Onyx's Note:: Your replies alone brighten my day! Now, I have chappy 25 for you and yes...I'm back to my old twisted self again . Also, as you may have already noticed, Riddick is much darker then his psychotic twin. I'm making it more apparent as I continue the story to show that they in fact, are different. Damien was acting, or trying his best, to be like Richard. But of course we all know no one is like our Riddick. Oh and yes...as always, Enjoy!

::Richard's Perspective::

Calm, collected, restrained. But for how long? How long can I keep this up? I respect her, more then ever after she's shown me time again that she has an amazing willpower that may very well surpass my own. Strong little wildcat. Damn…my kind of a woman. That's all this has been about from the beginning. All her. I don't place any blame on her for the shit that's happened. If anything…I blame myself. If it wasn't for my thoughtfulness that rat fucked son of a bitch would have never gotten within a hundred feet of her…alive. How in the hell was I supposed to know I had a brother? And just to make things even more interesting, a fucking identical twin. It doesn't add up.

I'm not worried about that right now. I can't. Why dwell on the bad shit when I've got everything I need right here in front of me? Doubt she knows it. Then again, she's very quick on the upkeep when it comes to everything around her. She may prove me wrong…

Well I wasn't lying when I said I'd make her a steak dinner. She's sittin' at the table, tearing into that piece of bloody meat as though she hasn't eaten in days. Funny how we share the same tastes. She actually told me she wanted it BLOODY. I'm not talkin' a little pink either. That piece of meat introduced itself to the flames, got a slight tan and parted ways. I wouldn't be surprised if it tried to run off the plate if she wasn't paying attention.

There's another thing I find a little interesting about her. The way she eats. Onyx literally hovers over her plate the way I've watched inmates do in Slam. You had to, fuckers would just take it from you like it was no sweat off their backs. And she's acting the same way…but she's never been to prison. It's also an animalistic trait, protecting your food. She must have been tortured as a kid. Probably had people around her trying to instigate how she should eat. Hmm… Makes sense about her self worth. She's not thin, and she ain't fat either. She's right in the middle, where a real woman should be. Curves in all the right places with untapped strength just beneath. And an ass…oh Jesus I haven't seen an ass like that in a very LONG time. Ok, enough talkin' about her body, it ain't helping my current frustration. Because if I let myself think about every inch of that body…well let's just say I'm going to need a series of very ice cold showers.

"I take it you're not a vegetarian." I muse with a smirk and sit down across from her at the table.

She looks up at me, as though I've just snapped her out of some thought cloud and blinks…her cheeks puffed up, filled with food. "Umm no." Onyx replies in a muffled voice and finishes off the last bite of her steak, ignoring the fact that she has a knife and fork next to her. It's actually kinda cute, how she ate her steak like a squirrel would eat a nut. Both hands close to her face as she munches on the meat… Yea, definitely adorable.

"What Riddick? What's wrong?" She asks catching my attention.

I guess I was just caught gazing at her. "Nothin's wrong baby." I purr softly as I rest my chin on my hands, elbows resting against the table's surface.

She swallows down her food and picks up her plate, rises slowly and starts toward the kitchen sink. As she walks, I can't help but let my eyes fall to that ass. It's swaying and moving in such a way my pants are suddenly becoming very restrictive. I let out a grunt and while her back is turned I make the proper adjustments. Fuckin' penis… Sometimes I wonder if it's just going to detach and attack her seeing as it's been a long time since it's seen any kind of attention.

This situation is a major test for me. For one, I need to get laid and I've got this smokin' hottie on board ship with me. Secondly, I've gotta keep my horny ass in check. I can't overstep any boundaries. As much as it fucking kills me, I've got to keep my dick in my pants. Being around her is bad enough, but now her hormones are fluctuating. I can smell it. She's getting close to her menstrual cycle and with all those pheromones emitting off her body it's going to take more then sheer will to keep me from fully fucking that beast out of her.

It takes a lot for me to start to feel twitchy… I just hope she doesn't make it harder for me.

::Her Perspective::

He's watching me, I can feel it. I can't believe I just devoured that steak…without utensils. I just ripped it apart! I don't think anything has ever tasted that good before. Maybe it's my body, needing meat, protein. And no, not liquid protein. I can't think about that. I can't think about what it'll be like when he's fully naked, a certain gleam in his eye and a twitch in his erect cock… Oh Gods I need to stop it! Why the hell…oh. Heh. I'm hormonal.

Wash the plate Onyx. See? Running water, soap, clean plate. Now rinse the plate. Turn water off. Set plate down to dry. Simple. Nothing complicated about that. Nothing involving sex. Nope… Nothing about water to remind me of sex. Nothing about wet, hot bronze skin rippling with muscles, pulsing, hot, throbbing…thick.

"Damn IT!" I yell out in frustration and look around, realizing I just blurted that out with Riddick watching me. God damn it…

"Everything ok kitten?" Riddick asks as he stands up, I can hear him moving quietly across the deck toward me.

No, bad idea big guy. Don't get close to me. My hormones will attack you. "I'm fine." I lie in a pleasant tone and keep myself facing away from him. I can't look at him. Not when he's still shirtless…not when all of those muscles under a landscape of gorgeous skin is just there for me to tear my nails across… Shit Onyx Stop It!!

Oh shit he's behind me! Why does he have to be behind me? Why can I feel his energy? God damn it why is he's so fucking sexy?? This is beyond torture… "You sure everything's ok?" He says in the richest of voices, it slithers through me, intoxicates my senses, sends tendrils of excitement throughout my spine. Making this ten times harder then it already is. "Onyx?" His hands are suddenly cupping my upper arms, his breath is just close enough to where I can feel it gliding across the back of my neck as though my flesh is being licked by the seducing flames of hell itself.

"I'm five by five Riddick." I say quickly, perhaps too quickly and try to maneuver myself away from him, my eyes still focused on anything NON-Riddick at the moment.

Amazingly he lets me slip away, but knowing how that predatory brain works he's going to make it a point to find out why I'm acting so odd. And sure enough, as I get to the coffee maker, which has fresh coffee in it, I hear his voice crash over me in a commanding tone that's laced with a hint of animalistic desire.

"You're full of shit Onyx. Something is bothering you and you know you can't keep it from me."

Nonchalantly I fill my cup, add the requirements to soften the strength of the potent caffeine rich liquid and take a well deserved gulp. It hits my stomach in a welcomed wave of heat. I let out a sigh and set the cup on the counter, my hands cupping its smooth surface as the fingers of my right hand clutch the handle. My back still facing him I finally say, "sometimes I have thoughts, end up barking and I'm fine." I reply in a matter of fact tone and bring the cup to my lips. Before I take another drink I add. "I'm just PMSing Riddick. And that alone gives me the excuse to act weird."

He gets it, but he won't let it go. For that matter, does he ever let up? Is it his mission in life to drive me to a breaking point? Does he have any idea how dangerous Normal women are when they're PMSing? And since I'm not like normal women…he really does have a death wish.

"Again, bullshit excuse." He grumbles dryly and walks up behind me, invading my little bubble of personal space. At this point, the bubble I currently call my web of protection, looks like it's been chewed up and spit out by a Tyrannosaurus Rex. He's not going to pop it, it's just going to deflate. "I understand the whole keeping yourself guarded, but perhaps letting me in isn't a bad idea. Especially if you want to build up trust between us, you're going to have to let me in at some point. I'm a Man baby, not a mind reader. Do me a favor and don't play the typical female card, expecting me to know what's wrong when you keep shutting me out."

"I'm not trying to push you away big guy."

His voice is closer, lower, writhing with small trickles of anger in every word. "Then turn around, look me in the eyes and fucking talk to me."

"I can't look at you right now." I say softly and hope this doesn't piss him off more.

"Why not?" He retorts with the heat of his breath washing over my back, causing the fine hairs along my spine to tickle and stand in unison. "I know I'm ugly, but I'm not that hideous."

My body spins, arms held tightly against my chest as I look him square in the eyes. "You are in no way hideous Richard. I NEVER want to hear you talk badly about yourself like that again, you hear me?" The anger in my voice and the power behind it shocks even me…

He eyes me carefully, observing my body posture and smirks. "Damn, you moved really fast. If I had known you'd react so quickly I would have made fun of myself awhile ago."

I narrow my eyes and drop my hands to my sides. "You asshole." I hiss between clenched teeth, angry at the fact that he just baited me into getting my attention. "You're a real piece of work you know that?" I snap under my breath, turn my back to him and pick up my coffee. As I bring it to my lips to take another drink his face is suddenly at the left side of my neck, freezing me in place.

"Trying to block me out won't work. You can keep up your walls for as long as you think you can, because baby… As much as I love a good challenge, I'll find a way through. I always do. I'll make it my mission to pierce through that armor of yours, and find your weakness." His voice trails off as his head moves to the right side of my neck, his voice bleeding through my system like a venomous snake. "I'll dig so deep you'll have no other choice then to just give in. To submit to me. Come on princess, you know you want to…"

"Your little mind fuck isn't going to work on me Riddick." I snap back, cutting him off with a voice as calm as ice. "In fact, you can say whatever you want to try and get a rise out of me. But what you don't seem to get through your thick fucking scull is that I've got a lot of patience, and a lot of control." I take down the rest of my coffee, set the cup down on the counter and turn my body so that I'm facing him. "So go ahead, bait me. Try and piss me off. It won't work. In fact, it's just annoying."

"If I'm just annoying then why are you getting angry?" He says in a cocky growl and has his face right in front of mine. "You stink of it."

I don't flinch, I remain calm. What he doesn't seem to understand, is that when I am truly angry, I become very quiet. As far back as I can remember, people have always told me to avoid people who were quiet when they were angry because they were dangerous. Heh…little did they know… They were warning the wrong person.

"How much time until we hit the wormhole?" I ask blatantly, cutting off the entire subject altogether as if his opinions mean jack shit to me.

Riddick studies my face, the solemn expression looking back at him, restrained, cold. He seems to be calculating, unmoving as he watches me. He knows there are things about me no one has ever seen. Things that may very backfire on him if he gets too careless. I can almost sense him understanding that pushing me any further will have severe consequences. I also sense his mind trying to probe me, trying to get a glimpse of what's going on behind my guarded gaze. He can sense me, sensing him. There's a flicker of understanding in our locked vision when we suddenly share a single thought.

Let it be…for now.

"Last I checked, we have about two days and fourteen hours until we reach the area of the rip." Riddick says and doesn't stand back, instead he remains right in front of me, his body challenging me. I can smell it suddenly. Thick, exotic, stinging the back of my throat almost causing my mouth to go dry. It's a hot, humid, musky scent that triggers different parts of my body in reaction.

Oh fucking great…this is just great.

I suck in a short breath, trying to play off the fact that I was just sniffing the air like an animal. But I can taste it, lingering over my tongue like honey. His body is sending off chemicals, enticing my senses, awakening my internal workings on a deep, primitive level. I shouldn't be able to smell it on him, I should just be oblivious like everyone else. But no, of course not. The gods made a point to make me different. More animal then human, more in touch with my wild side… Making me predatory, instinctive, driven by primal needs. More like Him. If I thought PMS was hard enough before, this just makes it a whole lot worse. Evil fucking primal instinct trying to get us to breed…fucking nature.

"Good." I say finally as my voice betrays me. I wanted to seem calm just now, but no, instead my voice slipped away from me in a seductive purr. I clear my throat and give him a look. "Excuse me Riddick, I need to get another cup."

Unmoving, hard as stone, staring at me with those eyes that will haunt me until the end of time. I want to push him away, shove him hard in the chest, get him away from me. I don't want to be this close to him, not right now. Definitely not a good idea at the moment. The more space between us, the less I breathe him in, the less my hormones will elevate. Which will make it less likely that something will happen between us. No touchy, bad touchy. Bad sexual induced insanity.

I gently, carefully, press against him with my right shoulder as I turn on the ball of my foot, trying to tell him in a very nice, pleasant manner that I want to move passed him. He doesn't budge, but lets me squeeze passed him so I can have my space. Jesus I don't know what goes through that head of his, sometimes I wonder if he ever stops thinking. I know he's getting…excited. His posture is different, hell even his usually completely controlled breathing has changed, even if it's just slightly, it's become a little more intense. It's the same way a male Jaguar gets when he smells a female. His breathing changes, his mouth opens, panting, gets a shimmer of hunger in his eyes. Yea…he's got that aura about him right now. I can't see aura's like some people, but I can feel it. And if it had a color, I'd bet it's a blinding emerald green right about now.

This is too fucking much. He's too damned quiet. It's bugging me. I have to say something before my brain implodes. "Two days isn't bad. But what should I expect when we do hit the wormhole?" I ask while getting another cup of coffee, keeping my eyes away from him. "As in, the shakes, tremors, my brain popping?"

He growls, a deep vibrating sound that's literally saturated with sex. "It's the same feeling as being dropped. You'll experience weightlessness, a sense of distortion, and by the time you realize this is happening we'll be on the other side. Takes about ten seconds altogether."

Hearing this, a strange thought enters the web of my brain and causes the very blood within my veins to run cold. I take in an unsteady breath, cup in hand and turn toward him. "What if, theoretically speaking… We're not spit out right where you left? I don't know much about wormholes, but from what I've gathered from movies and science journals is that wormholes are random occurrences… What if we get dropped into another universe, say a different dimension?"

He considers this as a thoughtful crease forms above his brow. "It's a probability, but I highly doubt it."

"Forgive me if I'm wrong, but what if we do end up somewhere else? Doesn't that probability alone make you uneasy?" I ask and feel my instincts kicking into high gear. I have a bad feeling…and with bad feelings, come bad outcomes. Fucking spot on intuition. "There are millions of possible outcomes and I'm not too keen on the thought of being dropped off in what could possibly be some sort of hell dimension."

Riddick quirks an inquisitive brow at my statement. "You watch too many movies babe. I honestly doubt that we'll be thrown into a hell dimension." He pauses and grows a more intense look to his eyes, as if he senses something's off about me. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

I sigh and just fess up, this is creeping me out too fucking much. "I've got a bad feeling Riddick. A really bad feeling that we're not going to end up in familiar territory."

A veil of concern shrouds his face as he walks up to me and looks deeply into my eyes. "How good is your intuition from one to ten."

I swallow the terror down with a gulp of coffee and bite my bottom lip. "It's an eleven and what terrifies me…" I trail off, close my eyes, take a very deep needed breath and look back into his gaze. "…it's Never wrong."

-End Chapter Twenty-Five-