Chapter 1

Once upon a time, as stories go, there was born a young girl named River Tam with extraordinary abilities. Her mind was quick silver, her dark hair the night sky and her eyes the twinkling stars. Her skin was the paleness of the moon. Her dancing feet were as agile as her lightening fast mind. She longed to dance upon the sky and beyond.

The only one who truly understood her was her older brother Simon. His dark hair was the ground, his skin the pale trees, his eyes the dark pools at night. Simon was always patched up his sister's bleeding dancing feet, and found he had a knack for healing. As his healing hands were as nimble as his mind.

At the urging of his parents, and blessings of his sister, he went off to study to be come the best healer he possible could.

Their parents, Gabriel and Regan Tam were both wealthy, highborn, and cultured socialites, and such they had connections to bring their children all their hearts desires. But had no time for their children, for the most wealthy sometimes don't make time for their children. The result was that Simon and River were as close as two siblings could be.

As Simon was studying to be the best healer he could, his sister River was left yearning for more then the endlessly lessons of high society, of how to be prime and proper. Her mind was past all that her former schooling could offer.

River found a government sponsored academy that would expand her mind and let her dance. Her parents gave her their blessings and her brother Simon just wanted the best for her, despite his worries for her. River left eager to being her studies at fourteen, dance flats in her hand.

At the academy her joy at learning at her own pace was like a stream of fresh clear water. For two years River expanded her mind and dance to beyond their limitations and her heart was full.

Simon graduated at the top three percent of his class, and was welcome home with all the fanfare of a Tam could have. He was offered many opportunities in first-rate hospitals in the greatest cities. He chose one close to home so he could see his sister when she got back from her schooling.

But she never got back. Instead her letters home stopped for a time and then became gibberish. Only Simon figured out what was wrong, his arguments with his parents fell on deaf ears as they saw no reason for concern. He cut off ties with his parents and went to free his sister. It took two years to get to her, expiring almost all his funds. He found River much changed. It broke his heart.

***
In a distant land far away, so far that not many people have ever heard of it, a strong people and their country were wiped out to make a prophecy not come true that a air spirit foretold. But fate had the last laugh. A baby boy survived. He became the last of his species.

The Furyans were a strange people, they had the the ability to become beasts, not like any sort of beasts like of a were-creature, but a beast, a pure animal that had strange abilities. The People of Death sought to contain this threat to their march to convert all to death, so they slaughtered the Furyans whole or so they thought.

Richard B. Riddick, grew up in an forgiving country. It made him hard, in muscle and in mind. His trust in people were slim to none. For when he trusted and started to care about people, they died for him. First on the dark country with the night demons by the pilot who saved his life, the wise holy man he was friends with who didn't give up his position, then the girl who was like his sister so he could kill the leader of the People of Death to fulfil the prophecy.

After all this he was driven to become more of the animal he was, so he never care too deeply again. Riddick got close then Mercs started to come after him for the price on his head was huge. But instead of dying, Riddick help John Sr who didn't kill him in revenge of his son John Jr off the wet lands filled with flesh eating monsters. That was the last straw and he became what he sought, a pure beast, the man hidden inside, instead of the beast hidden in the man.

John Sr let him go out of thanks for saving his life, but others still sought to capture him. After a while they did and they shipped him off to where they thought he would be captured forever.

This is where our story begins.

Regan Tam was not just a wealthy, highborn, and cultured socialite who married for love, and moved up in the social world, she was a mother who loved her children dearly. She was also quite intelligent. The brains of the family came from her side of the family, Gabriel did have some smarts, but not like her.

At the moment she was highly pissed off but she didn't show it. Instead she set out to have lunch with her son Simon who had brought home River ten months ago after that horrible Miranda expansion incident.

Regan's only sign of distress was a tightening of her fingers on her soup spoon. Simon her smart and sweet boy recognized the gesture but refrained from the polite chit-chat they were having while they were out in public. Once in the hover car, magic powered of course, however, he asked what was wrong.

Simon's mother fixed her warm brown eyes on her son, which were cold like ice. "What exactly did the government academy do to River?" This was said in a crisp clipped tone of voice as Regan tossed him the letters that Simon and his parents received almost three years go.

Simon looked at the worn letters, that were decoded in his mother's handwriting. His heart clinched as he reread the words that River sent out of desperation. 'They are hurting us. Get me out.' He looked up a question in his eyes.

"I started to go over River's letters after you cut ties with us. You would have never done so unless it was for a really good reason. At the time, I did think it was just River's silly games and your father soothed my fears and worries. But when you just left without a word, I knew something was wrong. It took me until just after the Lucianda incident wave to fully decrypt all her letters. So I ask again what exactly did the government do to your sister?"

Simon recognized the unspoken emotion in his mother's body language and swallowed. "It'll be best spoken about in the garden."

As Simon in his mother's private garden, where she went to be completely alone, explained the best that he could what happened to him and his sister after they left home, his mother's lips became bloody from biting her lower lip so tightly.

Once he was finished, Regan looked at her sweet, brave handsome son and commanded. "We are going to visit grandmother."

"I don't have a grandmother on your side of the family. She and grandfather are gone."

"My grandmother, your great grandmother." Simon blinked in shock and numbly followed his mother questions swirling in his head.

**

Meanwhile Gabriel Tam was distressed, not that he'll show it to anyone, not even his wife. Usually he could tell Regan any and everything but, he discovered some information that troubled him greatly. Somehow some way he saw not just the Lucianda wave but what his daughter did so that wave could be sent out. He didn't know how he got the information but his face grew hard, and his eyes like flint at what the government did to his sweet daughter. She was changed and he didn't know how to help, at all.

So he found himself walking aimlessly at the zoo, multiple times over the course of the last six months, the largest assortment of different types of animals that was boasted anywhere. Gabriel found himself once again, studying the object of his frustration, or at least a imitation of it.

Gabriel leaned as far as he dared to and just looked with a worried frown at the huge, black shaggy furred brownish silver-eyed intelligent eyes of the "Beast" as the zoo keepers called the animal. They couldn't classified the male animal so they didn't. It was like a panther, lion, tiger, and just raw energy of nature rolled into one. It was the ultimate predator, since when it was with the other great animals they were scared.

They kept the male beast behind the strongest wards they could since they acquired the animal eight months ago from legit hunters. The beast was pacing the large enclosure, that was filled with grass, trees, and a shady spot of rocks that had a hidden hole for sleeping.

Gabriel stared at the beast as the beast stared right back. Then he gave a huff as he was not amused and leap on to the rocks to sunbath. This was his fifth month in the zoo, and Gabriel recognized the look in the beast's eyes.

It reminded Gabriel of his daughter's look when she thought or when she knew that someone was looking. His daughter River and this beast looked trapped, like they couldn't wait to breakout and live free.

River didn't know she was free, her social manners, intelligence and dancing intact despite what the 'school' did to his daughter. He was secretly horrified of what she learned to do, but also strangely relieved in case someone would try anything.

Simon was right he was ashamed to admit. His Regan was the one to figure it out. Once he saw the letters, he went to the zoo and just walking aimlessly. He found himself watching the big cats of the animal world trying to figure out why they seem familiar then when the beast came it clicked. The academy turned his sweet, beautiful awesome daughter into a predator.

A voice of a zookeeper interrupted Gabriel's musings as he feed the beast from the meat buckets.

"Pity that the beast isn't getting the attention he use to when he first showed up. You're the only person who comes to see him. I mean after the first six escape attempts, we just kept him somewhat drugged, but he quickly built up an immunity to them. Too bad he'll be killed tomorrow. Oh well, on to the next big exhibit."

The zookeeper finished feeding the beast and left. Gabriel made an impulse decision.

**

Four hours later he watched as the beast made for the trees. The beast wasn't free, but it had a massive estate to roam around on. It was a undeveloped piece of one of the Tam's properties that ran almost a third on a small island, in fact the Tams owned the island and the third was the only part livable for human life. They even had a house there.

There were wards so even the beast couldn't get out, it was the first thing Gabriel checked.

His heart worried about what he was going to suggest but he felt that it would be a good idea in the long run. He didn't know why but, he just needed to.