A/N: Sorry about the waiting for this chapter, but it has been a very long week. Not much to say about this... umm don't own anyone (though I don't mind one bit to own a bit of Riddick) don't sue because you have nothing to gain from it...

thanks for the hard work of my muse/editor/adalon/ and so much more... she'sawesome to have around (as long as she's not mad at you for posting a chapter without her editor consent) Sorry about that!

Thanks for all the lovely reviews! I'm dead serious... I kept getting these reviews and somehow that's how I get my energy to write... so if you want me to continue this, please please review! If you can, please add little things you especially liked, or things you hate, or things I can change about my writing. I love getting advice from my readers, so that would the absolute greatest! Thanks again!

Moosey

Disclaimer: Plot and characters not involved with Pitch Black/Dark Fury/Chronicles of Riddick belong to me. Please ask me if you are going to use anything I own. Remember... I own very little...

Chapter 2: Death is only the Beginning

Riddick stood dumbfounded. All his memories of that little girl on the godforsaken planet came rushing back. All the memories of leaving her on that wretched planet. Leaving her had become the hardest thing he'd ever done. And with those memories came Jack's, no Kyra's, death. When he finally forced his thoughts to focus, the girl sat on his throne. Feet dangling over the arm of the chair, and her hands spread out, she looked quite comfortable.

"Must suck being you," she spat from the chair.

"Oh really?" Riddick gave her an amused smile, but his amusement faded quickly. First, she reminded him of the very things he had tried so hard to get away from. Secondly, she mocked him, and Richard B. Riddick didn't like that at all.

"The infamous Riddick cooped up in his own mistakes. Killing the Lord Marshall, then having to take his place as somewhat of a king slash god to these people." She looked him in the eye. No sense of fear. She still had the mocking tone in her voice that irritated Riddick. "But why, Riddick, in God's name would you want to kill the Lord Marshall? Has Riddick grown soft for society?" She laughed at this. "No." She shook her head in a faked disappointment. "Not Riddick. Not the Riddick who was put into the slams, chased by mercs most of his life, considered a murder and utterly insane." Riddick could smell anger all over her. She got up from the throne and stared him down. "Riddick, who would leave the closest thing he had to humanity for dead in New Mecca," at this, Riddick's head snapped up. His irritated attention had grown cautions, and curious. Riddick looked down, certainly taken aback by this young woman's words. She continued, "Getting put back in jail on Crematoria to meet an old friend." Riddick's eyes narrowed his eyes and gave her a deathly glare. "No, it definitely wasn't for society."

The stranger walked down from the small steps and created a large distance between Riddick and herself.

"Ah yes… that old friend. Jack, or shall we say Kyra?" the stranger continued.

Riddick's anger got the better of him and, in seconds, he used his large hands to throw her across the room.

She picked herself up and lightly touched her crimson stained lip, blood dripping. She smiled. "You never could keep your temper in check." She walked to the side of the room and looked around her. Riddick suddenly smelt sadness and… guilt? Who was this girl? Approving of what she saw, her eyes turned back to Riddick. "You were my hero once, Riddick."

"Who are you?" Riddick deep alto voice spoke seriously. Everything she said reminded him of…

"Maybe deep down inside this killer, you still are, but people change. I'm not a little girl pretending to be a boy anymore. I'm not that weak ass who couldn't fight off the demons on that godforsaken planet. I'm not what you left behind on New Mecca."

"Who are you?" Riddick growled. His mind raced from thought to thought. This can't be… she's dead.

"Can't see the girl you left behind with the holy man?" The girl cocked her head to the side. "Oh that's right." Her fists clenched at her sides. "It's because YOU LEFT!" she screamed at him.

Riddick took quick steps towards the girl. He placed his hands on her arms and looked into her eyes. He didn't like people mind fucking with him!

"Fuck you Riddick!" she spat in his face. Her hand reached for something in her pocket. Riddick braced himself for the gun or shivv she would point at him. Instead something black and yellow bounced off his chest and to the ground. Unprepared for it, Riddick let it drop. He let go of her as he realized what it was. He crouched down and picked up a black pair of goggles. Bright yellow outlined the black lenses. One of the lenses was cracked in the middle, while the other was missing half the lens entirely.

"Jack," Riddick whispered so softly he didn't think she heard, but she did.

"Kyra, a mate on the merc ship I became a part of, became the person you knew as me." Riddick growled at the thought of mercs. "She knew I was looking for you, so we came up with a plan. Really simple actually. Since there was a price on my head for killing the prime minister of Akrar in the Fremon galaxy, we used that to our advantage. She would pretend to be me and take my place in Crematoria. We thought you would come looking for me, knowing you would get her out of there. It took you a while, but it finally happened. She would bring you back to the ship, where I would kill you, and then turn the real me in, with a raised price, and receive a hell of a payday. Obviously, after a stunt like that, they'll choose a different place, and I would easily be able to escape from there."

"What was the point in having her go instead of you?" he wondered.

"Surprise really. I think, however, she wanted to get a glimpse at the infamous Riddick before he fell to an unfortunate death."

Me die? Riddick threw back his head and emitted a roar of laughter.

"Little did we know the damn necros would screw this up."

"Jack," Riddick couldn't believe his eyes…he wouldn't believe it, "is dead." Saying those words meant he also admitted this to himself.

"Kyra is the one dead. Jack, to some extent, is dead too." Jack turned her back to him. He could sense the sadness in her voice.

Riddick thought quickly. The goggles meant that there had to be a possibility she really was Jack, but he thought of something better as he fished in his pockets. "Imam's dead." He spoke bluntly.

"What?" Jack turned around to face Riddick. She stormed up to him and hissed, "You're lying!"

"The necromongers killed him on a raid on Helion Prime."

Tears stung her eyes and she looked up and blinked ferociously, hoping they would go away. Riddick smelt a wave of fear, loneliness, and worst of all, sadness fill her. She gave him a weak punch on the arm and muttered, "You're lying!"

Riddick took out Imam's necklace with the tooth from his pocket. Jack's jaw dropped. Her hands barely touched the tooth, shaking madly, when she slammed her fist on Riddick's chest. She burst out into silent tears. She spoke words to Imam's spirit. Riddick didn't hesitate with assumptions. Only the real Jack would have acted like this. Riddick had the sudden urge to hold her, but he fought against it. He believed her story, but that didn't mean he was going to go all soft on her.

"Fuck you Riddick. This is all your fault!" she whispered.

"What?" Un-fucking-believable! How could it possibly be his fault?

"If you didn't leave us on fucking New Mecca, none of this would have happened."

"I had mercs on my back!" Riddick snapped.

"You'll always have mercs on your damn back!" Jack yelled back. She pushed herself off of him.

"I left so they wouldn't find you! I spent five fucking years running so they wouldn't find you! And then you go join the fucking thing I was trying saving you from!" Riddick had lost his patience. He was not yelling, but it could have easily been called that.

"You weren't around Riddick! There was no one around! They offered me a job and I took it. That way we would both get what we wanted. You! Only I wanted you dead. And don't give me this bull shit about you leaving to save me! No! You left because you got scared. You got cold feet because someone actually cared for you. Someone saw humanity in you and you couldn't handle it. Your head was too far up your ass to realize it!" Jack stopped abruptly realizing what she was saying and who she was saying it to. Anger boiled her blood. Anger at Riddick for leaving. Her voice became suddenly very soft. "I was a child, Riddick. I didn't have anyone to go to. No one could tell me what was right and wrong." She paused. "I needed you." She choked up again.

A wave of emotion crashed over Riddick. Was it guilt? Was Big Bad guilty for leaving her? Riddick wanted so badly to just put his arms around her, but he couldn't. "How long after I left?" Riddick hated to hear the answer, but knew he had to.

"About a year." Riddick could smell fear strong on her.

"Jesus, kid. You were sixteen!"

Jack ignored him. "His name was Flare. He had a team of five and wanted another to replace the man he lost. He wanted a new scent. I asked, or more demanded, a place on his ship."

Riddick remembered a guy named Flare. He was a convict, a bit like Riddick, when his mates turned on him and turned him into the slam. He had vowed to kill every last "mate" that turned against him, and when he finally got out of the hellhole, he became a merc.

"He gave it to me and I learned from each member. There was Tyke, a weapons master. He made me remember every damn gun that existed and taught me how to handle a shivv. Drexel was a pyromaniac. I didn't learn all too much from him except fire is friend, not foe. Shard was a weird little geek. He was into computers and shit. Then there was Alexander. A young man of about nineteen. I left him… as an enemy. Then there was Kyra. She was actually four years older than me. It was one of the things I was afraid you would realize." Jack spoke quietly as she finished her explanation.

"Jack why didn't you just look for me? Why join a merc ship?" Riddick let out a hardness in his voice that he never heard. Riddick already knew the answer to that one.

"I was pissed at you for leaving." Jack whispered the truth. Riddick wanted to assure her that everything was all right, and he was here now, but he fought off that urge with difficulty.

The doors behind them swished open. Lord Vaako and four other men stormed in. "We will being landing on Sansoto in a matter of 20 hours, Lord Marshall," one announced. Yup, he was stuck with Jack.

"Send this prisoner down to cell 4A. Make sure my would-be killer is not comfortable." Riddick smiled deviously. Jack swirled around, glaring.

"Riddick you son of a-"

"Don't you ever speak to our Lord Marshall like that!" Lord Vaako's firm voice scolded as he kicked her behind her knees. Her legs gave way and the other four men grabbed her arms and legs. They took her away kicking and screaming.

"You are such an ass-" The door slammed, cutting off the rest of her name calling. Riddick smiled as he heard her screaming even after the metal doors were shut.

Jack kicked her bars again. Though she knew they wouldn't budge, it was some consolation. A cold, steel bed filled the bathroom sized room. There were no blankets or pillows for comfort. The scene reminded her of the slam. At least it's clean, she thought dryly. She wore her cloak, hugging it, hoping it would give her the warmth she needed.

Only one guard stood by the door. I'm offended Riddick. It's almost as if you want me to get out. She smirked to herself. Quietly, like a panther on its pray, she snuck behind the man. Her hand shot out and covered the guard's mouth. From there, she slammed his head against the metal bars with as much strength she could muster. She did it almost ten times before he fell unconscious. She slipped her arm through the bar and grabbed a flat, silver key that looked the length of her arm. She jammed the key into the hole and played around with it until she heard a loud click.

A huge smiled crossed her face. "Not even Big Bad can keep me locked up." Jack looked at the computer screen that had been in front of her cell. She clicked a few buttons on the screen until she found a blueprint of the ship. She laughed at the location of the Lord Marshall's suite. "Only you would want a place close to the holding cells. Want to keep a sharp eye on your prisoners." Timing had to be perfect. She shuffled through the cameras. She stopped when she saw Riddick on his throne talking to the man who kicked her behind the legs to shut her up. Riddick looked beautiful on the throne. His eyes diverted from one spot to another. His attention was somewhere else, Jack could tell. She watched him lazily adjust to the position like a big cat who was just lounging around.

It had only taken her a matter of minutes before she found a large door leading into the Lord Marshall's suite. She slipped in unnoticed. Darkness swallowed the suite when she entered. Typical Riddick. She had grown used to the dark. "Lights medium," she called to no one. The place was huge! He had a king sized bed with soft black sheets and pillows. The walls were painted a soft, off-white color.

One of the smaller rooms that branched off had two leather couches and a huge window on one wall. The window could even be accounted for as a wall, it was so big. Another wall had shelves among shelves of book and in the middle was a large communication and archive screen.

Jack made her way back to the bedroom and found another opening. Here lay the most exquisite bathroom she had ever laid her large, brown eyes upon. In one corner was a large shower. It was easily big enough for a man, even one as large as Riddick, to lie across it. Jack wondered if he ever did that..... The floor was made of some kind of beautiful concrete. A bathtub covered another corner. The multiple faced necromonger helmet was placed as the faucet. Brightly colored mosaics of important necro symbols framed the tub. Along the side of the bathtub was a series of bubbles, lotions, soaps, and oils. Jack laughed at the thought of Riddick using lavender scented oils. Everything else: walls, floor, cabinets, and counters were made of something similar to a fossilized rock. Jack smiled and called "Lights on." Over two dozen candles lit all around the bathroom.

She stripped off her clothes, revealing a woman's slender, yet toned body. Scars tarnished her body, reminding her of the world and life she lived. Most of those scars would never heal. She hated them. She hated that Riddick never seemed to have any scars. He was the best at what he did, and she envied that.

Her body reeked of dirt, blood, and sweat. She turned on the shower and stepped in. She let the burned hot water wash away the things she stunk of. She filled a nearby sponge with citrus scented oil and scrubbed the thick layer of dead skin cells off her body.

Ten minutes later, she stepped out feeling like a new person. She'd shed the skin of her past life. Jack looked around and through the cabinets trying to find some kind of clothing she could wear. She made sure she didn't mess up any of the wrinkles. Riddick left everything of his in a certain way to see if anyone had disturbed his stuff. She finally found a pair of loose, cotton black sweats. Well, they were loose on her because they belonged to Riddick. She tightened the drawstring as much as she could, but it still slipped just below her bellybutton. She also took one of his favorite black muscle shirts which covered her stomach perfectly.

She grinned… he would be pissed. She tossed her old clothes aside and looked through his stuff. Always hidden. She opened some kind of cabinet that was taller than she was, only to find a dozen dressy suits and dresses.

Her breath stopped and her whole body tightened. She never thought that maybe Riddick had finally found someone. She hated the way her heart stopped at this thought. What did you expect Jackie? He'll always see you as a kid. How dare you even think otherwise, let alone imagine. You know better than that. Quit acting like a fucking school girl and get a grip!

Hot tears stung Jack's eyes. She hated him for leaving, hated him for making mercs the only choice she had, hated him for finding someone else…not her.

She slammed the cabinet door and hurried across his bedroom, but stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Riddick's voice on the other side of the door. She panicked. Her first instinct was to take out her shivv and… but no… there was someone else there. Three guesses who that can be, Jack. She said to herself sourly. She could hide, but knew it was useless. Riddick would catch her scent the moment he walked in. She had to make him pissed. "Lights off!" She whispered. At the last moment she jumped back onto his bed. Her body sunk into the soft mattress. She dug herself underneath the covers. She slowed her breathing, so that no sound came from her.

A/N: I know a little boring, but I had to for the sake of the story... good ending, huh? Well my muse though so.

Totally Obsessed47- Thanks for pointing out Dark Fury! I would have forgotten about it if you hadn't said anything!

WriTerGrL- Love the name! I know exactly what you mean. I was practically bawling when she died. Plus I was in a hotel room with my brother and my dad... yeah they thought I was crazy. And, yes, there will be a fourth movie. They don't exactly know when it'll come out, but probably end of 2005/begining of 2006. I love that mind! I thought it was very unlikely that she would just turn herself in. I mean she doesn't seem the type to do that, even if she saw Riddick "die".

Riddick's Sita- AH! So glad you reviewed my chapter! Update soon on yours! It's a mutual thing... you update on yours, and I update on mine!