Chapter 7
The Darkness
Silver hacked and slashed his way through the seemingly countless soldiers with seemingly countless energy. Both arms now deadly blades, he moved swiftly constantly barring the way for more soldiers to enter through the skylight. The bullets fired at him did nothing but renew his strength as the lead and brass fused with his own metallic body structure. Though soldiers were slowly surrounding him he fought with intense focus and speed, his strikes emotionless, all the while his mind was racing to find answers. The soldiers had little skill but were many, Slade had never gone for quantity over quality, this all out attack seemed desperate and pointless, and Slade's plans were never desperate nor pointless. The whirling of the blades of multiple chopper chugged in the distance as more of Slade's men were flown in.
"Terra, Starfire, the roof! Take out those choppers!" barked Silver through the masses
Terra and Starfire retreated back through the winding halls of the tower up to the top with frantic haste.
Beastboy, now in the form of a monstrous silverback mountain gorilla, ploughed through the multitude like a child in a ball pit, scattering the masses. Cyborg covering the exits and taking down any that managed to pass through Silver's or Beastboy's defences.
"Alex, Control yourself or I will restrain you!" cautioned Raven
"I am not Temperance, I do not need self control nor Faith" he lazily replied
She warily watched him, her fists raised, unsure of what to expect from this strange version of Alex.
"Why do you fight the feeling, Raven?" he questioned "You have never met anybody so like yourself before yet you push me away and bury your lust"
"Don't flatter yourself"
Admittedly it was a childish retort and a very weak reply but it was the only answer she could think of at the time, his sexual prowess added with his delicate questions made her even more confused.
"Admit it, I pique your interest and soon I will be plucking at your heartstrings" he said with a sickly confident smile, taking a step forward "To deny our own impulses is to deny the very thing that makes us feel alive"
She opened her mouth to argue but hesitated.
"Ha! See, I'm right. You finally find another who understands you, who is very much like you and who wants you and you deny yourself the right to true happiness"
"And you could make me happy could you" the question half heartedly rhetorical
"No, but I could wrap in such ecstasy and rapture that you would forget about true happiness" he crooned
The idea was tempting, to be held just once by somebody who, like her, needed to feel loved.
"That's it, ignore the minds protests, let your feelings guide you to where you belong...with me" he growled his arms open for embrace
"Why are saying all these things to me? You barely even know me" she asked, confusion etched in every word
"Because he is Lust" a voice croaked from outside the cave, in the darkness "He can't help it, it's in his nature"
The voice made Raven's heart jump to her throat as the hairs on her neck stood on end. The distorted inhuman accent growled with an evil sadistic discontent. An almost familiar creature sauntered into the lowly lit cave. It was only then that she realised that Riddick was cowering away from the creature. His entire persona had changed to that of a small child. She pulled in the shadows to her hands, ready to strike at the creature. He looked the spitting image of Alex, his build, his height, his clothes, even his amateur hacked haircut, all except the facial features. The eyes dripped thick oily black liquid, teeth razor sharp, sickening smile stretching from ear to ear. He smiled sadistically at Raven, looking her up and down.
"Leave her out of this" snapped Lust
"Behave" snorted the creature "You have never bested me and you never will"
His gaze returned to Raven, his intense stare, setting her nerves on edge.
"Who are you?" she asked warily, ready for attack
"You can relax, Raven. I won't hurt you. I simply had to meet the girl who has sparked Alex's interest, that's all"
His voice croaked like fingernails on a chalkboard.
"And to answer your question, I am the Darkness which resides in Alex's heart. I am what fuels his rage, the maddening whispers that calls to him in the night"
"Darkness? I don't understand"
"You heard me, little girl. You can't tell me this isn't a familiar situation you yourself haven't been in before"
Then it came to her, in one big flood of memories and information. The fractured mind, the multiple personalities, the singular trait each Riddick possessed filtered into one single raw emotion. Riddick was spellbound, just like she was, a long time ago.
"The only reason I have allowed you to exist in my world for so long is you straight up intrigue me. You see at this point in the game Alex is losing, and I'm thinking you're his ace in hole" his rambling dribbled on yet for reasons unbeknown to her Raven hung to every word "When you first entered my domain, you watched Alex die. You saw the creatures that haunt his dreams, my pets. Then this little sorry sack of shit came along and you found yourself in an entire world that you didn't understand nor belong in"
"Don't listen to him, Raven" protested Lust
"Oh be quiet. Your nothing but a pawn in mine and Alex's game" snapped the Darkness "But I digress, you see Raven, Alex and I have this little arrangement. First one to ten souls wins. And seeing as I am winning, I can't have Riddick dying on me before I take my prize"
"Dying? How is Riddick dying?" blurted Raven
"He isn't dying you whelp! At this moment in time Slade is looming over your bodies and will soon deliver the killing blow upon Alex's unaware body"
The Darkness watched her as she tried to assimilate all that had happened in such a short period of time, reading her every response, from the slightest pupil dilation. At the news that Riddick could he was hoping for an immediate panicked reaction but this never came.
"You will send me back?" she finally asked calmly and coolly
"For a price" growled the Darkness
"Don't do it, Raven" pleaded Lust
The Darkness lashed out, backhanding Lust away.
"What are your terms?" asked Raven
"I will send you back to your world, you place Riddick under your protection" explained Darkness
"Your price?"
"That my dear is an issue to be discussed in private" declined the Darkness with a twisted smile
Raven was hurled out of Riddick's mind and back into her body. Before she could even recover her senses, she lashed out wildly towards Riddick's still unconscious body. Hindering Slade's killing blow by scant inches, the blade breaking the skin on Riddick's throat. Slade was launched across the room. Slade landed rolling, dodging Raven's second attack, he leapt forward, pulling Raven to the floor.
"Alright, Lust you can drop the act now she's gone"
"She really gone?" asked Lust, looking around for any sign of Raven
"Yes, she's gone, you owe me one, Alex, you owe me big" growled the Darkness in warning
"She was never meant to be here"
"Ain't that the truth, still she will honour her end of the bargain, she may even come to like you for it" replied the Darkness, turning to face Alex "And now to collect my fee"
"Let's get this over with" replied Alex with a sigh, already knowing the price he would have to pay for Raven's deal
The Darkness towering over him, what little light there was in the cave dimming to nothingness. Alex threw a sickening cross that practically deflected off the chin of the creature. Darkness blackened out the cave as the sounds of a struggle emanated from the cavern.
Her eyes fluttered as she struggled for oxygen, her neck being crushed by Slade's vice grip. Flints of white light dazzled across her vision as a blackened figure stepped behind Slade.
"Hello, honey, I'm home" whispered Riddick, his voice croaked and perverse
