They had somehow escaped.
Riddick was irritated with himself that he couldn't seem to remember how. They had left him by one of those rings again, giving him the coordinates to get back to New Mecca.
But something wasn't right.
He looked around the dead planet once more, warning alarms screaming in his head, but found nothing out of the ordinary. Turning to the light haired man beside him, he nodded. The man smiled. "Ready to go home?"
Riddick frowned. "Not my home."
The man's smile faltered a bit, and he shifted his feet. "Well nuances aside, shall we proceed?"
Riddick nodded, taking a deep breath.
No smell.
I can smell anyone. He's got nothing. Not even the smell of life itself.
As realization came, the imagery around him faded into an uneven blue and white background. All around him was swirling, soothing blue with wisps of white, smoke like designs shifting and dancing endlessly.
The light haired man, stood before him, his face no longer amiable. It wasn't long before the pieces were put together.
The thing can read my mind. Or he tried. That's new.
The machine was no longer broken in his head, but looked exactly as a human would. It stared at Riddick for a long time, before relaxing slightly.
"Your ability to resist is impressive," it said evenly.
Riddick gave a predatory smile. "You have no idea."
"Here."
Todd's voice was almost inaudible, and nobody but Ronon noticed. The wraith held the man's blaster out to him as far as he could without being seen. Ronon grabbed the weapon and slid it under his coat expertly, while the rest of the room's occupants stared at the two in the middle of the floor.
Teyla shifted her weight, and Ronon caught the look in her eye; it was the same fear he shared. Would this man know of the planet Earth, which Sheppard and McKay had desperately been trying to hide?
Suddenly, everything began to move.
"Where am I?"
The machine took a moment before answering. "In your own mind. In the place where your memories are stored." He walked a few feet, touching one of the cloud-like formations. Instantly Riddick was five years old once more, cowering under the heavy hand of his foster parent, as she beat him with anything she could lay hands on.
"How many damn times do I have to tell you? Don't spill your goddamn milk!" she screeched, at this point holding a rolling pin as a weapon.
The memory stopped as suddenly as it had begun, leaving Riddick's heart and mind racing. His expression never faltered, and he tilted his head.
"So we are in my mind, right?"
The machine looked slightly exasperated. "Yes, we are in your mind."
Riddick smirked. "That means we play by my rules."
And without warning, he jumped at the replicator.
The machine seemed to fry itself before everyone's eyes, face twisting into a horrific grimace before it shot backwards, yanking its hand from Riddick's forehead and falling to the ground. Convulsions rocked its body for a moment, and then it lay still.
Teyla watched as everything moved forward in slow motion. Ronon had pulled out his gun and was shooting as many of the wraith as he could. Todd had pulled out his own stunner, and was firing alongside of Ronon. Soon they stood alone in the room, the wraith Queen vanished from sight, and Riddick still standing in a daze.
Ronon didn't wait for an invitation. He raised his blaster and shot Riddick straight in the chest.