Special thanks to Werzbowski and Channain for their inputs and betas!!!

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The dream began as always…in the chair… thick leather straps biting into her skin. She could scream, but only silently, only in her mind. Their drugs had seen to that. Her eyes… yes, they could move… she could see them, the men with the gloved hands, the blue gloved hands, but only in the peripheral. Something slender and silver drew closer… and closer.

You cannot do this to me! You have no right!

Words were useless… benign echoes inside her mind, bouncing around amidst silent screams. They had her body, and there was no way out. In a few seconds, they would have her brain, too, and then…what then? What would they do? She shut her eyes. She didn’t want to see any more.

Why?

She always asked that question, too, and again, it stayed inside her mind. Only this time, she got an answer.

You have a destiny, River Tam. Embrace it.

Her eyes snapped open, and she pulled against her bonds--

--That no longer existed. The chair…gone. The men…gone. The room…gone.

Then where was here?

Ariel. Capital City. She had been here before, and that’s how she knew it now. Only it wasn’t like she remembered it. Instead of the bright lights, fancy people and wealth galore, there were bodies, and blood. Lots and lots of blood. And bodies. Too many bodies. All running red. Like an ocean of bodies…and she stood over them all.

This is your destiny. You will do all this. You will conquer. You will kill.

Her hands flew up to cover her ears, and she screamed. This was not her destiny. No one told her her destiny.

Destiny

“No!”

Destiny…

She screamed louder, but the voice was too loud. She could still hear…

Destiny…

“Stop it!”

Destiny…

All she could do was scream, and scream, and-

On Board Serenity

One Hour Out From Persephone

“River, let’s go!”

River opened her eyes, and found herself staring at