Mal's voice echoed in the halls. "Mercy is the mark of a great man." The new presence in Bo’s head drowns out the sense of Mal's voice. "But what, child, can a beast like you do with mercy?"

Teeth flashed and claws tore into flesh and blood poured through open wounds onto his hands. Guards, doctors, and others fell at his feet as he wove his way through them to the corridor where he smelled the captain, River and Jayne. The smell of blood and fear flooded his nostrils. He savored the taste of iron, feeding the beast they had somehow housed within him. The blood, however, seemed to make the beast more hungry rather than satiate its appetite. He smelled the other patients, their anger, fear, and aggression. He moved to where the aggression and rage seemed to flood his senses. He smelled it, tasted it, and even heard it in their heartbeat. His body pulsed with their anger. He grabbed the throat of the nearest doctor and snapped his neck with a quick flick of his wrist. He growled as he surveyed the carnage around him. Blood sloshed on the floor as his feet moved through the crimson river. He began to run, noticing as he did the odd way his feet arched now. 'What are you?' His mind asked. 'Not who.' It growled. 'What then?' Bo asked with a growl of his own. 'What you needed. I am what they made you, except I have no inhibitions. I'll kill only to kill. No reason, no want. Just the thrill of bloodshed.' The creature snarled. Bo shuddered as he rounded a corner. His clawed feet scrabbled on the tile as he skidded to a stop. At the end of the hallway was a barred door. From behind it emanated the scent of rage and aggression. "No." Came Bo's sigh. The door slid open with a grating hiss. Stepping from the door way was a creature, not human, or any other creature Bo had ever laid eyes on. Its skin was pale and the spines growing from its back were nearly a foot long. The creature’s teeth stuck out from its mouth almost four inches. It had no eyes, but looked more like a horse’s skull that had been mutilated, carving huge gashes in the bone where the nostrils were. The things body was long and thin, its ribcage very defined in the bright light of the hallway. The thing's head was topped with black hair. It growled and turned its grotesque head towards him. Bo snarled back at the thing, his teeth sharpening at the sound of aggression. His claws lengthened to inches off his fingers. Something behind the creature moved. Bo groaned as a second creature moved around the first. This was what Reavers would become, if left to these doctors and their experiments. He felt the shock emanate in River's mind as she saw the creatures through his eyes. He vaulted the side of his mind that housed the new presence. River needn't know what they had intended for her, what they had done to him. 'Heh, trying to hide me child. I need not see her, nor have I any need for her to see me. But I will kill all that threaten my new housing, including these beasts.' The voice growled. Bo felt his muscles tense, and then relaxed as the creatures turned their attention down another hallway. His new, keen hearing picked up something. His body reacted in kind as he heard the captain speak. “This way!” Mal shouted over the three pairs of boots thudding on the floor. The first creature made an un-natural sounding noise then bolted off down the hallway. The second, the bigger of the two, followed suite. A second hallway appeared to Bo’s right, controlled somewhere by a grid, he was sure. “Stop them, if you can.” Said a voice from the ceiling. Bo snarled to the voice and took off down the hallway. He howled as he ran, hair growing on his arms and his teeth growing out again. ‘This is what we were bred to do. Hunt and kill. Soon enough you will see that, child.’ ‘Call me child again and we’ll find out about the killing part rather quickly.’ The voice laughed silently, sending a chill down his spine. He swung around the corner, and saw the first beast lunge past the corridor he was in and heard the crew’s reaction. “What in the gorram verse?!” was Jayne. “Wuo de ma!” Mal whispered. “Shiong-muh duh duang-ren” River said with a glare to the ceiling. The beast lunged, its mouth open, seeking the crimson nectar that Bo had looked for himself to wash over its shard-like teeth. Mal fired first, the shotgun blast echoing off the tile walls, making Bo howl in anger. His ears rang with pain as he heard the other beast coming around the opening. He leapt, meeting the beast in mid air. His claws dug into the moist flesh, tearing gashes into it as they collided with the wall. The two’s weight and Bo’s momentum carried them through the reinforced concrete, into a large open room with marble columns. Bo stood with the gashes on his back from the rebar, embedded in the concrete, healing within seconds of being formed. “Jing zi,” He marveled as he watched the wound on his stomach close and leave no trace that it had ever been. The creature squealed in agony, and Bo saw why. Coming through the wall, a piece of rebar had been lodged between two of the Reaver’s nearly visible ribs. Now that Bo could see the beast, he saw differences between this and the first. The most noticeable was the points of the ribs sticking through the flesh, as if the flesh had been burned away and then healed around the ribs. The teeth had been broken, much like shattered glass, making the bestial grin even more menacing. The spikes on its back were shorter, maybe because this one was larger than the other. Bo then noticed where they had landed. The claw marks on the wall were the first indication, and then there was the marble column he had hidden behind years before. He could see where Skoal had pressed him to the wall, and then thrown him to the floor. Fitting, he thought, that he’d break in this newfound power here. He laughed, a dark laugh that sounded like a dog barking. ‘That’s what you are. A wolf.’ ‘I am, and you are. We are one now, whether you will it or not.’ The voice said with affirmation. Bo felt his face elongate, forming that of the animal he was created to emulate. He howled as he leapt forward on his prey, seeking to kill it quickly so he could enjoy his meal.

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Mal fired at the hideous beast that had hurled itself at them. He expected Jayne to deal with the second thing. His peripheral vision saw a second body hurl into the first, blasting them both through the cement wall. His shotgun blast made his ears ring as he watched the thing in front of him bleed. The wound he had produced would have been substantial, had he been dealing with a normal human or Reaver. This thing, however, had been mutilated and mutated under the hands of these twisted doctors. Its wound healed almost instantaneously. Mal cursed every god and devil he could think of as he unloaded another round into the creatures other shoulder. It yelped at the pain, then continued its assault while the wound disappeared like water evaporating on a hot plate. It lashed out with a clawed hand, tearing into the shotgun with nails harder than the steel that the barrel was made of. The metal fell to the floor. It clanged as Mal loosed another round into the things ribbed chest. It squealed in pain as they watched the bones reform and reattach themselves. “Fall back. Find another corridor.” Mal said slowly as the thing thought about its next move. Mal watched it intently as he backed away. Jayne followed suite, but River moved towards the beast. “River-girl! Back the hell up!” Jayne whispered as loudly as possible. “Reaver.” River whispered as she spun on her heal and kicked the creature in its lower jaw. A sickening crack sounded in the air as the jaw snapped and began to heal itself. River moved quickly, avoiding the flashing claws and snapping teeth. She moved around behind the beast and placed a well aimed kick into its spine, making the spine split. The crack made Jayne want to vomit, the creatures reaction made him want to piss himself. It let out a terrible scream, almost human in nature, and blood as well as some clear liquid oozed from its mouth. River pulled the pistol from under her dress and shot the thing in the back of the head, emptying the clip. Mal blinked then moved past the corpse. “That’s all well and good; mei-mei, but next time follow my orders. What if that thing hadn’t been so easily taken down?” Ahead of them, a howl echoed from the gaping hole in the wall. Mal felt a shiver run down his spine and didn’t know why. He had heard it before, back on Shadow. Wolves were common around the ranch. He and Bo had enjoyed hunting them from time to time, when they had taken sheep and the like. Most of the time it was an old wolf that had been shunned from the pack and couldn’t chase a deer or ram in the woods. They never went looking for the beasts, for the fear of finding an entire pack and not having enough ammo or quick enough reactions to prevent a bad outcome. He racked the now cutoff shotgun and moved slowly down the hall. River stopped him. “Not where we want to be.” She said slowly. “I know that darlin’. But it’s where we gotta be to save him.” Mal responded. “Go back to the ship.” River said with more authority than the girl had ever used before. “Now I’ve had the conversation with your brother, guess it’s your turn. You don’t give me orders, I-” “Mal, get back to the ship. I’ll be along.” Came Bo’s voice out of River’s mouth. Mal blinked in astonishment, but didn’t move. River’s eyes fluttered like butterfly wings as she looked around. “Well, lets go!” Jayne almost whined. Mal stared at River, then nodded. The girl nodded in turn and turned towards the ship. Jayne sighed with relief and turned around, ready to run to the ship. He started walking, sad that they had to leave the boy, but happy that his skin and the others was safe for another day.

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The Reaver’s teeth sank into his shoulder, making him howl in pain. He felt the blood rush from the wound. Bo released his mind, allowing the beast beneath his consciousness to gain control. He reached up and yanked the teeth from his skin. The beast’s claws tore into his chest, scraping his ribs. Bo put his foot in between the rib-ends on the creatures chest and pushed it away. The force his leg produced was amazing. The creature flew back, all the way across the circular room. It flipped in mid air and caught itself, grabbing the wall with its claws. Bo was instantly reminded of his previous fight in this room. He growled at the thing. The Reaver roar/screamed back at him, bearing its drooling teeth at its opponent. “Come and get me then.” The beast inside him growled. The Reaver jumped from the wall. The image was shocking. This beast soaring at him, claws outstretched and it’s mouth open. The wolf laughed. ‘Fear is for those that deserve to die.’ Its claws, his claws, flashed out, jamming themselves deep into the bottom jaw of the Reaver. He ripped the jawbone from its housing. Blood sprayed everywhere. Teeth cracked and marrow spilled onto his arm. He flipped the jaw bone and jammed the teeth down into the Reaver’s head. Blood gushed from the wound and the thing screamed as its own teeth were jammed into its brain. Bo felt the pain flood its mind, felt the pain flood his own mind. The Reaver went limp and fell to the floor. Bo went to take back his mind, but felt his body still move to the beast’s command. It leaned down and felt his long muzzle begin to dig into the moist flesh of the carcass. ‘No!’ Bo screamed. ‘I will feed!’ the beast snarled. ‘Not here. Not like this. I’ll get you deer, cattle, something just leave this thing to be dead.’ ‘Animals mean nothing to me, I feed on what is dangerous. Humans. Humans are simple, but can provide a challenge. This beast was mine to kill so I will claim my prize. And soon I will feed on others.’ Bo felt himself drift back in his mind, lose control of everything. The darkness consumed him as he felt the beast feed. Bo sat in the black, without control of his body, lost to the world while this thing could do what it wanted in his body. He felt weak and powerless, like he’d never see with his own eyes again.

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Mal moved slowly down the hallway. His pistol was drawn and ready to put a bullet into anything that came across wrong. He had escorted Jayne and River back to the ship, then turned around and come right back to this horrible place. He had no other choice, was the way he saw it. Bo was his subordinate, his responsibility, his brother. His boots made next to no noise on the tile floor. He came to the hole in the wall where the two things had crashed through. He peeked around the corner and saw nothing. Blood was splattered across parts of the floor but nothing substantial caught his eye. He moved past the hole. “Where are you kid?” Mal whispered. A hallway appeared ahead of him. Someone was leading him where they wanted him to go. He followed, only worried about finding his crew member. He hurried down the hall, afraid that at any given moment it would close; trapping him within the starch white tile it was made of. A doorway marked the end of the hall. Mal checked it stealthily then moved into the room. A light shone brightly in the center, causing the edges to be veiled in shadow. Mal stood so that just one boot entered the circle of light. Heavy boot steps at the other side made his muscles tense. A large man with a black beard stepped into the circle. A scar ran down his face from the top of his forehead to the bottom of his lip. His eyes shone blue in the fluorescent light. “You came for him.” Skoal said. “Yes. “ “He’ll never be that same boy again, captain.” “People never seem to be when they come out of this place. Y’all did it to him, and you did it to River.” “Captain, it’s not polite to leave people out. Though we didn’t use this facility for her development, you know another that we made better for-“ The bullet exploded out of the pistol, embedding itself in Skoals throat. “Better?” Mal whispered with malice,” You think you made them better? My friend is plagued by visions of the people he killed, people you sent him to kill. Women and children scream in his head when he sleeps, and men begging for mercy ring in his ears while he’s awake. River has nightmares that I can’t even begin to imagine. And Cat,” he paused. “God only knows what she dreams.” The river of crimson flowed quickly from Skoals neck, staining the white floor with its darkness. Mal turned and left the room, leaving Skoal to die, drowning in his own blood. He returned to the hallway he had entered from the hangar. Bo grabbed his shoulder, catching the pistol as it whipped around to point at his head. “Easy Mal. Might put an eye out with that thing.” Mal embraced the young man, covered in blood and dirty as he was. He pulled back and looked him over. Bo had no new scars. His pants were tattered and his shirt was gone, but he looked in good health. “Boy you gave me a scare. Let’s get out of this place.” Bo nodded and followed him, his bare feet sliding a little in the blood. The boot laces on his arm bounced as he ran. Both men slid past the body of the Reaver-beast and out into the hangar moments later. Bo walked onto the ship, into the open arms of River. She engulfed him and he felt her relief and happiness wash over him like the tide. He hid his own feeling of pain as he held her close. Others joined the hug, the first being the stoic Corporal. ‘Pregnancy must do weird things to women’ he thought to himself and River. Her giggle let him know she agreed. Bo felt welcome and at home, but with the beast inside him, he knew he couldn’t stay among those he loved. His eyes widened in shock as his stomach growled. “Looks like you could use something to eat soldier.” Zoe said as they all parted. “Maybe ma’am.” Bo said sheepishly.

Deep within him something agreed with her whole heartedly, as it hungered for the flesh of those that stood around him.

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((Bo has a problem, a bloodthirsty, evil problem. How will he break it to the crew? How will he break it to Mal? Or will he?))