A/N: new chappie! enjoy!
Chapter 2: Kidnapped
Fisher struggled as one of the many mercs in the cargo ship chained him to a chair, the chain connecting his wrists around the arm of chair, his legs spread and a chain wrapped around each ankle and leg of the chair he was in to keep him secure. A few times before they'd gotten his feet down he managed to kick one of the mercs in the chest, sending him to the ground, but another merc came up and shoved his gage to Fisher's forehead, making him stop for a moment. Once the mercs were sure of his bonds they walked away and Fisher saw another merc shove the girl he'd just met into the chair across from him.
"Leave her alone!" Fisher snarled, struggling to break his chains, but it did no use. He wasn't Riddick.
The merc that had shoved the girl into her seat looked over at Fisher with an evil smirk and asked, "This your girl, boy? That why you tried saving her back there?"
"No," he replied, "she ain't my girl. I was trying to save her because all you mercs are ass-kissin', goddamn assholes!"
That earned him a kick in the gut, which made him grunt and the girl across from him gasped as another merc came up and chained her to her chair. Fisher coughed and glared up at the merc in front of him. His glare must have been penetrating, because the merc took an involuntary step back, a look of sheer terror on his face.
"H-Hey, Jared?" the merc called still looking at Fisher, the boy's his upper lip starting to curl in sneer, his glare turning predatory. "W-What was the name of that guy that took out Toombs and his brother?"
"Riddick?" the merc chaining the girl to her seat replied. "What about him?"
"Look at this kid's face and tell me you don't see that asshole," the merc said, not taking his terrified gaze from Fisher.
The other merc, Jared, turned to Fisher as well when he had finished chaining the girl to her chair. Jared's eyes popped and he, too, took a step back, involuntarily.
"Holy shit," he breathed as Fisher glared on at the men. The girl sitting across from him looked around the merc and gave a small gasp at the look on Fisher's face. "Hey, kid, is Riddick your brother or somethin'?"
Fisher stayed silent. He wasn't about to tell mercs that he knew Riddick. They'd go after him and Deirdra, and as long as he was still breathing, he would not betray the people he considered family.
"Answer the question, ya dumb shit!" the nameless merc snarled, using the butt of his gage to hit Fisher in the jaw.
"Leave him alone!" the girl cried.
That earned her a back-hand from Jared, and when Fisher heard the slap, followed by her cry of pain he let out a long, low growl that rumbled in his chest. The mercs froze and looked at him with wide eyes, surprised that the sound had come from a teenage boy that looked like a twig.
"Touch her again, I'll cut off the hand that hurt her," he growled, glaring up at Jared.
"How you gonna do that, kid?" he smirked, smugly. "Telepathy?"
"You shouldn't use such big words like that," Fisher retorted. "Your head might explode."
"You little punk!" Jared snarled. "You're just like Riddick with that smart mouth! You wanna be ghosted right now in front of your girl?"
"I told you, she ain't my girl," Fisher replied, truthfully. "And thank you for the compliment. I strive to be just like Riddick."
"You're goddamn nuts, kid," the merc with Jared insulted, shaking his head.
"Let's get off this ice rock," Jared told the merc and headed toward the pilot's seat as the other mercs piled into the ship and sat in their seats, hooking themselves up to cryo.
"Hey," the nameless merc called, stopping Jared before he sat in the pilot's chair. "You gonna hook these two up to the cryo?"
Jared glanced between Fisher and the girl then scoffed, smirking evilly as he replied, "Teach that girl a lesson to run away when she's given the privilege of being let out once in a while. And that kid needs to learn a few manners, too."
"But they'll get even more crazy if they're not hooked up to cryo!" the merc, suddenly feeling merciful.
"That's Olmstead's problem, not ours," Jared blurted, waving it off and sitting in the pilot's seat.
The nameless merc glanced between Fisher and the girl then headed to his own seat and hooked himself to the cryo, just as Jared lifted the ship into the air.
Damn merc doesn't even realize that crap won't affect me, Fisher thought to himself with a smirk, determined to be just like Riddick. He glanced over at the girl in front of him with a long face. Her on the other hand...
He was about to say something to her when he saw Jared stand from the pilot's seat once they broke atmo and shut his mouth again as the merc walked to his seat. The ship was on autopilot, and Fisher waited until he was hooked up to cryo and fast asleep before he turned to the girl again to see her sitting limply with her head bowed.
"Hey," he called, gently and she hesitantly lifted her head to meet his amber eyes with her sky blues. "What's your name?"
She sniffled before she replied, meekly, "Faith."
"I'm Fisher," he smiled, reassuringly. "It's nice to meet you."
"Don't screw with me!" she hissed, making him frown and jump in his seat, taken aback by her anger. "It's not nice to meet me! I didn't get away and now I've dragged you into this! How is it nice?"
"W-Well…" he trailed off, trying to collect his thoughts from his shock. Finally figuring out what to say he continued, "It's nice because I haven't been around a girl that wasn't single in a while, and you're really nice to look at. Besides, thanks to you I got a little action. I haven't had an adventure in three years."
Faith stared at him in surprise, a blush over her cheeks at his comment about her being nice to look at. Swallowing, she leaned forward a bit and whispered, "You do know you've been kidnapped, right?"
"Nah," Fisher smirked confidently, shaking his head as he leaned back in his seat. "These assholes don't know what they've captured."
"You seem pretty confident," she murmured, casting her gaze into her lap again. "I wish I could be more like you."
"Well, it's all how you're raised I guess," Fisher shrugged. "Besides, being shy isn't a bad thing. And you didn't seem too shy when you asked me to kill you."
"That was different," she muttered, then had a second thought. Wanting to change the subject she realized, "You never answered that merc's question."
"Which one?" Fisher wondered, honestly.
"Are you related to Riddick?" Faith asked without hesitation and Fisher looked up at her with wide eyes, making her jump with a start and cast her eyes down again. "I-I don't mean to pry…"
"You're not," he assured her and she looked up at him. "No, I'm not related to him."
"Then how are you so much like him?" she wondered, suddenly curious.
Fisher kept silent for a moment, thinking over whether or not he should tell her that he actually knew the convict. He didn't want to scare the girl away. She was the newest person he'd met in three years, and he didn't want to blow it. A shy thing like her would be scared out of her mind by someone like Riddick, and even though he took that merc's comment about him looking like him as a compliment, he'd also heard her gasp when she caught the glare he'd been giving the mercs. It was a gasp of sheer terror.
"I don't think I should say," he finally replied, honestly. "Actually, I don't want to. I don't want to scare you. I'll tell you this, though…I'm a huge fan of Riddick."
Faith nodded in understanding. She wouldn't push him. After all, they'd just met. It wouldn't be polite. She continued to stare at him as he slouched with a sigh, but when he felt her staring at him and looked at her, she quickly averted her eyes to her lap again.
"I-I'm sorry," she mumbled and Fisher frowned at her.
"Why?" he asked sincerely, making Faith look up at him with a wide-eyed frown.
"I-I dragged you into my problems, and now you're going with the rest of us to the Messer system," she replied.
"Messer?" Fisher wondered if he'd heard right. "Which planet?"
Faith's frown deepened, cocking her head to the side slightly in curiosity as she replied, "Didn't you hear that merc say we were heading to Lord Olmstead's Palace?"
"Well, yeah, but I don't know who the hell that is," he shrugged. "What's he lord of? Slaves?"
It was meant as a joke to lighten the mood, and he was relieved she took it as such when she let out the cutest giggle he'd ever heard. It was so cute, it made him smile as he glanced at his hands to hide his blush at finally cheering her up.
"No," she smiled, shaking her head slightly. "He's lord on the planet Capernium. I don't think he's lord of anything specific, but-"
"Wait a sec," he cut in gently, looking up at her with wide eyes. "Did you say Capernium?"
Faith nodded and Fisher sat back, staring at the ground in deep thought, making her start to panic slightly.
"Is something wrong?" she wondered, hoping she hadn't said anything to upset him.
"Not…really," he replied, not looking at her. "It's just…a friend of mine that I was living with on that planet we just left, she was there for a while."
"Oh," Faith replied vacantly, casting her eyes down in disappointment that he'd been living with a she.
Fisher sighed, leaning his head back on the headrest of his chair and wondering if Deirdra would risk going back to that planet. She'd told him some nasty things that had happened there to her, and she had made him swear not to tell Riddick, for whatever reason. He didn't ask. He just never did. Sighing again he looked up at Faith who was now twiddling her thumbs in her lap and he leaned forward as much as he could.
"Hey," he called gently and she looked up at him. "Don't you worry your pretty little head about anything. No one's gonna touch you, ok?"
"Why wouldn't they?" she muttered. "That's what I'm gonna be there for."
"They'll have to get through me to touch you, first," Fisher replied, snapping her gaze to his. "And the only way to get through me is to kill me. You just stick with me and I'll protect you, ok?"
"Why?" she wondered, breathlessly. "Why would you do that for me?"
Fisher gave a small shrug with a slight smirk then replied, "Because pretty girls should always be protected from everything hurtful."
Her eyes widened a bit more as she stared at him as he only continued smirking at her. Feeling her face flaring she looked away from to hide it, but he'd already seen the blush he caused, and it made his heart flutter as he sat back again.
"We should try to get some sleep," he suggested, closing his eyes and adjusting to get as comfortable as possible in his chair, which wasn't easy with his legs spread the way they were. "It's gonna be a long ride to the Messer system."
"How do you know?" Faith couldn't help but wonder.
"Because I used to live there, on Kalos," he admitted. "Trust me, getting from there to UV 1 was a bitch." He opened one of his eyes to peek at her and say, "Pardon my language, Miss."
She couldn't help but giggle at the last comment and he gave a goofy smile as he shut his eyes completely again before leaning back to sleep, and Faith curled up in her chair to sleep as well. Maybe he wouldn't be so crazy, even though he wasn't hooked to cryo. He had a pretty girl to keep him sane, and he'd do the same for her.
Meanwhile...
"Thrusters?"
"Check."
"Life-support?"
"Check."
"Fuel?"
"Riddick, everything's fine, just lift off already!"
He turned a glare at Deirdra who slouched in her chair, strapped in and staring back at him in boredom.
"You want us to crash land like we did on Furya because we ran outta gas?" he retorted.
"Of course not," she snapped. "That's why I took the liberty of coming out here to check and double check everything in case we needed to leave. You think I'm stupid?"
"There are times…" he trailed off, flipping a few switches and Deirdra reached over to punch him in the arm, but he quickly grabbed her fist with one hand, without looking from the panel as he flipped more switches to prepare for lift-off. She sneered and yanked her hand from his grip as he took the helm in his hands.
Deirdra sighed as Riddick piloted the ship up and into the atmosphere. Once they broke atmo, she let out another sigh and placed her hands over her face as Riddick checked the scanners to see if he could pick anything up. He stopped when he heard her sniffle and looked at her, his silver eyes examining her closely as he noticed her shoulders shuddering, slightly.
She'd been doing this ever since Fisher was kidnapped. Every time there was a time of calm, she'd bury her face in her hands and start sobbing, silently. It was starting to piss him off because he couldn't figure out how to keep her from doing it. Well, he thought of one way to get her to quit it, but she wouldn't go for it right now, he knew it.
"Stop staring at me like that, Riddick," she murmured breathlessly, sensing he was staring at her and his eyes snapped to hers as she lowered her hands and stared back at him. "I know he's not our son, or whatever, but I can't help that I feel like he is!"
"I didn't say anything," he replied, knowing she was just letting herself get emotional.
"Your smart ass mouth didn't say a word, but your eyes are saying plenty!" she shot back. "They're saying, 'Dammit, Girl! Quit being such a cry baby and pull yourself together!' right?"
"Dammit, Girl! Quit putting words in my mouth!" he snarled. "I hate it when you do that! Knock it off!"
"Well, isn't that what you were thinking?" she snapped.
"No!" he growled. "I was trying to think of a way to get you to stop crying without being the asshole I am!"
"Well why didn't you just say that?"
"I just did!"
"Dammit, Riddick! Stop yelling at me!"
"You first!"
She roared at him and he only roared back. She un-strapped herself from her seat and stood to march toward the back of the ship to pace as he stayed in his seat.
"I don't know whether I wanna screw you or kill you!" she snarled, still pacing.
"You couldn't kill me if you tried," he taunted, "so I suggest you try that first one. I have no objections to that."
"Shut up, you horny bastard!" she snapped as he started tapping the screens on the panel to search for something.
Not caring if she got angry with talking to her, he asked, "Who's Lord Olmstead?"
Deirdra stopped in her tracks and Riddick caught the instant scent of fear in the air wafting off of her. He heard her footsteps hurrying toward him, and she used all her strength to pull the shoulder of the seat he was in and spin it around to face her.
"Why the shit would you wanna know that, Riddick?" she asked, breathless from fear that was glowing in the chocolate depths of her eyes.
"Because that's where one of the mercs said he was taking the prisoners," he replied, calmly. "You were too busy crying and trying to struggle against the grip I had on you to hear, but I did."
"No," she breathed again, standing tall and backing away.
Fear grew within her, and Riddick could smell it; hear her heart racing as if she'd just ran a thousand miles. Her hands started shaking, along with her knees and he quickly shot to his feet to catch her just as she let them fall from under her. She landed against his chest as he pulled her up to stand again, but she wasn't limp and she was still shaking as if she'd been locked in a freezer for hours.
"What the hell, Deirdra?" he asked and she turned her frightened gaze up to him as he only stared at her, waiting for an explanation.
"He's a lord on Capernium," she finally explained in a shaky voice. "Uri Olmstead is the most ruthless, evil man on that planet. A man I hoped never to see again. If the mercs are taking Fisher to him; if he steps one foot into his palace, he's as good as dead. Olmstead is an expert in torture and pain. He makes you look like a goddamn boy scout. You may like killing those who deserve to be killed; you may kill when provoked, but this guy gets off on hurting and killing anyone he wants. He doesn't care if they're innocent of not. Men, women, children; it doesn't matter. I'd heard he hired mercs to gather people up for him, but I never imagined it was true."
Riddick only stared at her emotionlessly, still holding her and taking in everything she was telling him. After a moment of silence, he finally asked, "So how do you know him?"
"I told you," she shuddered, "He's a lord on Capernium where I lived until Aereon found me."
"Yeah, but you said you'd hoped to never see him again," he recalled. "That sounded like you knew him personally."
Deirdra stared up at him and swallowed. Fresh fear filled his senses and he had a feeling it was him he was afraid of now.
"W-Well…" she sputtered in a whisper. "I-I may have lied when I told you that most of my battles scars were actually battle scars."
Riddick's face was still stone, but his shining eyes were simmering with rage. Not that she had lied, really, but that it was starting to sound like someone had hurt her when she was helpless. He would not let that stand, past or present.
"This Olmstead guy," he finally began in a low voice. "He did some of that to you?"
Deirdra swallowed again as her eyes started filling with fresh tears, unable to close the gates at the thought of what Fisher might go through and she nodded, mutely.
"Which ones?" he asked, seriously and she looked up at him with an incredulous frown over her brow. He only lifted a brow and enunciated through clenched teeth, "Which. Ones."
"That doesn't matter now, Riddick," she shuddered, sliding her hands up his chest and neck to place them on his cheeks. "We can't let Fisher be taken in there. Lord Olmstead tortures the stronger ones. He makes it last as long as he can. Sometimes he even brings them back when they die so he can torture them some more!" With each emphasized word her nails started digging into Riddick's head. "We have to get him back!"
"Easy, Girl," he murmured, pulling her wrists into his hands and pulling them away from his face. "Goddamn nails are sharp."
"Riddick, how the hell are we gonna get him outta there?" she breathed, placing her hands on his shoulders.
"You let me do the planning," he assured her. "Meantime, I need the coordinates to Capernium."
"Yeah, ok," she sniffled, wiping away the tears she'd been crying quickly.
She looked back at Riddick as he didn't move, waiting for her to give him the coordinates, but she just stared up at his shining eyes. He knew what was coming. He could see it in her eyes and he knew why. She needed comfort, and he knew she would seek it in his arms. Her eyes drifted down to his lips but he stayed still, knowing she would want to take the lead. Only when she needed comfort would he let her take the lead over him.
Deirdra craned her neck and lifted herself onto her tiptoes to kiss his lower lip. It took all of his will to keep himself from grabbing her and shoving his tongue into her mouth to ravage it, but he settled for letting his hands rest on her hips. Her arms slid around his neck as she pulled her mouth away from his and buried her face into his chest, catching him off guard and making him frown.
"It feels weird being the aggressor," she admitted, and he heard the small smile on her lips. "You know what I need, right?"
Instead of responding with words, he used one arm to pick her up by the waist and she wrapped her legs around his waist as his other hand grabbed a handful of her hair to pull her lips to his. He sat back down in the pilot's seat as they kissed, deeply and pulled at clothes to be rid of them, leaving the coordinates for later.
A/N: reviews?
