A/N: TCoR re-imagining - sequel to "Animal Side".
DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction using characters from the Pitch Black universe. I do not claim any ownership over them or the world of PB/TCoR. This work is solely for entertainment purposes and is not considered canon (not by a long shot).
Vaako bit down on his lower lip, struggling to keep the voices screaming at him silent. He was first and always a Necromonger commander. First and always. Fidelity. He served the Lord Marshal. He served ... Vaako groaned as another face inserted itself. A man with jaguar eyes ... a man to whom he'd vowed his life ... a man he ...
"NO!" Vaako snarled viciously but then his voice broke. "...no...no...I didn't ... I couldn't ..."
Vaako curled onto his side as the memories slammed into his mind.
Lupis Five ... the girl Jack had led him on a merry chase ... he was losing patience. He'd made a vow to Riddick ... he had to take her back to Helion ... he had to get her to safety.
Mercs she signed with ... leaving ... have to follow ... suddenly "they" arrive ... in an instant, it's all ash and debris and he's fighting ... who the hell are these monsters ...?
Darkness ... then voices ... other minds ... not Riddick ... minds that probe and push and tickle inside his mind ... minds he can't shut out like before ... minds that are dead ... but not dead ... screaming ... who's screaming?
Riddick ... why did you leave me? Why did you leave ... then nothing but someone screaming ... someone begging ... until he realizes it's been him all along.
Vaako abruptly threw up as the last of the walls shattered and his thoughts were suddenly open and free. Vaako shuddered as he remembered his capture on Lupus Five and the Necromonger Quasi-Deads. He remembered screaming his lover's name and hearing no answer. He remembered ... Riddick.
Riddick rinsed off in one of the many waterfalls that dotted the prison proper. He sighed as the water cascaded over him, sluicing away grime and detritus from his recent interactions with the civilized world. He only wished ... pushing the thought away, Riddick chided himself on getting soft. He had to stop thinking about Vaako as his lover and start considering him as an obstacle that might need to be cleared.
Putting his goggles back on, Riddick glanced across the central tube of the prison at a figure perched on the railing. Watching. The girl/woman once known as Jack but now going by Kyra. He wondered which category she was going to fit into.
"Still here?" Riddick turned and looked at the man who'd greeted him when he'd arrived. "I've been here 18 years. See this?"
Riddick glanced down to see the man twirling a silver wedding band. "I remember how gorgeous she was ... well, gorgeous in a certain light ... but ... for the death of me I cannot remember her name."
The prison PA suddenly echoed with chilling words. "FEEDING TIME!"
The man looked at Riddick with an unsettling grin. "We're here for the rest of our unnatural lives. Oh ... and whatever you do? Don't make eye contact."
Riddick said nothing as the man walked past him and then moved into safety. The guards released a trio of beasts that Riddick wasn't familiar with ... he heard someone mutter "Hellhounds" and decided that it fit. Their scaled near indestructible hides covered bodies rippling with nothing but muscle. Their forced diet was light on fat except for the times when they were allowed to dine on a prisoner. Not much fat, more gristle, but the hunt was more entertaining.
Riddick put his back to a wall and gripped the cabling that lined the prison to hold himself there. He watched Kyra face off with one of the the beasts and leap out to the ropes to escape, spiraling down to safety. Two of the unfortunately slower prisoners were quickly taken down and the third hellhound prowled, angry that it hadn't brought anything to ground. Riddick pulled his goggles off as it passed him.
When the beast faced him, he met its shimmering gaze which was so much like his own. He held the gaze until the beast tilted its head sideways and seemed to decide something about him. The man, whose lackeys called him "The Guv", looked at the tableau in amazement. Riddick patted the beast's side as if he were petting a family pit bull with no concern. The hellhound almost preened under Riddick's attention. He shoved it companionably and watched as it went back to the kennel. The hellhound paused and then slammed into a nearby set of bars, warping them as it did so. It growled and moved on.
The Guv looked at Riddick who smiled and shrugged. "It's an animal thing."
Kyra slowly knelt beside the dead body of the guard Riddick had killed using only a metal cup. She took hold of it and wrenched it free from the dead man's chest. Amused, she held it up and watched the blood congeal on the jagged edges.
"Death by teacup ... damn ... why didn't I think of that?" Kyra mused.
Riddick turned away. "I didn't come here to play 'Who's the Better Killer?'"
"But it's my favorite game," Kyra called. "Haven't you heard?"
Riddick paused, his back to the girl. "I heard you came lookin' for me."
"Is that all?" Kyra smirked. "You missed the best part. I hooked up with mercs outta Lupis Five ... said they'd take me on, teach me the trade, give me a good cut."
Riddick tensed when he heard the part about the mercs. He'd done everything to make sure that Kyra ... Jack, then ... never crossed with mercs ... never knew that life. Vaako had gone after her to try and keep that promise ... somewhere along the way he'd met up with the Necros and they'd stolen his life. He realized that Kyra was still talking.
"They slaved me out, Riddick. Do you know what that could do to you when you're that age? When you're 12?"
Riddick clamped down on his anger before it manifested against the girl. "I told you to stay in New Mecca. Did you not listen?!" Riddick tore off his goggles so that he could meet Jack's eyes. "I had mercs on my neck. I'll always have mercs on my neck. I spent five years on a frozen heap - alone - just to keep 'em away from you. Vaako ... I left him behind so they couldn't track me through you two ... so he could keep you safe ... and you go and sign up with the same wanna-be badges that wanted to cut you up and use you for bait."
Riddick's anger had burned down to disgust then to disappointment. Kyra wasn't backing down, however.
"What are you pitchin' Riddick? That you cuttin' out was a good thing? That you had my ass covered from halfway across the universe? That you had Vaako's?"
Riddick paused and closed his eyes. "You signed with mercs ..."
"There was nobody else around for me ... what's your excuse for leavin' Vaako?" Kyra said, turning away.
Riddick opened his eyes.
No excuse, beautiful. I just fucked up. Riddick sent absently.
Yes. Yes you did. Came the reply.
