Act One
"Jayne?" said Mal, though he never glanced away from the statue that stood before him, looking decidedly like his merc, "You want to tell me how come there's a statue of you here, starin' at me like I owe him somethin'?" he asked him.
"Isn't it obvious?" River cut in before her crewmate could even open his mouth, "Statue in town square is sure sign of hero-worship" she said, sounding like a reference book of some kind, "Jayne Cobb is a hero here" she smiled, as if she were proud of the man she had no business caring for, truth be told.
"Well, that sounds like an... interestin' theory" said Kaylee as she too stared on up at the statue still, with Simon by her side doing the self same thing.
"This must be what going mad feels like..." he said vaguely as Mal glanced from one Jayne to the other, waiting for a real explanation of what the hell was going on here.
"Look, Mal, I got no ruttin' idea what this here is for" he declared, "I was here a few years back, like I said. Pulled a second-story, stole a lotta scratch from the Magistrate up on the hill, but things went way south, and I had to high-tail it" he said, glancing back at the still grinning River with a hard look, "That don't make me no hero"
"Others think differently" she told him sweetly, just as a whistle blew and the mudders shifts changed.
"Hows about you lower that pretty voice of yours, Crazy," he urged her, "and 'stead of hangin' around playin' art critic until I get pinched by The Man, how's about we move the hell away from this eerie-ass piece-a-work and get on with our 'creasingly eerie-ass day?" he almost begged of Mal, as he along with the Doc and Little Kaylee continued to stare like they were hypnotised.
Sure, it was a nice statue, a good likeness that showed off his muscles and his looks pretty well, and made him look damn fine and all. Still, it didn't make no sense for the people of this crazy place to love him like a hero, when all he'd done was rob Boss Higgins and he hadn't even done that well enough to keep the cash!
"Look, I'll pay for the drinks if we head for the nearest drinkin' hole, right now!" he urged the crew who stood standing and staring still, even as the mudders moved all around them, starting to take notice of the small crowd that had formed around their special statue.
"I'm movin'!" Kaylee quickly answered, practically dragging Simon behind her by the hand.
Mal was no more than a step behind and River hurried along to keep up with Jayne as he happily moved on at last. Still, the young raven-haired woman couldn't help but spare the statue one last glance. It was the perfect likeness of Jayne-man, strong and silent as he usually was. She couldn't wait to see what his reaction would be to the story she already knew from the minds of the mudders all around.
* * * * *
Settled into the local tavern, all huddled around a table in the back corner, the partial Serenity crew received a bottle each from the bartender and tried not to stand out too much. River had deliberately sat herself down between Jayne and Kaylee, with Simon and Mal across the table from them. She stared at the bottle before her, eyeing it with suspicion.
"Um, is this strong alcohol?" the Doctor asked Mal, "because I'm not sure that River should..."
No sooner had he begun than his sister had the bottle to her lips, gulping at the liquid within.
"Wo Bu Shin Wo Dah Yan Jing!" the merc beside her exclaimed, "Gonna make yourself sick, girl" he declared, sure a little slip of a thing like her couldn't handle such a strong drink.
"Has a kick" she gasped, coughing a little as she finished drinking, "Yummy though" she grinned, taking another sip, much to the amusement of the Captain.
"You go easy, mei mei" Mal advised her, "Room starts spinning, you stop drinking, dohn ma?"
"Aye-aye, Captain" she mock-saluted him, and he honestly wasn't sure if it were a drunken reaction or just her usual crazy one.
Right now he wasn't in a mind to worry on it as he spotted a well-dressed man across the bar.
"Now what's a gussied-up fella like you doin' in a place like this?" the Captain muttered to himself, unnoticed by anyone else as Jayne yelled nastily at a kid who seemed to find staring at him the greatest of new hobbies.
As the as yet nameless man in the finer clothes made his way over to the table and talked over business dealings with Mal, Kaylee and Simon got deep into a quiet conversation about nothing that interested her, leaving River to observe the scene and enjoy her drink. It was hot and strong as it passed through her slight form, felt good on the inside of her though. The voices and images that too often filled her head grew fuzzy and swirly, leaving her with a pleasant floating feeling, not unlike being out in the black of space. Oh yes, River liked it very much.
"What is this goodness?" she asked Jayne as she sipped some more.
"Mudder's Milk" he told her gruffly, still distracted by his surroundings and mindful of being recognised for the fear of what trouble it'd bring, "You go easy on it too, it's strong stuff" he warned her, making River smile.
"She always knew you cared" she giggled as he glared at her, knowing it angered him to be told he was soft in any way at all.
She knew a good heart lie behind the toughened exterior Jayne Cobb showed the world. Such a thing would be proven more than once before tonight was through, starting right about now, she realised, as anything Jayne might've been about to say was completely obliterated by a busker in the far corner of the tavern, starting up singing a new song.
"Jayne! The man they call Jayne!" he boomed out for all to hear, as the crewmates all looked over in astonishment, muttered Chinese curses falling out of Jayne's mouth one after another, not least when the whole crowd joined in the tune a second later.
"He robbed from the rich, and gave to the poor,
Stood up to The Man, and gave him what for
Our love for him now, ain't hard to explain,
The Hero of Canton, the man they call Jayne!"
River had a huge grin of her face as she bounced in her seat to the happy tune that the busker continued to sing, whilst her friends continued to look astonished by the turn of events that had not surprised the Reader one little bit.
"Our Jayne saw the mudder's backs breaking
And he saw the mudders' lament
And he saw the Magistrate taking
Every dollar an' leavin' five cents.
So, he said, 'can't do this to my people'
'Can't crush them under your heel'
Jayne strapped on his hat, and in ten seconds flat,
Stole everything there was fit to steal"
As the crowd began their chorusing over again, Mal asked Jayne what in the 'verse as going on. To his credit, he was telling the truth when he said he had no idea.
"No, this must be what going mad feels like..." Simon noted, only to have River shush him, eager a she was to hear the rest of Jayne-man's heroic tale from the man that would sing of it.
"And here's what separates heroes
From common folk like you an' I
The man they call Jayne, turned 'round his plane
And let that money hit the sky.
He dropped it onto our houses
He dropped it into our yards
The man called Jayne, stole away our pain
And headed out for the stars"
A third chorus began and Jayne turned away, gulping down the remainder of his drink much faster than he ought, explaining to Mal that what the song said was true.
So apparently hypnotised were the crew by both the song being played and the explanation Jayne gave, not a one amongst them noticed that River was now up from her seat and dancing a merry jig to the tune being played, being spun around by anyone who would take her hand. There certainly wasn't a shortage of menfolk willing to dance with the pretty young thing, and River laughed happily as she was thrown around the room in a joyful dance of which she became the epicentre.
Simon thought about rescuing her, but she hardly seemed to need such an act of heroism. She was in her element, dancing around like she used to as a child and yet as happy for the male attention it seemed as any grown woman should be. As the song reached a conclusion, she was spun out of the arms of her latest dance partner, somehow landing back at their table, and straight in the lap of Jayne.
"Perfect catch, Hero of Canton" she told him, perhaps a little louder than she should, "My hero too" she added then, so softly he wasn't even sure if he heard right and didn't have time to check as he lifted her effortlessly from his knee and put her back on the bench beside him
"You ain't helpin'" he snapped at her, before turning back to Mal, "Captain, now they're off the subject of me, shouldn't we be gettin' the hell out of here?" he practically begged, glad to see Mal nod his head and agree to the suggestion.
The crewmates all got up from their table then and strode out of the tavern fast, before anyone noticed who was there. Unfortunately for Jayne, the mudders were a little smarter than their hero. The boy he'd seen staring at him before may have left the tavern when yelled at, but he hadn't forgotten who he'd spotted there. In the time between then and now he'd rounded up every mudder he could find and told them of Jayne's return. This was why when the partial crew of Serenity exited the building they were greeted by an almighty crowd, all chanting for their hero: Jayne.
To Be Continued...