alabaster platform he stood upon in the center of the room. There were several Ascillians whom he could only assume were of higher standing that lounged in high backed, thronelike chairs at the far end of the circular room behind the platform. Those that were to be auctioned were kneeling in front of the throned Ascillians at the edge of a red pool that curved around the platform Arkham was standing on with an Ascillian standing behind each of them. Mal didn't have to guess to know what the red liquid was; the stench of it filled the air. One of the humans being auctioned had the misfortune of not being bid on and the Ascillian behind him pushed his head over the pool and slight his throat.
Zoe hissed beside him and backed up a few steps when they heard it-the rhythmic sound of pounding filling the corridors. The Reaver soldiers who had escorted them, circled them, pushing them behind their bulky bodies to hide them from the Ascillians who had turned to find the source of the pounding. The Ascillians pushed themselves farther into the chamber, crowding together further and Mal had the distinct feeling he wasn't about to be in a war. He was going to witness a massacre. Soldiers of other humanoid races-those conquered by the Ascillians-reluctantly came to stand around their rulers, ready to defend them. The pounding had become deafening and several mangled guards were thrown into the chamber from the South entrance to the chamber followed by by Reavers. They stopped in the entrance, beating their armored fists against their chests as they waited. Soon, the East and West entrances were filled with soldiers. Mal and the rest of the crew were guided inside the chamber by the soldiers.
"What in the hell'er they waitin' for," Marcus growled. Inara gripped Mal's arm and gasped, causing them to turn back.
The last of the Reaver army lead by a gargantuan Reaver covered in thick, black armor and an imposing black great helm. He was flanked by River on the right and a very familiar reaver on the left. This was obviously their leader. The leader swung his battle-axe forward toward the Ascillians and roared, "Blood!"
The Reaver soldiers flew forward, screaming. The circle of Reavers surrounding them broke free into the mass of Ascillians to join the slaughter. Mal was so busy watching the ensuing mayhem he failed to notice the guard who crept up beside him until the swift movement of a large axe caught his attention and he found himself leveling his gun on the Reaver leader. The Reaver pulled his axe from the guard's skull, nodded briefly to Mal and stormed into the fray, swinging his axe broadly and clearing his way to the platform and a horrified and dumbfounded Lord Arkham. Mal turned his gun on the closest Ascillian and fired.
The Ascillians guarding the humans for auction promptly slit the throats of their charges once the Reaver army attacked and took up position around the Mark to defend them. River and R-28678 sliced through them, the former with percision and the latter with brute force. They, along with several other soldiers, fell on the Mark, brutally. River lowered her sword over the throat of the last Mark member, pressing him to lean his head back over the edge of the pool. "You're supposed to be dead," he whimpered.
"Long live the King," she whispered, causing his eyes to widened just before she flicked her wrist and let her sword cut through his neck. River darted around to the the steps of the platform, cutting down an Ascillian who had managed to come up behind Zoe unnoticed. Zoe turned toward her and shot to the left and right of her, both bending back when an inept Ascillian civilian swung a sword in between them and they both stepped up onto the steps. Zoe was able to spot every single crew member, each one flanked by several Reavers who fought beside them, guarding them almost.
When Kaylee shrunk back from an oncoming assailant, one of the soldiers stepped forward, impaling himself on the tip of her assailant's sword. The soldier ripped off his helm and screamed in the Ascillian's face, pulling himself up onto the blade. The attacker cowered back as the Reaver lifted his arm and plunged his own blade into the Ascillian's neck just below the collarbone and slashed outward. The Ascillian fell and the Reaver soldier tore the sword from his torso, howling. He fell to his knees just as another Ascillian moved toward him and raised his sword and Kaylee screamed as she fired her gun at him, hitting him in the chest several times. Kaylee pulled the Reaver to his feet shakily and the two moved on.
Marcus and Mal were surrounded. One of the Ascillians surrounding them moved to strike and R-28678 ran him through with an ornate pole-arm, tossing him aside. The Ascillians turned their attention to R-28678 and both Mal and Marcus took the opportunity to fight back, beating their opponents back and grabbing up weapons as they went. Mal and Marcus moved off to help Inara. The screaming died down as the last Ascillian fell. Kaylee, Simon, and Alan came to join them in the crowd and Mal looked up toward the platform where he had last seen Zoe as they all fought to catch their breath. They hurried to the side of the platform and Mal's blood froze when he noticed Lord Arkham slinking up the steps at the back of the platform toward the pair.
"Zoe, River," Mal screamed as he pushed past the bewildered reavers. His warning went unheard as the victory cries from the Reaver's drown out all other sounds. Lord Arkham was poised right behind them with a sword, preparing to run River through when Zoe finally caught sight of him. "River," Zoe cried, reaching to pull her out of the way. The Reaver leader pushed River into Zoe just a Lord Arkham struck and they fell. Lord Arkham's sword caught the leader under the plate front of his armor and he pushed the blade on through, twisting it before pulling back and stabbing him with it a second time under the arm. River scrambled to her feet just as Lord Arkham shoved him back over the edge of the platform and into the pool. The Reaver soldiers screamed in unison and moved to storm the platform. Lord Arkham dropped his sword and pulled a knife from his robes, grabbing River by the throat and pressing the blade just under her chin. The Reavers halted, hissing.
"How does it feel knowing he died moments before you will?"
The Reavers began snickering and Mal caught something move just behind Lord Arkham. The Reaver leader surfaced from the pool of blood slowly, his helm gone. He rose up, creeping up the steps to stand behind Lord Arkham, with blazing, rage filled eyes. River smiled cruelly up at her captor. "You forget Lord Arkham," she gasped, "not all creations can be so easily destroyed."
She let her gaze flicker over his shoulder and he grabbed Lord Arkham by the throat, causing him to release River and drop the dagger. He tilted his head to the side and lifted Lord Arkham off the ground. He cracked the joints in his right hand, flexing his fingers before placing them over Lord Arkham's heart and then he began to press slowly at first. At the sound of his ribs and sternum cracking, Lord Arkham howled in pain and he thrust his hand into the Ascillian's chest cavity forcefully. He ripped his heart from his chest still beating, and shoved it into the dying Lord's own mouth before releasing him. Lord Arkham fell to the floor and he breathed out heavily, shifting his gaze to River. He reached his arm out to her, taking a step forward. River placed her hand in his, exhaling deeply.
R-28678 retrieved his great helm and battle-axe and handed them over. River helped Zoe to stand. Zoe looked up at the blood stained Reaver leader and nodded before finally recognizing him. "Jayne?"
He tilted his head to the side, studying her, trying to remember. He quirked a smile at her when he was finally able to. Jayne turned back to River then, staring at her intently for several minutes. River nodded. She stepped forward to R-28678. "We need all the pilots and mechanics to begin to prep for return. Are there any test subjects left alive?"
R-28678 nodded. River sighed. "Have some of the men bring them here so we may assess as to what must be done with them."
R-28678 nodded again left to carry out his orders, howling incoherently at the other soldiers. Several followed him out of the chamber obediently. River turned to her former crew mates. "I know we have asked much of you already, but we still require your help."
"What do you need," Zoe asked. River sighed with relief. "I know you are all uncomfortable being around us, but-"
"Us," Mal asked. River lowered her eyes and nodded. "Us."
Mal strode forward quickly and jerked her chin up to look into her eyes. There were flecks of red in her irises that had once been the color of chocolate. "Wo de ma, River, what have you done?"
"What I deemed necessary," River replied, "had you been in my position, you would not have hesitated to do the same."
Mal nodded mutely before saying, "Whatever you two need, River."
A/N: Can I just say, that I am really sorry this is almost over? Besides my "Twenty-four" series, this has been, by far, my favorite story to write. Not only has it been challenging, it's been fun to write something so dark. There is only one chapter and an epilogue left. I've included a picture of the battle-axe Jayne carries on my profile. However his would be made of black metal. I would have included a picture of the great helm he wears but the closest thing I could find to what I was going for was Sauron's helm from LOTR but black and with one pair of horns on it. Oh, what the hell, I'll put a picture of that up as well. Also, don't know if anyone noticed because nobody said anything. But I named the new pilot Alan, after Alan Tudyk and the new hired gun after the character Adam Baldwin played on Angel.
As far as the last chapter goes, it will be about Serenity's crew-mainly Simon and Kaylee-and their feelings on everything and the reavers. Jayne, as a Reaver, will not speak again in the last two installments. I'll leave you to draw your own conclusions. Also, I refrained from calling him Jayne for the majority of this chapter because to the crew, he is a reaver and they don't recognize him and this is revolved more around them and River. I wanted it to be about their interaction with the Reavers during the battle.
"Ting wo men qu he zheng fu, wo de Jun. Ding wo men fang." means, roughly translated, "Let us go forth and conquer, my Lord. Set us free."
Please review and feel free to ask questions if you have any at all.