Inara screamed at the top of her lungs when the gun fired, but her voice was drowned out and all she could hear was that gunshot. It had such finality to it. As the screen went dark, her legs betrayed her and she fell to the floor.

"…h…he's gone. I never got to tell him… I…" Nothing mattered to her anymore, not Serenity, not the guild,… not the past. Everything that two days ago would have seemed so important was meaningless. The emptiness she felt in that moment was so complete she couldn't feel anything. Even the tears running down her face didn't get her attention as emotion consumed her.

"If only I had a glass to catch those in. There could be no drink sweeter, than your sadness." Atherton's grin brought her back, there was one last thing that mattered…revenge. The mercenaries were caught off guard as one second the woman was weeping on the floor and the next she had sprung to her feet and was rushing towards their employer. Only inches separated her hands from his throat when they caught hold of her. Keeping hold of her was a different story. It was like holding a tiger, Inara scratched and bit at anything she could as she thrashed in their arms. Atherton only continued to smile as he turned the vidscreen back on.

"Ughhh." That voice stopped her cold. Then she stared at the rise and fall of Mal's chest. He was alive.

"It was loaded with blanks if you're wondering." Atherton walked over to the vidscreen. "Don't think for a moment that I would let you or the good Captain off so easily. No, my dear when you die… and you WILL die. You will thank me for it. It will be a gift and a release, but it will not be quick. It will certainly not be painless. This is merely the beginning."

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