Simon Tam was a very special boy. A very special boy with a very special gift. He had always known he had this gift. It was a part of him, as assuredly him as the color of his eyes. His parents, though, they hadn't known. They knew he was a genius, their talented heir, but nothing more. No, not until the day he ran saved a small bird from the cat that had just crushed it's windpipe did they truly understand.

He'd held it, gently, so gently, as it struggled for breath in his small hands, his head bowed. His father had just begun to explain about loss and the cycle of life when they saw the child open his cupped hands fully. There, to the astonishment of the adults watching, the bird had hopped up and chirped at them , it's feathers not even ruffled, before flying away. Simon had laughed in delight even as his parents starred at each other in shock.

Oh, how special their boy was. Once the initial disbelief wore, they began to dream of the great things he would do. Their boy would be rich. He would be renown the world over. He would bring honor to the Tam family.

They began to prepare him for his future. They put him in the best schools, introduced him to the most advantageous playmates, and slowly molded him for the plans they intended him to follow.

Then, a few years after the bird incident, they had little girl. River was even smarter than her brother, but her Special Talent was not nearly as flashy or as useful, in their eyes, as her brother's. No, despite how Simon doted on her and praised her abilities, they knew it was Simon who would bring their family glory.

And so, when the Alliance offered their boy a place within their prestigious Academy, they pushed him into accepting. He didn't really want to go, didn't want to be separated from his beloved sister, but his parents insisted and he did so want to please them.

So Simon Tam, at 15, left his family for the chance of a lifetime. And if he suddenly stopped sending letters regularly or if they sounded strange, well, it was nothing, was it? All for the good of his future. His parents just kept basking in the advance in social status they got from being able to say that their boy was a genius even the Alliance couldn't help but notice.

The only one to worry for poor Simon was his little sister. She Sensed that something was wrong, but didn't know what. So she studied, and made herself special so that the Alliance would notice and want her, too.

Unfortunately, she succeeded.

It had been seven years since his parents had sent him to the Academy, and he'd long since given in to the comforting embrace of madness. It was the only thing that made living bearable. They wouldn't let him die, he'd tried to kill himself several times but they always brought him back. The punishments for each attempt weren't worth trying again, so he simply let himself drift.

That is, until the day came that he heard a familiar voice screaming his name in fearful agony. A light came on in his eyes that had not been seen for years. He was paying attention to the now. The doctor currently questioning him stared in amazement as the man in front of him suddenly snapped into awareness and cocked his head to the side, listening.

"SIIIMOOOON!" The anguished screaming was coming closer. In a flash Simon was on his feet and banging his fists against the locked metal door, trying desperately to get out, to get to her.

"River? RIVER!" He yelled for her, ignoring the blood that was smearing the once shiny steel and the doctor's hands attempting to pull him away.

"SIMON! HELP ME!" A few dull thuds and pained yells sounded from behind the door before that wonderful voice became louder and someone began to pound on the door from the other side.

"River, I'm here. River? River?" He could hear her screaming for him in the hallway as the guards apparently responded to the temporary escape and began to subdue her. He felt a pinch in his arm as the doctor finally gave up trying to physically subdue him and just injected him with a sedative.

"SIMON! Let me go! Simon!" Her voice was growing weaker as they sedated her, too. Simon fell to his knees, no longer able to hold himself up as the drugs began to take affect. He continued to weakly bang on the door, he had to get to River.

"I'm here, River. I'm here." The words were mumbled and slurred but he needed to reassure her.

River was here, somehow they'd gotten her, too. The old, familiar desire to protect her, love her, help her sparked inside him, becoming a steady flame that he began to suck on for strength. River needed him, he had to get her out.

Slowly, his mutilated gift began to activate, healing his mind of the madness he'd been drowning in for so long.

As he descended into darkness, a plan began to form.