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Chapter 16: Would You Say That Again?

If you didn't love Otis, you had to fear him. Jack, being in the first category, still understood the second. All of her talk, her actions boiled down to nothing as he temper exploded in a fury. Standing in front of her, facing nose to nose, Otis wasn't going to back down from her.

Jack did, and she ran over to her sister.

"You killed him? You killed War? For the love of the Gods, Jack, what were you thinking?" He paused for a second, touching his chin, then spoke again. "You weren't. Jack, I can help you out of some things, but you have put yourself into…"

Jack turned to her sister. "Xanthe, take me to them."

"No."

Jack looked at Otis. Her body trembled from head to toe, and even her hands clutching the arm of Xanthe's shirt, she didn't feel any steadier.

"You will need my help to deal with this." He shook his head, moving towards his sisters. "Xanthe, let's go."

Riddick had watched her slip down the back hallway, but his didn't want to play the predator tonight. Leaning back in the chair, feet kicked up on the table, he brought the cup to his lips.

"Riddick?"

He looked over in mid gulp. Brushing off the wetness of his lips of the arm of his shirt, he kicked up to his feet. "Yes?"

Standing before him, draped in gold clothes head to toe was nearly the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes on. Jade eyes peered out at him hidden beneath a waves of twisted brown hair. Her lips were painted bright red, while his eyes followed the light pink tongue outlining the fullness of her lips. "I'm Naiya."

He didn't say a word, watching her for another minute. "I have never been accustomed to such beauty before. Where are you from?"

She batted her eyes and didn't answer.

Feeling out of sorts, Riddick looked at her again. He should have felt bad, entertaining the idea of this woman in front of him, but Jack wouldn't have him. No matter, Riddick smiled to himself. He could always have fun. Jack had left for the night. "Naiya, would you like to have a drink."

Her lips split into a smile. "Thank you." She leaned forward, planting herself on the corner of the table.

From across the room, the three sisters each shot each other a look. Nadmi tapped Sceun on the shoulder. "Should we tell 'er?"

Sceun shrugged.

Dritiva frowned. "Not fair to 'er, 'e isn't."

Nadmi had to turn away, as rage filled her blood. "Shouldn't let a man get away wit' it."

"Is this my same sister," Sceun hid a laugh, "who 'as not been quiet about a certain white-'aired warrior?"

Nadmi grabbed her sisters throat. "You'll shut up about 'im, if you want to live, sister."

Sceun shoved her sister away. "Then you shut up about 'im, and Riddick. Why do you care? Men are all useless anyway!"

Jack hadn't been able to breathe without hearing Otis curse her idiocy. She had to keep her head up; she had to remain calm in front of the Gods. Showing her powerlesness against Otis would not help her any. She looked around her, and as the further she stepped into the chambers of the once powerful god War, more and more gods appeared around her. The scowls burned on her back.

She knelt down on her knee before the gods and goddesses.

"Take your place as War, or prepare to live in the underworld."

Jack stood back on her feet. "I will do no such thing. I would forfeit my own life, but not my child's."

A quiet gasp filled the room.

Jack let out a small tense breath. "There is nothing I will say or apologize for my earlier actions, but my son will not be harmed because of this."

"What makes you think that any of us care about this child of yours? You killed one of us!"

Jack turned around, looking for the voice that spoke. "And I could kill the rest of you." Jack felt her skin prickle and hairs stand on end. She would protect him, protect Thanos from everything that she could. There would be no gods standing in her way anymore.

Otis stepped forward.

"Otis?"

"He was supposed to be dead."
"No, no, he shouldn't be here."

He looked around the whispers, tilting his head slightly. "No, I shouldn't. However, Jacqueline is my sister and this is now my problem."

"Then we have an exchange?"

Otis looked at the man in front of him. "Mine, then?"

"If you want her and the child to live."

"With pleasure," Otis grabbed the dagger in the side of the boot. He slid it across the tile floor to the man in front of him. When it was finally in the other man's hand, Otis spoke again, "Hide this in a better place where a man can't find it again, or next time you will be the one to die." His eyes never broke from the ruler in front of him.

She felt embarrassed as she saw Otis handing her murder weapon back to the ruler. Although, she should be feeling better, but Jack couldn't. She didn't want to see Otis leave her.

"Otis, you can't. You just can't!"

Otis turned back to Xanthe, bestowing her with a sweet smile. "Xanthe." He didn't have to say another word to quiet her down; she would eventually understand.

Jack didn't need to say another word as she looked over to her brother. "You would do this, for me?"

"And Thanos." He touched the side of her cheek. "Jacqueline, I will take care of everything."

She looked away for a moment, whispering a quiet thanks, and she left the room. She didn't know what to feel as her world had been shaken. She should have been happy, relieved., but persitant, nagging thoughts of what she could have had left her body numb. She felt as if her child was turning into more of a burden then she could bear.

"Jack, please, wait."

Waiting for her sister seemed like an eternity, but Jack appreciated the company.

Xanthe let out a breath. "Everything will be fine, you know that?"

Jack shrugged. "It depends, I suppose."

"Otis is not leaving us!"

Stopping and looking at her sister provided Jack with only more pain to hate her situation. "You do not know that. You can not know if he will come back to us."

"Well, no matter what he is our brother, changing into War or not."

Jack stepped quicker than her sister.

"Do not think you can leave me here!"

"I do what I please."

"Not anymore, not for what Otis did for you."

Jack turned back around. "Did for me?" She threw up her hands. "He has done nothing but steal the place as a God that I worked for. This wretched child of mine is ruining everything." Jack felt her face burn hot with anger as she started to grind her teeth back and forth.

"Jack, you have to think further than just now. Do you ever think about anyone other than yourself? What about the rest of the people that being ruled under the King? Did you ever think that your son will be able to help them, if not you?"

At a loss for words, Jack walked away from her sister.

"You can not just leave!"

For a moment Jack tried not to answer, but for her best, she could not ignore Xanthe. "I do what I please!"

For the only time she could remember, Jack was lost. Inside and out, she couldn't find a way back to what she used to know. Alone once again, she had confined herself to her room. The balcony was beckoning her to sit and bask in the moonlight, but the weight that held down a heavy heart wouldn't let her move.

Part of her wanted to be happy for Otis, knowing deep inside herself there was no better choice for the destruction of man, but the insatiable lust for power wouldn't let her be happy. Maybe she was sad because she was losing him again, this time for her own benefit. Everything was changing in her life and she wasn't sure how she could deal with it.

Knocking on the door and a persistant quiet yelling of Jack woke her up from her misery.

She looked at the door, deciding whether or not she felt like dealing with what was held behind it. "Who is it?"

"Nadmi."

Pulling her brows together in contemplation, as she walked she couldn't help but wonder what that woman would need of her this late in the night. Opening the door, she stepped back and let Nadmi in.

"Jack, I got some news."

"About what?" Jack laid back down on the bed.

"Well, Riddick."

She sat up. "What now?"

Nadmi brushed back one of the locks of blond hair. She cleared her throat, then spoke, "There's a woman, Naiya. Seems to 'ave taken a likin' to 'im."

Jack couldn't have believed herself to become any worse, but sometimes she amazed herself. She felt the weights of losing Otis drop from her body as she gritting her teeth and grabbed her belt from the chair. She tightened it quickly and moved the sheath to the side of her hip. "He is dead."

Nadmi stepped out of the way as Jack pushed past her and made her way down to the great hall. He wasn't going to make it out of the room alive, if Jack had it her way. And for once, she was going to make sure she got her way.

Jack didn't care as the drunken guests stared as she proceeded towards him. Her hand was tight on the hilt of the dagger. She finally could focus and she saw the woman who had taken his attention. Oh, she would relish the time she spent torturing the woman, but Riddick would always have a higher place in her heart. He would pay the worst.

"Riddick!"

He looked up from his chair, without a look of guilt passing his stoic face.

She didn't wait another second before pulling the dagger and taking off full speed at him. Jack jumped onto the top of the table, her body flying forwards at him. The chair flew back with both of them in it, sliding towards the wall. She didn't wait for any answer, any explanation before the dagger came to his throat.

Riddick, with a cheeky smile, held both of her hands above him, did not say a word. His hands held her wrists tight enough for her to not move, but to not hurt.

She struggled against him. "You are dead, Riddick."

He stifled a small laugh and grinned. "Would you say that again?"

"I'm going to kill you."
"You first." His grip tightened on both of her wrists.

Jack felt the horror hit her like a punch in the gut, with a small scream escaping for her lips as her world crashed.

TBC…

Author's Note: Whee. Here you go. Have fun. REVIEW. Thanks Ariel! This chapter is always for you!

So yes. REVIEW. REVIEW! REVIEW!$!

Love- Saphi