RPG Arena

[River Tam]

Okay people, I have moved the posts on this topic to the archives. The first post of this relaunch will be the same first post I posted. So we will start from there. If you want to post what you had posted, then copy from the archives...

[River Tam]

Simon jolted slightly as he heard the gunshot, managing a look at Kaylee before following her. "Kaylee! Kaylee, following the gunshots isn't exactly the best thing to do!" he called after her. "Dammit, Kaylee--"

Simon rushed into the Cargo Bay after her, however, skidded to a stop as he saw a blur of a woman rush past, and then his sister. "Mei mei, I heard gun shots, are you hurt?!" he asked urgantly, taking her in with his eyes before they widened as he heard her speak. He let out a scoff of surprise. "River--" he started, however, he saw in his sister's eyes that she was speaking the truth. But wasn't Dahlia dead?

Her hiding place was dark and she was as small as she could make herself. She was hugging her knees to her chest, the gun still in her shaking hand.

The memories were flooding her mind, confusing her, and she embraced the cold darkness. The darkness was safe--for now, not demanding she do what she didn't want to do.

Then came a stream of light, a calm quiet voice penetrating her darkness. "Dahlia," the voice said evenly. "Dahlia, it's Simon Tam, River's brother. You remember me, right? You and River used to visit me at the hospital when I worked with your brother."

The hand went out, the finger on the trigger as her mind tried to place the voice, decide what to do. River stood behind her brother, her grip tightening around the gun she held, her eyes haunting. I don't care if you were--are--my friend. You take him down, I will cut you down...

When he got no response, he pursed his lips and then spoke again. "I know you're frightened, Dahlia, but I can help you. I promise I can help you if you let me." he paused, inching closer to the hold as he held out his hand. "Take my hand and come out of there. No one is going to hurt you now."

The blonde stared Simon, her hand starting to shake. "Simon?" she whispered. "You were with Nicki and Dani?" She knew Simon would know her childhood names for Nicholas and Daniel.

A few more moments, then the gun clattered to the floor as she moved to hug the young doctor. "Simon, they talk to me, make me want to hurt you and River. I don't want to hurt her, but she left me, you took her away. Why did you take her away?"

River closed her eyes, feeling the confusion in Dahlia's mind. She dropped her own gun and answered quietly, her eyes a blank stare, "They were hurting us. They talked to me too, they were hurting us..."

Jayne had come into the cargo bay to see the artifact being loaded inside. Then he came upon Simon crouching beside an empty space in the bulkhead. "Great, someone else we should put a bullet in. Since when did we become the looney bin?"

"Jayne!" Zoe admonished the mercenary from the cargo ramp. "Whoever she is, she's stayin', so get over it!" She had her shotgun out, covering Mal, making sure the Alliance girl didn't decide to come back and take the cargo from them. "Eveything ok, sir?" she asked Mal.

[Simon Tam]

She was supposed to be dead. That's what he had heard before he left Osiris, that she was dead and that it would have been foolish to go back. But as Dahlia held him tightly, he knew she was very much alive. And very much in pain. He felt his heart twist and turn as she asked him why they had left, why he had taken River away, and he closed his eyes, his cheek against the top of her head. "I'm sorry." he whispered sadly. "If I could have came back for you, I would have. But they wouldn't let us. We almost got taken as it is..."

Simon moved, grabbing the gun from the floor and shoving it into his waistband of his pants. Simon took in a breath and pulled back from her slightly. "Okay, we're going out now." he told her evenly, calmly. "I'll be right there with you, but there's going to be some people out there. They're just worried for you." Except for Jayne. Jayne wanted to kill her, as usual. River however, River wouldn't let him. He crawled out, still holding onto Dahlia's hand. "Come on. It's alright."

[Kaylee Frye]

((OOC: The one good thing about this...is I can make Kaylee NOT go into the middle of a possible gun fight and look stupid lol))

Kaylee ran toward the cargo bay- outside of which was where the gunfire had originated. She stopped before she reached the outer doors and hid behind the entrance way, only so she could have a look at what was happening. She turned around and saw Simon crouched down near some crates. It took her moving closer to realize he was talking to a girl. She was young, nearly River's age and she looked just as broken. She walked up quietly as she watched Simon reach out to the girl. She hoped her sudden presence wouldn't upset her- that was the last thing she wanted.

"Simon?" She spoke quietly, almost whispering. She glanced at the girl, smiling softly and assuringly. "Hello." She knelt down. "Please don't be afraid, my name is Kaylee. I'm a friend." She stayed silent for a moment- hoping Simon wouldn't be angry at her for approaching the girl. "You have nothing to worry on, Simon will take real good care of you. You're safe now."

((OOC: I know too much OOC lol. Okay so someone please tell me this doesn't suck and please tell me I didn't just ruin something. Simon....are you still in the cargo bay or just in some corner in a corridor? I got confused. Is my being there gonna mess something up? Sorry.....my paranoia has run away with me....forgive this message. Shutting up.))

[River Tam]

"River, where's River?" Dahlia asked, her eyes darting around looking for her friend. Her eyes were wary when the brunette--Kaylee--came up and greeted her with a bright face. She didn't trust anyone with a bright face. They always came with a bright face, just before they put you in the chair...

"Kaylee won't hurt you," River answered, seeing the wariness. "She is with Simon..." She gave her brother a knowing look, a smile on her face.

Dahlia saw the look River gave Simon, and she stood up, still clutching the young doctor. When she came out, she looked around the cargo bay, seeing the artifact there. She shook her head, "They'll keep coming..." she whispered. "They'll keep coming..."

OOC: Stop being paranoid, dear! If you screw up, I'll let you know...by kicking your ass... Just joking, you're fine.

[Kaylee Frye]

OOC: *Giggle* You silly, you know you could never hurt me, you love me too much

Kaylee sensed the young girl didn't trust her, but she wasn't in any way offended or surprised in the least. She had every reason to be afraid and uneasy around them- but still Kaylee smiled. "River is right, I won't hurt you. You don't have to be afraid." She looked around for a moment. "Simon, maybe we should try to get her away from here- somewhere where we can maybe make her a mite more comfortable?"

[River Tam]

They'll keep coming...they'll keep coming til you give back what you took... River knew what Dahlia was thinking. She always knew what Dahlia was thinking...

Dahlia stared at the artifact for a moment longer, then she blinked, looking around the cargo bay. "Firefly, this is a Firefly..." she said quietly. She looked at Kaylee, "You keep the engine going..."

"Uh..." Mal was still trying to figure out what had happened at the rendezvous. The girl, Indigo, had let them go, let them take off and head for who knows where. He needed a setdown with a lot of people, with Simon, with John, with Inara...

Simon first... He looked at Dahlia and said, "Would you like to tell me what the hell just happened out there and what she had to do with it?" He glanced at John, "You and your chicken-scratch rock will have to wait. Right now I need to know what kind of badness you and your sister brought down on us."

"Someone else who needs to be in the bughouse..." Jayne muttered.

"Jayne!" Zoe glared at the mercenary. She then turned to Mal. "He isn't far from the truth, sir."

"Why we need a setdown," Mal answered.

Dahlia looked at Simon, her eyes welling up again. "I'm sorry, Simon, I-I'm sorry--"

OOC: Yeah, I love you dear... *hugs*

[Kaylee Frye]

Kaylee smiled when the girl spoke to her. "That's right." She was silent while the others took their turns speaking. "Jayne!" She went toward him a little. "I don't think that's gonna help much- you bein' like that." She did admit that the poor girl did need help- but so did River- and after a while she was fine most of the time. She went back toward the girl. "Would you like to rest a bit? Or maybe get something to eat?" Kaylee didn't mean to push so much at her, but it was her way to make sure everyone was comfortable- even now. She extended a hand to the girl, glancing at Simon for a moment, almost for approval.

[River Tam]

Dahlia's eyes widened when Kaylee asked if she wanted something to eat. She looked at Simon, the tears gone for the moment, replaced with a little smile. "Can we get something to eat?" she asked quietly.

River looked at her friend, smiling back. "She is a good cook." She glanced at Simon, "Better than you are..."

"So a nut who can cook better'n Doc here, that ain't too hard," Jayne snorted.

Dahlia glared at Jayne. Your day will come... River put her hand on her friend's shoulder, giving a little nod of agreement.

[Kaylee Frye]

Kaylee's head snapped back in Jayne's direction. "Jayne! There's no call to be mean!" She looked back to the girl, the smile returning to her face. "Well we ain't got much in the kitchen other than protein and the like- but if you wanna cook something, be my guest." She winked gesturing in the direction of the galley- walking in the same direction, waiting for someone to follow.

[Kyra Mendes]

Kyra Mendes, merc now working for the Alliance, left the small confines of her home with her bags packed. She had her first assignment since getting jacked by the Alliance and ... changed. She was changed somehow and yet deep inside she was the same person she had always been. Only now.. she was enhanced.

Her eyesight had changed and she had grown stronger underneath their training.. and now.. now what? Go after some mercs who were probably much the same as she had been?

Least she had been giving a nice ship to use, and some backup.. And she liked having a purpose, although deep down in her heart she wished it was her own and not the Alliance's.

No matter.. she reached the ship and smiled at its beauty before heading inside to pack and prepare to follow a ship called Serenity. This was getting more and more interesting by the moment, considering their lives wouldn't be so serene once she got to them..

(OOC: First post.. hope its alright)

[River Tam]

Jayne glared at Kaylee before heading off in a huff, muttering, "Dunno why we're attractin' every nut in the 'verse...we ain't no bughouse...didn't sign on to be a gorram babysitter to a bunch of kids..." At that moment a small girl came streaking past Jayne, making him even angrier, and he stomped toward his room.

Dahlia watched him go, then nodded at Kaylee. "That would be nice," she said. "I could probably do something with that."

When they reached the galley, the girl was sitting at the table, playing with a couple of dinosaurs. Dahlia looked at her and whispered, "This isn't right, this is not right..."

River nodded in agreement, "No, Dali, it's not right."

Mal stared at the two girls, then asked, "Care to tell me what's not right?" He turned to Simon, "Is this girl like your sister?"

[River Tam]

Simon stared at Mal for a moment, then he explained about Dahlia's parents sending her to the Academy also, how he had planned to break her out with her brothers at the same time he broke out River. "I had to leave her to get River out, all but one of her brothers were killed when they broke her out."

"So the same thing that happened to River happened to this one?" Mal asked.

Dahlia jumped as if she forgot something, then went into a small pack that had ended up in a corner. She dug around, mumbling, "Gotta find it, give it to Simon, he'll know, he'll know..."

She smiled when she pulled out an old anatomy book. "Dani wanted you to have this," she said. "Look in the back, the answers are there."

"I'll look at it later, Dahlia," Simon answered. Then he turned back to Mal. "I'll keep an eye on her," he assured the captain.

"I got two albatrosses now, maybe our luck is changing..." Mal answered. "Now, can you cook?" he asked Dahlia.

The blonde nodded, looking at Kaylee. "Can I help you?"

River looked at her brother. "She always did better than you," she smirked.

[Kaylee Frye]

((I didn't realize you had updated lol. Awesomeness!))

Kaylee chuckled at River's comment about Simon's cooking. It didn't matter what she felt for Simon, she couldn't lie; he was a horrible cook. She looked to Dahlia and spoke, "Sure you can help....Dahlia? That's such a sweet name." She said smiling comfortingly. "Come with me." She led the girl to the small counter and stove. She pulled out some assorted packets and laid them out. "What do you think we can do with these? I know they ain't much, but this is all the variety we got for now." She said softly, glancing at Simon for a moment, but turning back before he noticed her glance. She turned again and found River not too far away. "River- you can come help too if you want." She said smiling sweetly at her friend.

[River Tam]

River came up to her friend as Dahlia went over the packages Kaylee had laid out. "What to do, what to do..." she mumbled to herself.

Simon looked at the two girls for a moment, then said, "Dahlia is two years older than River, but they were best friends. She is very intuitive, and she was ahead of others her age. Her father sent her to the Academy when my parents sent River."

The young doctor paused for a moment, watched Dahlia opening a couple of the packages into a pot, humming a little tune as she worked. "Her brothers helped me break River out, but it took a little longer to get Dahlia out."

"Nicki's gone, so's Christi and Adi..." Dahlia said quietly. She looked at Simon and said, her eyes dark with anger. "You left me, left me to those--those animals--"

"Three of Dahlia's four brothers were killed in the breakout and afterwards," Simon explained. "The youngest brother, Daniel, and their father were kept out of the plan, they provided a conduit, stability for Dahlia while she was in hiding."

"Look at the book, Dani said the book will tell you everything..." Dahlia said, the look in her eyes changing quickly.

Mal watched the entire exchange with interest. The new girl seemed to be the only one who had any idea of what was going on, and even she wasn't sure. Even River was unsure, and she seemed to be having a hard time reading her own friend.

He looked around the room, at all the faces, stopping at the small blonde-haired girl. She looked silently at him for a moment, then said, "You'll find out everything when we get there."

"Do you know where we're going?" Mal asked her.

"Ask the scientist, he knows," Dahlia replied, then returned to her work.