AN: I know, I am horrible for not updating this fanfic in so long, and for that I am really sorry, but real life sucked all the creative energy out of me and I am just getting back into the swing of things. Thank you for all those that have reviewed, followed, and favorited this fanfic. I continually go back and read our reviews when I need to cheer myself up. We are getting towards the end of the Chronicles of Riddick arc and I am wondering, do you guys want me to continue into the Riddick timeframe? Feedback would be appreciated. Anyways, enough of me rambling, and on with the show!
Chapter 11: Stuck inside, half alive.
Song: Ballast/This is the Time by Nothing More
XXX
…Necropolis…
She rushes through the hallways, careful to not seem worried or alarmed, but still rushing all the same. Dame Vaako knows better than to waste time regarding this matter. She finds him in his war room, consulting star charts of the rest of the Helion system. She does not wait to be introduced, after all he said to come to him immediately after it was done.
"Ah Dame Vaako, I take it the purification is complete." The Lord Marshal says as he looks up briefly.
She nods with a tight smile. "Indeed, my Lord, but…"
"But?" He says as he looks up at her.
"Something…different… happened when we completed the purification."
"Everyone else…OUT!" He bellows to his commanders with control and power emanating from his every pore.. They take their leave quickly, and he moves to the center console.
"Playback feed of last purification." He commands and the console displays holographic footage.
The girl is maniacally laughing as they lower her to the ground. It takes four men just to restrain hr limbs as she flails around…laughing the entire time. "I can see…I finally see…You're a billion times itchier for pain, sorrow, and sickness!" She screams at them between fits of maniacal laughter. "But you'll see… oh you will see… Will he not come again? Will he not come again?"
A dark grimace ghosts over the Lord Marshall's face. He turns towards Dame Vaako and before she can react he wraps his hand around hr throat.
"WHAT DID YOU DO!" He screams at her while beginning to squeeze. She claws at his hands as she gasp for breath.
"We…just…purified her… as you commanded." She manages to get out before the lord Marshall releases her and she drops to the floor.
Toal and Scales hear the commotion and re-enter the room. They see Dame Vaako gasping for breath on the ground and an irate Lord Marshall.
He doesn't face them, but sharply addresses them. "I want an ascension protocol ordered immediately!"
"We still have numbers out there, Lord Marshal… sweep teams, recon ships. They would be hard-pressed to make it back…" Toal says before he is silenced with an icy glare as the Lord Marshall turns around.
"Get my armada off the ground!"
XXX
Lord Vaako watches from the entrance as the Necropolis entry stairs begin to recede into the bowels of the ship. A frown weighs heavy on his features, and he is clearly not pleased. It's then that he feels someone brush past him, and indignation spikes in his veins.
He turns to look at who for the person who would have such audacity, and begins pushing past the others rushing inside the Necropolis. It's then that he sees it…sees the flash of silver eyes, before he's lost from his sight. And instead of indignation, now all he feels is unbridled anger and fear.
He rushes to find Dame Vaako, and quickly finds her.
"I need to speak with you, now." He says hurriedly before pulling her to towards their quarters. He practically drags her inside as he slams the door behind them.
"He's here!"
"You mean on Helion?" Dame Vaako questions.
"I mean here, on this very ship!" He hisses.
"Could you be wrong? Mind fabricates fear. Could you be wrong?" Dame Vaako asks trembling as he roughly grabs her arm.
She pulls her arm away from him and scowls at him. "It's twice a mistake." She says as she paces back and fourth. "Not only your failure, but now the report of success. How do we salvage this? How? How?" She's franticly pacing now, wringing her hands together nervously.
Vaako begins to walk away from her and back towards the door. "Lord Marshall's got to be warned." He says.
Her eyes widen in shock. "You will never see the UnderVerse! He will kill us both before our due time." And Vaako pauses at hearing her words.
"I say give Riddick his chance." She says calmly. Vaako merely turns and look at her as if she is speaking madness. "If he is half of what you think, he can at least wound the Lord Marshall...and that is when you must act."
"Just to take his place? Just to keep what I kill?" Vaako questions.
"That is the Necromonger way."
"It is not enough!" He screams at her.
"Then you do it for the faith!" She hisses back. "If he has fear, he has weakness. If he has weakness, Vaako…"
Calm realization spreads over Vaako's face now. "He is unworthy of lordship."
"We do it for all Necromongers. Protect the faith. This can still be a day of days, but the timing...must be flawless."
He kisses her fiercely now, before they both exit their quarters with an understanding and common purpose between them.
"I'll bring the girl…we may be able to use her to our advantage." Dame Vaako says before they part ways.
XXX
River's POV
It isn't what she promised…the girl was not saved, she wasn't reborn… She was damned to the very depths of hell. The voices were different, it was no longer a trickle from a creek bed… it was a faucet she couldn't control. She wanted to claw them out of her brain…tear them out one by one until she was left with nothingness. She nearly did until they restrained her again.
…When did we become these sinking stones?
When did we build this broken home?…
It didn't matter that they weren't there, their minds chanted that she was one of them…that she belonged with them…and she felt as if their hands were scratching and mangling her body into millions of tiny pieces.
It was only when the viper came into her cell that the voices ceased…but they were replaced with the smell of the venom in her veins. The girl nearly vomited from the stench she brought with her.
…Holding each other like ransom notes
Dropping our hearts to grip our brother's throat…
"The Lord Marshal request an audience in the main hall. You are to wear this and come with me." She said with a sickly smile as she holds out a dress to the girl. Two guards flank the viper and wait cautiously.
But the girl know the truth. Knows of the fear behind her false smile. But it does not falter, it merely twists into a venomous look as the girl refuses to follow.
…I'm on the bottom of the ocean floor
Eye for eye, drowning just to keep the score…
"You are a Necromonger, you will do as you are told, now come!" She says as she throws the garment at her.
…Blaming the world outside ourselves
Surrounded by mirrors in a sinking shell…
The girl cannot help but let he head fall back as she laughs. "Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." She says as she directs an icy glare at the woman in front of her before dissolving into a fit of laughter again.
"I don't have time for this nonsense, drag her into the great hall if you have to." She says to the guards as she turns and exits the room.
Her actions just make the girl laugh harder. "Your funeral," she calls to the viper as she leaves.
XXX
…On Serenity…
Simon and Wash had managed to move Mal to one of the passenger dorms so he could sleep more soundly than in the infirmary. They were a few hours out from Helion Prime, just as Riddick had demanded before he took one of the shuttles and left for the 'suicide run,' as Jayne had called it.
But Mal could not sleep. All he could think about was River… and Inara.
He sat up now, wincing in pain as he moved, but he felt compelled to do something he hadn't in a long while. After a minute he managed to get his feet over the edge and rest his elbows on his knees.
"Lord…I know I ain't been on your list for some while now. And I know I said some things in the past that might not make you too fond of me, but…" The words catch in his throat, and that's when he felt the tears begin to fall.
"Let her come back…please. I'm not sure how much more heart ache I can take. Just let her come back to us."
XXX
…Back on the Necropolis…
The Lord Marshal stands over the viewfinder watching his Armada from the air. "Final protocol. Execute on my order." He says as he stares down at the world that would be his latest conquest.
But before the act can be completed, Commander Toal and two others come in to the command carrying a Lensor.
"We found this Lensor dead." They say as they set down the Lensor in front of the Lord Marshal.
"Show me his last sight." The Lord Marshal orders, and his underlings quickly set up the viewfinder to show the Lensor's last images.
There are a few flashes of a scuffle, before Ridick's silver eyes appear on the screen before it cuts out.
There is a tight frown on the Lord Marshal's face now. "Commander Toal."
"He won't escape twice."
The Lord Marshal takes the connection cable out of the Lensor now and coils it tightly in his hands while he looks down on the main hall below.
"This is not my end." He says before storming down towards his throne.
XXX
Riddick's POV
It was almost too easy, like child's play even, to slip in past the guards. The first stop I made was to blind them, and I enjoyed sinking my dagger into each of those ruttin' corpses they kept that probed into my mind. There was a satisfying mechanical hiss as they took their last breaths.
After that I used the lower passageways to get behind the throne and wait for my moment to strike. I could see him almost within arms reach, but two fuckin' guards had to come and stand in front of where I was hiding. Doesn't matter though, just two more sacks of meat for the slaughter.
I tap my dagger against the metal pillar to my right, not loud enough to draw everyone's attention, just the two guards in front of me. I can see them look at each other puzzled, before I tap the pillar again, and now they are coming to investigate. Stupid fucks. They're dead before they even realize where I am, the blade finding their sweet spots with ease.
Now all that's left is the big kill, and then I can find River and get the fuck out of here. I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins and I know it's time. I take one last deep breath before vaulting over the screen I am hiding behind and the throne he stands in front of.
I'm an arms length away from sinking the blade into the back of his head when he turns with lightning speed and throws me across the room.
Fuck…that wasn't supposed to happen I think to myself as I hear the sound of hundreds of guns being pointed at me and cocked.
XXX
"Stay your weapons!" The Lord Marshall's voice booms throughout the room now, echoing off the metallic walls. Everyone does as he commands, none making a move to kill the intruder.
"He came for me." The Lord Marshall removes one of the spears from the nearby guard and advances towards Riddick who is getting up to his feet.
"Consider this; if you fall here now, you'll never rise. But if you choose another way… the Necromonger way… you'll die in due time...and rise again in the UnderVerse." He stops a few feet away from Riddick and motions for the crowd to part. As it does, Dame Vaako comes into view. She snaps her fingers and two guards come from the hallway behind her, dragging a shrouded figure with them. They throw it like a rag doll to the feet of Riddick, who kneels and turns the figure over. It's then that Riddick sees her…sees River, and what they have done to her.
XXX
AN: Yeah, I know I am evil. But in my defense, I am struggling with the next part of this chapter/ whether or not to continue with this fanfic into the Riddick timeline/how I would do that. So I wanted to update and give you guys something, and see if any of you had feedback on my quandary. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this. Til next time ;)