Daggers of the Mind [Darkangel76 & Slairlayh]

The new "Lord Marshall" could hear the whispers of his fellow comrades; if only because he could smell the unease dripping off the cold of their paled flesh. Was it fate that had decided to bring them beneath the rule of an outsider? Was it fate that brought them at the mercy of one whose race had been wiped out by their own hands? The Furyan tasted their fears with a smugly curved lip, his penchant for chaos feeling right at home in the midst of all this unsettled tension. Truly the odds of him finding comfort in a throne like his was beyond anyone's expectations, including his own. Or so the Elemental had perceived.

"Do you...mind if I tag along, Furyan?"

"Haven't you heard, Aereon? I'm the king of Necromongers now, the Furyan is no more." He saw that shine of a brow rising up in musing speculation. She didn't have to say it, he knew the beast was still there, ever frothing at the mouth and ready to chew out its next victim. "Sure you can. Just don't go regretting your decision to involve me in all this. You put the bounty on my head, you're responsible for anything I do to disrupt that so called 'balance' of yours."

"Indeed. Perhaps I wish to remain at your side for that reason." He couldn't smell her like other humans since all she was was a great density of cloud, but his senses still told him she had found a curiosity in him greater than her natural disposition towards neutral objectivity. He seemed to have that effect on people--made them fight against their own instincts. No wonder everybody around him dies. "Perhaps I wish to see how the balance tips in yourself as well."

Riddick had left Aereon to her own devices since then. He'd felt her breeze glide through the hallways and hover near his presence, but the two had not conversed once they'd left Helion Prime. It might be that she knew he didn't want her near him, it might be that he was avoiding her. Either way, she was worse than the holy man. A man that lived in faith was at least amusing. A woman that believed only in logic was...frustrating, to say the least.

"Lord Marshall, we have arrived." His body lay limp in the throne until Vaako expressed that tightening impatience of his with a small gruff. Riddick then pulled his goggles back down over his eyes, pushing away the helmet that one of his waiting maids offered over his shoulder. "Will you not wear--"

"I know you think that this Quasi-Dead of yours is really important, but I'm not the Quasi-Dead and I am not wearing their faces. If we have that clear, I suggest we move on." He ignored Vaako's semi-apology and picked himself up off the throne to start making way for the doors that were beginning to crank open. He stopped just as the commander turned to follow. "You guys don't seem like the type to carry around wheels, but do you at least have something fast that rides low?"

"There are the scouting ships, we have a few. But they only carry a small crew of men and then some."

"Do I need any more?"

"My Lord," Riddick could hear that slight grinding between the man's harsh breath and tight jaws. The convict (now ex?) always did delight in upsetting the people around him, but he had to admit that the warrior's extreme level of self-control made it all the more fun. "We do not know how much Furya has changed since we last passed through over three decades ago. There may be new people residing here, some even rebellious. If you will not take a fleet, you must at least take with you a guard."

He tilted his head back and gave the other lord's shoulder a heavy pat. "Aw... How sweet. If you're so worried, why don't you be my guard?"

"If the Lord Marshall commands it..."

He also had to admit, the awkward position of actually being the authority for once sort of dampened the fun. "Sure. The more the merrier, right? Get that ship prepped for me. I'm going to get some fresh air."

Sidra was hungry and wondered if these destroyer of worlds ever actually ate anything. Ever. She'd seen the new leader, the Riddick, but even he never seemed to eat anything. Then again, she wasn't always able to keep tabs on him either. The pale-fleshed Necromongers were always surrounding him in some way making it difficult for her to follow him. So she really wasn't able to discern whether or not the large male ate or not. One good thing, she did manage to find a small area in which scraps were tossed away for jettison. She figured, at the very least, the food was to be given to those these half-dead Necros planned to convert before sealing their fates in the conversion chambers.

Just then Sidra felt a chill run along her spine and she shivered. She felt oddly cold all of a sudden even though the temperature aboard the Necromonger ship hadn't changed since she'd secretly boarded and stowed away since Helion Prime. But she couldn't help it. The conversion chambers terrified her. Seeing all those people inside those things with those spikes jammed into their necks. It was enough to make anyone cringe. At that she felt her heart begin to pound, her breaths quickening as her skin broke out into a cold sweat.

"Not me," Sidra mumbled to herself. "No way in hell."

Suddenly, Sidra heard the sound of footsteps, heard the muffled sounds of voices. She knew the ship had landed somewhere. Where though? She had no idea and she hardly cared. What mattered most was finding something quick to eat and getting the hell off the ship so she could start a new life for herself seeing as her own, Helion Prime, had been destroyed thanks to these Necros. And the longer she stayed with them, the longer she feared being caught and forced into conversion... and that just was not an option. Death first. The only thing making her feel even remotely safe was that the previous Lord Marshall was dead and the Riddick was now in power. She still was uncertain about Riddick, but he seemed better than the other guy, far as she was concerned. Hell, the other guy rendered her world to ash. At least this guy left well enough alone.

As the footsteps and voices got closer, louder, Sidra panicked a little. Biting down on her lip, her fingers playing a little with her dark hair, which hung about her shoulders, she decided to sneak to the cargo bay and hide out there in hopes that the doors would open and she could make a run for it. It was worth the risk, worth it all. Quickly, she made her way there and waited near the scouting ships, hoping that the doors would open sooner than later.

Meanwhile, Dame Vaako watched her husband, her lips turned upward into a smile as she watched the man interact with the Furyan. She found Riddick's actions curious indeed. Of all the places to go, why Furya? It was a dead world. His home world. She watched him turn down the helmet, her husband looking confused, perhaps angered? She stalked along the balcony as she watched the two men, though the Furyan was clearly the alpha. 'But even alphas have weaknesses,' she thought to herself. 'They just need to be found.' Still smiling, she said quietly and to herself, "What is your weakness, "Furyan?"

As Riddick left the Necropolis, stretching his legs on slowly extending steps, the Lord Vaako immediately left to fill out his orders. Orders? From an outsider who had taken the place that he had risked his discipline and reputation for, it was humiliating. Even without the fair wife's naggings in his ear he could feel that tiny spark of heat burning inside his chest. It threatened to melt the ice that held the rest of his body in captivity. "Riddick..." He had swallowed every ounce of will it had taken him to resist a coup, and the consequence was failure. Even worse, it was not failure that led to a death he could at least find relief in, it was a failure that he was now required to endure in life.

As soon as he reached the cargo bay his fist met with a nearby object. Whatever it was, it made quite the noise as it broke to pieces. Riddick could just as well have done the same to his crown, the faces of the Quasi-Dead. What pains Vaako had to endure as he aimed to take those faces for himself, and yet there stood the Furyan with his ghastly eyes, never even laying them on the head he was to wear as Lord Marshall.

Vaako's Lord Marshall.

But the deed had been done. If anything, Vaako had aided Riddick in the previous Marshall's demise. He wasn't sure what shamed him more: the fact that he had attempted to usurp the throne, or that his actions had led to another usurper. Both accounts left him at a loss for what his role was in all this. He was Commander Vaako; Lord Vaako; he was supposed to help bring the Necromongers to the Underverse; he was supposed to see the Underverse and transcend into something even greater; he was supposed to transcend into a being of equal power to his faith.

What was his faith now? Even if he reached the Underverse under Riddick, what sort of being would he become then?

Nothing.

Vaako pulled himself away from his deteriorating mind. A Necromonger did not need to think. Thinking was for the weak of heart and the weak of body. He needed to act. Even if it meant enduring this seemingly seething hatred of his Lord, acting was much better than thinking. Wasn't it true, anyway, that one pain's life allows another to die? He would live with that for now... For now...

"Hm?" Something caught his attention. Those heavy soles in his boots contemplated against the metal surface of the floor, singing almost like screams of a bat pinpointing the disturbance of death in the bay. Something here...--He rushed some steps forward to lash his armored arm out at the back of a scout ship as he emerged from beside it.--...was alive.

"Prep this ship!" The Lord Vaako's voice bellowed throughout the echoing chambers, gathering the attention of any nearby men on standby. If there was a stowaway here, the men would eventually find it.

In the meantime, Aereon quite suddenly appeared beside the Riddick who sat on the very last step, his boots looking to have a certain unmovable weight about them. "Has it been so long that you find your home gravity too heavy?" She mused at the returned Furyan whose eyes were unreadable beneath the cover of his shades. "Or is it, perhaps, that you are only now uncovering the rest of your past?"

She felt a burst of air move through her leg and then a pull of fabric in the opposite direction, her vision finding Riddick's hand wrapped around a corner of her cloak. He released her soon afterwards, however, and stood only to retreat back into the Necropolis and head to the cargo bay. Aereon did not follow him there, but as she reentered the ship herself and watched the Furyan walk away, she looked up to catch a glimpse of the Dame Vaako. Ah, that hot-blooded vixen whose contempt could not be held even by the death bars of Necro conversion. Indeed, not contempt nor fascination could be held back, for she was a passionate breed. It was perhaps, the Elemental mused, not surprising to see an attraction to a Furyan.

Sidra stayed hidden behind the scout ship hoping that she'd be able to make a break for it sooner than later. She wondered what planet they were on, when the doors would open. Just then, she heard a voice. Loud, clear. Full of purpose. She recognized it immediately and suddenly felt her hands begin to shake. It belonged to that one Necogromoner, the one that scared her more than the others. There was something about him that seemed almost off. Maybe it was his eyes.

No. His eyes were nothing like Riddick's—shined and silver-like, as if they could see deep into your heart. But they weren't like the lensers either, those freaks of nature, half cybernetic, half organic creatures that were abominations to say the least. Again Sidra shivered, for the second time since boarding the ship.

Wringing her hands, Sidra wanted to run. She distinctly heard the Necro, the one who called himself Vaako, claim he wanted the ship she was hiding behind. But for what purpose? Just what sort of planet had they landed upon? Slowly she felt her heart sinking, her hopes for finding a new life wherever they might be disappearing like a dream and fading into the wind. Still, perhaps there was still hope yet. She wouldn't let them be fully lost until she knew exactly where they were and what was going on. After all, she might still have a chance, even if things were looking fairly bleak.

Curling up in a corner in the shadows, Sidra waited. She could hear more footsteps. More Necros gathering, congregating. Her teeth began to chatter as she began to fear the worst. Just what was to become of her if she was found? Would the Riddick be cruel? Would he be merciful? Would this Vaako even bring her before the Riddick? She just didn't know and she hoped she wouldn't have to find out.

Back in the Necropolis, Dame Vaako continued to pace. She watched the Furyan stomp through the sacred throne room without a seeming care in the world. What a way for the Lord Marshall, leader of the Necromongers, to desecrate a holy space, she thought. Then again, it showed his dominance, he means to lead in his own way. There was an appeal there. She wondered what it must be like to not care what others thought. It meant not having anything to lose—an interesting notion to be sure. Quirking a brow, she watched Riddick disappear along one of the corridors heading toward the cargo bay. Once out of sight, her eyes drifted toward the Elemental and she smirked. "True neutrality," she mumbled and then sniffed. She didn't believe the neutrality of the Elementals at all. Not any more than she believed her own ambitions were for the good of all Necromongers.

Though the scout ship, compared to the others, was relatively small, by itself it was still a sight to see. Then again, all Necropolis structures were rather grand, though as Riddick said at one point before, he might have gone a different direction. He also remembered the Purifier had agreed on that point. Speaking of which, he'd probably have to find a replacement for the converted Furyan now scattered ashes in the solar winds of Crematoria. The commanders pushed for it every chance they got, and even Vaako seemed to feel it pressing--though perhaps for different reasons. Either way, Riddick would eventually need to find a man or a loophole. He didn't like either one, but when did he ever like anything that related to people?

"Do I at least get to sit at the steering wheel?"

Riddick could sense a snarl lurking at the corners of Vaako's mouth, but saw them keep straight if not tighter than usual. "We have a captain for that, my Lord."

"Well, if you insist." Riddick stepped past the commander and ignored the bustle of men preparing the ship for travel. The ship was large enough to carry supplies for days, but most the supplies pertained to war tools, not sustenance. They did, however, bring some sustenance on board. Apparently since the Necromongers were not fully dead--they were, after all, still making their pilgrimage to the Underverse--they required some nutrition to keep their bodies functioning. Yet they, much like the Furyan himself, did not require provision much nor often.

Riddick stepped further into the ship, just barely entering the front compartment where the controls were when he took a whiff of undeniable life in the air. A smirk glided over his lips as he pulled his goggles up to his brow. Gently his steel balled eyes scanned the darkness, an almost soothing intensity reflecting in them as they found their mark through the corners.

"...I'm hungry." His deep voice reverberated against the metal contours of the ship, a working maid distracting herself from the ship's preparations to offer her Lord a selection of fruit. He grabbed one at random then made to bite it. He stopped as if to change his mind, then tossed it to the corner where the girl was. "You shouldn't have, Vaako."

Riddick picked up another piece of fruit and bit into it this time. "My own little pet to feed and raise.. You shouldn't have! Does she have a name?" He leaned against the wall, one elbow raised above his head to support his weight.

Vaako immediately ordered the men to grab the stowaway. Riddick slammed a foot across the open door. "Don't. interrupt me. Let her come out on her own. Come on, don't be afraid, let's see that face."

Sidra sat there huddled up into almost a ball as her eyes went wide. How the Riddick had managed to see her there she wasn't quite sure. She was concealed in perfect darkness, not even the Necromongers had noticed her... how was it that he...? She tilted her head a bit as she looked at him, her skin growing a bit warm as her heart began to pound with fear of what was going to become of her. Swallowing hard, she slowly stood up only she found she couldn't bring her eyes to meet his. She wasn't quite sure why. Maybe it was the way the light played strangely upon them, they way it glinted. Maybe it was that primitive and primal beast she caught glimpses of every time she'd watched him from afar while hiding about this massive ship. Whatever the reason, she couldn't look at him. He scared her.

Shaking, trembling, Sidra clasped her hands together in front of her slim body. And slowly, so slowly, she dared to look up into Riddick's eyes, her dark hair hiding a good portion of her face. The mass of wavy locks hung in loose ringlets about her shoulders and down along her back, her cool blue eyes peering from behind them until she finally brought a shaking hand up to push the thick hair out of the way.

Biting down on her lip, Sidra looked at Riddick. The fear coursing through her she was certain had to be evident—fear of him, Vaako, the unknown. Blinking, her eyes became damp with tears and she wished like hell she could hold them back. But it was too late for that. Too late for a lot of things.

"I'm Sidra Bader," Sidra finally said, her voice soft and low though it had an almost musical lilt to its tone. "Wh-what's to become of me?" she asked looking directly at Riddick, her eyes connecting with his for a moment before she had to look away. Yes, he scared her. And somehow she figured he knew that. She just hoped he wouldn't use that against her. Then again, now that she was found, she was hoping for a lot of things.

"Sidra...Bader." The tasting of her name was almost like a low beastly growl, his head tilting just so that his eyes looked as if they would pounce her. If anything, however, he wanted to stay away. A momentary flash overlapped the sight of Kyra from the prison with Sidra the stowaway. "Hm..." He didn't frown, but he did lower his foot from the doorway to relax his composure. The Necromongers stood by, almost curious as to the Lord Marshall's treatment of the woman.

"Richard B. Riddick; apparent king of the Necromongers. For a sneak, you sure suck at choosing hiding spots." He grabbed a whole bowl of fruit and tossed it to the ground between her feet. "And you reek of hunger. Eat up so I can stop sniffing."

The iron-eyed man turned away to find his seat, allowing himself the leisure of relaxing. When he heard the synchronized boot-steps of his crew again attempting to enter the crew compartment, he slapped his bracer against the side of his seat. The subsequent ringing stayed the movement of the men. "Did I tell you to touch her?"

Riddick didn't need to look behind his shoulder to know that it was the Lord Vaako's eyes digging into the back of his gleaming bald head. "My Lord... An outsider has been found on our ship, in Necropolis. We must send her to be--"

"You haven't converted me. Why her?" Vaako could not answer that, and whether it was due to silent shame or uncontrollable anger, he lowered his gaze. "We're burning daylight. Finish prepping the ship and get it outside. Sidra can come with us." Riddick leaned his head back to give her a bemused grin. "Unless, of course, you'd rather stay behind and get acquainted with the locals."

"My Lord." Without another word, the commander made sure the ship was properly supplied and manned. There was no reason not to convert the girl, but something about Riddick's uncaring demeanor made it difficult for his subjects to deny his authority. Vaako wasn't sure if it was habit of fear for those above them, or if it was a quality of Riddick's own carrying. There was little doubt, at least, of his command. Even the late Lord Marshall had raised doubts every now and then due to his craving for artistic perspective. Riddick, on the other hand, was so disturbingly lax that no one knew whether to doubt his abilities or trust his ease. It was true though that he--no one else--had overcome the abilities of the Holy Half-Dead. That alone was worth fearing and came with no comfort to the Necromongers who worshiped death above all things.

When the preparations were complete, the crew was in place and the guard troops remained in the back compartment of the ship. Vaako himself remained standing at the Riddick's side, only once peering towards the stowaway girl. Life. It had a stench he had grown to dislike with a generous hatred. This girl was no exception.

"I don't care where we go. Just fly around for awhile. I'll tell you when to land." Furya... Land of his people that he never knew.

Sidra stood there, motionless, wondering what was going to become of her. She'd been on the massive ship for what seemed like several days now. But honestly, she could hardly be sure. Time seemed to blur together out in the black of space, no beginning or ending. It just went on, endless. All she knew was that she was hungry and that she'd barely eaten since leaving her home planet, destroyed and seemingly dead and converted, behind. She wondered if there were any other survivors left behind like herself. But to dwell on such things was pointless. They were all a distant memory anyway even if they did. She was on a Necromonger ship, surrounded by half-deads. Somehow memories were the last thing she needed to let consume her mind.

Looking up at Riddick, Sidra hesitantly took a bite of the fruit Riddick had offered her. It tasted delicious and sweet, its juices dripping down her throat as she swallowed it down. It was exactly what she needed. "Thank you," she said softly, her voice a bit muffled as she chewed. "And no, I don't wish to stay behind," she added, shaking her head and causing her curls to swing across her face a bit. Again she shivered.

Was it getting colder? Sidra suddenly wondered if it was just her fear or if it was the fact that they were getting farther away from the Helion system. She was used to warmth, to light. And now, things were starting to feel cold. Or perhaps it was the strange sense of 'death' exuding from the Necros that walked the ship? Just then, her eyes drifted to Vaako. She feared that man more than she feared Riddick. At least Riddick wanted to keep her as she was. Alive.

Without even realizing it, Sidra moved a bit closer to Riddick. Instinct, perhaps—a will to preserve herself, to survive. So far she'd managed and she planned to continue if she could. Looking up at the large man, she took another bite of fruit. She wondered where exactly they'd be going. She could tell Vaako seemed bothered and that made her uneasy and now that everyone knew she was there... "I promise not to be a bother," she then said, trying to break the silence. "And I'll get off at the next stop wherever that is. I just wanted a ride to somewhere I could start again."

As the hangar opened and the ship set out into the world of Furya, Riddick returned the goggles over his eyes. While no one could see them, those metallic orbs slid in the direction of the girl. She was starving and probably still confused after the chaos of Helion Prime. Not to mention she'd just been caught and put out in the open by men of great power within the world of the living 'dead'. All factors considered, Sidra had good instincts to be choosing Riddick as her shield. If one had to decide between murderers, even the Furyan felt he was the best choice if not the only one.

That didn't mean he liked it.

"Hngh... You would choose to strangle yourself with the harsh conditions of Furya than to pledge your allegiance to the superior way of the dead?" Vaako, had he not lost the habit of frequent expression, would have churned his lips in disgust. "No matter. Necromongers do not care for the living. Either you promise yourself to the Underverse or you perish. There is no 'getting off at the next stop'. There is. no. stop."

"There is only inertia." Riddick spoke to save the girl the trouble of retort. "That is the Necromonger way, isn't it Vaako?" The Necromongers believed in death, and in death they found stability and consistency. In death they found a neverending motion of stillness and a stillness of neverending motion. It was a one-way canyon and you could either move with the stampede or be trampled beneath it. It was almost like him. Almost.

"It is the Necromonger way, my Lord." Vaako's attention moved to the king, his senses constantly occupied by either the Furyan or the Helion girl. At least the girl, were she converted, had some hope of being saved. Her only crimes were life and ignorance. The Furyan, on the other hand, understood much more than his words conveyed. It was as if he mocked the very faith he commanded. Blasphemous.

"Well, you heard the man. You get dead either way, so I'd advise," he quietly lulled into a pause as he reached to slip fingertips through the girl's hair then lifted a few curls to his inquisitive nostrils. A deep sniff and the curls fell through his falling hand, resting once more upon an armrest. "...that you stick around." He had her scent marked now. He wasn't responsible for whatever her actions would be, but there was no harm in making sure she only did things that benefited him. Running away and ending up dead was not one of them. She was stuck.

Then again, so was he. Fuck.

Sidra had no idea what planet they were on. Wherever it was, it was dead. Worse than Helion Prime it seemed—far more desolate and seemingly abandoned for far longer. She wondered why they'd bothered landing on such a harsh planet on purpose. Surely it wasn't to convert anyone or anything. As far as she could tell there wasn't anything to convert. And if there was, it wasn't enough to matter much so why land such a massive ship and waste time when they could be traipsing across the universe toward their precious Underverse? It was perplexing to say the least. Then again, the Riddick hadn't been converted. It was all rather peculiar to say the least.

Looking up at Riddick, his strange, steely eyes hidden behind shaded goggles, Sidra cleared her throat and swallowed. "What is this place?" she asked him. "Furya? It looks... dead." Biting down on her lip, her eyes then drifted toward Vaako. The frightening, pale man making her skin crawl as she took in the sight of him. He looked like a walking corpse, something out of her nightmares. Trying to shake off the thought, she turned toward Riddick again.

As Sidra kept her focus on the larger male, she could feel the Necromonger nearby. She wished he'd just go away. He made her feel uneasy, made her instincts flare and her hackles rise. Though she was a quiet creature by nature, she wasn't the sort to give up without a fight. Such things were strong within her. Like the light on her home planet, there was a fire within that burned brightly and would never cease to exist. Or so she hoped. The one thing she feared that would extinguish it was conversion. Conversion or death. And between the two, she'd pick the latter. Always.

"So, why are we here?" Sidra then asked Riddick, her cool blue eyes peering up at Riddick from behind her dark curls as they hung in her face. She moved a delicate hand up to push at her hair and tuck some of it behind an ear. She needed to wash up, clean up. But being a stowaway, one whose things had been rendered to ashes, had prevented her from doing anything of the sort. "If I'm going to be stuck here for a while, I figured I'd ask." At that, her cheeks suddenly turned red.

Riddick could feel the temperature difference coming off the girl. Cute. "That's a good question. I'm sure the commander would like to know as well." For a few moments it seemed as if he had no intentions of continuing that line of thought, but he rose from his seat with a squeaking grip on the armrests and leaned, instead, on the shoulder of his main pilot. "Land, we're getting off here."

The crew worked quickly, almost panicking as if they didn't want to risk their Lord Marshall's patience. That was fine by Riddick, it gave him the opportunity to take in the landing procedure at a single glance. From what he'd seen of the flight so far, he could easily pilot one of these things by himself. The Necromonger technology meant the ship was space-suitable as well. "Good boys."

He headed to the door, Vaako already making his way ahead to organize the squad and open up the ship. Along the way, Riddick threw an arm across Sidra's shoulders, his weight forcing her to move with him as he deliberately walked slow enough that there was barely a few moments of privacy between the two of them. "Don't do anything stupid. Either you die or you don't."

When those moments passed he released her from his arm and gave his troop a once over. There was Vaako, there were footmen, a lenser and its handler, a single maid in waiting and then there were the flight crew. "Pilot, navigator, whoever mans the ship stays with the ship. You and you," Riddick pointed at the men with the lightest footing. "You're our messenger boys. One stays here and the other comes with me. Lady," now gesturing to the maid in waiting, "you get to watch over Sidra here. Both of you come with me. As for the rest, do what Vaako tells you until I say otherwise."

Riddick honestly didn't care what the Necromongers did, but he had quickly learned early on that they required a certain sense of servitude or they quickly became unstable or confused. The higher ranks didn't require such petty purpose, of course, but without it they posed a bigger problem: a wavering of loyalty. In any case, he had to act a little like he cared until they came to a point where he could confirm...

...Kyra's death, he supposed. Or the returning of her from it, if it was even possible. For the first time in a long time he hoped--against all odds--that he could save her; save someone. If there was anything that kept him from destroying worlds like the Necromongers wanted, it was that.

How ironic that the one person who might unconditionally embrace destruction was the same person preventing it.

Riddick strode out into the open, Vaako right behind and the other men behind him. The lenser stood out to the side, absent-mindedly scanning the terrain at its leisure as security or scouting was not an immediate issue. "Damn..." That was all the Furyan could say out loud when he stopped over a hill, the land on the other side a cemetery that spanned so far one could swear it reached the horizon.

The light of Furya was dimmer than most habitable planets, though not dark. Riddick barely recognized this from his past. What he saw more clearly was visions of warm green earth that sustained vast plains and dark jungles. Now it was gray, stoney and rotting cold like stale food with no mold. At least the sun and the related orbits had stayed intact, though Riddick couldn't say how much that could help a planet whose surface had been exterminated. If humans could not survive the plague that had been the Necromonger invasion, it was unlikely that animals would have either. Without an ecosystem, a planet was not likely to breathe or live.

Furya was just a massive planet-sized ruin; a temple to Riddick's forgotten memories. That laid the question: who was the priest? It had been some time since Riddick had seen or heard that woman...Shirah. Was she here? Was she a figment of his imagination? Was she real?

Furya, what are you?

When Riddick had placed his arm about her shoulders, Sidra felt her mouth suddenly go dry. As she looked up at him through her thick mass of dark curls, she nodded slowly. "All right, Riddick," she said, her voice soft as she spoke.

Sidra still had no idea why they'd stopped at Furya. The planet was a desolate wasteland. None of anything made sense. What could be gained? The Necromongers had no one to convert or destroy and Riddick had no one to recruit for whatever schemes he might be brewing under everyone's noses. So she was truly at a loss, confused. Given that Riddick had chosen the barren planet, she was certain the Necros were just as confused as she was and from the look on Vaako's face, her thoughts on that were all but confirmed.

Once Riddick picked out who was to go and who was to stay, Sidra could feel her hands beginning to shake once again. She looked over at the lenser. The thing frightened her immensely and she began to back away from it instinctually. Looking over at Vaako, she wished the Necro was staying behind with the ship. But she understood why Riddick had chosen for the half-dead to come along. She might not be one for politics, but she was one for survival and that alone made it a clear enough choice. At that, she turned toward the woman, the one who'd be watching over her directly. She bit down on her lip and tilted her head as her pale eyes met those of the lifeless. It was funny, but there was no reflection to be seen in the Necromonger woman's eyes. No sparkle. Nothing.

Furya was unlike anything Sidra had seen before and it saddened her. It made her think of home, of Helion Prime. Would her planet come to look like this one day? She suddenly wondered what made Furya look the way it did. What terrible event occurred that caused it to die... Just then her eyes widened a little and she looked over at Riddick, then to Vaako. No. Surely that couldn't be the case. Her thoughts there were wrong... Had the Necromongers been to Furya before?

Shaking the disturbing thought away, Sidra decided she didn't want to know—at least, not right then. "What are you looking for?" she asked Riddick, moving closer to him so that she could stay away from both Vaako and the lenser. She looked over at the maid for a moment and again she thought about those lifeless eyes and shivered violently. Biting down on her lip, she mumbled, "Sorry, I'm cold. This isn't like Helion."

Riddick was almost thankful that the girl had provided him with a brief distraction. He stripped the cloak from his armored torso and wrapped it around her shoulders. "It won't help much, considering the present company." Perhaps it was a hint that he could read her body language even if she tried to hide it, but he was feeling sincere as well if only due to his preoccupied mind.

"This isn't like Furya, either. But it is." He crunched down to lift dust from around his feet, the soil like ashes of bone on the surface and petrified wood below. "What a waste." When he stood again he stood with his back to the light and showed his steely eyes to the girl, this time staring her so hard it would be difficult to break eye contact even if she wanted to. "There was a man who came to this world and slaughtered all the boys, newborns choked by their own umbilical cords until their faces turned purple from popped veins. He came here amongst the living looking for peace of mind through death."

He resumed that gaze for some time before he relaxed and placed the goggles over his eyes once more, turning to descend into the expansive grid of graves. "What am I looking for..? I'm looking amongst the dead for a peace of my own mind. Hm..." A contemplative demeanor took over his gait as he brushed fingertips across headstones wrapped in dried out vines. "I could be looking for life." Or a reason to keep it. After all, the single thing that kept him living was the Furyan necessity for survival. If he was going to head to the Underverse where death was supposedly superior and constant, he might need more of that necessity. What better way than to make a pilgrimage to his homeland?

Pilgrimage... Right.

Riddick continued to sweep through the graveyard, his destination seeming to be the horizon. As the group moved on, however, Lord Vaako could spot some kind of civilized structure--ruined, obviously--in the distance at the end of the burial grounds. Not much further than that there were low mountains. If Vaako remembered correctly, Furyans were warriors raised both in the plains and in the tunnels beneath. Most likely there were caves connected to the structures that probably composed a village.

"Lord Marshall, we should approach with caution. We have yet to confirm if this planet is completely isolated or not." Riddick's silence was taken for approval and Vaako gave orders; some silent and some spoken. Scouts were sent up ahead along with the lenser. Vaako himself remained with a now smaller number of men. The commander did not want to leave Riddick's side. Anything...anything that Vaako could use against the disgraceful king...he would find it.

Maybe the girl.

Sidra appreciated the gesture when Riddick placed the cloak about her body. She knew the garment didn't outright belong to him, but she could still feel his warmth emanating from the fabric. It was an odd sensation, almost comforting in a strange sort of way. As she peered out into the vast wasteland of what she was sure had once been a lush world, she felt her heart suddenly lurch. Life could no longer thrive here. Not like it once did anyway. Not ever again. Just then she felt her tummy tighten, her insides roiling as the bile within began to rise. She wanted to vomit at the thought of it, that thought when coupled with the story Riddick began to tell about the Furyan boys.

Looking up at Riddick with her piercing eyes, her hair still shielding her face quite a bit, Sidra found them starting to dampen. A sadness was filling her and it made her loathe the company of men like Vaako and those like him all the more. She bet his eyes were as lifeless as the maid's who was trying to stand close by. Too close.

"Life?" Sidra asked, her brow arching quizzically. She was about to ask more, but her train of thought was interrupted. Vaako in all his tight-lipped demeanor approached, coming too close for her comfort, making her tremble and quake in fear. Her knees began to go weak and she wished he'd go away.

Sidra caught a glimpse of Vaako's eyes and felt a chill run along her spine. His eyes. They were indeed just as lifeless as the maid's. No reflection. Nothing. Dead.

Staying close to Riddick, Sidra turned toward him. "Do you think you'll find your 'life' over there?" she asked. Just then, a wind blew causing her mass of curls to get pushed away from her face. She looked up at Riddick, searching for an answer, guidance. Protection? "Or..." her voice trailed and she tilted her head a bit. "Is it something else?" She bit down on her lip, her cheeks going a bit pink. At that she pulled on the cloak a bit so as to pull it tighter about her body.

Although Riddick couldn't properly see most colors, he did note how bright Sidra's eyes were. Thinking about it made him stop for a moment to glance over his shoulder, trying to catch another glimpse of that gaze that was as clear as it was frantic.

He quirked a brow up as he did, indeed, catch the girl's eyes as well as her questions. "The other man never really found his peace of mind, I doubt I'll find my answers." He continued onwards, now picking up the pace a little as he ignored the gravestones around him. The girl was like a stray attaching itself to a new owner. That reminded him of Jack.

Well, Kyra.

"You ask a lot of questions, don't you kid?" Now that the initial melancholy had passed, Riddick's wall came right back up. "I'm not looking for anything specific. I just came here to see what I could find."

"This is the Lord Marshall's home planet, is it not?" Vaako came up behind Sidra to stand on the opposite side of her from Riddick. The commander matched pace with the other two as he watched for the scouts ahead. Riddick's silence told him that he was free to speak further, if only because Vaako was beginning to grow tiresome of the meaningless babble between the two living people.

"Lord Marshall is a Furyan, the last of his kind. The story of the slain babes of Furya is that of the Lord Marshall as well. He alone survived the massacre as well as the purge; a purge that was meant to eliminate the threat that was played by Riddick."

"No doubt you did your homework on all that while trying to take the throne."

Vaako squeezed out air from within the curls of his fingers. "The previous Marshall was weak."

"I wonder what that makes you."

With a gruff beat of breath the Lord Vaako trudged forward to join his scouts, some of them returning to report. That Riddick knew more than he let on... It was infuriating.

Sidra's cheeks grew warmer and she looked down at her feet for a moment. Since when was twenty-two a kid? She scowled a little and then bit down, hard, on he lip. Letting out a sigh, she looked back up at Riddick and had to almost run to keep pace with him. She glanced over her shoulder at Vaako, not liking how close he was to her. The strange coldness that seemed to emanate from him was coming off him in waves and it clung to her body like a second skin. More than anything she had the urge to rub at her arms, her legs. Anything to make the feeling he gave her to go away.

As Sidra listened to the tale of the Furyan and Necromongers, she found herself suddenly nodding. So Riddick had a tie with these half-deads after all. She found that interested and... ironic. Ironic that someone meant to be killed by the world destroyers now led them. It definitely answered the nagging feeling she had as to why Riddick seemed the more logical choice to stay close to. That and he was the only one who truly breathed. The only one who had a true pulse, who was warm and who had blood coursing through his veins.

Suddenly, Sidra turned her head. "What was that?" she asked, her eyes darting about the harsh landscape. She'd heard a sound, something inhuman and beastly. Something hungry.

Sidra's breathing quickened, her blood flowing faster through her veins as she swallowed hard. She was certain Riddick had heard it, probably had already known the thing was out there. But being jumpy, paranoid, terrified... she couldn't help but be on high alert. After all, being surrounded by Necromongers for several days was enough to make anyone a bit jittery.

Moving closer to Riddick, Sidra looked up at him again. And once more she heard that sound and she felt her blood run cold. Turning away and looking over toward one of the nearby caves they were passing by, she saw the faint silhouette of something starting to emerge. "Oh god..." she mumbled, backing away slowly.

The shadow was moving into view and Sidra could hardly make it out. But it seemed to be almost snake-like—or was it a worm?—in appearance. It was enormous, whatever it was and it was moving toward them with great speed.

"Riddick!" Sidra shouted as the thing lunged toward her and she began to run.

That girl just kept those temperature differentials coming. It made it much too easy to stay aware of her presence, a strong contrast from the Necromongers whose constant lack of body temperature made it easy to discern. When both of them, Sidra and Vaako, were standing near him it was amusing how their body heat--or lack thereof--interacted. He supposed it was to be expected. Humans feared things too easily. Beasts tended to pay attention to only what was important.

Like that echoing gurgle.

Riddick saw what was coming long before Sidra did. He could smell it too. It carried a stench of stale earth and looked like some kind of earthworm magnified by a few hundred times. Unlike some demons he'd seen before, this thing wasn't pretty to look at.

His arms shot out to stop Sidra mid-step, using her own momentum to toss the both of them into the ground. After a crunching thud that took away the body--and most likely life--of the maid in waiting assigned to Sidra, a shriek that nearly pierced the ear drum rang overhead for as long as it took the creature to fly past. That shriek ended with a crash of architecture that managed to hide the entire length of the giant worm. Riddick could hear the friction between its flesh and rocky soil, the sound descending as if the creature had found a tunnel within the building it had just renovated.

While Riddick stood back on his feet and reached down to help Sidra do the same a scream echoed from across what he now noticed was a broken town. "Stay close." Riddick started making way to the screaming lenser and out of the corner of his eye saw Vaako and his men taking the same action. Suddenly the scream stopped, but that didn't stop them.

When they reached the scene, half the lenser's body was stuck on a broken wall and the other half...well, it was missing. Its handler was on the ground. He looked a bit shaken up. "Th-th-that... What was that!?" Vaako grabbed the soldier by his arm and dragged him up, demanding to know what had happened. "The lenser, it saw something. It got eaten. There's more of them. There's more than one." Vaako left the handler to the other men, not having the patience for delirium himself.

"Lord Marshall, we should leave. Immediately."

"Really? But the party just got started."

The lenser was torn in two. Two! Sidra thought she was going to be sick. Its twisted body, half synthetic and half organic, an abomination fabricated by a being of half-deads for a twisted purpose. What those poor pitiful beings had been prior, she had no idea. But she knew they'd had to have lived and breathed once, walked free, had a voice.

Sidra looked up at Riddick amidst her mass of dark curls, her cool blue eyes showing her fear and uncertainty. She feared that they were as good as dead... much like the rest of the planet... "More? There's more?" Her panic was evident, her want to get out of there, to leave. But what was worse? Facing the Necromongers and their constant want for conversion or a few more of those ghastly worms. It was like a form of hell and she wanted out!

Suddenly, Vaako made his thoughts plain and Riddick mocked him making Sidra quirk a brow as she tilted her head. She knew she had to stay close to the Furyan, it was her best chance at survival. That was already proven given how he'd saved her from the one worm's initial plunge at trying to snuff out her life.

Trembling, Sidra heard another scuffle and she knew what the sound meant. Another one of those things was coming. Turning, she saw it and this time the shadows no longer concealed its form. She let out another shrill scream, the sounds reverberating off the crumbling walls of the ruined buildings surrounding them all. As her instincts told her to run, one single thought kept swimming through her mind—'I don't want to die... I'm not ready to die... survive this... live.' She just hoped she would and that somehow the Furyan would see her back to safety. That was, if it was even possible.

Riddick carefully assessed the different signals he was getting, even as the giant worm came wriggling swiftly over. When he struck down the meaning of the mixed tremblings beneath his feet, he pushed Sidra to give her a running start in the right direction and moved as well. Even Vaako was getting out of the way. Not a moment too soon, a second worm came bursting out of the ground they were just standing on, smashing blindly into the head of the one above. Dust went flying everywhere, piercing shrieks soared into the air and bounced off the mountain walls, and the earth shook like beating drums played by the two worms now strangling and biting each other.

"Back to the ship. Now!"

No one questioned the bellowing command. The Necromongers did not have much fear, but their ultimate goal was to reach the Underverse or help their fellow men do so. Dying here served neither of those purposes. Returning safely to the Necropolis was the best choice of action.

"We're going to die!" Of course, there were the exceptions. Unless they were taken care of, which Vaako did by pulling out a gun and shocking the delirious handler's heart into stopping. It didn't take long for another couple worms to rise to the surface and tear the body apart--a lesson, for anyone who dared to look back, not to fear death.

The burial grounds were difficult to traverse due to all the headstones, but once crossed only the hill was left to keep them from reaching the ship. Unfortunately, halfway through there was an explosion of rocks, dirt, and bones. One man flailed in the sky above the ashes then fell back down to stain the cloud in blood with a sickening grind. Other men were laid unconscious or wounded by pieces of gravestones. One particularly unlucky fellow had his head crushed by a gravestone left whole.

When the dust cleared, the surviving number found themselves staring up at a worm much larger than the ones they'd left behind--who seemed too distracted amongst themselves for the moment to be bothered with the runaways. This one also had an extra set or two of jaws and scrags of clothing from its recent meal hanging off some of the teeth.

"Nasty." Vaako agreed with a grunt. "Messenger boy, get the ship ready!" The only one that had managed to end up ahead of the worm was the footman he'd chosen to be their emergency messenger. The soldier scrambled to his feet and did as he was told. When he started moving, however, the worm jerked around and faced his direction. With a massive roar--the incredible sound now causing Riddick to suspect that the worms behind them were merely babies--it aimed a lunge of its head at the runner.

Riddick ran forward, used a slanted headstone for leverage and leaped as far and high onto the worm as he could go. Mid-air he reached back and pulled out his twin curved blades to jam them into the worm's flesh, hooking him to its back(not that there was any distinction with the supposed front). The worm lurched away from its attempt to make the escapee its food and thrashed about. It didn't seem very happen to be in pain. "RUN!" Riddick's yell was directed mostly at Sidra as he tried to get a hang for riding the worm. Judging from the soldiers flying left and right, falling at this distance might kill him from impact with the worm's mass. Or bruise him badly, plus a few broken ribs.

While whatever Necromongers were left heeded orders and ran for the hill, Vaako remained. He watched his Lord Marshall tackle the giant monster before him. Half of him wanted to stay put and watch the Riddick die. The other half wanted to help the Riddick slay the worm for a better chance of survival. When the worm finally flipped itself over and mashed itself into the ground, the following shockwave unbalanced Vaako into relying on his instincts. That meant taking out his axe and hacking into the tail end in front of him.

Riddick had pulled his daggers out and dropped to the side just as the worm flipped over. His body rolled over the ground and his back went and hit a statue. He picked himself back up with a groan and just in time to see Vaako getting flung from side to side as he held onto his axe stuck in the worm's wagging tail. A final slam into the ground dropped the axe and the attached Necromonger from the tail that then threw itself back down. Vaako barely rolled out of the way and onto his feet to deftly swing around and slice roughly through a good chunk of the tail's thickness. The worm's own strength as it screamed and flailed caused the piece to rip itself off.

While the giant worm writhed in pain, the tail end slowly wriggled. While both Vaako and Riddick pondered how to finish the deal, the worm started to scab itself over and the tail started growing a new segment; a new head from the looks of it. The king and the commander both looked at each other.

They ran.

Sidra's entire body was shaking and she felt as though her heart was going to beat out of her chest it was pounding so hard. Gasping for air, she felt almost frozen to the spot in which she stood, but she knew full well her feet would run should Riddick tell her too. Looking over at him, her curls blowing across face in dark, rippling waves, she felt her chest heaving with every breath she took.

"Riddick," Sidra whispered, almost whimpering as she watched the blood bath begin to unfold before her very eyes. She wanted to scream out again, but her voice was suddenly lost. Terror had taken it away and replaced it with something else. Looking over at the Furyan, she heard him tell everyone to head back to the ship and it wasn't a moment too soon.

Immediately, Sidra turned on her heels, her sights set on the ship in the distance. Funny, how it seemed so much farther away now that they were in imminent danger. But she had no time to dwell on such things. She could hear the worms behind her, scuffling along the ashen ground as they slithered toward their prey. The urge to look back was strong, but she knew she had to resist it. To give in would mean certain death and she wasn't about to die in this way. Not there on a dead planet by some carnivorous worm with only half-deads to watch her body get shredded to bits as she got eaten alive. No!

As Sidra, Riddick and Vaako reached the ship's messenger, a worm suddenly blocked the way. This one was larger, much more massive than the other two from before. She felt the blood rush from her face as her breath suddenly caught in her throat. "No no no no no..." she mumbled to herself, panic turning into horror. At that, she saw the Furyan leap on top of the ginormous beast as if attempting to tame it somehow and the messenger began making his way toward the ship. It was then she heard that single word.

RUN!

At that, Sidra just ran. Her legs moving as fast as they could even though her lungs felt like they were on fire, her muscles aching with each step. She stumbled several times, but not once did she dare look back. She heard the shouts, the thuds and scuffles. But not once did she turn around. Her eyes remained fixed on the ship.

"Riddick," Sidra mumbled. "Riddick..." Her eyes began to tear as she got closer to the ship. The Furyan had to make it. He had to. She couldn't make it without him. Somehow she knew this even though she couldn't explain it.

When Sidra finally boarded the ship, she thought she was going to collapse, her body tired and aching, trembling from fear. It was only then that she turned around and dared to hope that her protector wasn't far behind.

Both Vaako and Riddick started scrambling up the hillside. The herd, the new babe, and the momma worm were all rushing towards their desired meals. The ship had begun to hover with the door left open for the Lord Marshall and commander. The earth was quaking. Riddick reached the top. Vaako lost his footing.

Riddick grabbed his arm. "I'm surprised you didn't leave me there to die."

Vaako grabbed Riddick's arm with his free one. "You are my Lord Marshall."

Riddick managed to pull Vaako up on top of the hill just as the king worm crashed its ferocious jaws where the Necromonger had been hanging just a moment before. The impact caused some of the earth to slide, dropping the two men on top of the worm's head. By a stroke of luck, the worm flung them forward when it freed itself and they landed right behind the ship. Probably with some injuries though.

"Go!" Vaako shouted the order this time as the two of them boarded the ship. It hovered, lifted, then started moving forward when all of a sudden it shook. A stray worm had flung itself against one of the wings and the ship did a somersault sideways. It was quickly stabilized, but when everyone came back to their senses, Riddick was hanging by one hand on the still open door. Vaako was the closest person to him.

Riddick looked up at him, goggles lost to the worm below. He smirked with a mischievous glow that matched his eyes. "Planning on returning the favor?"

Vaako stared down at him with those death glazed pits. Just as Riddick's fingers started slipping the commander grabbed hold and pulled him up. "You are my Lord Marshall."

The door closed and the ship soon left the worms behind, heading for Necropolis. Riddick turned to Sidra, giving her a careful look over. She seemed fine. For a second time he confirmed her capability to survive. Good girl.

"Hm..." Riddick moved his muscles and softly grunted. His injuries were minor, and bearable. More importantly, "I need new shades."

Vaako scoffed.

Sidra shrieked as she watched both Riddick and Vaako make their way back toward the ship. As terror wracked her body, her hands moved to cover her mouth, muffling the screams that escaped her lips as she looked out into the distance. Those worms were right on their tails. So close. So close. When she saw them both fall atop the largest of the worms, she cried out. "No!!!"

Getting up and racing toward the ship's door, Sidra felt her heart lurch, her tummy doing flip-flops. Oh, she was going to be sick. No. She wouldn't give in to that. She wouldn't. Suddenly, the ship jolted and she found herself falling onto the floor with a hard thud. The next thing she knew she was rolling toward the wall, hitting it hard. The wind was immediately knocked out of her and she gasped for air, trying desperately to breathe. But try as she might, that precious breath wouldn't come. It seemed like an eternity and the panic began to set in and just when she thought she'd never be able to breathe again, just when she started to see blackness...

GASP!

Sidra was finally able to take in air. Gasping, panting, she looked about herself and saw Riddick hanging outside the ship's door. He was slipping. Vaako was looking on. Scrambling to her feet, she looked on for a moment wondering if the Neco was going to let the Furyan die. He had the upper hand. Would he do such an abhorrent thing? Murder someone in cold blood? Just as she was about to lunge onto Vaako's back and start striking him, she saw him pull Riddick up. At that, she tilted her head, a bit confused. A chill ran down her spine. Something was off. And it bothered her. The one good thing, however, at least her protector would still be with her. For now.

Swallowing, Sidra gave Vaako a strange look, her mass of curls falling in front of her face. She then looked at Riddick. She was still gasping and panting a bit. Both from being scared and having the wind knocked out of her. She then smiled at him, her head cocked as she looked up into his strange, silvery eyes.

"So," Sidra then said, still smiling, hands still shaking. "Now that I can see 'em. You gonna tell me how you got eyes like that?"

"So, now that I can see 'em. You gonna tell me how you got eyes like that?"

The question made Riddick almost shudder in self contempt. Thankfully, the adrenaline from their scuffle with the worms kept his emotions at bay. "These eyes?" He leaned in on the girl, pressing her back towards the wall of the ship by sheer power of will until he was almost nose to nose with her. Unblinking, he stared her down with eyes that shared the same mystic viciousness of a predatory beast whose pupils reflected light in the dead dark. "Eyes like this don't come at a price you want to pay, kid."

Vaako watched the Riddick slink away to sit down and relax. When the Furyan's eyes closed, the Necro's moved to his hands; the ones that saved the Lord Marshall. Vaako could have easily left Riddick to die--twice. The first time wasn't a conscious choice and ended up saving Vaako's life afterwards. The second time was confusing and unnecessary. But it also would have pegged him as a traitor, and it wouldn't have counted as Vaako's kill. Nor was there any reason to believe that Riddick couldn't survive even a herd of giant worms. Vaako gave the Furyan that much credit; for good reason.

As if Riddick knew what the commander was thinking the Furyan raised his chin and looked up into his face, eyes glinting with the same cocky glee of his smirking lips. "Had enough of me yet?" Vaako simply turned away with a slight groan, removing himself to the other compartment so as to distract himself with the trip home. Riddick closed his eyes again and leaned his head against the wall. "So Sidra... What kind of a death wish made you get on a ship full of zombies?"

~-~-~-~-~
Back at Necropolis...
~-~-~-~-~

Aereon stood at the hangar, the doors open for her to view out and wait for the return of Riddick's ship. She could see it in the distance now, making its hasty way home. Noting this, she quietly floated out of the way where she could greet(with or without words)the Furyan once he landed. She wondered if he had found anything to help him make any sense out of his heritage. The probability was small. When the Furyans died on this planet, the planet had died as well. The people had been the life and spirit of their home and without the people that energy had vanished.

That begged the question of whether Riddick was indeed as strong and capable as he was due to a necessity to rebalance the sudden loss of Fury; the source of his people's strength. Had everything his people lost become everything he gained? It was a likely explanation, though the end result was possible only if the subject was capable of expanding his limitations to such extents. Then again, one had to wonder if Riddick had any such limitations to begin with. The man was intelligent, feeling, and battle smart. The only quality he lacked was the freedom to love.

Perhaps his journey to the Underverse would serve to test that quality. He was, after all, marking that as his destination because of the single thing that remained in his life to be an object of what little love he permitted forth. There was no telling what would happen, however, if the journey ended one way or the other. With renewed increased love would the Riddick implode on himself? Or with the death of his love would he cause the death of the universe as well?

Awkwardly enough, the Elemental found the chance of neither happening to be far greater. The question that remained then was what exactly that chance implied. Ah, the curiosities of calculation... So she told herself. But no matter what could happen, one in her position could not help but wonder...considering her role in all this.

Riddick...the turmoil it would cause him if he knew the total truth.

Sidra winced, her lungs and heart stopping as Riddick leaned in close. So his eyes weren't naturally like that... she hadn't known... she hadn't... At that, she hung her head and her thick curls moved to conceal her face. "Sorry," she whispered so softly even she had trouble hearing the words escape her lips. Her mouth had gone horribly dry and her body suddenly began to ache—the run from the worms had taken a slight toll on her.

Glancing over at the Furyan, Sidra was now like a pet who'd upset its master. She sat down and brought her knees to her chest, hugging them close. She then watched him and Vaako banter causing the Necro to finally take his leave and for that she was grateful. She could almost feel the air warm up a degree with his presence gone.

Sidra's cool eyes followed the half-dead until he was fully out of sight. She then looked over at the Furyan. "I didn't have a death wish," she said, her hair moving just enough so that her eyes could peer through the loose curls hanging about her face and over her shoulders. "It was either die on Helion Prime or take a chance on finding a new life. I opted for the latter. Seemed the better choice." She paused a moment, her eyes piercing as she looked at Riddick. "Things were hard on Helion after the destruction," she continued. "Lost my parents, my brother and everyone else I knew is now either dead or one 'them'. I managed to survive that and the few others that did as well..." her voice trailed. She didn't want to think on how upside down her planet had become in so short a time and how quickly her life went from normal to hell. "It's chaos there." She shook her head as her eyes began to tear up. "It wasn't a life I wanted to live. In a matter of days, all hell had broken loose—looting, scavenging. It wasn't part of my plan. Then again... neither was any of this."

Sidra let out a tiny sigh as she held back the tears. Still hugging her knees to her chest, she had to resist the urge to lay her head against them. The temptation was great. Her home was gone. Everything was gone, ripped away forever. She had never known life could be so cruel and unforgiving, but she learned quickly. She'd had no choice. Back on Helion Prime, people stole and by force. People used fear to get what they wanted. It was awful and it wasn't the place or beacon of light she once knew. Just then, she shivered again, but this time not from the cold.

The sad story that Sidra put forth reminded Riddick of the holy man, Imam, and his wife and daughter. He could care less about the wife now that the husband was dead--a memory he would more or less wipe from his past if he could help it--but the daughter had that same air of inquisitive curiosity mixed with a conviction to believe in strength. The daughter was like her father; they had the same eyes. Even if the mother didn't survive the Helion Prime's chaos, Riddick had a feeling the daughter would. That was all he needed to know.

"When the worst starts happening, the other planets of Helion will probably start sending salvaging parties to either evacuate or restore their prime planet. When the dust settles and the clouds blow away, the only ones left will either be the strongest or the smartest, and bring back a new world from the ashes." Riddick paused a moment as he contemplated his own string of words. They were more than he'd usually drawl out. He wasn't sure if it was his new position as 'Lord Marshall' or if it was the girl that made him talk more. "Helion Prime is like a phoenix. It'll come back."

He gave her credit for discerning the probability of survival on a planet that was dying, though. From the looks of it she wasn't a fighter or a strategist. Her instincts were good, but the chances of her surviving in Helion Prime's current state of affairs were risky if not unlikely. She was already an adult too, so learning to adapt was also a factor. A child would probably fare better.

"Docking the ship!"

Riddick stood and grabbed Sidra by the shoulder to make her do the same. "About that new life of yours... If you want it that bad, try to stay close. You had a better chance of surviving on Furya with those worms than with the Necromongers." He tilted his head and glanced at her from the corners of his eyes. "Unless you listen to me, that is."

Landing the ship and unpacking everyone and everything didn't take long. Aereon, too, took no time to find herself at Riddick's side opposite from the girl. "That didn't take you very long, Riddick. And I see you have a new pet. You haven't already forgotten Kyra, have you?"

Riddick was already moving, making his way to the throne room where he knew the nobles would be lingering, talking and whispering amongst themselves. "Aereon... You're not already trying to piss me off again are you?" And he thought Elementals were supposed to refrain from actively participating in events. "Maybe you should try poking fun at the other lords on this ship."

The Air Elemental only smiled and quietly floated apart from him when he reached his destination. "Listen up! I don't care how you do it, I want you to do a sweep of this planet and kill anything that moves, be it man, beast, or monster! If you can't kill it, destroy it!"

"What is the purpose of this, my Lord?"

Riddick turned to the commander that spoke up. "Purpose?" He walked up to the man, both his curved daggers out and glinting with a dangerously reflected light. The Necromonger seemed to tense, and some of the crowd closest to him backed away. Riddick lifted both blades close to the man's neck. "The purpose, commander, is to finish," he paused only to wipe blood from the earlier worm fight on the man's cloak. "--the job that your previous Lord failed to do right." Riddick then spun around to stand in the center of the room. Both clearly shining blades thrust themselves into the air. "Am I not your king?" The cry was answered with a vague echo of acknowledgment. Riddick bellowed once more with thrice the volume. "Am I not your king!?" The provocation worked this time as the returning shout now admitted their semi-defeat to his authority.

Riddick almost smiled. "Dismissed!"

Vaako had entered the scene just soon enough to witness Riddick's self declaration of power. As if daunted by the performance--for Vaako did not believe Riddick to take his position that seriously--a soldier came up to him instead of the departing Lord Marshall with an inquiry as to what they were to do with the girl, Sidra. Surely that was a question on everyone's minds: why was there a living female roaming free with the king? Vaako answered with a snarl and looked around, instead, for his wife as the woman would certainly not have missed a presentation like this.

Aereon, too, thought the vixen was probably watching as even the Elemental had been somewhat impressed by Riddick's display. But she knew better than to be swayed. The man's retreat from the crowd meant he was beginning to tire of the attention. Yet the Furyan also recognized the need for showmanship if he were to survive in this society of the dead long enough to reach the Underverse and back, with or without Kyra's life.

Smart; Lethal; Angry--this would be a story for ages to tell.

Not that Riddick cared. All he wanted to do was find his room and lie down. That, and find someone to get him a new pair of shades.