Zoe and River reached the arena wall and stared down, looking for a path that would lead them into the vast carpeted field. There was none. The only entrance appeared to be the one that was now buried under Simon's handiwork, a few tons of smoldering steel and concrete obstructing their path.

Zoe eyed the ten-foot drop into the arena and decided it was the only valid option. She climbed over the safety railing and let herself drop, landing on her side with a thud, her face inches from a bloodied body lying limply on the ground with an arrow through its neck. That's a cheering sight, she thought sarcastically, scrambling to her feet as River leapt into the arena, rolling lightly as she hit the ground and springing up in the same motion.

Together, the two women began making their way quickly towards the end of the arena, straining their eyes through the sweeping colored lights to locate their crewmates. ___________________________________________________________________

Simon was running through the corridors and hallways, his heart racing as he searched for an unobstructed access path to the arena. Simon didn't want to admit it to himself, but he was excited. In some part of his brain that had no right to exist, he'd gotten a thrill from the power of the explosion that had thundered through the building, was enjoying running to the rescue with a gun on his hip and the feeling of invincibility gained from knowing that none of his potential foes had the ability to attack.

"Simon?" Zoe's voice crackled through the communicator. "This Zenaphon, was it tested on animals?"

"Shouldn't we save the debate on the finer points of animal rights until we're back on the ship, as in not in danger of violent death?"

"That violent death is looking pretty imminent," replied Zoe. "I don't think your precious Zenaphon works on tigers."

Simon raced to the wall and stared out over the edge of the arena. The falling rubble had crashed to the floor and broken through to the empty underground cells....and the very much occupied animal holding area. As he watched, a black leopard emerged gracefully from the debris and romped playfully out onto the arena, settling into an easy trot along the wall.

Zoe and River were standing back to back, weapons raised as three big cats circled them with interest. One broke away in a playful run, bounding over to the platform where Mal was tied helplessly.

Simon jerked his gun awkwardly from its holster and took aim carefully as the large tiger placed its front paws on the table and nudged at Mal's side with its nose. It raised one paw to slap at the captain's prone figure, and Simon fired. The tiger leapt away from the table and limped to the side, and Simon took advantage of the clear line of fire, following his first shot with countless others until his gun stopped firing and the striped cat crumpled limply to the ground.

________________________________________________________________

Zoe stood motionless, watching as the two remaining tigers were joined by several leopards. She saw one of the leopards drop into a crouch and start to move steadily in her direction, and fired several rapid shots, managing to drop the feline before it could attack.

The other animals, startled, dashed to the end of the arena, directly towards where Mal, Jayne, and Wash were tied. Zoe took aim, but held her fire as she realized the possibility of a stray shot striking one of the crew. River holstered her gun and withdrew the long, perfectly balanced dagger strapped to her back before taking off at a run towards the opposite end of the arena.

Zoe watched as River fled, then drew her breath in sharply as the four felines turned and thundered past her in pursuit of the slender girl who had turned herself into instant prey. She fired repeatedly at one of the leopards as it charged past, and it staggered several yards further before falling to the arena floor. Zoe shoved a fresh magazine into the chamber and raced towards River.

The first of the two tigers caught up effortlessly with the running girl, and coiling its hindquarters, launched itself at her shoulders. River stopped dead in her tracks, waiting until the cat was in midair before stepping gracefully to the side. She threw her body forward as the tiger flew past, burying the blade in its chest.

River withdrew the dagger immediately, spraying blood on her face and clothing. She spun to face the leopard as it slowed its stride and dropped to a crouch, stalking its prey as it gauged its attack. The tiger circled behind her, and Zoe reached River's side, turning to block the cat's assault. Zoe shot round after round into the oncoming feline's chest, and River threw her blade with deadly accuracy at the charging leopard.

Both cats fell dead, leaving River and Zoe once more standing back to back, scanning the arena for any further threats, noticing with irony the white spotlight trained directly on them, outlining the pair with cinematic drama. There was no more movement in the arena, the vast space feeling suddenly like a ghost town. ____________________________________________________________

Kaylee looked out over the twinkling lights of the purple-hued city, spotting a huge oval building approaching far below Serenity's hull. She angled the craft carefully downwards, feeling her fingers tense once more on the yoke. As they grew closer, she could see light radiating from a relatively small, jagged hole in the roof.

"Zoe?"

"Yes, Kaylee?" gasped the out-of-breath Zoe, loading a fresh clip into her gun.

"I'm coming overhead right now, but it might take me a few minutes to figure out how to get her into position."

"That'll work, ran into a spot of trouble here. Gonna take us a few more minutes ourselves. Shepherd picked up our shuttle yet?"

"I don't know," Kaylee replied. "Haven't heard from him since we reached him at the abbey. You think he's going to make it?"

"Hope so, I'm thinking our exit from this rock might be on the swift side, and I'm not keen on the idea of leaving one of our shuttles behind on the street."

Kaylee eased the ship downwards, the outline of the building becoming clearer as she approached. She felt herself tense as she looked at the relatively tiny hole she was going to have to position the ship over, a sense of dread taking over. I'm going to crash her, she though miserably. I'll make a mistake when I'm trying to pull them up an' kill them all. She took a deep breath and forced herself to recall Inara's words.

She imagined Mal standing behind her, his hand on her shoulder, talking to her calmly. "You ain't gonna crash her, little Kaylee. You're doing good, just hold steady. Let Serenity tell you what to do." She closed her eyes momentarily, steadying her breathing. She ran her hand over the control panel, taking hold of one of Wash's toy dinosaurs. Turning it over in her hand, she felt herself relax. I can do this.