Faith in the Darkness

“Shit,” Faith muttered, daring to look away from the two evenly matched fighters to notice the crowd gathering around them. Even if Riddick and Angel didn’t kill each other, the Security Squad that was bound to notice them wouldn’t hesitate to finish the job. Especially if Angel’s true nature was revealed. If Riddick’s identity came out, if he was recognized, then they would have mercs onto them as well.



Trust a couple of men to let their testosterone get the better of them. Even her thoughts were angry and Faith glanced at Spike. His jaw was tense and she doubted he was worried about either man. More likely he’d seen the same problem she had.



~*~



“They’ll get us all killed,” Spike groused, crossing his arms and letting his eyes flick over the crowd of gawking people.



“We’ve got to break them up,” Faith said, quietly and he nodded without looking at her.



“You know if we do that it won’t really be over. They’ll just continue this later,” he said.



“As long as they don’t do it with an audience,” she said, taking a step toward them. “You take Angel and I’ll get Riddick.”



“The Hell I will!” he said, finally looking at her. “It’s not my pretty little ass they’re fighting over and I’m damn well not getting killed for yours.”



Faith’s eyes narrowed and she looked like she was about to start arguing but Jack broke in first.



“I’ll take Riddick. You get the vampire.” They both stared at her and she met Faith’s eyes. “He’s angry at me, but he won’t kill me. I trust him in that.” After a long moment, Faith nodded.



~*~



Jack took a shaky breath. She was about to jump in front of Riddick during a fight. She was about to put her life in his hands, in front of his shiv, once again. There’s a fine line between trust and stupidity, her inner voice warned, but she silenced it quickly. She trusted Riddick.



~*~



Spike stared at the circling fighters for a moment, then looked at the two girls that were about to get between them. He wondered, not for the first time, if Faith didn’t have a death wish. Biting his tongue for once to keep back the tirade of smart ass remarks about jumping in front of oncoming trains, he watched, waiting to see how Faith would begin. It soon became apparent that she was going to jump into this just as she had every other situation in her life: head first, at full speed.



A blade flashed and Angel dodged it, jumping backward. As soon as the glimmer of silver was out of the way, Faith was there, slamming into Angel, driving him further back. Hot on her heels, Jack ducked under the tail end of Riddick’s swipe and came up in front of him, shoving him. She had less luck than Faith. Riddick took one steadying step back and caught her by the arm with one hand. The look on his face was unreadable, his eyes hidden behind the seemingly ever present goggles.



Angel was on the ground, Faith on top of him, her hand on his throat and Spike could hear her speaking, very quietly.



~*~



“The last thing any of us needs is someone calling security, you asshole, so dump some fucking hormones,” Faith growled. Angel’s eyes narrowed, focusing on her ribs, where he could see the stitches peeking out from the arm of her tank top.



“There was a time you would’ve killed someone for less than that. Now you jump into bed with them?” he asked, angrily. Something flickered in her eyes, but quickly vanished.



“And there was a time you would never have gotten into a public fight like this unless you were protecting someone. Now here you are, putting on one hell of a show. Looks like we’ve both changed,” she hissed.



“Get off me, Faith,” Angel said, a warning in his voice.



“Make me,” she challenged.



“You don’t want to do this,” he said.

“The Hell I don’t.”



Angel stared at her for a moment. She was serious. She was willing to fight him over this. He suddenly felt very tired.



“Faith, get off,” he said again.



“If I let you up, is this over?” she asked.



“For now,” he agreed.



~*~



There were going to be bruises. Riddick’s fingers bit into Jack’s arm like steel bands, ever tightening and she fought not to cry out in pain. Even from behind the goggles, she could feel his eyes boring into hers. His every movement was controlled rage, a caged animal, tightly leashed and straining for freedom.



“Riddick, you have to stop,” she gasped. “Port Security has probably been called by now and as soon as someone recognizes you, we’re all as good as dead.”



“This isn’t your fight, Jackie. Stay the hell out of the way,” he said. The use of the nickname didn’t mean he was happy with her, but it did mean he was listening. He was still in control and he knew who he was speaking to. The monster hadn’t taken over yet. She grasped at that, the man in him.



“They’ll kill Faith, Riddick, and me too, if they find you. Kill us or worse. You know what mercs will do to us,” she said, tears stinging her eyes from the growing ache in her arm. He saw it and his grip loosened, almost imperceptibly, just enough to allow blood flow to her hand.



“Go back to the ship, Jack. I’m going to finish this,” he said.



“It’s already over.”



~*~



Faith watched them both turn toward her voice and thought she saw a flicker of relief in the girl’s eyes. Riddick just looked at her, his jaw clenched. She saw his head move, knew he was looking behind her, to Angel and she tensed.



“It isn’t over between us, vampire,” Riddick finally growled.



“Far from it,” Angel agreed and Faith had the sinking realization that it would probably be the only thing they agreed on, ever.



~*~



The sound of marching, booted footsteps had Spike turning away from the unfolding drama, his eyes scanning the crowd until he saw the helmets of the Port Security Guards moving through the throng of people.



“Hate to break this up, boys and girls, but our little party is about to be crashed,” he said, loudly. He heard Riddick’s low growl and Faith swore. The guards were moments away from breaking through the crowd and reaching them. Spike glanced at his and Angel’s ship. It was too far away. They’d never get inside and get it out of the dock in time. He heard Angel’s curse when the other vampire realized the same thing. There was only one alternative and even as Spike ran up the ramp, onto Riddick’s ship, he was shaking his head and wondering how long it would take for their little group to rip itself apart. He heard footsteps on the ramp behind him, but didn’t look back, making his way to the main cabin. Riddick’s steps were even and purposeful, Faith’s quick and wary. Angel’s were almost hesitant and Jack’s were stumbling as Riddick dragged her along.



It was pitch black in the cabin and Spike stepped to the side of the door as Riddick and the others entered behind him. Releasing Jack, the man moved quickly to the captain’s chair and Faith immediately took the seat next to him, buckling her harness. There was only one other chair and Spike grabbed Jack’s shoulders, steering her into it and then stepping back as she strapped in.



“Sit down and hold on,” Riddick barked, even as the ship lurched beneath them. Spike grabbed the back of Jack’s chair for steadiness and saw Angel grip the edge of the doorway. A small hand on his wrist made Spike look down at the girl in front of him. Her eyes were closed and her grip on him was tight and seemingly unconscious as the ship shuddered around them. He heard a sharp intake of breath and glanced at Faith to see the Slayer staring at him. He’d forgotten she could see in the dark almost as well as a vampire. The look on her face was something between a warning and encouragement and Spike looked once more at Jack. Yes, it was definitely going to be an interesting trip.





~*~



Anger. It was familiar, hot and comforting when all she felt was cold and empty inside. Jack pounded on the training bag her small fists making satisfying thumps when they hit the vinyl. Her muscles were screaming with fatigue, but Jack didn’t make a sound, just continued in her workout. She could go on for hours like this. Endurance, even in the face of pain. It was one of the many things that he’d taught her. Pride, even when her world had been torn to shreds. That was another of his lessons, taught without saying a word. In the short time they’d been together on that skiff, all those years ago, she’d learned more from Riddick than she had from any other experience in her life.



Now, here she was, stuck on another ship with him and this time, it was even worse. Faith and the vampires were there every time she turned around. She couldn’t even get close enough to talk to Riddick alone. She wanted to explain, to try and make him see, even after the disaster she’d made of it last time. Cutting Faith had been a mistake and she knew it, but she wasn’t willing to let the rest go. She had to make Riddick understand. There was so much more between he and Jack than their could ever be between him and the Slayer. Besides, it’s not like he’d be leaving Faith on her own. She had the vampires.



The thought of the vampires brought something else to mind and her relentless pounding on the training bag faltered. The blond vampire, Spike. She wasn’t sure why she’d grabbed him during their launch. Maybe it was just instinct, a natural compulsion to reach out to someone and he happened to be holding on to her seat. Whatever the reason, it unnerved her and she hated that. Fear was a commodity she couldn’t afford.



She stopped hitting the bag and stood, shoulders heaving, sweat dripping into her eyes. Fear was not to be tolerated and the only way to stop it was to face it. With that bit of logic in mind, she swiped a hand over her sweaty face and left the cargo hold.



~*~



Spike looked around the small space he’d been allotted. The ship only had two cabins, one for Jack and the other Riddick shared with Faith. There were, however, a few nooks left with a bit of privacy.



Reclining on the portable mattress and the few blankets he’d been given, he let his eyes wander over the shelves of spare equipment, bits and pieces of computers and engine components. The room was tiny, about six by six feet, but it had a door and a light and heat. That meant that Spike had slept in worse places. In the first hour, he’d discovered a small box of restraints, much like the one’s he’d seen in Crematoria. It was shoved away in the back corner of a shelf, as if someone wanted to forget about it.



He was still musing about the restraints when the door to his room slid open and Jack stepped inside, the door closing behind her. Her dark hair hung around her face, escaping from the loose ponytail, damp with perspiration. Bottle green eyes stared at him, and Spike let his gaze travel boldly, leisurely, down the length of her.



She wore shorts of some dark blue, body hugging material. The flat expanse of her stomach was bared by the short, tight top. It looked like it had once been a full shirt, but it had been sliced and formed into barely more than a bra. She smelled like sweat and adrenaline, like a fight, or like sex. Spike’s eyes narrowed and he sat up.



“Something I can do for you, Jack?”



~*~