AN: Sorry it took a while. I do think it's getting closer to the end though. That's good, right? Lol.


If he'd known it would be so easy he would've shaken things up months before. He walked in their house, raised hell, and everything fell into place. Riddick stalked out minutes after Dom's departure, banging the door shut behind him and leaving Jack alone.

The man had fallen miles off his game. No matter how much he'd come to resemble the Con-X of his earlier years, Riddick still had a lot of relearning to do. If he'd known anything he would've grabbed the girl and ran immediately.

Conte took a hit off his cigar, the red glow briefly reflecting in the shades he wore. Rick didn't notice him standing some fifty yard down the street in the shadow of a neighbor's house.

It answered one question. Obviously Riddick couldn't yet fathom the danger he and Jack had fallen into. He'd wondered if maybe the man had just played stupid lately to gain himself an advantage.

He stayed until Shella got out of a van that pulled up into the driveway right on time. He watched with mild curiosity when she opened the front door for the handful of men with her. He let the cigar fall from his hand and put it out when they dragged Jack kicking and struggling out the door, forcing her into the vehicle.

She wore the coat he'd returned to her that evening.

He'd seen enough.

Dom turned to go home.


"How'd you know they were tailing Riddick?"

"Gut feeling," he replied without looking up from loading a clip. When he finished he tapped it on the table to loosen the spring, bring the rounds to the very top.

Looking over the mound of artillery sitting in front of him Dom realized he'd finished, everything was ready. He stretched his arms over his head and cracked his neck to each side. Man it felt like he'd sat there for hours. He'd never been so ready for a fight in his life. It was a long time coming and something inside him ached for it. Concentrating came hard to him during preparations. And the company he kept sucked...

The Devil lounged across the room, arms crossed over his chest, black eyes glittering with the prospect of a kill.

"You don't seem very excited, Domy boy. You've waited for this how long? Eight months? I've lost track."

"So have I," he mumbled, standing and strapping a set of handguns around his waist. He grabbed a black leather jacket off his chair and pulled it on to cover the weaponry he'd pack that night.

The Devil growled, malcontent with the careless response he received. "Fuck it, Dom, I told you to forget about the girl! How many times did I tell you? You never needed her to complete the mission!"

"She got Riddick off the Seka, didn't she?" Dom shot back, anger flaring in his blue eyes. He saw the flash of fangs in the Devil's sneer; saw the madness in his eyes.

"I should've made you kill her. Should've known eventually you'd get old enough and grow a heart. Tell me the truth, Domy. Once you fucked her do you really think she would've meant anything? You're a teenager. Lust and love both begin with L. Get the picture?"

Dom growled to himself, walking over and punching a wall with his bare fist, making a dent in the smooth surface. "No! I don't get the fucking picture! I don't have to 'get' anything!"

The Devil laughed, both morbid and calm. "You really are losing it, aren't you? Can't quite wrap your head around some of the nastier things you've done. You never would've known killing was wrong if some female hadn't come along to disapprove." He straightened up, keeping a certain distance between the two of them yet at the same time appearing to loom ever closer... "You can't fight this, Dominic. It's your nature. You were born this way. You got put into Juvy at age eight. Remember why?"

Dom grimaced, turning away. "Shut up," he said, touching his forehead like it hurt. "Just shut the fuck up."

He walked into the bathroom, leaning over the sink and looking at himself, wet palms gripping the porcelain. Strange—he didn't look like a monster on the outside. These feelings of confusion, what caused them? Why did they come on when it was almost over?

The voice came from behind him, "In the end it's all about the pay day, Conte. Girls come and go. You can't exchange them for food or transportation. Going soft almost got your little sister killed before you left her with a family. It's a hard universe, one that hates you and your kind. Face it, you're the only one left because no one could fuck with you. No one. You're not afraid of the dark because you're the meanest thing in it."

Dom's eye started to itch and he rubbed at it desperately. Adrenaline began to dump into his system, and he knew better than to fight it. Too long. Too long in the cage. Bad things would happen once it started. He couldn't turn it off.

"You're weak," the Devil whispered. "Let me make you strong."

"No!" he roared, slamming his fist into the glass and cracking it neatly down the middle. When he looked up again, gasping for air, he saw a blue eye in one half of the cracked surface, and a black one in the other.

The Devil-half of the mirror grinned at his outburst. "I knew you'd see things my way in the end...

"It's time, Dominic."