Part four
Summary: She just has to hang on until he can save her

****

Chapter 1- They took her
Summary: And the crew has nothing to go on

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"Captain, can you hear me?" Simon's voice called from afar.

"River," he muttered. He opened his eyes and tried to get up off of the floor. Simon pushed him back down gently.

"You have a concussion. You shouldn't-"

"Get the hell off of me, doc! River? Where's River?"

"I was hoping you'd know."

"Cao zhe aiya yuzhou!"

"What happened?" Simon asked nervously.

"They showed up on my gorram boat!" Mal hissed as he stood up unsteadily. He grabbed the back of a chair and waited for the room to stop spinning.

"They?"

"The two guys in blue gloves!"

"Did they take her?"

"I think so. If she ain't here-"

"Kaylee is looking for her. Maybe she's hiding…"

"What time is it?"

"Just after midnight."

"Gorramit! They could be ten worlds away by now!"

Simon looked whiter than his shirt. "She still might be here…"

"Where is everyone?"

"Kaylee and I came back early. Everyone else is still out."

Mal took off for the stairs. He miscalculated a step and started heading for the floor. Simon caught his arm before he fell down.

"You should sit down."

"And she should be on the ship."

"She might be-"

"She ain't here, doc. We have to find her. I'm callin' everyone back."

Simon didn't argue. He helped Mal up the steps and to the bridge. Kaylee followed.

"Cap'in! What's goin' on?"

"They took her. We can talk once we get airborne."

He reached everyone and they rushed back.

"Sir?" Zoe asked the second they rushed into the kitchen. Everyone had finally arrived, including Inara.

"We were blocked in and then confronted by the two men River drew in that first picture. They said that they wanted to take her home and that they had come a long way to get her. We fought and then outta nowhere she said that she'd go with them. I tried to stop them, but then they kicked me across the face. It must have knocked me out, 'cause the next thing I remember is the doc wakin' me up. We've lost hours here and we need to find her. This here is a recipe for unpleasantness."

"Where did they take her? Do we know?" Wash asked.

"They said they were takin' her 'home'."

"The Academy," Simon said softly. He turned a putrid shade of green. Kaylee wrapped her arms around him.

"We'll get her back, sweetie."

"Do you think they'll be takin' her there right off?" Mal asked.

"Osiris is too far away to get there without stopping," Wash offered.

"What exactly will they do to her?" Inara asked nervously.

"I never figured out exactly what they did. I just know that they cut into her brain over and over again…" Simon choked.

"Where was she before? Maybe they'll find a planet on the way with the same type of facility to stop off for a few days," Shepherd suggested.

"It was a top secret medical facility underground. It took me almost a year to find her, but I knew what planet she was on then."

"I can see what Feds have come in and out of the docks in the last day or so," Wash shrugged.

"I can speak with my friends here. They might know something," Inara added.

"Okay. Let's get a move on," Mal agreed.

"I need to examine you-"

"No, doc. I'm fine. I have work to do."

He walked out and staggered down the steps into her room. I can't believe I let them take her…

****

The sterile white room slowly shifted into focus.

"Welcome home, River Tam."

They both stepped into her line of sight.

"Don't try to move."

"You're restrained for obvious reasons."

"They trained you well."

She stared them down with wide eyes, propping their minds. "This isn't home."

"Very good. This isn't Osiris. We can't take you back there."

"It's expected."

"Where we are is a secret. It seems you have a knack for learning secrets you shouldn't know, but since the crew of Serenity doesn't know where you are-"

"We aren't concerned about you knowing. No one will come for this time. Ready to get back to work?"

She struggled against the cold metal restraints. They bit harshly into her frail body. The blue hands snickered.

"You should know not to fight by now."

The doctors entered with their needles and their drugs. She screamed and fought harder. A moment later, the syringe was lodged into her arm and she was drifting into an induced sleep. The last thing she saw was the familiar doctor's face with a twisted smile.

"We've missed working with you."

****

The door slid open and Inara entered.

"I've been looking everywhere for you."

"What did you find from your friends?"

"There were three Fed ships that landed shortly after we did. They took off over four hours ago."

"And?"

"That's all he knew. They didn't speak to anyone or do anything. It as if they were never here. Wash said the same thing."

"So we've got nothin' at all?"

"I'm afraid so."

"Aiya yiqie na shi sheng!" he growled. Inara leapt as he kicked the wall.

"Mal-"

"We've got nothin'!"

He sat down on her bed with a sigh. His eyes found the stack of her drawings on the nightstand. "You'll know when." He picked them up and looked at Inara.

"Maybehaps not nothin'…"

****

There was discomfort. There was pain. And then there were the horrors that she had to endure. It made pain seem like cuddling with soft little puppies and it made freaks like Niska look like philanthropists.

One by one, the needles were pushed quickly into her head with one fluid motion after another. With each one came a scream. It felt like splinters were being placed just underneath her skin and pulled in and out repeatedly with unbelievable force. Her shoulders slumped with relief when she heard those sweet words, "That's enough for now. Take her to her room."

They undid the restraints and she pounced—as much as she could pounce—on her tormentors. The doctor fell back, attempting to pry her surprisingly strong fingers from his throat. The others pulled her off of him and dragged her away. Their hands were gripping her to the point of breaking something to keep her under control.

"She isn't the same," one of the men holding her stated. "She's grown quite a bit, both mentally and physically."

"It might be a problem," the other agreed.

"No it won't," one of the blue hands hissed as they arrived behind them.

"We will break her eventually. Once she realizes she'll never see her brother or Captain Reynolds ever again, she will be ours once again."

"Wrong," she croaked as they snapped the restraints holding her down on the bed.

"They won't find you."

"The sooner you accept it, the better."

"No one knows where you are."

They slammed the door. She heard all of the locks activate on the other side and then she hear nothing at all. She didn't know that she was crying until she felt her tears drip down her neck.

Her mind was too tired to try to find out where she was, but what would be the point? They weren't on Osiris. Simon wouldn't know where to look. There were so many planets and moons. He'd never find her. She'd never see him again…or Mal. She'd never feel his arms around her ever again.

"Don't cry."

River looked over and saw the tree with her younger self sitting on the swing.

"I know where you are."

She got up and off of the swing gracefully with a small smile.

"He'll hold you again. Autumn is my favorite season."

She skipped away bringing River back to her harsh reality. She shut her eyes and envisioned her captain before she gave into the horrible pain and fell asleep.

(Cao zhe aiya yuzhou- fuck this damn universe

Aiya yiqie na shi sheng- Damn all that is holy)