Work Text:
Arrival
By PEJA
Mal's first sight on coming around was Wash. His glance flickered over the rest of his stirring crew then settled back on the pilot. "What happened?"
Wash lifted a shoulder in a much practiced casual shrug. "Simon drugged ya all."
"Drugged?" Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs, Mal struggled to support his upper body on still trembling arms. "Why?" His eyes darted around the room once more, checking the progress of the rest of his groggy crew before a frown settled on his brow. "Where is he? Hiding?" He reached out a hand to Wash. "Help me up, dammit, I need to find out what's going on with...."
"He's gone." Wash said, cutting the steam out of his captain with those words.
"Gone?" That rocked him to the core, leaving him chilled, the color draining from his face as his heart iced over.
Wash nodded. "He told me he'd poisoned you all. Forced me to drop him off on Gulda Prime."
"You left him there?" Mal demanded, shoving to his feet. He staggered under the crush of dizziness that ate away the edges of his vision. "You know what's happening on GP right now, don't you?"
Strong arms wrapped around him, supporting him. "Easy, Mal," Wash grumbled. "You got a heavy dose of that sedative, Need time to let it wear off before you go jumping all around."
Mal shook him off, stumbling again for his efforts. He slumped heavily against the wall for support than tilted a dark scowl at his pilot. "Gulda Prime, Wash.....What the hell did you think you were doing leaving those innocents on Gulda Prime?"
"Simon didn't give me much choice." Wash returned, his voice heavy with worry. "He told me you'd all die if I didn't get him off-loaded quick."
Mal's head fell forward, his chin resting on his chest. "Why....did he leave me?"
Wash hit him with a piercing glance. "He thought you were going to betray his sister to the people she's hiding from."
Mal's head shot up again. "Wha....? How the hell did he get an idea like that?"
"River told him she'd heard you plottin' against them. At least he had thought it was you she meant." His gaze darted to where Jayne was shaking off the effects of the sedative. "After she corrected his assumption that she wasn't talking about you, it was too late. You were out cold. He said you would never forgive him." Wash raked through his shorn hair, shaking his head. "I thought he was gonna fix everything once he knew it wasn't you she overheard, but he refused. Got real stubborn. Insisted I put them off before he gave me the cure to save you."
"Ah, jeeze, we need to go after him." Mal rasped, shoving away from the wall. "Wash, set course back to Gulda Prime."
"How do ya propose to find them on that planet?" Jayne demanded, breaking in on them. "Gulda Prime has gone crazy over the last few months. They've petitioned for citizenship. The bounty hunters have been running over the planet like locust, killing everything that moves in the wrong direction. Those two lambs are probably dead already."
"I somehow suspect you are behind this mess, Jayne." Mal glared the big warrior down. "We're going back for them. If you don't want to help us find them, stay on the boat, but don't get in my way. I'm going to bring Simon and River home. One way or the other."
*
Gulda Prime
River grabbed Simon's forearm, stopping his head-long stride. "You mustn't go in there,"
Simon studied the thick curling smoke that rose from the rubble of what was recently a splendidly constructed building. "There might be someone alive in there. I have to help them."
"There is only death waiting there, Simon. Death for all who enter there."
He curled his sister into his arms and tilted her chin up, staring into her dark eyes. "I am a doctor, River. I've sworn an oath to help anyone who needs me."
"Our enemy has been here." She murmured. "Our enemy will return for us."
*
Consciousness came back to Avon riding a sudden tide of intense sensation. The throbbing in his head was only surmounted by the stabbing pain in his shoulder. He knew how lucky he'd been. Two grazing shots had taken him down, the rest passing him by without injury. Biting his lip to keep the darkness away, he scoured the bloody killing ground, seeking out his own.
Tarrant had survived, and sat watching Avon process the situation with his back pressed into a far corner of the room.
"You're alive?" Avon asked, less a question than a statement.
Tarrant managed a weak grin. "Debatable."
"Vila?"
Tarrant pointed with a trembling hand. "Alive, if that groaning lump is any example."
Avon's eyes traveled the distance to where Vila lie whimpering. He smiled softly, nodding.
Beside him, a leg shifted, attracting Avon's narrowed attention. Blake stared into his dark eyes and smiled. "Ready to play...nice, my friend?"
"Depends." A dark scowl tugged Avon's brows down. "Did you betray me?"
Blake lifted himself up on one shaking arm. "What do you think?"
Avon's lips curved into a dark smile and his narrowed eyes darted over the death and destruction surrounding them. "I think we just waded hip deep through the blood of your fanatics and managed to survive." He shrugged. "What will you do now that your followers are dead."
"You're still alive."
"Ah, but I am not a follower."
Blake grinned. "Don't think so, huh?" Wincing with every move, he pushed himself up to sit beside his dearest friend. "Then what are you doing here?"
"Keeping a promise," Avon dead-panned.
Blake arched one brow and lowered himself shakily back down on the floor. "To me?"
Shaking his head, Avon smiled darkly and sank down, resting his head on Blake's wash-board stomach. He chuckled as a soft grunt of distress parted Blake's lips and answered, "To me."
"Ah," Blake nodded, his own smile widening. His brow quirked when a dark scowl tugged at Avon.
"Something bothering you, Avon?"
Dark eyes pinned Blake. "How is it you're not dead. I hit you with three direct blasts."
Blake tapped his chest. "Repulser vest." He said simply. "My..." An acknowledging grin whispered over Blake's generous lips. "Fanatics insist that I wear one at all times."
end part 1