It only took a matter of second for Riddick to take the person in front of him in. She was lean and strong, probably pretty tall too when she wasn't crouched in front of him ready to rip his head off if he took too deep a breath. Her heavy, black canvas pants were slam issue along with the black wife-beater that was plastered to her torso with blood. She had tags just like his around his neck courtesy of a stay in Slam City, and he could see a bar code tattooed on her left wrist just like the one under the leather throng on his own wrist that was a souvenir of Butcher Bay. Her wrists were raw and open from the broken cuffs that hung on them and he noticed two small scars at the corners of her mouth from a bit being put on too tightly. A few drops of blood lingered on her bottom lips and her bared teeth were stained red. Her eyes were pitch black and feral as any wild beats. Her long blue/black hair fell wildly around her face. Her lovely face that was amazingly familiar even after fifteen years of absence. After fifteen years of growing up and changing he still knew her face like the last time he'd seen her was yesterday.

"Sage?" he asked unable to stop himself. He should have pretended that he didn't know her. The last thing he needed after Kira was his only friend before the Holyman and the look-a-like coming back into his life and screwing it up. The animal in front of him cocked her head and stared at him for a moment before her dark eyes flashed and her stance relaxed.

"Riddick?" she asked cautiously. The two of them just stood staring at each other for a long moment before she stood up and sheathed her shiv in her belt.

"So you're still alive? Have fun on you own?" he asked unable to hide the bitterness that crept into his voice. Her eyes turned to slits and she growled softly in her chest.

"What's that mean?" she hissed.

"You bolted. You escaped that hell and never even had the courtesy to say good bye. Musta had some fun while I rotted in there," he snapped.

"You think I ran? You think I found away out of there and didn't tell you? Fuck you," she snarled advancing on him. He stood his ground and glared at her. She'd abandoned him and was just trying to cover her ass.

"Tell me I'm wrong," he challenged taking a step forward and bowing his head slightly to stare into her dark eyes with his silver ones.

"They threw me in a slam. They said I was the one that shanked that guard," she growled up at him as she began circling him, "Go ahead Richard tell me I'm a liar. I dare you." As he stared down at her while he matched her circling step for step; he felt a twinge at the sound of his name. She was the only person in the whole verse that had the balls to call him that. He stood for a long moment thinking about what she'd said, she had gone missing after a guard had been killed. He remembered that because he'd know who'd done it, but kept his mouth shut. The guard liked to beat them and frankly no one had missed him. And he knew that the warden had been gunning for Sage. It made since that he'd take any chance he got to throw her in a real slam.

"Are you lying to me Sage?" he asked abruptly taking a step forward, stilling her by the press of his chest against hers.

"I'm a lot of things but a liar isn't on the list. You and I both know that," she told him in a low voice. They stood for a long moment glaring into each others eyes until almost simultaneously their stances relaxed. The heighten scenes that they both possessed from years in slams made it so they could communicate with out words. As they stood still touching, a dark playful smile lit Sage's lips and some malevolent flame flicker behind her cold eyes as she remembered the first game they'd ever played as children.

"So you gonna step back or what?" she asked causing Riddick's mouth to lift in a small smile.

"You think I'm backing down? Memory a little foggy Sage?" he said cocking his head to the side slightly.

"No, but that's how the game always started before," she informed his as she pressed harder against him in challenge, he laughed softly and stared down at her with a touch of wickedness in his smirk and eyes.

"What game?" he asked playing dumb.

"Who can pull their shiv first," she replied. Deep, rumbling laughter vibrated his chest.

"But that game requires us to be in the same league." he told her in a low voice. He was taunting her; he knew that she was probably out of his league. Darkness may have been his element but Sage was an embodiment of darkness. God damned Elementals.

"Try me Riddick," she offered. In a flash of dark clothing Riddick had his shiv to her throat and her arm was wrapped around his waist with the tip pressed to his sweet spot. They stared at each other for a moment before both took two swift steps apart.

"I'm impressed. You might have had me," Sage said her voice tinged with dark laughter.

"No might about it sweet cheeks," he replied, "You look like shit."

"You would two after spending two years on this heap," she replied, "The shine job looks good on you."

"Mercs that hot for you?" he asked with a low whistle. "I'm impressed. But tell you what, how about you come back to my ship and we get you looking like a presentable convict?" Her eyebrows arced and her eyes narrowed.

"Catch?" she demanded. He shook his head and smiled.

"No, but I've been longing for some common company," he told her.

"Care to elaborate?" she asked, and he chuckled.

"I'll fill you in on a few details of my past," he said as he turned and began to walk away. He felt Sage move to his side and smirked.