Hey everybody! I would especially like to thank Kris, FanFiction Lover, and Kireania for being my first reviewers :D

I've decided to incorporate an interesting idea SpasticPinkSkittle had and am going to include some of Riddick's animal (in italics) so let me know what you guys think. Here we go…

Riddick

I was pissed.

I'd been woken up this morning by one of my guards, informing me that my head purifier wanted an audience. Crawling out of bed I was greeted instead by a lesser purifier shifting from foot to foot. Staring at the floor, he mumbled out some apologies before trailing off into silence. I stared at him, expecting him to continue before finally getting bored and snapping at him to do just that. He startled before continuing the message, my countenance growing darker as his message finally got through.

"My Lord, the, uh, the head purifier has asked for a p-private meeting in the purification chamber to discuss our, uh, position…" he'd nearly whispered, before looking back at the floor.

He's weak. An easy kill.

Growling at the man, I dismissed him before slamming my door. Ignoring the image of the purifier broken on the floor, I made my way into the bedroom. Kyran, my head purifier, had been my greatest test of patience throughout this whole process. Defying me every step of the way, he wasn't shy about voicing his opinion of my changes. Vaako insisted I listen to him because "it was my duty as our Lord Marshal". That, and he said it was the only thing keeping the other Necros from outright rebellion.

I'd tried the scare tactic to prevent any more outbursts, but apparently he was too damn dense to understand the word "no" and the business end of a shiv. This time, I'd make sure he got it into his fragile little skull that the only purifications he could perform would be for willing recruits. And if he insisted on bringing it up again, I'd find a more useful purpose for the empty cavity he called a head.

Dressed in my standard attire - cargos, a black wife beater, and THE dagger which Vaako had removed from Zhylaw's skull and reforged for my coronation- I said my goodbye to the hounds and headed for the purification hall. I should probably find Vaako and bring him with me, but he was most likely busy dealing with his wife or, if he was lucky, his duties as First commander. The man had been invaluable in learning about everything involved with being Lord Marshal. He's also an excellent commander, and one of the smartest people I know. Too bad he'd been leading with his other head when he'd married that bitch of a wife.

Not sure whether to laugh or grimace at the man's situation, I made my way around the corner and into the main hall leading to the purification chamber. Despite having lived on the ship for nearly a month this place still disgusted me, and I tried to avoid at all costs. Heading through the doors I nearly ran into the guy who'd woken me up. He bowed, apologizing fervently before sidestepping me and bolting out the doors as I watched him go. Looking back at the man who I very much wanted to kill right now, I stepped towards our head purifier, not giving him a chance to speak.

"Kyran, what the fuck is the meaning of this? I've told you exactly where I stand on purification, so what gives you the right to question your Lord?" I asked, giving him the look that I'd perfected over the years. The look that would scare over half the universe shitless.

Backing up slightly he stuttered out excuses and assurances that he was doing no such thing. "…I simply thought that, given the current situation with unrest among your subjects, it might be wise to reconsider your position. It's my duty to inform you of situation and thought you should know before the meeting so you could think about it!" he said trying to sound and look sincere.

Curling my lip up at him I stepped forward again, making sure he noticed my hand had drifted towards the knife I kept strapped to my thigh.

"Your duty is to obey your Lord Marshal. Vaako, will handle everything else. Purification is a choice, and will stay that way as long as I'm servin' as your Lord. If you ever call me out like this again, I will make sure a purifier who understands that takes your place."

With that, I turned on my heel and stalked out, leaving the pale faced bastard murmuring his apologies.

-xxxxx-

I spent the rest of the time before the meeting glowering and snapping at people as I wandered about the ship. I considered grabbing the hounds and letting them go for a run to lighten my mood, but it wasn't worth the lecture Vaako would attempt. Just before eleven I headed for the council room, my mood made even worse by the thought of the next few hours.

I sat in my chair at the head of the table, propping my feet up and waiting for the others. I watched them file in, surprised to see Vaako at the tail end of the group since he was always so obsessive about his punctuality. I studied him as he made his way around the table, shuffling somewhat. His usual sense of strength was missing, along with the confidence that seemed to roll off of him in tandem with his gloomy mood.

Something's wrong. He's weak today. An unfit mate.

I had to agree. Recently Vaako had taken to strutting around like a peacock, with no problem throwing around his new rank, but the man before me was not what I expected of a First commander. I'd have to do something to get that fighting blood of his pumping.

He must have caught my smirk because he stiffened before taking his seat next to me. My smirk grew as he muttered a quick "hello, my Lord," before leaning as far away from me as he could. We'd been at this long enough I suppose he can sense when he's presented me with an opportunity for some fun. Poor guy. I admit he's useful, and he's good at what he does, but much of his worth was due to the fact that he was so damn easy to rile up. It made him one of the few interesting people on this ship, and the man hadn't really had a break since I'd realized just HOW fun and easy it was.

My scheming was cut short as Scales walked through the door, quickly taking his seat. We were in for a long few hours and fuck me if I wasn't already bored as hell. Guess I'll just have to find a way to put Vaako to good use.

-xxxxx-

About an hour later I was in nearly the same position as when we started, except now I was playing with my dagger, trying to keep myself entertained as my anger had faded quickly to boredom. I had dismissed my plans for Vaako soon after we started since the others were doing my job pretty well.

"You've gone too far, my Lord! We have accepted so many of your changes, but to publicly declare you will not go to the Underverse, or even receive the mark… you can only be Lord Marshal in name. If you would just-"

"Enough!" Vaako roared, jumping from his chair.

"YOU are the one who's gone too far, Kyran, and if I ever hear you speaking to our Lord like that again I will wear your teeth as a trophy and place your head as a keepsake on my wall."

Sitting up, I smirked at the purifier, who'd also jumped to his feet turning three different shades of red. Glancing back to my First I felt an all too familiar feeling wash over me. I bit back a growl at his form, hidden beneath that bulky armor he insisted on.

He fights for us!

Straining against the table separating him from the purifier, Vaako was nearly snarling at the man who'd just questioned me for the second time during this meeting. I had so hoped he'd bring up purification in general so I could slide my blade into his sweet spot, but he'd been smart enough to avoid the subject. Now, it seemed, I might not have to wait for the topic to come up after all, since Vaako seemed as eager to kill him as me.

"In fact," he continued, "it seems to me all our problems lie with you. You have questioned every decision our Lord has made and it hasn't gone unnoticed. Perhaps I should kill you anyway, so people can see the price for being disloyal. This man is more of a Necromonger than you will ever be, because he, at least, is loyal to his people! Obedience without question. Loyalty 'til Underverse come. That is the Necromonger way!"

The room was silent for a minute, some of the commanders nodding their heads, before Vaako regained his composure, standing back slightly.

I settled in my chair again, looking at him for a moment longer before offering, "Well said, Vaako."

After a moment he turned to look at me, obviously surprised, and met my eye for just a minute before quickly looking away. Studying him, I noticed what almost looked like a blush spreading up his neck.

Interesting…

Vaako

I was going to kill this purifier. Maybe not now, but he would be dead before long. Glaring at him, I stood back from the table trying to calm myself down a little before things got bloody. For the time being we still needed him; he was popular among the citizens and it wouldn't do to kill him behind locked doors. There needed to be a reason, and an audience to see it.

Riddick's voice to my left rumbled out, but it took me a second to grasp what he'd said. Once I had, I looked over at him incredulously, searching those silver eyes to see if he was mocking me again. He wasn't. In fact, the way he was looking at me…

I turned my head, not able to stand being under that gaze. I wasn't sure what it was lately, but I'd recently become more aware of the Lord Marshal. Watching his actions, studying his behavior. I'd caught myself more than once behaving oddly simply for the sake of being near him. This, however, was an entirely new experience.

He'd praised me; In front of everyone! In the month I'd known him, not once had I seen him do that, or even come close for that matter. And now I was turning red in front of everybody. Obviously it was my body catching up to the anger I'd felt earlier. That had to be it, I mean, it's not like I would care that I'd made him happy…right?

I was distracted from my inner reflection as one of the commanders moved, his armor clinking against the table. Trying to shift the focus back to the matter at hand, and hopefully drawing attention away from myself in the process, I cleared my throat and looked at the other commanders.

"There have been large changes, yes, but much of the fundamentals of Necroism haven't changed. He has done nothing to threaten our way of life. We land on Xynon 2 in four days. The men will be able to work off steam, new recruits will be coming in, and we gain more people who know nothing of the changes our Lord has made. This problem is something that will apparently have to resolve itself, so unless you have other issues you want to address, I think we're done here."

I risked a quick glance at Riddick, noting he was still staring at me, before looking back at the others. Trying my best to maintain some semblance of normalcy, I flinched slightly when the Lord Marshal stood up suddenly before heading for the door.

"My Lord?" Scales questioned, making a move to follow him.

"You heard him, we're done. Vaako, come with me," Riddick said, exiting the council room.

I gathered my things before walking quickly to catch up with him. The others were left in various states of action, catching up to what had just happened. I followed behind him for about five minutes, waiting for an explanation in silence. The man was sporadic at best, and though I had gotten better at predicting his train of thought, I was simply lost. Speeding my pace to bring me a little closer, I cleared my throat in an attempt to spur his attention and a possible explanation.

He stopped suddenly, turning to stare at me again. I did my best to hold his gaze but those damn eyes were more than I could take. I cleared my throat again shifting my gaze slightly lower to his mouth which I noticed was quirked into his signature smirk.

"Something wrong, Vaako? You seem nervous." He said, his smirk growing slightly.

So he'd noticed… well of course he did. The man didn't miss a thing, unlike me, recently.

It seemed every maddening, admirable quality the man possessed he had stolen from me during his time here. I used to be like him: strong, determined, unphased by the machinations of others. But whether I was growing weak under his incessant harassment or it was simply him distracting me, everything was different now. It was this man's fault I was less of a warrior, and honestly, he didn't really seem to care.

Steeling myself, I once again looked into those unnerving eyes and shook my head.

"No my Lord, there's nothing wrong. Although, the way you handled the end of that meeting was not how it should have been done. As I've told you before, the Lord Marshal is-"

"You were the one who ended it."

"I suggested an ending, but it's not my place to actually call an end to the meeting. You should have done that, and then dismissed them."

All I got in response was an "mmm" and more staring.

"Is there something you needed from me, my Lord?"

He watched me a moment longer before stating "No, that's all."

"Then I'll take my leave," I said, bowing before turning on my heel. I had no idea what that was all about, but I was unnerved. I could still feel him watching me as I made my way down the hall and had to use all my training in discipline not to sprint out of his view.

-xxxxx-

Later, while attending to some of my other duties, I couldn't help but think about the Lord Marshals comment in the council room. While I'd never admit it to anyone, hearing those words from him had made me extremely proud and, perhaps, even a little happy. With a renewed vigor, I dove into the rest of the day, determined to impress him again.

Sorry the ending was kind of abrupt but at least it was a longer chapter this time. I'm having trouble keeping them in character, especially Vaako, since we actually didn't get to know him that well in the movies. If you think I'm straying too far from their characters, please tell me, cause I'm not sure!

Once again, I would appreciate any suggestions and comments anyone has. Ideas and praise and even a kick in the ass REALLY help keep me motivated and moving forward. Thanks for reading everybody!

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