Please keep in mind this is a much darker River, and the reason for this has/will be hinted at and will be explained in detail later ;) Also, because of the lovely feedback I have received from ArtLightLove, Raachet, and Dayzejane =) I will try and make these chapters longer, but that also means I will not update as fast. The story is really going to follow the plot of Pitch Black for awhile now, but don't worry, that doesn't mean River won't come out and play. Again, I own nothing please don't sue.
River's POV
The blue devil is now coming out of the wreckage, a little less fluid that earlier. The girl can feel the drugs in his system, can feel his eyes begin to dance.
"It's all topsy-turvy." The girl says as he re joins the group, which earns another stare, only this time it's frustration laced with something she doesn't like. A hunger which wasn't there when the drugs were not…
The other have been going through the whelps cargo, looking for things to protect themselves, she inwardly laughs at the little man's useless weapons.
"What are these?" the blue devil asks.
"They're Maratha crow-bill war picks from India. Very Rare."
"And this?"
"That's a hunting blow-dart pipe from Papua New Guinea. That's very rare, since the tribe is now extinct."
"'Cause they couldn't hunt shit with these probably," Johns says as he throws down the antique thing.
There is talk between the butterfly and blue devil now, talk of searching for the Riddick. They bicker back and forth, and the real reasons for their words are rolling off their skin, but only the girl can hear them. The devil wants his due, wants the coin he was promised, silly man, he doesn't realize the girl's payday is more than the Riddick's. The butterfly wants to save her gilded face, wants to act the part, all the world's a stage. But in the end it's the devil that wins.
"What's the point? If he's gone, he's gone…" I can tell the butterfly wants to say more, wants to say what she said to the docking pilot that died for her, for the passengers, but she won't, the others interrupt her...
"Why should he bother us?" The Holy man asks.
"Maybe to take what you got. Maybe to work on your nerves. Or maybe to just come back and skull-fuck you in your sleep…" The last part is directed at the girl, but this is more the devil's intention that the Riddick's.
"He sounds like a charmer." Fry spits out before she realizes how she said it, with a slight hint of interest.
"For you." The blue devil grits back.
The Holy man next to me finished his praying, as do his three charges. The girl wants to tell them that they have no reason to fear. That Orpheus and the dancer will help them weather the storm, but they would not believe the girl at this time. No, they would need to be shown what real monsters lurk beneath their feet…
"Alright so this is the plan, the rest of us will go look for water while Johns looks for Riddick, while Zeke, Shazza, and Paris stay behind to finish here." Fry says as the others look to her for guidance. This amuses the girl to no ends because the butterfly's secret is dying to come spilling from her lips.
"If we're looking for water, we should leave soon…" The Holy-man is interrupted before he can continue by one of the charges. The girl sees a momentary glimpse of hope wash over his face as the boy pulls away from whispering in the old man's ear.
"I think you should see this," he says to the others… As the group walks around the crash site, it becomes clear what he wanted them to see.
"Three suns?"
"Bloody hell."
"So much for nightfall."
"So much for my cocktail hour."
"We take this as a good sign… a path, direction from god. Blue sun, blue water…" The girl cringes at this. She knows what he means, but he cannot help what he brings up in her mind.
…Reality Shifts…
She is no longer in the desert, no longer free from the cage. She is trapped, trapped in the white walls, trapped to do the dance they programmed her to do. She can feel the cold metal chair beneath her, hear the clank and click of the tools. She takes a moment to breath, she has long learned how to control these shifts, she knows it isn't real, she recalls another memory… One where she has all the spades…
…Reality Shifts again…
Back to the desert, back to the blue devil, the butterfly, and the symphony which calls to her mind. It is decided Paris will keep watch as Zeke digs graves, and Shazza will pile the bodies. Johns has given Zeke his gun, to sound the alarm, if the Riddick should show. They all go to their respective tasks, the blue devil and the Holy man begin walking when Fry pulls the girl by the arm away from the ears of others.
"I don't know how you know, or what you know, but you best keep your gorram mouth shut little girl."
She cannot help but laugh at this. After the giggle has subsided Fry is still glaring at her, waiting for a reply. "Do not worry gilded butterfly, we will all laugh, but the girl will not be the one to say why. Owens saved the girl with his last words and he wouldn't want that to go to waste."
The look in the girl's eyes had the desired effect and Fry moved a step back before scampering off in the direction that Johns went. The girl begins to hum again, the melody she knows so well, as she skips off in the direction they went.
"You comfy up there?" Zeke asks a little begrudgingly.
"You can to without the necessities provided you have the little luxuries." A semi-tipsy Paris replies.
"Just keep your bloody eyes open. I don't want that dog sneaking up on my bloody ass."
"Yes, well, you dig the graves. I'll hold the fort, old boy."
Riddick's POV
John's was losing his touch if he believed that he had strayed away from wreckage. What I'm most curious about was right here, right under his nose. Now that I was free to roam, I could now get a good look at the girl before she scampered off after Johns.
I was right; she was nothing more than a slip of a girl. Her waves of chestnut hair looking more like wild snakes than hair. Looked to be no more that 18 at most. Her movements were graceful and fluid. Her toned little body told him she had spent years where ever it was that the Alliance had kept her. The thought of the words she had spoken to me made my blood boil though…They had taken from the girl…As if the Huh choo-shung tza-jiao duh tzang-huo didn't do enough already to fuck with everyone's lives, they had to go and start taking bits from helpless girls. Well helpless she may not be, but it still didn't sit right. But my mind drifted to the next thing the girl had said…she had taken back in spades…and that sounded all kinds of enticing to his animal side. A smile played on his lips as he was getting ready to make his move…
Paris and Zeke had just switched off to give Zeke a break. Johns had recently come back and given them his gun as protection, which the girl had snorted at before turning back to her task with a glare from Johns.
Shazza is still pulling bodies from the wreckage when she turned to walk around the corner and was confronted with a still smoldering man.
"On, my god… I…thought I… was the only one." He rasps out before his blood covers Shazza's face. Zeke comes running towards them from the watch tower that they had erected.
"I thought it was him…I thought it was Riddick," he says nearly overcome with grief at what he has done.
During this commotion the girl watches as Riddick climbs the watch tower and steals the rum that Paris had begrudgingly allowed the survivors to drink. He sits for a moment and takes in the view…
Zeke is now switching with Paris once more, too shaken to take over the watch again. He had resumed digging the graves, when suddenly the ground caved in a little and revealed what looked to be a cave. He began to peer into the cave more…
River's POV
The settlement that the girl has consciously steered them towards with her dancing off ahead was coming into view now. The girl knew they needed to be here. Saw what needed to be done. But there were too many variables right now to calculate the outcome. All she could do was wait, and weather the storm…
The blue devil and butterfly are talking in hushed tones, but the girl knows what is being said. Yes butterfly, confess your sins to the wolf in sheep's wool. Confess to the man that will spill the secret…
"Captain!" The Holy man shouts.
The settlement has come into view now, and they all quicken the pace to investigate.
"Is there anyone here?"
"There is water here."
And all of a sudden the girl is filled with voices again, screaming rage and violence. She wants to tell them, but they will not listen, no not yet…
The butterfly has found wings and has gone to investigate, the Holy man and his charges are pumping water, and thanking god for his guidance. The girl just watches from the shade. But she can feel the blue devil approaching…Fell the hunger radiate off of him…
"What are doing little girl, hmm?" He tries to purr in her ear. This just irritates the girl more.
"Waiting for the inevitable," she says as she crosses her arms over her chest
"Oh, and what's that darling?" He is now running a finger along her cheek, and the girl grabs his hand to stop him.
"Heed this warning blue devil, you will not touch what is not yours."
He laughs a guttural laugh at this, "Oh I think I will touch what pleases me little girl, especially something as tempting as you." He eyes her lecherously and with this she walks over to where the Holy man and his sons are collecting water. Johns laughs to himself and goes to see where Fry, the so called Captain has gone off to…
Fry hears Johns approaching, and begins to tell him what she has found by tinkering with the emergency shuttle.
"No juice. Looks like it's been laid up for years."
"Well ain't that just dandy,"" he replies as Fry shuffles out from under the console.
"But we might be able to adapt it to the—"
"Shut up!" He silences her with a hand as he tilts his head towards the door. "Sorry, I thought I heard something."
"Like what?"
"Gunshots."
Riddick's POV
The rest of the survivors can be seen running back from their little expedition to find him and water now. Damn and he thought he was being so good too. But the man's scream had drawn him closer than he should have and that it what got him hear now…
"Piece of Shit! What did you do to him? What did you do to Zeke!" The female in front of me is screaming, beating on my chest.
"Just kill him. Just somebody kill him before he-" Paris never has a chance to reply before Johns steps in.
"So where's the body?"
After that his world goes black, Johns has pistol whipped him across the head, which hurt like a mothafucker. He would have to remember to pay him back for that later. When he comes to he is chained to the wreckage again, only this time his arms are tethered to opposite sides. All he could do now is wait…
River's POV
The others are outside, arguing about what to do about the monster, the beast, her symphony. There is talk of putting him down, doing what's right, but he won't let them do that. No, the blue devil has his eyes on the prize, and the devil wants his due.
He goes to talk to the monster they have caged again, but they should know nothing can cage him. The girl approaches the group now.
"He didn't do it."
They all turn and look at her like she is ghost of Christmas past at this. Wide eyes and mouths hanging open.
"And how exactly would you know that little girl?" the butterfly demands?
"The Riddick is proficient in many things, but spontaneous combustion is not one of them… Where's the body?" She replies.
"He got rid of it! Got rid of the evidence of what he did to my poor Zeke!" Shazza cries out.
"Negative. There would be congealed hemoglobin as evidence, which there is not."
They all just look at her as if she is speaking another language until the Holy man interprets her words.
"I think she is trying to say there would be blood on the ground, and there is not. Is that correct child?"
She smiled at this and turns her attention back to the group. The blue devil has now returned waves of irritation from getting nowhere radiate off of him.
"Has anyone asked the Riddick about the sounds?"
Fry perks up at this, "What sounds?" Johns eye twitches at this as he begins to realize there is only one way the girl could know this, and the wheels in his head begin to turn.
"Go ask the man for yourself."
Riddick's POV
Three distinct scents are wafting towards me now. The stale stench of morphine being one that just left not a moment ago. The grease and grime of a ship being the next, hmm, so the so called captain was coming to pay a visit. This should be amusing. The last was scent of lavender, and it was one that immediately made his blood boil. Time for more questions to be answered…
"So where's the body?" Fry commands. He doesn't even acknowledge her presence with this and this flusters her.
"Well do you want to tell me about the sounds then? Look the little girl said something about sounds, and told us to ask you." Still no response. "That's fine. You don't want to talk to me, that's your choice. But, just so you know… there's a debate right now as to whether we should just leave you to die."
"You mean the whispers?" he answers in a gravely tone.
"What whispers?" The scent of the captain is becoming stronger now which means she is drawing closer, and so is the scent of lavender, and he feels something in the back of his mind, like a gentle caress of delicate fingers…
"The ones telling me to go for the sweet spot…" but before he can further answer she is finishing his thought…
River's POV
"…just to the left of the spine, Fourth lumbar down. The abdominal aorta." She says with a hint of smugness to her tone.
Johns looks on stunned at what has just come to pass, and he knows she is a reader. But this is inconsequential. The Riddick's low growl draws the girl's attention back to him.
"It's a metallic taste, human blood. Copperish. If you cut it with peppermint schnapps that goes…"
"Do either one of you want to shock me with the truth now?" Fry says with irritation?
"Please, like you could handle the truth of Cassandra's words," the girl throws at the butterfly in challenge.
The girl can tell that the Riddick sense the tension building between the butterfly and the dancer and quickly diverts the attention, which she is grateful for.
"All you people are so scared of me. Most days, I take that as a compliment. But it ain't me you go to worry about now."
The butterfly is stepping closer to the girls symphony now, and an audible growl emanates from the girl, not enough for the butterfly to hear, but enough for the blue devil and the symphony to shift. The blue devil is becoming more aware of the girl's interest, which is irrelevant, but it does not stop the waves of jealousy that begin to boil under his skin…
"Show me your eyes."
You'd have to come a lot closer for that." And the butterfly moves in again.
"Closer." He replies again, and this time the girl growls in irritation. He is testing her, testing the girl's reaction. But she cannot help but supply him with the one he wants.
The butterfly rips off the wrap around his eyes, and this is the first time that the mercurial depths are revealed to the girl. This close she can see that they swim with emotion, and not just the previous ones from the symphony. Now the sounds of Verdi are mixed with Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. The girl cannot help but sway with the symphony as the orchestra picks up, and she realizes that he is projecting this music for her. She smiles at this, and is rewarded with a small smirk from his lips. Yes, Orpheus knew how to charm the maiden, the dancer, the Iron Queen.
Author's Note: feedback always appreciated, and I hope you all like this. If I begin going out of character for Riddick please let me know, River is more AU in this but if it seems too far off I will try and fix that. Again, kudos if you get my semi hidden references ;)