based on the world of Firefly by Joss Whedon --------------------------------------------

Falcon stood and watched as Cat fell into a crumple, body shaking like she had just suffered a major heart attack and stroke all in one. He stared at her wondering if touching her was safe, but then he was dealing with an abomination to nature itself. A thud on the door startled him a little too much and with a smile, he let go of his hold on the minions a bit as a command from the voice of the man Cat loved found its way muffled through the door.

He laughed and moved closer so his enhanced ears could pick up more of what was happening. The Reaver barked something at all of them before falling silent and though reading people was never one of Falcon's strong suits, he could tell whatever it was angered everyone in the sound of his voice. Falcon loved anger, angry people made for stupid people. The sensation of hot breath on his neck alerted him as Falcon turned coming face to face with Cat, no....not exactly Cat, but the meld of the two. Claws slid around his neck as he felt himself being lifted off the ground. Laughing like the deranged man that he was, Falcon just smirked at her. "You can't kill me, Beast."

"I know." It replied in a voice more human than usual. "And I have no intention on killing you. You see, I want to open that door and you're going to help me."

"And why would I chose to do that?"

"Who said you get to chose?" The glowing green eyes lit his face as Cat/Beast grinned, each word taking a step back.

"I will let them go. I will let them rip into your loved ones like they were nothing."

"No... you won't. Then there will be nothing stopping me from killing you and I do mean nothing." The beast snarled. "And I can promise you by the time I am done tearing your body apart only so you can heal before I do it again, that even the fire of hell, you will welcome."

"Not even you can break down that door." He grinned wickedly. "Face it, you've lost them."

With eyes full of untamed fire and strength that even Falcon never possessed, Cat lifted him and tossed him against the door as the plaster on the ceiling fell like rain. "Wanna bet?"

* * * * *

Mal stood, gun trained on the door and eyes casting back on the mob that surrounded them. Any moment he knew could be their last and silently he longed for Jayne, Zoe, and River to go back to the safety of Serenity. He knew none of them would, but then, neither would he if asked.

Ski shifted beside him, hand nervously resting on the trigger of that long shotgun he had found. There were very few things that made Ski want to be somewhere else when it came to Cat and when she talked of making 'new' friends with something that had more than once tried to kill him, well, that was one of those times.

Something big hit the door sending an echo that made even the creatures around them nervous. White dust fell from the sky as Mal dusted it from his coat, powder from the ceiling. "It's gonna be bad, huh?"

"Bad doesn't begin to cover this." Ski muttered, wiping off the barrel before aiming it back at the door.

"Think she'll survive?"

"Might want to worry more about your crew than her right now." He tossed a look around as the others created a circle around them guns pointed into the crowd.

"Cat is crew." Mal spoke plainly, "And I will always worry about her."

"You don't understand her." It was a statement, not anything more.

"You're right. I don't, but I am willing to take a lifetime to learn."

Another thud broke the awkward moment between them as they could now see a visible dent in the door. A moan of pain also filled the dense air around them. Zoe cussed something in Chinese and Jayne checked again to make sure the safety was off Vera. River rocked back and forth, the knife cradled in her hand almost like a baby. Her voice sung out words to a rhyme that she had made up on the spot, a verse that everyone got, but weren't sure they wanted to.

"The Cat was away and the bird did play hurting those who the cat knew well, but now that Cat has come back, she plans to send the bird to hell."

Dancing around them with the bottom of her ripped skirt flowing around her, River continued her little ditty.

"Fly, little birdie, fly so high it doesn't matter, soon you'll die crunch, little birdie, crunch I hear blood and bone, no more I fear."

Jayne muttered something about not right in the head as River passed him again and the critters around them seem to all be following her.

"Here Kitty Kitty, supper's been served, Birdie is ready to fall Big kitty with her claws and fangs. She's gonna save us all."

With a smile on her face, she stopped her dance in front of the big dented door. Staring at it with her almost child like stance, one that the crew hadn't seen since before Miranda, and with a soft voice that was both eerie and slightly psychotic, River called. "Here, kitty,kitty, kitty!!!"

* * * * *

Falcon lay on the hard concrete, his blood pooling on the ground as well as covering the no longer shiny surface of the door. It had completely caved in, but still had not parted. Cat, as well as her beast, cursed and moved the wounded Falcon out of the way. He had softened the metal, but she was afraid that even his healing current couldn't save him if he took another hit right now.

Her long legs, still more human than beast, flexed in the dim lights. Blood still flowed from her wounded shoulder, her body concentrating on the strength it would take to make it through the obstacle in her way. Both the beast and Cat knew it would be a virtual miracle even with her genetics to make it through, but without those that were on the other side, well, she was as good as dead anyway.

Cat's glowing eyes looked over to the fallen form of Falcon, the creature she had to keep alive. She could see his wounds already lessening and hear the snapping of bones as they began to mend. If only she had more time...

A sing song voice entered her thoughts, the feeling of peace and playfulness coming over her. Lips curled as she recognized the presence of her 'sister', River, her child like thoughts mixed with the protective nature of her darker side. Just like Cat, the young woman was something more than what she looked like, but unlike Cat, she had been taken before they could put in the parameters to keep the sides separate. With her help though, if she survived, River would learn much about her new body.

'Girl's off her rocker.' Ski mumbled in her thoughts, not really to her, but with her mind open and their link in place, sometimes things just came to her.

'So are we. Not much different.'

'You comin', Babe?'

'You puttin' down that shotgun, husband?'

'Not likely.'

She smiled at his statement and then just laughed out loud. Falcon stirred and raised his bloodied head slightly. 'What are you laughing at? That door will kill you.”

“Yup, and strangely, I'm okay with that.”

“You've become stupid. Risking your life for a misfit bunch of humans. There's nothing special about them. Hell, not one of them will change the world.”

“Might have made me stupid, but they gave a reason to live, not just some inbred instinct.” She took a deep breath and let her five sharp senses pin point the weakest point on the door. “And, Falcon, you're wrong about them. They changed mine.” Digging her foot against the wall behind her, Cat took off in a dead sprint. With everything that beautiful advanced body could give her, the beast with its power and the human with her love slammed against the metal as the reward was light from the other side. She could hear the monsters moving away and her people shouting her name, but it was drowned out by the cracking of her ribs and other bones. Falling to the ground, Cat and her beast smiled before the darkness overtook her. She had done it and she was happy.

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*feedback loved, read, read again, and thought about often. Just so you know....LOL!