The Resistance
Firefly Crossover
Summary: Follows my other fic, Spinning In The Dark. Posits a large conspiracy against mankind, the lampshading of demons and other monsters into the series, and ignores shared actors between the shows (as that would just be squicky). Spinning In The Dark gives away the twist.
Chapter 4
1.
River stood there frozen for a second that seemed like an eternity. It was completely right and natural for him to kill her this way; it was what Mal would do, what Jayne would do. It was the only way to make her stop trying to kill them all.
It felt terribly, terribly wrong.
Then Liam stumbled, dropping the woman he was choking to the deck. It took River a second to realize he'd been hit by a dart from a stungun. Blood was holding it, his entire arm shaking from the effort. "You always have to push," he complained. "I can take care of myself; and I can take care of you, too, if you get uppity and villainish like that on me."
Liam shook it off, climbing back to his feet. "How long have you been carrying that toy around?"
"How long do you think, ponce? Since last time I tried to knock you on your tail and failed! Crazy girl, go ahead and put that knife away—I think we're sorted."
Liam's face was dark, suddenly. "Are we?"
"We're sorted," said Blood firmly.
River had thought she understood the dynamic. Liam was in charge, and Blood did what he was told. Suddenly the dynamic was upended. They weren't military, and they didn't lead and follow. Instead they were both a pair of alpha dogs, circling each other. Looking for weakness, for a place to attack.
As close as they were, as much as Blood had called Liam family, there was tension between them.
Liam backed down, another surprise for River. These two didn't look like the kind of men who backed down easily.
Inara advanced on Blood cautiously. "We should talk," she said cautiously, examining his face coldly.
2.
Mal was terribly unhappy. He'd gambled on this, joining right up with a Resistance that seemed very much in line with everything he wanted.
He'd gone too far, done too much, and put too much on the line. He'd let these people aboard his ship, taken their orders, and helped them too much.
He had never been one to jump too far too fast. Not like this.
At first it had seemed almost too good to be true. True, Liam's attack dog was wild and over the top—but, then again, so was River. And Mal hadn't been too fazed when they started trading blows. He'd seen his girl go toe to toe with Reavers, and win.
But now it was absolutely clear they were crazy.
Blood, wounded as he was, had dragged their prisoner back to his quarters. Then he'd 'borrowed' a gun from Jayne, and declared he'd shoot anybody who interrupted them.
Mal was pretty certain that meant Liam, mostly.
Liam, on the other hand, was already scheming ways to kill more people, get more attention. He wasn't satisfied with a crippling blow against the Alliance fleet; he wanted to shake up the civilians too. He wanted to attack a Core world.
Mal wasn't just nervous. Mal was beginning to realize just what his obsessions must look like to others. If they looked anything like the scary-dangerous beasts he'd let on his ship, then he needed to change. A lot.
So he sat in the cockpit, watching all the instruments. Waiting to see if the Alliance was able to scramble something to chase them.
3.
Jayne was terribly upset.
Not at the violence. In fact, he was happy that the little man who'd dared hit him before had been stabbed. He would have liked to have done it himself.
Not at the sudden divisions between the crew and their guests. Not at the long haul they had to make with these people.
He was upset Blood had taken one of his guns.
That was crossing a line. Everybody knew that.
Plus, Blood had managed to hit River. Now, Jayne was of several minds about River. She still scared him, and he was still nursing a grudge for all the times she'd hit him.
On the other hand, he felt guilty for that time he'd tried to sell her out. And besides that, she was crew, wasn't she? And she'd saved his life. A man could grow fond of a girl who made a regular habit of that.
And, worst of all, he'd come to think on her as at least a little bit like family. The sort of girl that you didn't treat like all the girls that were just there for sex; the sort of girl that maybe was a little sister, or something like that. The sort of girl you didn't let strangers hit.
That was a strange feeling for Jayne. So far he'd managed to not really think of most of the crew as family. It was just a job, and they were just people he worked with. Okay, after Miranda it was a little harder to feel that way; you do something like that with people, and they were bound to feel a little closer.
But River, who'd hit him more than anybody else on this ship, was also more like him than anybody else. Worse, she'd treat him halfway decent, despite all that he'd done.
So he was confused, and he was more than a little angry about that. He hated having to think too hard about something like that.
But the bottom line was this; he was ready to string Blood up like a Christmas turkey.
4.
River pushed the sliding panel of the guest room open and stepped inside. She already knew that Blood wasn't going to shoot her, and even if he'd meant to, she was pretty sure she could dodge faster than he could aim.
Well, maybe not. She knew he was fast. Still, she was mildly sure she could dodge faster.
He was sitting in one corner; the gun was on the floor beside him. He didn't even reach for it. His eyes were half-closed, and he looked almost lazy.
There was a bandage around his stomach, peeking out under his shirt.
"You really need medical attention," she told him, stepped closer.
His prisoner was sitting in the corner opposite him, tied up. She wasn't gagged, but she was silent.
"I'm fine," he said, smirking. "It wasn't that bad. Come around to make sure I haven't cut her throat?"
"I'm on to you," she told him. "You say terrible things to hide the soft spots. You've been hurt terribly, haven't you? Like a dog that's been kicked. Instead of your belly you refuse to show your emotions."
He scowled. "You sound very, very sane."
"It comes and goes."
He glanced over at Eva; she was wearing a black leather coat now, one that wasn't her size. It was clearly one of Blood's coats.
Blood shivered. "You know, pet, you're awfully nosy. A lesser man might resent that sort of thing."
Eva shuddered. "Is this what flirting looks like between monsters? I may gag."
"Be nice," said Blood. "I think this one came back to the hold to save your life yesterday. Didn't you, pet? You came in with all that righteous anger, and I was so distracted I missed it. You butted your head in because you're as bad as your captain—filled with the sort of goodness and light that most folks miss on account of the darkness covering it."
River thought about the captain, a man of violence and killing, who could be gentler than her own parents. She understood exactly what he meant. "What do you plan to do with her, then?"
Blood shook his head. "All my plans end with her dead, so I'm trying to avoid making any of them. Perhaps when we set down next I can smuggle her out, knock her on the head, and leave her in an alleyway to hunt us down and try to kill us again later."
Eva chuckled. "I suppose it won't help if I vow that the last thing you'll ever see will be me?"
"Nope," said Blood. He was cheerful about it. "You know what the worst part is? I didn't even like her much. Not my type at all. I mean, sure, blonde, skinny, fits a certain profile… but Liam's stuck much more to that than I have. I have my share of brunettes in my past… blue-haired goddesses, the lot. No, I go for the strong women; he prefers victims, usually. Just my opinion."
River smirked, glancing over to Eva. "And you think she's not your type? Seems to me she's as much predator as you."
He sighed. "Stop being so gorram insightful," he grumbled. "Maybe I didn't like her because I don't share well. For all my other inconsistencies I've always been pretty faithful—and besides that, Liam and I have been after the same women one time too many. Now, love, tell me what you want."
River shrugged, moving to the middle of the room, equally close to both of them. "Who can tell?" she whispered. "I've been the girl tied up too often to be comfortable seeing somebody else tied up like that, I guess."
Blood sighed. "I suppose. You want to untie her? I think she has no more knives hidden up her sleeves, but by all means, go ahead. I don't care much. I can always kills her if she tries anything."
"Do you not like hurting women?" asked River.
He shrugged. "I've hurt plenty of women, on purpose and by accident. And I have no problem killing her, or hitting you. I don't want to, but that's just that soft belly I don't show."
"You didn't hit me much," said River. "Not after the bar, where I was trying to kill you. The worst you did in front of Zoe was grab me and hit Jayne—and she likes people who hit Jayne."
He chuckled. "Yeah? Anyway, the point is, this particular little girl, here, she's well and truly ready to do good. To be good. She's a happy, healthy person. We showed her what her bosses were up to, behind her back, and so she set out to do better. See that? That's special. Only one in a million people actually changes when they realize they've been doing bad things. One in a million! She only turned on us again when she thought we were complicit, that we were working with her bosses."
"You are," hissed Eva.
"Do I have to explain about the time machine again?" he huffed. "Anyway, so there's a misunderstanding there."
River was beginning to wonder if he really was crazy. "Time travel is scientifically impossible."
"Yeah? So's a lot of things I've seen, love. It doesn't stop them. Or even slow them down. It just makes them harder to notice. You know what's also impossible? Crazy-fu like you've got."
She laughed. "If the girl was time travel, then she'd be infinitely aware," she said, amused by the paradoxical nature of his ramblings.
He scowled at her. "Okay, that's more in line with the crazy theme. My point is, I'm not reaching warp ten around the sun or eighty-eight in a Delorean, love. I did something very, very stupid, and as a result, time and space as we know it all fell apart. I mean, if you had a lifetime to do stupid things, you could do a lot, right? Well, I had a lot more, and I managed to cram several lifetimes of stupid stuff in there. You know the stories they tell of Earth That Was? What if I tell you it was sort of my fault it all went boom?"
She stared at him, completely deadpan. "You really are crazier than me," she said finally.
He rolled his eyes. "And you wonder why I don't just tell people outright about Liam's little gift, Eva. Fine, then. I'm crazy. Liam's some kind of double agent working for everybody all at once. Good luck sussing out who he's really for; most people never get him. Me, I get him. It scares me, but I get him. I mean, unless he's really the bad guy and he's playing me. But, even then, I get him. Well. That's family, isn't it? Running around worrying that maybe they're the bad guy, trying to mop up the universe. It's a big universe to be responsible for, but there's nobody else out there putting themselves forward for the job. Maybe that's the problem; maybe we go from protecting it to ruling it. God, I wonder if there's another of me out there, running around doing… well, I suppose if I had a doppelganger he'd run around doing mindless acts of goodness and light, wouldn't he?"
The rambling diatribe served to reinforce River's impression that he was truly insane. "So, you're going to set an enemy loose and hope she does good?"
Eva turned her head, looking as if she might spit on Blood. "You're nothing more than a sidekick," she said, sneering.
He sighed. "I've been a glorified errand boy for a very long time; don't think you can get under my skin by pointing that out."
Eva wriggled slightly, raising her hands. "Don't bother trying to get any sense out of him; I tried for years, but then I realized that he's as crazy as he sounds. Liam will make more sense; he's less honest, but less crazy."
"Liam's not honest," scoffed Blood. "He never told you a lick of truth. I bet he never even told you about what really happened to your squad!"
Eva froze. "What do you mean?"
"You know how we turned that whole ambush around on your head? Back on that planet with the two suns? It all went wrong. We were there to kill each other, sure, but I never meant things to go that far. Since we knew about your ambush I was going to use gas, knock your lot out and sort things out decently. Liam thought that was too soft."
Eva shook her head. "I'd believe the other way around. You're an animal."
He shot to his feet. "Animal, am I? Who's keeping you alive here, love?"
"You're just trying to make me forget why I'm fighting you!" she snarled back. "Buy me back whole! I'm done listening to you!"
Blood sighed, rolling his head to one side. "And it's always like this," he complained. "My agenda was perfectly clear at the time. As was my conscience. In the addition of time all these variables float in and muck up a perfectly good plan. Look, I'll tell you flat-out, seducing me an` him both was your worst mistake."
River twitched slightly, another image of Blood naked flashing through her mind. Worse, Eva had all sorts of memories to go with the image—and while most of it had been a bit less pleasant since Eva was only doing it for the express purpose of setting him against his boss, it was pretty clear that it had been a memorable even for her. The memories were etched deeply in her brain.
Actually, memories of both of them.
River didn't have much experience at all in these matters, but her trips through other people's heads made it clear that this was not usually the case. That in general men like this didn't naturally come by skills such as those these two carried.
It made her knees a little bit weak. She tried to hide this from Blood, and backed another step away from him.
He was looking straight at Eva, still perturbed. "I know I'm a monster, well and truly. But you know as well as I do that Liam is a bit colder than me. And that's hard."
She shuddered, looking away from him. "I know," she said, her voice very small.
River wanted to know why this was so important to him. Why he had to break down Eva's defenses like this. It was all wrong, and strange. He ought to kill her or let her go; was there some method to his madness that she couldn't see?
So she left.
5.
Liam came looking for River after the rest of the crew had gone to sleep. With their current arrangements he was sleeping in the engine room, since there was nowhere else open currently.
That suited him just fine. It meant he was free to prowl the ship once everybody else was asleep, something he intended to take advantage of.
She was waiting for him in the galley, eating some of the food that had been left out. She'd skipped the main meal, as she didn't want to have to deal with the rest of the crew.
"Ah, there you are," he said, sitting down at the table. "I think we got off on the wrong footing, and I wanted a chance to talk to you. Without William around to muck things up."
"Or point out when you lie?" she asked, finishing her food quickly and swallowing it without chewing properly. Bad for digestion, but better to have her hands free in case it became necessary to punch him in the face a few dozen times.
He sighed. "Or that, I suppose, although I personally wouldn't trust him too far in saying where I'm lying. Given that he's a worse liar than me, most days. Most days. Anyway, I want you to know that despite what he's said, killing you wasn't my idea. Well, okay, when it did come up, I did bring it up, but that wasn't my original idea. I'm, in general, opposed to it. Well, yes, when we argued, it was him who took your side up. But, again, that's not how I operate, in general. I suppose that's not too clear."
She shook her head. These two, whatever their faults, could be very funny when they tried to be serious.
"All right, then, let me try one more time. I'm not likable, not like William. I'm not really what you would call good most of the time. But I am trying to fix my previous mistakes, and I don't lightly kill little girls. When we last saw you it looked like you were broken beyond all repair, and you had some dangerous secrets in your brain, as well as some really dangerous skills. It was very risky letting you go, and it did pay off—the two of us knew a little bit about Miranda, but not enough to bust it wide open the way you did. So, hey, all's well that ends well… You're going to have hard feelings about me wanting to kill you, aren't you?"
She thought about it briefly. On the other hand, most of the crew had, at one time or another, entertained the thought. Especially Jayne. "Maybe. Depends if you try to do it again."
He smiled. "There, you're pretty safe. I mean, unless you hurt William, then all bets are off."
"You two can hardly stand each other; how come you have each others' back?"
He shrugged. "Family, you know. No matter how you hate them…"
"You look nothing alike."
"Well, it's not exactly a blood family. More like… yeah, marriage, that's right. He sort of married the girl that… well, I was really with her at the time. It wasn't till a while later he got her well clear of me, and we eventually picked right back up where we left off. Still, family!"
That sounded vaguely unpleasant and gross to River. She tossed 'vilely promiscuous' to the long list of things wrong with their little family.
6.
Inara came to see Spike in the morning, before anybody else was out and about. She was still concerned over the safety of her secrets.
She was surprised to find him holding Eva, who appeared to have been crying. He glanced up at her in surprise when she came in the door.
"Oh, it's you," he said, dismissing her. She had to work to avoid grinding her teeth—something she didn't usually have to work at when Mal wasn't in the room. "Look, girl, I've known about your lot for a while—what goes on in there. Perfect cover for it, eh? Companions and all that. Your secret is safe with me—I haven't even told Liam."
"I doubt you understand the exact nature of what goes on there," she said. She was probing, trying to see exactly what he did think went on.
There was a needle up her left sleeve. If he knew too much, he would have to be dealt with—and quickly.
He sighed, carefully smoothing down Eva's hair. "Doesn't she look an innocent darling when she sleeps? You look innocent too, but I can practically smell the drugs on you. So many more than you could ever hope to use yourself… Love, if you want assurance I won't tell, then I can't help you beyond my word. If you can accept the word of a broken old soldier."
Inara stared at him, suddenly sad beyond words. The needle in her hand, and all that time she'd spent with Simon, seemed very cold. No amount of drugs could possibly take the weariness from her bones now. "I'm afraid broken old soldiers are the only ones I trust any more."
7.
River dreamed, that night.
A faraway world, and a whale in a tuxedo. She'd had this dream before.
Blood was there, eating the whale. "It's beautiful," he said, scowling at her. In his scowl she could see something vaguely wrong, something that should have warned her.
But she didn't understand it. "What are you?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Something you've never seen or met before; a man you're afraid of. A man you can't scrub through his mind, pre-judge, and dispose of. Maybe I'm the man you've been waiting all your life for. And maybe I'm the man who could kill you."
She shivered, as vulnerable to his affection as to his killing hands. "I'm scared of you."
"`Course you are. You'd be crazy not to be. Me… I'm not scared of you."
She woke up sweating.