Thanks to:

TotallyRiddickObsessed – you guilt tripped me. I probably won't update for at least two/three days now. But, the battle scene. Hope you approve.

Chapter XXXVII: An Animal's Masterpiece of Art

Liege didn't need to see if Kell was following her as she moved across the concrete dock floor with a cat-like grace, her eyes glinting with pre-battle arousal. Her ears twitched slightly and she heard Kell's boots stop behind her. Blinking, she inhaled deeply and smelled Riddick, Jack, Rick, Falc and the unmistakable incense-permeated scent of Khan. That and a few others, filling Liege with a sudden feeling of home.

'Loyal fighters Khan was connected to.' She thought, crouching and motioning Kell to do the same. Feeling his body heat in the same patterns as hers, she walked a few steps forward, looking more animalistic than usual.

Liege whistled quietly, waiting for Jack to return it. She knew Jack was there, but she needed confirmation to seek her out. Whistling again, she started to feel edgy. Riddick probably thought it was a trap so he wouldn't let Jack reply.

"For fuckin' chroists sake, Jack, I fuckin' know yer there 'n I also can tell ye this ain't a trap." Liege suddenly yelled across the docking bay, shocking everyone.

Standing up, she began to walk straight towards where they were hiding. She immediately sensed the tense feelings from the area, especially from Rick and Falc.

"Ah, screw it." Jack said and tore away from Riddick's grip and ran out to greet Liege and the man she was with.

Riddick clenched his jaw; he just had an instinctive feeling that this wasn't safe. Something bad was going to happen and he didn't know how and it was this that completely unnerved him. How could he protect Jack if he didn't know what to defend her from?

"Jack!" Liege exclaimed, drawing her friend into a tight embrace, glad to be near her again. They held each other for a few seconds before Liege broke away and turned to introduce Kell. Out of the corner of her eye she barely saw the dark figure dart from the hull.

Liege felt time freeze as the figure sharply rapped his machine gun on the unloading main door of the ship. She knew there was a readied group of armed men, waiting to capture her and Jack.

As soon as she heard the first shot from Kell, she snapped and savagely shoved Jack back towards the shadowy hiding spot, where Riddick caught her. Taking out her hand guns she wasted no time in backing Kell and opening fire on the men jumping down from the boarding plank that wasn't even touching the ground yet.

She barely noticed the presence of Riddick, who swept past them, wanting to directly take out the armed men. Breathing she glanced upwards to see Rick and Falc had taken elevated positions on a nearby ship and were easily knocking off attackers.

As the fight continued, Riddick had trouble watching Jack, who flitted like a hummingbird among the heavily muscled attackers, taking each out with surprising efficiency.

The picture painted was created in mediums of blood, pain and death. Scarlet blood arcs decorated the darkening orange sky as Jack and Riddick moved effortlessly through the attackers. Cries of hate were echoes of once strong war cries that both sides sang before the life liquid began to spill.

Riddick paid no notice to the blood that ran in small rivulets down his muscled body, gathering briefly in small pool created by his collar bone, only to splash out as he emotionlessly took his next victim. It was no adrenaline or body-made energy that brought out the animal in Riddick this time. It was only the pure and raw need to fight on behalf of his mate and protect her. Yet he knew Jack was watched by Liege and others and that she could take care of herself. Regardless, she was at his side and the beast clawed its way through him and slipped through his shivs, showing the animalistic power that flowed in him. Riddick's blades became the talons of the beast and his body the embodiment of a seemingly ancient primal force.

Jack was not simply a smaller form of this. She was a hunter, her body well versed in taking lives quickly of any form of existence. It wouldn't seem strange that if she were angry, she would enjoy drawing out the death of her victim. But in this case, she was fighting to defend. It didn't matter if it was a person or cause, Jack performed with her best. There was no pause between kills; it was not even second nature for her to kill in this moment. After each man fell, it was clear that whatever she kept under wraps within her was now the one and the same as Jack. Whether it was with shivs or handgun, nothing interrupted the confident majesty of her continued kills.

When the once dull gray concrete ground was slick with blood, breaths were taken, highs were lost and kills were counted. Riddick closed his eyes, feeling the complete sense of freedom in that quick moment when his beast had finished appearing in all its fierce glory. In that moment it was as if the beast had disappeared completely and his entire being was entirely at rest. Jack was cleaning her blades with Liege, quiet to respect the dead.

With everything in perspective, Jack and Liege were crouched far off from the bloody carpet that spread beneath the ship. Riddick was standing in the midst of it, still recovering. Khan stood closer to the ramp, cleaning his scimitar on a dead man's clothes. McKellern stood in the shadows of the ship, for he had done his fair share of fighting, but he had seen the fear and deep sorrow in the faces of men who thought he was on the same side as they. Rick and Falc were walking towards the violent scene, guns in hand. The loyal fighters stood quiet and dejected towards the edge, feeling the deep losses of previous comrades.

Liege walked into the pools that lapped at her feet, staining the steel a deep crimson. Jack still stood behind and was now watching Riddick, who was making his way towards her. Rick and Falc now stood respectfully near Khan, all three with their heads bowed.

"Let us remember these men not as those beaten into submission by a hated enemy, but as loyal fighters who stood in honor of my family. They were not inhuman or heartless. I saw guilt and betrayal in their dying eyes. I felt the unmistakable emotion of hatred. It is clear they hated what they had done, what they were forced to be doing. Yet, in the middle of this disheartening battle of power, let it be known that we have given these unforgettable men peace. We can have solace knowing the humans who lie at our feet lie in serene and untroubled rest." Liege finished, her voice unwavering and strong, yet not lilted by her heavy accent.

Khan nodded in agreement, he had known these men as well. He also realized that Liege was her father's daughter. She led as a general who respected and loved the men who fought for her. Liege also spoke strongly, showing her ability to handle such responsibility and pain.

Liege looked up into the ship, knowing it was her duty to kill O'Calhern. Surely with this bloodbath he would not venture out, so she would have to walk directly into the snake pit. Jack followed her line of vision, making Riddick look up as well. Liege looked at the pair, who now presented nothing short of two beings, so bonded in passions of every kind that it would take apocalyptic events to break them apart. Even then, not even death could shatter their seamless link.

"Liege." A clear voice cut the air, making Liege's ears twitch. Turning she saw Falc almost wading through the mutilated bodies that still pumped out blood. Behind him Rick followed with determined efficiency, trying not to step on anyone.

"Thank ye Falc, and Rick. For watchin' from above." She said, with an approving nod. She could no longer be a fighting schoolgirl. Now it was impossible to avoid the heritage that awaited her.

"You're welcome. We decided that from now on we will fight with you and for you." Falc stated, standing an arms length from Liege, who watched with slight amusement as. This would be the only time both of them had the same face of promise.

In response, Liege held her hand out. Falc knew it wasn't a handshake she was looking for, instead the traditional Roman arm grip that the used in the legionaries. Riddick watched with a quiet and undetectable awe. Minutes ago Liege was just another fighter and now she was almost an emperor. She gathered forces by just speaking the truth and represented something that most people would fear fighting for. Yet young men were willingly signing themselves into this army.

'No,' Riddick thought, correcting himself as he gratefully looked up at the moons without his goggles. 'This is no army. This is a family.'