A/N: Ah, hi. Yes, it's been a while since I've updated and I'm sorry about that, but things went crazy there for a little while. I'll update the Tumblr tomorrow (snowflake13x) since I haven't really been on there either. A big thank you and lots of hugs and kisses to everyone who followed/favorited/reviewed! There's a lot of action in this chapter, which was a bit hard to write. Things won't slow down in the next one either, so I don't really think we'll be getting to the feels until the end, or close to it. I didn't think it would be right to split the chapter, so it's a bit longer than usual. The usual disclaimer that I don't own anything, just Eris. Remember, r&r!

Chapter 5

Chillingsworth ordered two of her men to escort Riddick into the pit, but he had other plans, dropkicking the first merc that touched him and grabbing onto the second, fat one, pushing him over the edge of the balcony, the convict landing atop him. The merc didn't appear to be dead since his large stomach rose and fell with each breath, just knocked out.

"Go ultraviolet," the woman ordered, a groan making it's way out of my throat. I was getting awfully tired of being stuck in the dark, literally. The normal lights went out and we were submersed in a dark purple light, making it hard to see - the only consolation being that it wasn't complete darkness, where we'd be blind. Even with his unusual eyes, Riddick wouldn't be able to see in total blackness.

I sucked in a breath as the doors opened completely and I felt my right eye twitch just a bit. What. The. Fuck. Two creatures slithered through the doorway, one glowing with a purple hue, the other green. They had no faces, but what looked like a brain in the center of their oval bodies (or what I would consider a body of sorts) where their glow emanated and lots of tentacles - those were hard to see though, because of the light or lack thereof.

"I was on a pilgrimage," I heard Imam mutter, "Just a pilgrimage."

"This is bad, huh?" Jack asked, all trace of her earlier bravado gone.

"Give it a minute," Riddick answered.

"Wait, what?" I hissed incredulously. "A minute? More like right fucking now!"

I was trying my hardest to not panic, but that game plan wasn't working out as well as I hoped.

"Imam," Riddick murmured, keeping his gaze on the slowly advancing creatures, "Pray."

Oh, shit. This was bad, very bad. I heard a loud groan and could barely make out the dim shape of the merc who had definitely woken up at the wrong time. He rose and quickly realized where he was as the creature's tentacles suddenly lit up, slashing through the air.

"Fuck!"

A burst of gunfire startled me, causing me to almost lose my footing on my ball. Bullets ricocheted off the metal walls, small sparks lighting up the dark and I really hoped none of them would hit us. The creatures went completely dark and everything was silent for about 30 seconds, before we heard an agonized scream. They relit, revealing the merc suspended in the air by the green one, tentacles wrapped around his hands and lower body.

Another tentacle lashed out with something pointy on the end, sticking him. Eyes wide and my horror mounting, I watched as he literally melted in front of us, his gooey remains (well, what was left) hitting the floor with a wet slap. I bit on my bottom lip until I tasted blood; I would not, could not lose it. This was almost as bad as the other shit from the planet we crashed on and once again, Riddick was the only one that would be able to get us out of it - I was starting to lose count of how many times he'd saved my ass.

Jack gasped and I quickly turned my attention back to the scene in front of me. Well, what I could see of it. The creatures were moving in, the light in their tentacles going on and off like strobe lights. It was almost like being in a club and I quickly remembered why I hated going - the constant, short transition from light to dark made it almost impossible to see anything clearly and gave me a headache.

The three of us gasped when a purple tentacle whipped dangerously close to Riddick's face, the convict turning his head just in time. It struck out again, this time Riddick grabbing hold. He was lifted into the air, then tossed into Jack's ball. He landed with a grunt, Jack giving a strangled scream. Thinking quickly and being closer, Imam rolled his ball over to her until she was able to stand, taking her weight off of the collar around her neck.

Riddick got up and went back after the purple creature, the green one pausing, then turning towards Jack and Imam.

"Hey! Over here!" I shouted, using all the strength I could muster to push my ball, sending it rolling directly into the creature that had turned at my yell. Quickly grabbing the rope to keep myself from being strangled, I watched as the ball sent it tumbling backwards and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Uh, Eris?" Jack ventured, her voice quivering. "I think you made it mad."

"No shit," I snapped, trying to focus on holding myself up. This wouldn't be so hard if my hands weren't chained! "Fuck!"

I inwardly cursed the stupid bitch watching us up on the balcony, along with her creepy henchman for doing this to us. I knew it was obviously more about Riddick, but since we were currently saddled with him, it meant we were stuck, too.

Tentacles and lights continued to flash, Riddick dodging and weaving flawlessly around the purple creature, the green one heading in my direction once again.

"Eris, we can help!" Imam urged, but I shook my head.

"No," I ground out. There wasn't enough room on a ball for three people and there was no way he'd be able to hold his and Jack's combined weight for long. My hands, slick with sweat, slipped on the rope and my gasp turned into gagging as my air supply was abruptly cut off.

"Eris!"

Through my struggle to breathe I saw Riddick neatly evade a glowing tentacle before jumping onto the back of the green creature, launching himself forward to slice the rope that was doing an excellent job of strangling me. I dropped to the ground with a graceless thud, and then staggered to my feet, my breathing slowly returning to normal.

"Get the others," Riddick ordered, turning back to deal with our very large problem.

They had taken my shiv and large knife, but thankfully hadn't checked my boots. I swiftly pulled out a blade and ran to Imam and Jack, tossing it to the holy man. He made quick work of their ropes, both hopping down to stand beside me. He offered me my knife, but I told him to keep it for now. "You may need it and I have another one."

"Stay together," Riddick threw over his shoulder.

"We cannot see!" Imam exclaimed.

"You don't want to," came the low reply.

Imam was right, though, about not being able to see. The creatures kept flashing their lights at such a rapid pace it skewed our vision. It was completely up to Riddick, his large frame silhouetted against the vivid flashes. The way he kept weaving in and out of their deadly path reminded me of when he killed the monster that had almost gotten me, back in the canyon…it looked like a dance.

The three of us gasped in unison when a tentacle struck out and Riddick raised his chained hands right in it's path, shattering them.

"You wanna go?" he asked, pointing his shiv in their direction, his voice holding a promise of pain. "Let's go."

One of them slung a tentacle his way, Riddick quickly sidestepping and slicing it off. The creatures paused, clearly not expecting this new development.

"They're gonna kill him!" Jack cried, lunging towards the convict. Imam grabbed her shirt, hauling her back.

"Don't distract him, Jack. He's got this," I muttered, not taking my eyes off the scene in front of me. I sure as hell hope he does or we are royally fucked.

The creatures and Riddick had stopped. Waiting. A stalemate of sorts. The grotesque pair suddenly went dark, a chill running down my spine. My ears strained for any sign of the damned things, any sound…there! Jack heard it at the same time and gasped, Riddick immediately reacting to her inadvertent warning. Moving with almost blinding speed, he thrust a ball at the injured creature, following behind in time to slice the thing open.

We all paused, surprised that it actually went down and stayed down.

"No!" Jack suddenly shouted, Riddick spinning around to find the other one almost on him. Imam struggled to hold the girl back, but I ignored them, my heart sinking as the creature managed to finally catch the convict.

"Jack!" Imam's voice brought me back. The foolish girl broke out of his grasp and ran over to grab one of the tentacles lying on the ground. Using it like a whip she snapped it through the air, the end wrapping around the creature's neck, or whatever it was.

"Godammit, Jack," I snarled, running up behind her to help pull. Grunting with the effort, we managed to at least temporarily draw it's attention away from Riddick. Like I said, temporarily. With an easy flick, Jack and I were knocked away like rag dolls, our landing no where near soft.

I groaned as I slowly rose to my feet. I had landed on my side and my ribs were protesting my movement. Gently running my fingers along my side, I surmised that they weren't broken, probably just bruised, but to what extent I couldn't tell. Great.

"Riddick!" I turned, Jack close enough that I could see the shiv in her hand.

The convict dodged the creature's injector, a tentacle falling to the ground. Oops. Stupid thing cut it's own arm off.

"Here!" he shouted, reaching out.

Jack threw it, my eyes glued to the glint of steel as it flipped through the air, landing perfectly in Riddick's outstretched hand. I let out a breath I hadn't know I was holding, watching the man maneuver himself and the blade in a position to not only cut another tentacle off, but get into the creature's center. With a bright flash of light, the creature went down and the pit was plunged into darkness.

The sound of clapping grated on my already frayed nerves and I gritted my teeth as the lights came back on. Jack was curled up on her side a few feet away from me, while Imam and Riddick were both kneeling a bit farther away. The convict slipped his goggles over his eyes before standing and looking upwards. I followed his line of site to the balcony where Chillingsworth and Junner stood.

"Bravo!" the tall woman breathed. "The grace, the expression, the sheer violence of it. Exquisite."

I knew I had to have been staring at her like she was a nutball and I could almost guarantee the others had the same expression on their faces. Glancing at Riddick, I immediately noticed his clenched jaw and inwardly winced. He was pissed.

"Give-" he started lowly and I strained to hear.

"What?" Imam whispered.

"Give me the knife," the convict said.

The holy man slowly reached for the shiv still buried in the creature's body, most likely forgetting that I had given him one of my knives. Luckily, the basket case above us was too wrapped up in her own perverse excitement to notice much else.

"Such a complete and thorough performance!" She just couldn't seem to stop and it was beyond disturbing. "It leaves only one question."

Imam had worked the blade out and was waiting for the right moment to hand it over.

"I got a feeling you're not gonna like it," Jack said under her breath, making me snort. I quickly put an end to that though when my ribs twinged in pain. Yes, definitely bruised, but not badly.

Chillingsworth closed her eyes as if to savor whatever was coming next, giving Imam the opportunity to toss Riddick the blade. The woman reopened her eyes, the maniacal gleam obvious.

"How will I ever have you mounted to do it justice?" she mused.

My eyes widened as Riddick raised the shiv up to his neck, poised right over the spot where Junner had injected the explosive.

"What are you-no!" Chillingsworth immediately realized what he was about to do and panicked, turning towards her table.

The convict started digging the charge out with a wince, the rest of us watching in morbid fascination. I swallowed down the bile that threatened to rise as he pulled out the small device.

"You gonna keep that?" Jack asked, her face pale as Chillingsworth finally got a hold of her remote.

"Looks like you'll have to be an abstract piece," she announced coldly.

Riddick was already prepared and threw the explosive, yelling, "Down! Now!"

The three of us quickly dove for cover, Riddick running a few steps before the crazy bitch hit the detonator. He was knocked off his feet from the blast, smoke and debris filling this side of the pit. I coughed and got to my feet, grabbing Jack by the back of her shirt. The explosion had blown a hole through the wall and I knew that was our escape route.

"Come on!" I ordered, Jack and I grabbing Riddick's arm and pulling him to his feet.. The large man groaned, stumbling slightly as he fully came around. "Let's go, Riddick!"

He stood, Imam already making a beeline for the hole. We ran after him, plunging into the darkness as Chillingsworth's voice rose in anger.

"All of them! Even the 'Golls! Any man or thing that can hold a weapon! Every last one!"