A quick shoutout to all of those who have been sticking with me through all of this. This story is my heart and soul and I can't express how happy I am that people are actually in anticipation for updates. I hope I don't let you down as we venture into this Author Universe segment of the series.

All she could see was darkness. Even when she peeled her eyes open the world around her was pitch black. Nothing. Blank.

A strangled sob crawled its way out of her, the sound echoing in the vast empty as she raised her hand and moved it towards her face. She couldn't see her fingers, she couldn't gauge their distance, and she closed her eyes as she patted her face.

"Fiona." The voice was soft, a whisper from behind that floated past her. She shivered, cold air carrying in with it. She knew that voice, knew that voice all too well. Years spent with the woman, training for something she had no desire to become. "I need you to wake up."

But she couldn't. The memories of what happened washed over her, visions sliding past her eye lids, Riddick. Blood, the knife. The air on her neck, his hand on her thigh, the last breath as his lungs stopped working. His life gone.

Her sobs expanded inside of her and she released an anguished cry, tears spilling from her eyes as she trembled. The scream filled the void but it was swallowed up by the nothing quickly, and just like him her grief was blanketed in darkness all too fast.

Aereon wasn't there anymore. The silence cradled her as she peered into the darkness and tried desperately to forget.

When she opened her eyes next, time had passed. She could see a faint glow above, light shining down upon her just enough for her to make out the outline of her body, and the surface she was on. The bed was small, a pillow under her head, a sheet on the mattress, no blanket. She raised her hand once again and noted that the blood had been washed away from her skin. She was cleaner than she could remember, and her nails were trimmed.

Peering into the room Fiona squinted, trying to make out the walls that were around her, but she couldn't see them. All she could see was the bed she was on and the thin paper cloth that acted as a dressing gown on her body. Sighing she dropped her head, staring up at the light before closing her eyes tightly.

"Are you awake?" Aereon was there, just inches from her. She could feel the air elemental all around her, the air growing colder.

"I don't want to be."

"You're too strong to give up now." Aereon reached out, fingers sliding over Fiona's forehead. She didn't move, didn't acknowledge the touch, just tried to withdrawal inside herself as Aereon continued to mutter about her strength. But there was no strength, and she couldn't find the words inside to explain that. Her strength had died, in her arms, bleeding and holding on to her. He was there for her in the end, like he had been for months, and she couldn't save him.

The light was brighter when she woke next. The walls were taking form, only a few feet from where she lay. Pushing her body up, Fiona swung her legs off the bed and stood. There was no ache in her muscles, no scream from her joints. She wasn't sure how long she had been in this solitary room, but the air was stifling warm around her. Pushing forward she spread her fingers out along the cold surface of the concrete wall and pressed her face to it. The cold was welcoming, her brain wreaking havoc on her.

"You must eat." Fiona peered over her shoulder and looked up at the elemental, noting the wrinkles along her cheeks had grown. It had been so long since she had been close to this woman, and none of the memories she could recall at the moment were fond.

"I can't."

Aereon sighed and stepped back, moving towards the bed Fiona had just left. On the foot was a plate, sitting patiently, food neatly organized on it. Fiona could now smell it wafting towards her, but her memories told her this wasn't real. That wasn't real. She wasn't in this room, she wasn't in the darkness, she wasn't really talking to Aereon. This was all in her head, a fabricated dream of her unconscious.

"Your dreams before weren't this dark." Aereon sank onto the mattress, watching as Fiona turned her body and pressed her back to the wall. "I remember when we would convene in here by waterfalls and meadows."

"I didn't know who I was then. I didn't know..." I didn't know Riddick was alive let alone now dead. The sob caught in her throat as she slammed her mouth shut and stared at Aereon hard.

"My child. You must fight this."

"Isn't this..." She pointed out the darkness, pushing off the wall and twirling as she moved towards Aereon. "what I am? Darkness, the lack of light, the lack of life. The depths inside the minds of everyone. The shadows in the corner."

"Yes and no." Aereon rose, moving away from her and sliding across the surface of the floor to the other side of the room. "You've changed so much since I've seen you last."

"I don't have the time for this small talk." Fiona pushed forward and sank into her bed, the light above fading out completely, the food vanishing. She could still feel Aereon in the distance but as she closed her eyes the world faded back into complete darkness.

There was no white overhead light, just a dull red tone that radiated out from above her. As she opened her eyes the world around her took shape, rock walls, metal bars, the smell of minerals and the warmth. She was baking in it, her clothing now cargo pants and a black tank top. She pushed up on the mattress below and sat up, looking around the small cell she had only spent a few nights in on Crematoria. A few parts here and there were blurry, her memory not able to provide the proper details, but the gist was concrete. And as she rose completely and stood in the small space he stepped in, standing above her easily, moving closer.

Her heart hammered away as she peered up at him, his goggles gone. She didn't like them, didn't like the way they blocked off his beautiful eyes. He moved closer still and her memory of his body heat smacked her in the face as his strong smell wafted around her.

"Sleeping on the job I see." His voice rumbled as he wrapped an arm around her and drew her closer, pressing her into his chest. She ignored his comment, breathing him in with now closed eyes as she pressed her forehead into him. He ran his other hand over her head, fingers threading through her hair softly. "Your memory of me is so gentle. I'm supposed to be a badass."

She chucked, pushing back to look up at him and give him a smile. He returned it, dropping quickly and pressing a warm kiss to her lips. "You're not that big and bad. At least... not with me."

"That's because I love you."

She pushed away from him completely, putting space between them as the words came out of his mouth. The tears budded in her eyes as she stared at him, watching a face of confusion take over as he reached for her. She shook her head, bumping into the bed behind her. "Don't say that."

"But you know it. I wouldn't say it if you didn't know it."

"I don't know anything anymore. All I know is that you're gone." And then he faded, into darkness, into nothing. The world around him faded as well and the glow of his eyes was all that remained for a moment before she was shrouded in complete and eternal darkness again. The sobs reached through her chest and she cried, curling up on the bed and trying desperately to make the pain go away.

"This isn't helping Aereon. Just tell her." Bryan crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the elemental. Just in front of them both lay Fiona, her body still as she stayed stuck in her head, the machines beeping the rhythm of her existence.

"She needs to find the strength to live without him." Aereon sighed and turned her attention away from the sleeping girl to the man on her left. He had pleaded with her time after time but it was getting him nowhere. "If she can't do this then she's better off dead."

"How can you say that?" He moved away from the both of them, eyes bouncing to the other sleeping figure in the room. Significantly larger, monitors beeping quieter, the man was recovering quicker than they had all expected. Well, Aereon had expected, but her insight into the world was unspoken of. "He's right there, if she just knew he was alive then she would open her eyes."

"Yes." Aereon joined Bryan, placing a soft hand on his shoulder, watching as he clinched his jawline and glared at the Furyan fast asleep. "But then she would wake to him gone. He needs to go to the underverse for everything to work."