For a second, he contemplated how he would respond. If he hadn't of had his guard up, he would have raised an eyebrow. It seemed to him that this new girl was almost completely at ease around him. Either she could read minds, or she was completely insane. He just looked at her, and shook his head.

"Across the hall," He said, looking down at her. She smiled widely again, and walked out of the kitchen, a bounce in her step.

Riddick had no idea why this girl felt so unafraid around him. Maybe she hadn't heard of him. He put his mug in the sink, and continued to think about the girl with no name. Well, she had to have one, she just hadn't told him. She was confusing.

By studying her body, he had concluded that she was almost 21, only a few years younger than him. He rubbed his stubbly face in his hands, reminding him that he, too, needed to shower.

Holy shit, she was showering across the hall and they didn't know each other's names. Holy shit, all over again.

Adasta looked at the shower happily. She loved the voice activated ones; they were very functional and amazing.

"Water, warm," She said loudly, and stripped down, and looked at her stab wound and stitches. She found a pair of small scissors and peeled the butterfly bandages off, and cut the stitches, and pulled on them gently, wincing from the pain as they slid through the scabbing flesh.

When they were out, she pressed her palm against the wound, closing her eyes. She felt her skin fusing together, and new flesh being born. She shivered as new nerves that had been severed were coming back together again. After she was done, all that remained was a thin scar. She found a bottle of shampoo and a bar of soap and went to work on her body, scrubbing furiously at the dirt, grime, and blood that was caked on her skin. She stepped out once, trying to find a razor, and almost slipped on the floor. Luckily, she caught herself on the sink before she fell. She found the razor and shaved her legs and armpits carefully, avoiding nicks.

When she was done, she felt squeaky clean, literally. Adasta wrapped a big towel around her body and walked back to her new room. After she rummaged around, she found a black tank top and some cargo pants. They were too big for her, but they would have to do.

She walked back to the kitchen, on the lookout for the big man once again. Only this time, she was anxious to find him. She returned to the kitchen, and searched high and low for something to eat, but didn't find anything. Puzzled, she sat on a chair.

"Hungry?" Riddick said, walking into the kitchen silently. Adasta brightened considerably when he came in. That surprised him to no end, especially when he noticed she was wearing his old clothes. Oh well.

"What's your name?" She asked, looking at him interestedly. He raised his eyebrows skeptically.

"Richard," He said. Last names would come later. Right now, Richard would be just fine. Adasta frowned.

"You are not a 'Richard'," She stated pointedly. "I will call you Rick." She folded her hands in her lap and smiled at him. "What are your ties?" Adasta asked.

"Ties?" Riddick replied, a bit confused.

"Yes, ties," Adasta said, looking at him like he was stupid. "Your family? Like," She said, holding her hand to her chest, "I am Adasta Morgause, daughter of Braun and Gracarda, Keeper of the Earth Spirit, Realm of the Northern Moon and Stars." She looked pleased with herself.

"Earth Spirit?" Riddick asked again. This was interesting.

"Duh!" She exclaimed. "I am a earth nymph." Once again, she looked incredibly pleased with her being.

"Will Adasta work?" He said.

"Yes." She smiled again. "Rick?" She asked, as he was getting ready to leave.

"Yeah?" He grumbled.

"Do you have food?"

He groaned and walked back over to her. Sensing that she might have done something wrong, Adasta said shamefully: "I looked all over, but you had none, so"

"It's a do-it-yourself thing," Riddick said, walking over and showing her the food generator. "Whatever you want, just say it and it'll make it."

Adasta's face lit up like a thousand stars, and she started talking all at once, while Riddick thought of ways to make her shut up. Most of them were vulgar and crude, but oh well, that's a regular man.

Eventually, she made up her mind to have some sort of a jello/pudding thing that looked oddly like vomit. Riddick grimaced as she devoured it.

"Want some?" She asked with her mouth full. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"No, thanks," He responded quickly. "Eating puke's not my thing." He said sarcastically.

"No! Really," Adasta persisted. "It's really scrumptious." She scooped up some and held it to him. Trying to be courteous, he took the spoon and put the concoction in his mouth.

He was surprised at how good it tasted. The taste reminded him of orange, guava, a bit of vanilla, and fruity gin all mixed together, then solidified.

"What is this stuff?" He asked, sitting across from her and taking another spoonful.

"Havienga," Adasta answered. "It's a dish served only at Representations," was her explanation.

"It's delicious," He said, getting up and going over to the food generator. "Dish, Havienga," he said loudly, and was answered by the whirring and churning of the machine as it produced it. Riddick grabbed a spoon and sat down at the table again.

"How's your, uh, wound doing?" He asked between mouthfuls. She smiled brightly and stood up, pulling her shirt up. He dropped the spoon, he was so surprised.

Her wound was gone, she had healed it in the shower, she explained.

"I can heal myself at will," She said, sitting back down. "I can only die from a truly mortal wound," Adasta said, looking at him. "Such as, decapitation or stabbing in my heart."

He looked her like she was insane. "You are aware that I could leap across this table and kill you now, right?" He asked, an edge to his voice. Now it was time to test this girl.

"Of course," Came her quick reply. "I am fully aware of that fact." She studied his face intently. "But, you saved my life and brought me here on your own free will. If you had meant to kill me, you would have taken the first opportunity to do so."

This chick was smart. "What if I mean to torture you?" he commented darkly.

"You would have done so already." She looked at him, and he looked at her through his goggles. She had the perfect mind for a killer, but she chose not to use it. That showed a great sense of self-control. He looked at her again. Her eyes were saying many different things; he knew she was honest, and that a tiny, delicate bond of trust for him was being born. He could tell that her mind was working equations now, as well: shipRiddick, Riddick (to her, right now)protection. He really didn't like that. She reminded him of Jack. I need to go see her, he thought sullenly, remembering his promise to visit her and Imam.

They finished off their Havienga quickly, and Adasta scurried off to do some more exploring. Riddick expected more plants to be around before she was done.

Adasta made her way around, finding the dojo. She went in quietly, inspecting the room happily. There were several weight-lifting equipment things, and two punching bags in the corner. Mats were on the floor, and she suspected that they were used for some sort of wrestling. Extreme physical contact, excluding lovemaking, was forbidden on H'Karun, and was punished by lashes with metal-tipped bullwhips. She shuddered.

She left the dojo and walked around a bit, putting various plants here and there, livening the place up a bit. She intended to stay here for a bit, till she found a new home. Sure as hell wasn't going back to H'Karun. Gracarda and Braun would miss her, but Adasta knew that Gracarda was laden with child, so this would be best for them. She sighed, and walked through another door, ignoring the inscription.

She had reached the bridge.

Her eyes widened in amazement as she walked slowly to the huge windshield. Stars, hundreds of millions of glimmering, beautiful stars dotted the horizon. They twinkled like polished crystals in the sky, or like the metallic dustings of a butterfly's wings. Never before in her life had Adasta seen such a sight as this. She felt like a cosmos angel, being around such heaven-like beauty. A nebula burned over to the right, hues of purple and blue blending together in the center and spinning slightly. Riddick rudely interrupted her thoughts, once again.

"Never been out in space?" He asked, standing beside her.

"No," She said quietly. "Women are forbidden to travel on H'Karun," Sadness blanketed her voice. "Women are forbidden everything there,"

"So I take it that you don't want to go back there, huh?" He asked her. Adasta looked at him gratefully.

"For a convict, Mr. Riddick," She said with a smile, "You are actually quite decent."

Anger flooded through him, and he grabbed her shoulders painfully and threw her against the wall.

"When did you figure that out!" He yelled at her, his arm under her chin, cutting off her air.

"Since I saw you," She managed to croak. "I may be female, but I'm not stupid," And with that, her entire skin sprouted rose thorns, digging into Riddick's arm painfully. His eyes narrowed at her, but he did not flinch. "Let me go," she ordered.

"No," He retorted, "Not till you tell me everything about you and who might be after me," The rose thorns retreated back into her skin, but were replaced by locust thorns, and they came out very slowly, puncturing skin like needles.

"Let me down and I will," She yelled. He released her, and rubbed his arm. She was definitely a problem. "I was the only one who knew you there," She said, looking at his bleeding arm sympathetically. "Here," She said, and reached out to him. Her hand grabbed his bicep gently, and she rubbed her thumb over a particularly nasty puncture. Her eyes closed, and he felt magic pumping out of her and soothing his wounds, healing them. "No one is after you from H'Karun," She said. She sat down on the floor, rubbing her throat with her hand.

He felt no regret for lashing out at her. She had provoked it herself. He simply looked at her and then walked out and went to the dojo, where he spent most of his time anyway.

Adasta sat for a few moments, just thinking. Mainly she thought of where to live. She had heard much about Fuliton; it was a new planet that had very promising prospects. Fuliton was much like H'Karun geographically, but the government was the opposite; it was Adasta's dream come true. She sighed and looked back out at empty space. Adasta had known that she had provoked him. She had done it on purpose, to draw him out, to see what he was capable of. Now she knew that he could kill her if she made him angry enough. Once again, she sighed. Oh well. At least she had a couple thousand credits in the Intergalaxy Bank waiting for her.

He was beating on the punching bag when Adasta walked in.

"What do you want?" he asked meanly, slamming the bag with a huge fist. The punching bag swayed and bounced on its springs, threatening to crash to the floor. She smiled.

"Just lookin' around," She replied silkily.

"Go look somewhere else," Riddick snapped.

"Well well well," Adasta said curtly. "Are we in a bad mood now because you couldn't outfox a little girl?" She smiled innocently, but underneath that smile lay a beast not unlike Riddick's, one that hungered for brutality, pain, and death.

It was then that he snapped. He thrust his arm out, catching her midsection and throwing her across the room, slamming her into a wall.

Her breath caught in her throat as her bones creaked in her joints. She tumbled to the floor in a heap, but stood quickly. Her once-calm amber eyes now shot flames, and her doll-like face was contorted in fury, but her voice came out calm and collected:

"I am just as dangerous as you are." Was her statement.

He looked at her like she was insane. Shaking his head, he turned back to the punching bag and went at it. She turned and walked out of the room as silently as she had came in, casting one last look at him over her shoulder.

The next three weeks went by without much trouble. Riddick and Adasta got to know each other a little more, and there were a few more incidents where one of them got thrown around. Eventually, they got whatever the squabble was about got straightened out.

On the first day of the fourth week, Riddick was working on a loose bolt in the cargo hold when Adasta came in.

"Whatcha doin'?" She asked through a mouthful of green apple.

"Fixin' this goddamned rusty bolt," He grunted, pulling on the wrench. "Fuck it!" he swore, hitting the wrench. The bolt fell loose, releasing the beam. The huge chunk of iron fell quickly, catching Riddick's upper arm and throwing him across the hold.

Adasta panicked. Even though they had had their disagreements, they were working on becoming friends.

She ran up to him, releasing the apple and dropping beside his arm.

Blood was pumping quickly out of it, he was unconscious, and a bone was sticking out. Great. Just great. She fumbled with her hands, knowing that if she didn't get him to the med bay in a hurry, he was going to die.

Her only option was setting the bone, then getting him healed and up to the bay. Adasta's hands grasped his lower and upper arm, and, gently, she put them in their rightful places, and healed him. Using her vines, she made a hammock out of them and pulled Riddick up to the med bay and gave him some pain pills and let him rest.

She got some Havienga (which was now his favorite food) and set it on the table beside him, along with a cup of black coffee. Then, it was back to the bridge for her.

He had taught her the basics of piloting, so (just in case) she knew how to fly. This was one of those aforementioned situations.

She strapped herself in and checked all of the necessary things, such as radar, fuel, and whatnot. When she checked auto-pilot, she was surprised. They were going to pass Fuliton. This was her chance to start a new life. Happiness eddied through her, but a blinking blip on the radar ended it quickly.

"Event Horizon, you are in prohibited space. We are docking and coming aboard. Over." Panic filled her. They were coming? Aboard! That was horrible. She got on the computers and checked out the ships stats.

It was a fuckin' Merc ship. They had found them, now they would kill her and him. Great. She walked to the boarding area just as they came in.

"Hey, babe," One said. He had greasy blonde hair and stubble on his face. He eyed her hungrily.

"Get bent, asshole." She replied quickly. She hoped her voice was as confident as she was scared.

"We checked your ship, and it read that a convict was here," The Merc captain said. "We are going to search your ship." He looked at her.

"Like hell you are," Adasta blurted. One of the men came up and slapped her brutally across the face.

"You will not speak that way to our captain, wench!" He yelled. She stood back up, tasting blood on her lip. She smiled evilly. Time to play, bitch, she thought. She knew her demon was coming out, and she welcomed it with open arms.

Venom, it seemed, was filling her veins. A line from a ancient play from Shakespeare, whispered in her mind: …Make thick my blood, and stop up the access and passages to remorse, so that no compunctions or visitings of nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between the effect and it… It was here that Adasta closed her eyes to her attackers, putting on the front of submission. She felt the sacred anger and hatred welling up inside her, taking over her senses until the only feeling left was the desire for death. She wanted to feel their blood run over her hands, she wanted to beat them, make them die. She wanted to leap out at them, and scratch out their eyes with her fingernails, and laugh as they wandered blindly around. They were now her new playthings, and, as the spirit law demanded, she must satisfy her demon.

And that is what she did.

Her eyes opened slowly, as she stared at them. They gaped at her entirely black eyes, which held neither pupils nor irises- even the whites where black. She stared at them all in turn, sizing them up. She smiled gaily at them, her mind thinking random thoughts.

She went for the one that hit her first. Sharpened roots sprung out of her hands, impaling the unsuspecting man through his stomach, then nailing him to the wall. He stared at the root in his gut dumbly, as if he were dreaming. When his lifeblood began dripping from the corners of his mouth, Adasta laughed. A low, menacing, growl of a laugh that scared the rest of the crew shitless. She smiled innocently at them as their crewmate died, pinned against the wall.

She went for them all while they were still in shock. She made dirt materialize, then pile on them in tons, crushing them. Boulders came on top of that, ending any possible survivors. Then, as soon as she had made them appear, they were gone, and only left behind five dead men. They were smooshed, their entrails were strewn about the areas around them. She would have liked killing them slower, but hey.

Adasta cleaned up her mess, and ejected the bodies into space where they would lie for eternity, as long no one found them.

"That was one hell of a show," Riddick said, stepping out of the shadows. That seemed to be his specialty. "Didn't know you had it in ya,"

"Actually," She corrected him. "I do." Then, she felt like having fun with him. "Hit me," She demanded. He raised his eyebrows at her.

"Why the fuck would I do that?" he asked sarcastically.

She pouted. "Hit me right in the nose," She said, standing up to her tallest extent.

"No," He said, shaking his head at her.

"Is big bad to scared to hit a girl?" She taunted, laughing at him. "Are you too scared of Adasta to throw a punch, Dick?" She knew how to make him mad. Hell, she did it every other day. When he did start throwing punches, she bobbed and weaved away from them, dodging them with ease. On the fifth one, however, she let it connect cleanly with her nose.

Ruby red blood gushed out of a broken nose, pain pounding through her like flashes of lightning. She smiled then, looking at Riddick with a gleam in her eyes. They faded to black, but instead of stopping her demon from fully taking over, she let it go, losing herself in the pleasure of pure malice and wrath. She spun in a circle, arms out wide, head tilted back, smiling like there was no tomorrow. The familiar madness overtook her, swinging her upward towards a huge black onyx pool. Her heart clenched and unclenched, then another uplifting feeling vibrated through her, a feeling of freedom tethered to hate. She lost herself in the moment, letting her feelings bring her to the onyx pool. Her eyes opened for a split second, so she could get her bearings straight on where Riddick was. Things that she had thought when she was a child echoed in her mind.

Sometimes I hear things…

Things that aren't there…

They play games inside my mind…

Then I get so mad for no reason…

I just want to kill those around me…

Why is that, Mommy?

She tumbled in a heap to the floor. To Riddick, she looked like she had gone unconscious. He walked to stand beside her, then knelt to check her pulse.

Adasta felt his fingers on her neck, and smiled evilly. The familiar voice of the K'Varuun spoke inside her mind.

Time to play games, bitch.

Riddick jerked his hand back as he felt Adasta's neck muscles move as she smiled. She stood up slowly, eyes to the floor.

"Adasta?" Riddick said, looking at her with concern. "Are you okay?"

She smiled again, bringing her head up slowly, gazing at him.

Holy shit. He thought. Her eyes, her fuckin' eyes are black! He looked at her, amazed. Not everyday did you see someone like this.

"Hello, Riddick," She said, her voice different from normal. It had a smooth, silky quality to it that only he could notice. Her voice was tainted with evil. "I've wanted to get out and talk to you for so long." He just looked at her, showing no emotion. He could smell her evil pouring off of her, and a different scent, one of magic, one of death. Whoa.

"Adasta?" he asked quietly.

She laughed at him, her black eyes twinkling. "I am no Adasta. I am K'Varuun, and you will fear me."

Now it was his turn to laugh at her. "Listen, Adasta, I know all of your old games. You can't beat me if you tried."

"Let us play new ones, then," She said, laying on the floor like she was going to do a push-up. He backed away from her a few feet, letting her get herself get ready.

What she did next amazed him.

Adasta threw her body upward, spinning so she was on her back, then pushed upward again, launching herself to the ceiling. She caught it with ease, her nails embedding themselves in the metal of the hull. She crawled, upside down, to him, and then dropped to the floor, smiling gaily at him. She stared at the floor around him, and a hissing sound came to his ears, along with a stifling heat.

The floor around him had turned to lava. He was left standing on a tiny island, just big enough for his feet and balance.

"Not so big and bad now, are we, Dick?" She taunted at him, her voice low and menacing.

"You wait till I get over there," he said darkly. "I'll wipe that smirk off your face,"

"I'll let you try, she said, and the lava turned to steel again.

He charged her ferociously, but she dodged quickly. All of his swings met empty air, and she giggled like a child with a new toy. After a few more swings, she blew air at him that turned to burning sand. He yelled and rubbed his eyes, ceasing his assault on her.

Her vines grabbed Riddick's waist, lifting him up in the air, then flinging him across the room brutally. Adasta grabbed him again, and smashed him against the floor, just like a child with a rag doll.

She let him go, and he stood shakily.

"Do you like my games?" She asked with an innocent smile on her face.

"The most dangerous mask of all is the mask of innocence," He muttered at her. "But your mask is particularly ugly."

"Bastard!" She howled in fury. "You WILL regret that!" The room began vibrating and shaking, various items falling off of shelves and smashing on the floor. Her eyes burned a fiery red, and steam seeped from her pores. She smashed her hands together, and a sonic clap bellowed in the room.

Riddick stood there, watching her. He knew he had pissed her off, but just to see what she was capable of. He had fucked up big-time.

Adasta's hands separated slowly, a glowing substance between them. It exploded into a ball of fire and napalm, and then she sent it flying at Riddick. He dodged just in time, and then saw her fall. The destruction stopped, and everything was quiet. Adasta lay still on the floor, her spiritual energy drained.

He ached all over from being batted around, but still walked over and picked her up, carrying her to his old room and laying her on the bed. Adasta's skin was hot from the temporary fire elements. As he layed her down, her eyes opened, and she looked at him.

"What all did she do?" Adasta asked, addressing her demon.

"Lots," Riddick said gruffly. He wasn't ever going to piss her off again. "I now know what it feels like to be a cat toy." Adasta smiled again, her old smile, the one he was used to seeing. Her unique scent was back, as mischievous and curious as ever.

"I will tell you after I rest." She said, closing her eyes and relaxing. He pulled the blanket around her, then left.

A few hours later, he sensed something that made his hair stand on end. It was like a surge of power, and it was coming from Adasta.

He ran to her room, expecting the worst. Maybe she had blown herself up, maybe mercs were on board… maybe anything!

When he got there, he was amazed. Flowers and plants were growing everywhere, climbing up the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. Thick grasses blanketed the floor, and daisies were popping up in various places. It was beautiful. He realized that her energy was rebooting itself, like electricity does after a storm. He calmed himself down, and walked over to her bedside, his boots sinking in the new carpeting.

Her hand reached out, grabbing his wrist, almost crushing it.