Darkness Leads the Way

Chapter 5

My Savior, My Destroyer


By Chaosdreamer

A Chronicles of Riddick fanfic
Pairing: Slash Riddick/Vaako
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the rights to Pitch Black or Chronicles of Riddick. They belong to David Twohy and Universal Studios. *Pity*
Summary: Next chapter that I had sudden inspiration to do.
I'm sorry when I said this would be the epilogue. I had sudden inspiration and
am deciding to make this fic even longer, as well as tying in the first Riddick
movie with I hope, major success.
Warning: Language, harshness. There will be violence and gore, so be warned.

*….* : Sound effects


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"It's hard to believe anyone would want to live on this forsaken planet." Val huffed furiously, stepping onto the top of the steep rise, amazed at how much time it took to surpass it, the sand constantly shifting under their feet, causing them to slide back down every two steps they took.

He didn't even want to imagine what it would be like if it had been rained on.

"There was a settlement here a long time ago." Riddick answered the man's question.

"Let me guess, they became those beasts' dinner." Val said dryly.

Riddick grinned back nastily, "Exactly."

"Wonderful." Nicol sighed.

"The blood trail goes all the way into the settlement." The soldier called out, the lensor's scanners showing a full view of the settlement.

Riddick nearly spat his disgust, unimpressed at once again seeing the settlement, wanting nothing more than to burn it to the ground if it wasn't for the possibility that Vaako may have taken refuge somewhere in there.

"No beasts in the area. Doesn't look like there are any in the settlement either. I think we finally scared them off." The other soldier noted.

"Not that easy. Some of the buildings had underground caverns or openings leading underground. That's how they got the colonists the first time around." Riddick reached into a side pocket, pulling out a handheld device that linked him directly back to the ship, "Have the ship hover directly over the settlement and wait there until further instructions." He ordered.

"Understood." The static-filled voice replied.

"Alright!" Riddick barked, turning around and looking at each and every soldier. "We need to do this fast in case he's not here. I don't want anyone going anywhere alone. Go in groups. Sweep the entire area. Expect the beasts to try to pop out with some nasty surprises. Got it?" The soldiers all nodded in unison. "Good." As the light of the ship began to surround him Riddick quickly slid his goggles on, not wanting to be blinded.

"You two." Riddick indicated to the two soldiers with the lensors, "You're with me. But I want you especially," He indicated to one, "To scan and try to find out where the blood trail finally stops. You," He turned towards the other, "Make sure the beasts don't try to sneak up on us and try to take a chunk out of our asses."

The second soldier had to fight to keep the smirk off of his face from Riddick's crude language, "Understood, sir." He followed Riddick and the other soldier, finding a building that he and the lensor could scale easily, setting up at the top of the building, using it as the best viewpoint to scan the entire settlement in all directions, keeping all scanners alert for possible hostility from the beasts.

The other soldier walked ahead of Riddick, the lensor moving as quickly as possible, following the steady blood trail, leading them to the center of the complex, the ship's lights above them making it easy to see and check every nook and cranny within the colony. Several times the other soldier on the roof would shout something, and Riddick would hear gunfire and possibly a few shrieks of beasts being chased out of their hiding places and slaughtered right on the spot.

Without turning his head Riddick accounted for the three Hellhounds, the three keeping to the tight alleyways and rooftops, exploring at their leisure, digesting their meals while at the same time keeping a steady ear and eye open for anything that caught their attention.

One of the Hellhounds, the larger of the three, lifted its head suddenly, taking in deep droughts of air through its nose. At the exact same time it had raised its head, the soldier ahead called out, "The blood trail leads into the building up ahead. It looks as if that is where it has stopped."

"Move." Riddick ordered, the soldier not questioning the Lord Marshall's orders, quickly ordering the lensor to move to the side as well.

With a short indication of his hand Riddick pointed the Hellhounds forward, the largest leaping down easily from the top of the building, grunting as it shoved the heavy and torn doors open, venturing inside, snuffling loudly as it began to explore every inch of the room. The other two joined Riddick as he passed through the doorway, the Lord Marshall scanning from floor to ceiling, moving to the side to provide enough room for the soldier and lensor to squeeze through.

The soldier noted to overturned tables and smashed geological samples, the room completely totaled and looking as if the beasts had desperately been looking for something. "This is it." He said, reading the scans, looking at the neon blue coloring signifying the traces of blood pooled and ending in the center of the room.

Riddick strode ahead, following the tracks left in the dust on the ground, recognizing the deep scratches and tracks of many beasts, so many that they had most likely wiped out any of Vaako's tracks.

He almost missed the sealed door set into the floor, the entrance blended into the floor, edges perfectly level with the floor itself, painted down to the exact same color, the handle almost completely flat.

The Lord Marshall crouched down, gripping the handle with one large hand, grunting as it spitefully refused to budge, the door groaning underneath his hand as he pulled furiously, only managing to make it open by barely a scant quarter of an inch.

He barely noted the Hellhound that joined him, the beast whining softly, trying to stick its nose through the crack of the door, sniffling madly, scratching at the door with one large paw.

"I know, I know." Riddick mumbled, allowing the Hellhound to shuffle beside him, impressed at the beast's dexterity as it hooked large claws under the small gap of the door, "He's in there."


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They were breaking in.

Vaako forced strength into his limbs, forcing himself onto his feet, amazed that his legs could still bear his weight.

His body was one entire mass of pain, his chest seeming weighed down, a steady burning spreading through his gut and kidneys. He had used up all the bandages he could find, his rations also having run out just a few hours ago.

The sound of dull scratching at the door made him cringe, the door shuddering and moving, thin beams of light breaking though the open slit.

'Why is it so light outside?' He thought in confusion.

'It doesn't matter now. This means those things can handle the light. That means Riddick was lying.'

He almost sobbed at the futility of everything. Struggling to survive, going so far as to bury himself in this room that might as well be a fucking coffin. Everything he had fought for, all for nothing.

Right then strength seemed to leave him and he collapsed once again to the ground, clenching his eyes shut, not wanting to watch as the door was finally ripped open above him, the light already painful enough from having had to endure days in the darkness without even moderate light.

With a final squeal of resistance the door sounded as if it was practically ripped completely off from its hinges.

Vaako lay there, trying not to shake in trepidation, his breathing ragged, muffled against his arm. 'Don't move, don't move. Maybe they'll think you're already dead and leave you here.' He thought hopefully.

All in vain. Strong fingers of the beast wrapped around him, nudging him. He clenched his eyes tighter. There were loud sounds around him, Vaako unable to discern their meaning or logic behind the repeated noise.

A limb wrapped around his waist, lifting him with ease, the beast not even grunting with effort.

A tendril of panic wrapped itself tight around his gut as he felt the beast hoisting him up towards the entrance, more hands grasping at him and pulling him up.

'There's more than one. They're dragging me outside so that they can kill me and the rest of them can have their fill as well!' He thought in panic.

The light was almost blinding even with his eyes squeezed shut, Vaako letting his body hang limp as he was finally set down. He could sense one of the beasts leaning over him, a hand running almost carefully across his face, brushing across his forehead, pushing away damp greasy bangs that hung in his face.

That overly familiar gesture was what made him snap.

Eyes flying open Vaako could only barely make out the blurred outline of something above him, opening his mouth and crying out in surprise, knee shooting up and slamming hard between the thing's legs.

The figure fell over, making obvious sounds of surprise and pain, and Vaako shot to his feet, nearly collapsing once again, the sight of more blurry forms surrounding him the only thing that spurred him to flee.

The shock of his sudden movement surprised the figures around him to jump back enough for him to dart free, somehow not bashing into the wall as he ran from the room, running blindly down the dusty road, various surprised cries echoing throughout the complex from all directions.

He ran in whatever direction he faced, pushing past anything that suddenly appeared in his sights, unkempt hair and watery eyes making everything hard to see. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, away from the beasts that had somehow broken through the door.

Unaware that he was running towards the edge of the halo of light provided by the ship.

Towards the darkness where the real monsters were waiting.


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There were no words to describe Riddick's surprise at seeing Vaako's eyes suddenly fly open, that dark gaze glazed over and unseeing, not recognizing the man above him, panic filling those eyes even as Vaako screamed and his knee slammed into Riddick's groin.

Riddick choked at the pain, voice returning to nearly howl from the wrenching pain, falling to the side off of Vaako.

The man sprung to his feet like a wild animal, rushing past them all, even the Hellhounds startled by the man's sudden flight. The Necromonger soldier and lensor stumbled as Vaako shoved them out of his way, running blindly, escaping outside.

"SHIT!!" Riddick cursed, gritting his teeth as he forced himself to his feet, nearly shoving the soldier onto his ass as he forced him out of his way. "SOMEBODY CONTAIN HIM!!" Riddick roared.

Soldiers bellowed and shouted orders from all around, Riddick ignoring most of the noise as he finally determined what direction Vaako was fleeing.

Finding the right direction he sprinted after the man, hoping to catch him in time before he did something stupid.


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Nicol ran ahead, following the shouts of the soldiers, nearly running smack into one whom suddenly darted out from a small passageway, "Which way?" He demanded.

"To the East!" The soldier replied shortly, darting down another passageway.

"Damn it!" Nicol grunted, changing directions, "Damn complex is a maze!"

Sprinting down the various alleyways and taking several more turns Nicol suddenly darted out onto the main stretch.

He almost ran over the Commander.

"Hold it!" Nicol shouted, his voice surprising the Commander enough that the man stumbled, whipping his head around to peer cautiously in Nicol's direction.

Vaako's appearance stunned Nicol. The man was as pale as death, soiled bandages wrapped around most of his body, already damp with fresh blood from wounds having obviously been torn open from his running. His hair was limp and damp around his face, almost a week's growth of stubble starting on his face. Eyes darted madly, glazed over and confused, but Nicol was certain that a brief spark of recognition was lit in that squinted gaze.

Slowly Nicol crouched down, as if facing a timid animal, carefully lowering his weapon. "It's all right. Nothing to be afraid of." He murmured, setting the gun down, lifting his hands up to show he was unarmed.

Vaako tilted his head, frowning at Nicol's posture. He coughed wetly, face tight as he tried to mouth out the words, "N..N..Ni-Nicol..." He stuttered, causing himself to cough even more, hand pressed against his chest.

"Yeah." Nicol answered, taking two hesitant steps closer, holding a hand out towards the timid man watching him carefully, "Come on, lets get you out of here."

Vaako frowned, considering the hand held out to him. He looked up from the hand to Nicol's face, then back again.

The second time Vaako looked back at Nicol's face, his eyes rose up over his head, a hiss of surprise escaping him, eyes widening in horror. He stumbled backwards, mouth opened in a silent sound of fear and shock, whatever recognition of Nicol instantly vanishing.

Nicol turned around, looking above him-

Seeing the Hellhound on the roof peering down at them curiously. The Hellhound threw back its head and howled, unconsciously calling for the leader of its back, unintentionally terrifying the wounded man.

A soft keening cry caused Nicol to whip back around, only to watch Vaako's back as he sprinted away, running as fast as his legs could carry him-

-Getting closer to the edge of the complex.

"Wait!!" Nicol shouted, cursing in every language he knew, wasting a precious second to scoop up his weapon, chasing after the fleeing man.

Nicol almost stumbled as Riddick practically roared past him, long legs eating up the vast distance between him and Vaako.

But even Nicol knew that Riddick would never catch up in time to stop Vaako from disappearing into the darkness.


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'Move faster!' Riddick's mind roared, lungs working hard as he ran, legs and arms pumping as he proceeded to run down the fleeing individual, following the fresh trails of blood and the long waving flag of Vaako's black hair twisting behind the man as he fled.

Riddick was gaining steady ground, closing in very fast, but Vaako was getting too close to the edge of the darkness, most certainly going to reach it first before Riddick managed to catch up.

'Damn it. I didn't want to have to resort to this.' Riddick cursed.

He immediately let go, allowing his body to relax, silver and gray astral form stretching out from his body, eating up the distance between him and Vaako, his astral form moving with mercury-fast speed.

Vaako was not even twenty feet from the darkness.

His astral form caught up and wrapped thick arms around Vaako's shoulders when the running man was just fifteen feet away.

Vaako cried out, still running but feeling the rough jerk on his body on an entirely different physical level.

Once his astral form had managed to latch onto Vaako, Riddick's physical form was jerked across the distance, immediately taking his astral form's place, arms wrapped tight around the man. He was shocked to find how much weight and muscle tone Vaako had lost, able to wrap his arms around the man, hands coming back to nearly rest on his own shoulders.

The sudden weight on his back caused Vaako's legs to buckle, both men crashing hard into the ground, Riddick barely managing to twist onto his side to take most of the brunt of the impact.

They were barely ten feet from the darkness.

Riddick used strong legs to push them back from the darkness, stubbornly holding onto the man that twisted and fought in his grasp, Vaako's injured legs kicking wildly, throwing his head back and almost smashing into Riddick's face and goggles.

"Easy. Easy!" Riddick ordered, trying to calm the panicked man down, using one of his legs to trap Vaako's, having to muscle the man into a pinned position.

Vaako was keening mindless indecipherable words, shaking badly, continuing to fight Riddick, refusing to stop struggling.

"Lord Marshall?" Char called out, finally having caught up to the man, still in awe from having watched the man use his astral abilities to catch up to Vaako, realizing that Riddick had fooled them all by pretending he was not a Holy Half-Dead.

The man was far more cunning and far more deadly than any could have possibly have guessed.

"Order the ship to drop down several platforms. We're leaving." Riddick ordered. "Do it!"

Char immediately pulled out his comm link to the ship, ordering several magnetic platforms to be dropped so that they could load themselves onto the ship and leave this dust ball of a planet.

Riddick suddenly cursed, jerking one of his arms away from Vaako, Char surprised to see the blood running down the Lord Marshall's forearm, a set of teeth marks in the flesh of his forearm.

Ignoring the stinging pain Riddick swept Vaako's legs out from underneath him, unbalancing the man enough for Riddick to dart a hand forward and press firmly at a pressure point near Vaako's neck.

Vaako's body suddenly fell limp, head almost connecting with the ground if Riddick hadn't caught him.

Now that he knew that he wouldn't get hit in the groin or bitten Riddick gathered Vaako up in his arms, making sure to support his head and neck, unsuccessful at finding any relatively uninjured or not bloody portion of his body to hold onto to support the weight of the man's limp form.

"Have the medics ready and waiting once we dock onto the ship." Riddick ordered, giving no indication of any strain from carrying the unconscious man as he strode for the descending platforms, the rest of the Necromonger soldiers or Hellhounds that had not caught up with him and Char were gathering at a safe distance from the platforms.

Char followed, sending Riddick's orders through the comm link, not eager to hear what Vaako's diagnosis was.


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The head doctor and medics wasted no time in carrying Vaako to the medical ward. However, they took every caution by strapping the man down onto the bed, the straps not causing any harm but keeping him from causing harm to himself or to others.

Several IV's were already fitted onto their metal stands, needles applied carefully to shrunken veins, taped down carefully along Vaako's wane and dehydrated flesh. One IV held the proper fluids and liquid materials necessary to replenish his body from the amount of dehydration and malnutrition he had suffered. The other IV held medicinal components necessary to heal any swelling or infection to Vaako's internal organs or infections from his untreated wounds.

The Necromongers had the most advanced technological medicine in the galaxy, their doctors and medics the best in their fields. Already the largest and more horrific of Vaako's flesh wounds had had a very specific salve applied that would stitch back together torn muscles and flesh, liberal amounts of fresh bandages covering the rapidly healing flesh.

The doctors had not been too surprised to find once a set of body scans had been performed that Vaako was also suffering from a very painful and advanced infection in the kidneys as well as a large amount of phlegm concentrated in his lungs. Vaako was essentially drowning in his own fluids as well as being poisoned by his own body.

After treating the most critical of needs the medics had carefully washed Vaako's form of the sweat, blood, and other fluids, also carefully taking a blade to his face to shave the stubble on his face. It took several rounds of water and soap to wash his hair free of grime and blood, as well as almost an hour to comb his hair free of the gnarled and twisted tangles.

Clean and within the firm and patient arms of the medical ward, Vaako's body was well on its way to healing, a normal human probably not having survived most of the Necromonger's ailments.

But then, the Necromongers took care of their own, not bothering to concern themselves with the lower dregs of the society that inhabited the universe.

However, while Vaako's body was healing physically, his mind was an entirely different matter.


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Several Days Later…

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Vaako was only half-aware of what was taking place around him.

A fever had been brought on from the infection, the doctors trying to make him as comfortable as possible, but thinking it was best for the fever to run its course.

Vaako shivered, eyes shut, caught in the middle of the dream, blankets pulled up to his chest, hiding the straps on his legs and arms.

In his dreams were the circling beasts, closing in, taking ragged swipes at him, leaving bloody gouges along his body.

He couldn't tell if he was on the ship or back on that horrible planet.

* * * * * *
Dream
* * * * * *

Vaako was standing in his private rooms, putting on the final piece of his armor, casually noting his wife applying various gems to her dress and form.

'Was it all just a nightmare, then?' Vaako asked himself.

"Come here, Vaako. Let's take a look at you." Dame called to him, Vaako sighing, lacking patience but finally stepping to her side, his wife rising from her seat in front of the large mirror.

"You look very handsome, my husband." She purred walking behind him, trailing a hand along his back and shoulders.

"If you say so." He said without interest.

Dame Vaako looked over his shoulder, meeting his eyes in the mirror, "Does your sleep still trouble you?" She asked.

"It is nothing." He replied. "I suppose it was all just a dream."

"Stress can do awful things to the mind, husband. Try to settle your nerves." Dame Vaako cautioned, circling him once again and coming around to stand at his back once more.

"Now…weren't we talking about how good you looked? Ah yes…" Dame Vaako's hand squeezed his shoulder, Vaako looking down at that small hand upon him, away from the mirror.

"You look good enough to eat." She hissed softly in his ear.

Vaako looked up, eyes to the mirror-

-looking right back into the reflection of the large beast, its hammer-shaped head next to his, teeth bared in a perverse grin, long nails of its hands digging into the flesh of his shoulders.

Vaako couldn't find enough air in his lungs to scream.


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The medic on the nightly watch was abruptly startled in the same manner she was every night.

She was shaken by the screams.

Immediately she was on her feet, slamming a small hand onto the alarm at her station, calling for backup as she rushed into the private medical ward farther away from the other patients.

The medic opened the door to the room, instantly bombarded by the aching screams from the man twisting and jerking in the bed. The thick straps were the only things keeping him in the bed, the IVs thankfully not having been torn free from Vaako's arms, the man still having to endure a couple more days of the IVs before they could be safely removed.

Vaako's eyes were wide yet unseeing, head thrashing left and right, groaning in agony from whatever he alone could see.

"Lord Vaako!" The medic soothed, rushing to his side, shushing the man's cries, reaching for the damp cloth and basin on the small nightstand next to the bed, carefully brushing the cool cloth along Vaako's fevered skin, "You are having a bad dream. Your fever is giving you hallucinations. Please calm down."

Vaako moaned softly, not comforted by the hands upon him, limbs twitching and trembling, head jerking back and around.

"Another nightmare?" The doctor arrived, the older man dressed from his collar down to his feet in a stiff white cloak and attire befitting his position as head doctor.

"The fever is making it worse for him." The medic replied.

"Yes. The mind can be our greatest enemy." The doctor sighed, nodding to another medic at his side, the younger man immediately setting up the small tray and stand, filling the syringe with the mild sedative.

"The Lord Marshall is troubled by how much Lord Vaako is suffering from the fever." The medic commented softly.

The doctor was silent for a moment, checking the syringe, tapping any possible air bubbles from the fluid, nodding his approval to the medic at his side, "Lord Riddick is hardly a patient man. He wishes for Vaako to be healed as quickly as possible."

Finding the appropriate vein in Vaako's arm the doctor carefully pierced the flesh, slowly applying the sedative into Vaako's bloodstream.

Slowly the twitches and moans stilled, Vaako's breathing quieting. The doctor carefully removed the needle, offering it to the medic to have it safely and properly disposed of.

"At least he did not have such instances while being treated for his infections and pneumonia. I would be concerned of the pain he would have caused himself from jerking around so much." The doctor commented out loud.

"How much longer will it possibly be, doctor?" The male medic asked.

"Hmm," The doctor examined the bags of fluid on the IV stands, checking the tubes for to ruptures or pinched lines, "Tomorrow we shall remove the IVs. He should be well enough to be allowed to sit up on his own. Within a couple days he will probably be back on his feet, although I'm certain the ache in his shoulder and legs from the more aggressive healed wounds will make his moving around much slower than normal."

"Right, then." The doctor smiled in approval to the female medic, "Good job, my dear. Back to your post, then. You too, Marcus." Both medics left ahead of the doctor after setting away the various supplies, the doctor taking his time, striding casually to his private office.

Closing the door behind him the doctor wasn't surprised to find the Lord Marshall sitting in his seat behind the desk, shined eyes staring back at the doctor silently.

"Another scare, I'm afraid. Hopefully the fever will break tonight, since he is at the tail-end of it." The doctor answered the Lord Marshall's silent question. "His body will be back on its feet within two days, and he should be back to his one-hundred percent capacity within two weeks at the absolute maximum."

"What about his mind?" Riddick asked.

"Another story, I'm afraid." The doctor met the Lord Marshall's gaze, unafraid, "Your punishment certainly did fuck him up, if you excuse the language. But congratulations; no other Necromongers will dare betray you, too afraid to bring upon your wrath and be left to die on that hellish planet."

Riddick slammed his fists onto the desk, the abrupt action scattering various papers and documents, "You think I planned for this? Do you think I knew that he didn't betray me? That I wanted him to suffer like that?"

"Honestly, I think you made a error in judgement, like every other creature alive." The doctor answered, "You've been betrayed before enough times that now you simply anticipate it, your mind automatically assuming the worst."

Riddick fell back into his seat, rubbing his temples with one hand, "That's not an excuse for what he went through."

"You could have just left him there." The doctor said, "After all, you're the Lord Marshall. You could have simply said 'Oops, too bad,' and left Vaako to rot. But you didn't; you fought the odds and brought him back. Do try to give yourself more credit, my lord."

"That doesn't make me feel any better." Riddick pointed out sorely.

"I'm not trying to comfort you. I'm just stating the obvious." The doctor replied bluntly.

Riddick chuckled at the older man's audacity to speak back to the Lord Marshall, clapping the man's shoulder as he strode out of the room, back to his own chambers, anticipating yet dreading when Vaako would finally awaken.

'I'm won't leave you behind,' Riddick promised silently, 'I won't make the same mistake. Fuck the odds, I'm not going to let you fall because of my arrogance and stupidity.'