A/N: Ok, here I am thanking my reviewers: Thank you. Thanking my readers: Thank you.
OtherMeWriter: Did I leave that last one with a bit of a cliffhanger? You're gonna hate me for this one then. It's a big cliffhanger, unless I get the next chapter written before I post this one, if I can then you'll get two in a day. Which I imagine will mean I'll not get reviews for one… Um.
mirth513: Ok, ok… She is not Void. No. Not… Rose channeled the 'heart of the TARDIS' not just the Time Vortex. She brings back and destroys life. So… Right. She'll end up being Aether. Or sharing it.

Summary: The Doctor, reeling from the effects of the TimeWar as the last surviving TimeLord, stumbled into a situation he could not ignore when the TARDIS landed him inside a ship that was clearly in trouble. After the rescue, he's left with eight survivors that he must somehow get to safety. But the situation is not as cut and dry as he might like. His people may be gone, but the stamp he's made on the universe is still there, and he finds himself caught in a web spun of the choices he's made in the past…

It's 2517. Something in history has prompted humanity to explode out from their home world. Could the events of 2164 be responsible? Was Earth a myth or was it real? In fleeing Earth-that-Was, humanity scattered to the stars across the galactic arm. Initial survey teams targeted likely planets and systems for habitation and not all of them ended up on the same side of the sector. Blue Sun exists on one side, separated by a patch of 'wild space' filled with exotic binary and triple star systems, from the rest of civilized space.

Few ships brave the route. But luck had it that one ship did. Risking a ghost run, the only contact that the two sides have, the Hunter-Gratzner crashed midway through the journey. Original Port of Departure: Eavesdown Docks, Persephone. Mixed Sino-Anglo culture. Original Port of Call: Tangiers-5. Darkside. Mixed Islamic-Anglo culture. Crew complement: Four. Passengers: Forty. Living 'Cargo': Two. Survivors: Eight plus One

So what happens to Dr. Simon Tam, his brilliant but damaged sister, a convicted murder by the name of Richard B. Riddick, and the other survivors from the crash of the Hunter-Gratzner at planet M-344/G-2 now that they are on their way home? They end up slightly out of their own Time, on a ship filled with living sculptures… And just how is this related to the TimeWar?

A Doctor Who / Firefly / Riddick crossover.

Features Doctor 9, Pre-"Rose"; Simon and River Tam, Pre-"Serenity" Firefly episode 1 and the survivors from Pitch Black: Carolyn Fry, William J. Johns, Imam Abu al'Walid, 'Jack B. Badd', Ali Abdullah, and Richard B. Riddick…

Doctor Who and the Ties that Bind.

Part Fifteen

Madness

He's been half listening to her babble about how important it is to keep civilized space clean, to reduce the corruptive influences that crime creates on the youth, and to produce valid civic works, or some such shit. There's been some mention about how wonderful the human form is, how artistic and flexible, he suspects, but he hasn't really been paying that close attention to her. And he hasn't been keeping track of the figures they are strolling through, mainly because his lack of fascination makes her slow down. Antonia views each and every body as one he needs to really see. Like focusing on them is going to make such a huge impression on him that he'll change his spots for her willingly. As if. Whatever. Anything to get her to slow down, even if it makes him look like a dense moron. So he plays like he's Johns, unable to concentrate on anything she's doing and she stops and hovers, caressing faces and ignoring the hate-filled eyes. It's creepy. But it buys Thete more time. Maybe he should play stupid, although really he does get it. He's sickened by it, but he gets it. Better to play dumb, make her say what she wants, then to assume and get it wrong. Right now she's spouting off about the three-dimensional piece on the wall and how much effort and artistic supervision had to go into selecting the right bodies for it… So he says, "Hmm. Okay. You go through all the trouble to catch these guys, and this is what you do with them?"

That sidetracks her holier-than-thou-virtuous/aesthetic diatribe, right enough. She stops in her tracks and looks at him, blinking. He can tell that he really derailed her. She must be used to having people kissing her shity ass and telling her it tastes sweet. Well, fuck this, and fuck her. He's not gonna. Finally she gives her head a little shake; "You're missing the point."

Fighting back the snort is about the hardest thing he's ever done. He makes as much of an arrogant, bewildered, 'what the fuck' motion as is possible, so she can't miss it and looks around the entire room, stopping briefly at various points so that when he pauses with the Doctor in his line of sight it doesn't look odd. He can read amusement in Thete's face even though its faint enough to still give him that glassy out-of-it look. Finally he turns back to Chillingsworth, "What point?" The expression on her face is almost worth the effort he's putting out. "You got a billion UD's standing around collectin' dust." It's the exact thing he could picture the old hyped-up Johns saying.

This causes her to gesture wildly for a moment. Clearly she is at a loss for words. Then she pulls herself together and glares at him; "You underestimate their value, Riddick." He gives her his 'you're shittin' me' expression. He swears her jaw drops, just slightly. She stops and stares at him, blinking at the stubborn attitude he flashing at her. It's an impasse. The moment lengthens. His expression doesn't change. Antonia sighs. Then she cups a chin in one hand; "They are priceless." He shakes his head at her, like he doesn't understand how someone in cryo could be worth more here than in a triple-slam lockdown. She turns and walks to the next form, as if perhaps finding the correct one will alter his view. She slides a hand over one of the women who is arched up like a acrobat, letting her hand rest on the small bare nipple. "You don't get it? Have you been listening at all?"

" 'Fraid not. Mind's been on my lover, see?" Might as well throw that back in her goddamned perfectly phony face. And really, it's just too good to pass up, this opportunity to insult her. Odd thing is, she gets less of the message he's sending that he does of hers. 'Cuz he does get what she's doing and already thinks she's fucking barking mad.

She looks away and 'pets' the stature as she tries to control her desire to strangle the broad bronze-complexioned man. "Junner, let Riddick support the Doctor. Maybe he'll pay attention that way." Oh, that's unexpected.

Wordlessly Junner hands the taller man over to Richard who catches him by the waist. There's no doubt that the Doctor is amused now. He can feel it bubbling over, and how the man is keeping it off his face the con has no idea. How's it going Thete? The pale man is already relaxed, and lets himself slump back even more because Rich is shorter than Junner. This is all good and well. The ex-ranger has no problem supporting the weight. Plus he can feel that the Doctor is acting, at least in part. Then the pale man turns his head to the side, facing inward toward Rich's neck. Everything about it sends little shivers over Riddick's skin, from the velvet-soft hair to the brushed silk of the man's cooler skin sliding over his shoulder. Even the bump of Thete's ear makes him have to steady himself. And then cool lips settle over the small wound on his neck, and the ex-ranger feels a slow breath puff over it. His fingers tighten from the sensation. Thete? Richard is pretty sure it's all an act at this point. The entire ploy. It had better be, at least. But the Doctor doesn't answer him, seemingly focused on the feel of roughened skin under his very smooth, silky lips. The slide of that cooler skin against his neck makes Riddick feel like he's got electricity shooting over his skin, much more intense than normal.

"Think you can focus now?"

Actually -- maybe not. Those lips are quite distracting. Again lying is the better part of valor here, "Yep. You were saying that I missed the point." Nope, he's not gonna be doing much focusing aside from what Thete's doing. Thank God he's got the goggles on.

She makes a face him and the man that she perceives to be nibbling at his throat before turning away and fondling another figure, a male whose kneeling form places his crotch at about shoulder height. "Each of the individuals here, at one time, were the most wanted man or woman in the known universe. The number of lives ended at the hands of those…living and breathing in this room is incalculable."

Richard's pretty sure that Antonia's slow pump on the male she has in hand has Junner's total attention, which is good because he feels a cool tongue brush against the neck wound making sensation explode across his nerves like firecrackers. There's intense pleasure, a touch of pain, the sort of sensation that one might get from applying too much pressure to swollen tissue, suckling. What the hell are you up to Thete? Not that he wants it to stop… But Rich is pretty sharp as tacks go. Even with the Doctor not answering him, it doesn't take long for the ex-ranger to realize that Thete is using his tongue to coax out the explosive. Of course Antonia's given them the perfect cover for the Time Lord to do this, and she thinks he's spaced out. Well, her loss. The experience is like getting the mother of all hickies, and damn it all; he's going to have a hard time walking. But the little device comes out, sure enough. He hopes Thete doesn't swallow it. I have no intention of swallowing it, Amadak.

That's good, because an explosion from your midsection would be painful.

Thete settles back against Riddick a little more. Is that a banana in your pocket or are you happy to see me?

Rich closes his eyes behind the goggles as he fights the reaction caused by the weight against him. Now where would I get a banana around here? His hands tighten around the waist he's holding to keep the man from moving.

He gets an amused flow of emotion. Better answer her or she'll get a notion that you're not listening again.

What? There was something he wanted to say to her, what was it again? Oh, right, "Ain't what I'd call living."

She snaps her attention to him. It's very possible that she had just about spaced out as much as he had. But the Doctor can have that impact on people when he wants to. Or maybe it was the bit of dangly flesh in her hand, hard to say really. "Just the same, I assure you they are all very much alive."

He shrugs. That's a matter of interpretation, frankly.

She steps over to the next figure, a rather handsome male, and places her hands on his face. "Each one is sustained in a form of cryo so profound…that seconds seem weeks…and to blink an eye is a day's work. The brain, however, continues to function unimpeded. The mind continues to think and feel, swarming with whatever dark thoughts it's trapped alone with, as it will be for hundreds of years."

Sounds like the perfect way to create mass insanity. He wonders what River would say around these people with their hate-filled eyes. The ex-ranger feels the Time Lord's growing horror at the fact that this woman knows exactly what it is that she is doing. The horror doesn't last long however. In fact, mere anger doesn't seem to be enough to deal with this situation. He curses the chains, because right now Thete is trembling in rage, no matter how relaxed he appears. They're being prodded forward and thankfully his little problem has diminished enough to be something he can live with. Damn tease. He's never going to be able to think about bananas the same innocent way ever again.

Oblivious to the situation, the white haired woman continues to talk, walking now toward a back wall, where Junner steps up to move a shimmering blood-red curtain aside, "So much more fitting a fate than dropping them off at the nearest slam. Don't you think?"

"Um. – No."

She glances back at them as Junner steps up behind letting the drapes fall back into place. Antonia decides to ignore his answer as she gestures at the 'pieces' adoring this passage. These are even more graphic than the ones previously passed. The crystalline voice cuts through the mock-regal feel of the space, "Here, they are appreciated for what they truly are, transformed into objects on par with their lives' work. And why? Because I gave them the audience they so desperately desired, the recognition they bought with the blood of others." She stops in a circular dead-end, where there's a chase lounge, some tables, and a curtained wall that is curiously free of 'statuary'. She turns and looks back at the bronze skinned man who is half carrying a pale toned one. She must admit they would make a great piece together. They are perfectly proportioned in contrasts, light and dark, wide and narrow, and yet are matched for their masculine qualities, neither seeming to dominate the other. It would be classic and magnificent. "I understood their actions, stripped free of moral convention. Don't you see? They're something greater now, Riddick. Something more than they ever were before. -- Art."

Delusional little Bitch.

Riddick blinks from both spoken and mental comments. Thete!

Well, she is. Better respond before her little ego trip carries her big head away.

"Lady, your taste sucks." Richard wants to just forget this entire thing and go back to the holding cell; to the night before when he was kissing the man he's half supporting. But he has a bad feeling about this. Very bad. And the look on Chillingsworth's icy countenance does not reassure him one bit.

"I expected as much." Behind her mercs file into the room, all ones he recognizes. Many of the ones he wants to kill slowly. Now what is this shit she wants to pull? The white haired woman signals to several larger, cyborg-type mercs. They step up and lift the Doctor away from Riddick. He really dislikes this. A great deal. Then she indicates her second, "Junner."

The black haired man smirks. He has been waiting and watching. Itching to use the remote in his hand. Sadly it's not the one for the explosives. But he does get to make the big reveal by opening up the heavy drapes. The folds of cloth lift and rise, opening to show the gladiatorial pit. This is his mistress's second favorite pastime, aside from catching individuals to run through it. And this fight should be very, very bloody.

The sudden red glow as the curtains are lifted alarms Richard in ways that the mercs alone could never do. He's frozen to the spot, unwilling to move closer. Antonia steps up bedside him, close enough to be in his personal space in a way that he usually doesn't allow. She tilts her head up and whispers into his ear, "You see, Riddick, there is a fundamental difference between you and I."

Suppressing a start, he turns toward her forcing Antonia back half a step, "Yeah. You're a psychopath."

Long elegant fingers with very hard nails settle on his face. She shakes her head at him, "You don't appreciate art." On the contrary, he likes art fine, just that he doesn't think her idea of it is all that sane. In fact the more she talks the less sane she seems to be. And her ability to pick up on moods is about the same as the average floor rug. "But I believe the reason for this is something very different than you or anyone else might think." She pauses here for dramatic impact. "You're an artist."

And you, my dear lady, are insane, but who am I to quibble? The Doctor thinks to Richard.

The thought snaps him out of his momentary shock. He shakes her hands off, willingly putting space between them. Fucking crazy nutter. Riddick fixes her with a look like she's outta her mind; "I've been called a lot of things in my day. That ain't one of 'em." Thete, you can't be serious about playing along with this shit!

She got all the others in that pit, Richard. And the Shrill are coming. Now, will you help me or not?

Fuck! Of course I'll help you. I'm not gonna let you fucking die on me. But you owe me, Thete. I want the goddamned truth, or you, or… Fuck.

Listen to her, Amadak.

Still shocked all to hell he focuses back on a the white-haired raving lunatic, "You make art, Riddick, not analyze it." She turns and gestures like it's a profound truth, "You shape it with your own hands, carve it from flesh and bone." Then she looks back at him and mistakes his stunned expression for denial, "But a man like you does not understand such a thing by being lectured. You must experience it." He must miss the gesture she makes because suddenly the lights are totally blood red. She catches his arm and guides him closer to the pit where the other seven wait.

"Oh, shit." He pulls free and looks at the rest of the group. They are each balanced on a large globe and connected to the distant ceiling by a collar and cable. They still wear the stiff cuffs from before. This is bad. He's at least three meters up, maybe closer to four. That's a steep drop. And the crazy maze-like pattern makes it impossible to be sure exactly how far a fall it would be.

Below him Jack looks up, "I said I'd find you, didn't I?"

"What do you want?" Riddick finally asks the white haired, green-eyed monster at his elbow.

Antonia shrugs and lets go of his arm. She glides away from the edge, "To watch you work." He makes a face at her back. She moves back over to the Doctor. "I've spent the latter half of my life observing fantastic things," her fingers pull up a small vial of white powder that she dangles in front of the Time Lord until he focuses on it and visibly shrinks back, "The work of terrible men." Her smile is cold, "Men such as yourself, Doctor. Or you, Riddick." She turned away without revealing her threat. "But, alas, it's always after the fact… when the moment of bloody creation is cold and passed." She gestures toward the Pit, "That changes now."

"Go to hell."

She looked at the ceiling like she was praying for patience, "Do you know what is in this vial?" She lifts the white powder again. "No? It's rather a common pain reliever. Derived from Willow Bark. Ring a bell? Kova's allies discovered that this mild acid was quite useful for dealing with a particular group of people. The same group that your lover belongs to." Richard recalls what Simon had said on the TARDIS about willow bark. His expression became grim, "Yes? Good. Then you know I can kill him. For good, permanently. And he'll die slowly and painfully. You see, I need to see it. I need to, Riddick. I need to see it with my own eyes as it happens. And I will, tonight. Either by your hand or by my own."

Is she telling the truth, Thete?

Yes. A chill runs down Riddick's spine at the thought of it. Fight or no fight, the Doctor put his life on the line. And this time there might not be another chance. If she used that powder, Thete would die.

Junner then presses the release for the huge double doors on the far side of the pit. Jack looks that way, losing all pretenses at bravery. Imam grits his teeth. Ali begins whispering a prayer. Carolyn closes her eyes. Simon is watching the ledge above, more concerned about the vial being flashed around then the possible problems entering the pit with them. Johns clenches his jaw. River just stands calm, staring into space, waiting for the right time to make her move.

Antonia smugly and seductively crawls up onto her recliner, ready to feast on rare fruits, blood, sex, and death. She stretches reaching one hand up over the table, arches and settles into position, like that, in itself was part of the show. Under the sound of the crackling fabric a tiny ping goes almost unobserved.

Richard snarled at her, "I get outta there alive, you'll see it again…" He quickly covers the distance between them, in spite his ankle chains, undeterred by her focus on her glass of wine. Bending into her personal space in such a way that normally scared the living shit out of people, the ex-ranger threatened, "this close."

She looks amused. Tilting her head she moves in as if to kiss him and presses the button to release the ankle cuffs. "No, Riddick." She wants him to have a fighting chance after all. Her other hand comes up and she catches his chin with the point of his shiv, "I want your masterpiece." He lifts his head away from her with a glare. As he straightens, she tosses the handmade blade to the floor, "An artist is nothing without his instrument."

The con turns to retrieve his blade and notes that when his ankle cuffs came off so did the Doctor's. Behind him Junner steps between the now armed bronze skinned man and his mistress. Thete? I don't want to leave you up here.

You won't. I can bring these two down. Don't worry. She placed the vial behind the fruit and it's rolled off the table and under the couch. As long as it's sealed it's not a threat. I'll follow your lead.

Just don't swallow the damn explosive. The ex-ranger turns to Junner, "When we meet again, I'm gonna bury this in your eye." The black haired man scoffs at him. Richard lifts his goggles and stares at the man. Junner smirks and points to the pit. The broadly shouldered bronze man turns toward the rail and eyes the mercs. He's gonna fucking cut as many down as he can.

A woman's voice orders, "Let him in." Not that Riddick cares. He waits until he has a group of them around him then explodes in lethal rage. Well, she did say she needed to see it. He guts one and before the first blood from the attack can hit the floor he's spun and cut another off at the wrists. The man's gun flies into the pit because he kicks it that direction. There's blood spraying every which way now, and his boot easily catches another merc in the jaw. It's a very heartwarming sound when he hears the crack of bone. The next fella he just pushes, and the man slips in the slick red on the floor. Opps. He kicks him in the ribs and brings his weapon up to catch another in the throat. The idiot drops his gun and grabs for the gash that's spitting a copious amount of sanguine fluid in the air, over his chest, and across the floor. Behind him one cyborg goes flying, hitting the rail hard enough to bend it. There's a distinct crack that sounds an awful lot like a snapped neck from the other.

"I'll take that," says the Doctor as he snags his coat from the merc that had been awarded the garment. Of course the man is still in it and the move the Time Lord makes breaks both of the man's arms in several places. "Never take another man's coat unless he's good and dead. Dong ma?" Somehow he gets the man out of the leather garment and sliding across the floor. Richard guesses he used a snapping motion of some sort. He's gonna have to ask later how he did it. The merc hits the rail at the post making it ring and vibrate. Then the Time Lord leaps past Richard, catching the blood spray and rather ignoring the mess. He opens his fingers enough to show the con that there are two metallic octopus-shaped devices in it. "You coming?"

"Fuck yes. Around you, always," he catches the merc that had been leering at Jack as the fellow charged them and goes over the side.

"Right then," the Doctor says, catching another substantially padded idiot and following Rich's lead.

Both men manage to land with the mercs for padding. They then move away from the two dazed individuals, leaving them rather alive. Up above the cyborg slides down and into the pit, losing his grip on the rail. He crumples at the bottom, having shorted something out that made his false leg work. The Doctor quickly pegs the direction the TARDIS is sitting at and plants the explosives along that wall. He then crouches down near where the Shrill will enter from. Richard nods to him.

Antonia discovers that she can't really drink her wine and enjoy her repast if she has to worry about the remote for the explosives. Besides she's never had problems with this not working out the way she wants once she's gotten this far with it. She picks up her opera glasses so she can see better and rubs her hand over her leg as she remembers the bloodletting that has just happened. It's enough to make anyone hot and bothered, honestly. In her distraction she does not see how the Doctor gets to the opposite side of the pit from Riddick, but she doesn't let that bother her. "Go Ultraviolet," she instructs Junner.

Suddenly everything goes black. Well, mostly black. Rich can still see. He suspects that Chillingsworth and Junner have some way to see. Maybe the Doctor can see. But the others, he figures are pretty blind right now. Off to his right he hears Imam mumble, "I was on a pilgrimage. Just a pilgrimage."

Jack's voice comes from the left; "This is bad, huh?"

There's the sound of rustling leather, "Ah, maybe not," says the Time Lord. He pulls out his yo-yo and gives it a good test spin. That bright neon green glows very yellow in this light. His second punch with it catches one of the Shrill that are sneaking in right in the brain case and it goes down with a shriek.

"What the fuck was that?" comes Johns' voice.

"A -- friend. Um. -- A dead friend." The Doctor's accented voice comes from the region of the doors still.

"Huh? Wait, was that a Shrill?" the marshal asks.

The Doctor's voice leads to the other side of the room now, "Got it in one, William. Any good with a yo-yo?"

"From up here? Are you out of your mind?"

The man is moving fairly quickly, because now he's back near Rich, opposite the doors, "Didn't we have this conversation before? No. Wait. That was between me and Richard."

Fry says, "So how many are in here?"

"Give it a minute. I can't rightly tell," Riddick says. Actually he doesn't want to say. They are way outnumbered here. And the only reason they haven't found Thete yet is the fact that he's covered in merc blood. Which, maybe, might be the reason he jumped into the stuff in the first place. Unfortunately, the ex-ranger didn't think of that, and perhaps the fact that he's been tasting honey on his own tongue is why the bastards are advancing on him. "Imam, pray," he pleas softly.