First and foremost, I have to say Thank You to the illustrious writer Mal4Prez, who gave me the backdrop for the current arc, and the idea for the story I'm telling. You're a peach.

That said, this story almost got munched a few sentences away from the finish, so it took some creative computering to get it here. Trust me, if I'd have had to rewrite it all, it'd never have gotten done. Sure this portion is going to be a tiny bit shorter than the last few, but consider that it's part of a three-episode arc that I have planned. The parts that don't make sense, or even actively contradict each other, are all part of my fiendish plan.

Especially don't get thrown at the end. Trust me, it ends strange, and leaves you hanging. All part of the aforementioned fiendish plan.

Finally, I'm hoping it won't be too long before I can showcase the second story in the arc "The Ecstacy, Part 1". With work rearing its ugly head, I don't have as much time to myself as I used to, but I'll get it done as soon as I can.

Serenity, and the 'Verse entire is Whedon's toy, Niflheim in particular is Mal4Prez's. What's left, well, that's mine, now ain't it?

Feedback is bliss. Give me bliss.

The Agony

The weights hit the floor as Sylvia let out a yelp. Sloppy, a little voice in her head chided at her. Trying too much, too soon. She almost heard the muscle tearing as the mass got away from her. Now, she was going to have to deal with the consequences. Which meant subjecting herself to Friday.

“You should be more careful with that,” Zane said idly from the back of the Mule. “You could hurt yourself.”

“Too late,” Sylvia muttered. Zane turned to her, holding his tool out over the edge of the massive, intimidating vehicle. A pale hand reached up and snagged it before vanishing back behind the Mule's bulk.

“I wasn't just talking about the weights, Syl,” Zane pressed. “Where we're going, you're going to need to check that distraction you've been wandering around the last few days with.”

Sylvia scowled. “People keep saying