The Chronicles of Riddick: Blood Rage

So a guy makes his first appearance, and everything seems to flip upside-down since then... Even though he spoke in a language I can sort of understand, it’s something to be cautious of... No matter what my instincts tells me.

Riddick is curiously acting... I couldn’t say ‘protective,’ but he has been keeping a closer eye on me. Seems Victor is on the planet, as well... Much fun. Perhaps I’ll get to return that bullet to him, after all. But it can’t be because of Victor that Riddick is acting like this.

Maybe it does have to do with that one man. But why..? Much to wonder about, think about...

Disclaimer

I don’t own anything of ‘The Chronicles of Riddick,’ nor will I ever. To RiddicksGurl, I can’t possibly say anything about what you’re asking, now can I? *Grin* I’d just ruin it all for you! Anywho, to all the fans of this story, please enjoy Chapter 5!

Many things to ponder of as Riddick returned to the ship at last. The girl waited near it, like he thought she would. She had her arms crossed, and she had her eyes closed in deep thought. But she wasn’t so involved in them, as she opened her eyes and turned to watch Riddick. Her eyes were silver still; she hadn’t relaxed just yet.

“So what happened..?” Rosalia asked as he finally reached the ship. Immensely curious, as well as troubled.

“Well, he’s what he said he was,” Riddick answered as he started entering his ship. “Just hidin’ his accessories a bit better than you could.”

Rosalia almost grabbed his shoulder, but she thought better of it. “How....? I mean, is he really something like... me?” she said softly while her hand went back to her side, the one that almost gripped his shoulder. She shook her head, trying to get her composed face back. “It is not a trick, then?”

“Obviously not, unless he was an illusion of both of our imaginations,” Riddick said with a chuckle. The girl immediately huffed quietly to herself; she was really letting her emotions control her more than they should... “He came with a warning for ya, though, when he realized who your are exactly. Victor’s on the planet.”

Rosalia didn’t gasp like one would think. She merely narrowed her eyes as she slowly smirked; one of her fangs showed, completing the look of pure evil. “Is that right..?”

“Shouldn’t be picking fights, girl,” Riddick said half-seriously as he looked back at her. The ship had just finished opening for him.

“Please, like you should be the one lecturing,” she said with an amused look to her face. “But of that guy, would he tell Victor of my presence here on the planet?”

“Something tells me no,” Riddick answered. “But all the same, the citizens may give ya up for nothin’, since you’re the one weird girl giving everyone you see a helping hand.” The girl sighed, and he knew he scored, making her rethink about going after Victor without a plan. “But the guy had given me something useful for you.”

He tossed the collar at her, in which she caught it with no trouble. But she looked confused. “What am I supposed to do with a dog collar..?”

“It does what it had for the guy you casually picked a fight with. But he warned that it’ll be a little painful, though the whole trouble would be worth it.”

With a shrug after a minute, she placed it on her neck and buckled it in place. The results were immediate; her face lost its mask as she gasp in pain from the retraction of her wings, horn and tail. Gritting her teeth, she merely clenched her hands into fists until the whole thing finished. She was now ‘normal.’

“Not too bad,” he commented as she blinked her eyes. Reacting from his words, she tried to look at where her wings were once at. She barely avoided falling from imbalance she was experiencing. “Seems it’ll be something you’ll have to get better at.”

“Peachy, I may be ‘normal,’ but I cannot stay on my own two feet,” she grumbled as she found she should lean against the ship.

“You’ll get used to it soon enough.” Riddick didn’t seemed that concerned while he entered his ship. With an impatient sigh, Rosalia followed, managing to stay up long enough to do so. “So what did he mean, when he mentioned something about feet?” He knew that Rosalia would know what he was talking about, regardless that she wasn’t there to hear throughout the conversation. It was curious to even hear the mention of feet. Must mean that she wouldn’t have normal feet like most would assume.

With a sigh and a grumble that sounded much like, “Is nothing a secret anymore..?,” she pulled her shoes off. Instead of five toes for each foot, it was four slender and furred ones, the fur reaching past her ankle and traveling somewhere to her knees. With a few cracks, she was suddenly taller than she had seemed, since she was on her actual ‘feet,’ though they were more-like paws. The feet, as well as the ankle, were too much of a cat than a humans’ feet. “This is what he was talking about,” she said lightly, having a look that said that he shouldn’t say any comment on them.

“Ingenious way to hide them,” he merely commented. She must have had those shoes made to especially hide them, as well as make them useful for her movements. Normal shoes may have restricted her rather than help. The new height was still shorter than him, though he was tall as it was, anyway. “I wouldn’t have expected it.”

“Yeah, well, another way it makes me a freak,” she laughed while she slid her shoes back on, her feet cracking again to snap back into place she had them. She winced slightly, but otherwise didn’t say anything. “I take it this device doesn’t do anything for one’s feet.”

“He said so.” Strangely, Riddick preferred her real appearance, but it seemed fit to not say something along those lines. After all, her neck’s in danger again of her current hunter. “Think you’ll run into him again?”

“I have no doubt I will.” She rolled her eyes. “But I am not in the mood for riddles he may spew at me the next time...”

“Who knows. Though it seems likely he’ll come after you just to ask many questions.”

“Isn’t he supposed to be with Victor?”

“Apparently, being one of his species gives you special privileges.”

“Urgh...”

- - -

The night was rather restless for Rosalia, having laid on the bed while witnessing strange dreams. They were vague, not to mention confusing and frightening. From a distance above a strange planet’s surface, about fifty feet above the lands, she was watching many fuzzy and blurred people looking up to the skies as they clutched their loved ones. A few pods left the planet’s surface, something strange to the girl. Why weren’t they all leaving in the same manner, from whatever that’s making them scared? They all seemed to be looking at her, but it was past her that made them weary of impending doom. She turned around, and she was watching the oncoming large object, looking like a meteor that surly could make scientists think it was the cause of the dinosaurs’ extinction.

It nearly had hit the planet when she woke up in a cold sweat. Something that happened so rarely that she nearly shredded the sheets in an attempt to calm herself. By this point, the sun had finally risen over the horizon and was starting its journey across the planet’s surface. For ten minutes, she laid there perfectly still, before she decided she couldn’t sleep any more.

Riddick was already awake and was outside, doing a quick inventory check of his ship. Rosalia supposed that since he was traveling in space all the time, he made it a habit. He only nodded at her before returning to his work, in which meant he had no use of her for the time being. With weary steps, being the first day without her usual balancing tail, she pulled out her retro-old MP3 player, sliding one earpiece in an ear as she slowly walked from the ship. She may as well get out of Riddick’s hair (metaphorically speaking).

What a strange scene as she walked through the crowd. No one bothered to spare her a second glance! To the humans’, she was normal and not worth attention. It was a first, and she felt like it was a gift. She may just get used to it.

Her sight, smell, and hearing hadn’t diminished a bit. She could still see details most people couldn’t even hope to see, hear that of which were faint to a humans’ ears, smells that many people were fortunate enough to have such weak noses. Many details she had to constantly process in her mind without effort, only paying more attention when she was on the hunt for something or someone.

Recognizing the feeling from the night, she turned her head, scanning through the faces of the crowd. There, with dozens of people between them, was that man. He was watching her closely, though he gave half a smile when he noticed she was looking at him before turning away. Rosalia mentally sighed to herself; she was going to have a stalker on her hands if this kept up. Though, all the same, she was curious of him as well.

‘Would it hurt to talk to him?’ she thought to herself. As if on cue, he looked back over to her, an eyebrow raised in her direction. Jerking her head in the opposite direction, she started walking to the small shop that must have only recently been built. It wasn’t getting much business at this time of day, since most people were working. Almost perfect time to visit. By the time she had ordered her coffee special, the guy made it through the crowds and had joined her there. “For being similar to me, you are quite slow on getting here,” she said with a smirk. He merely laughed as he pulled out cash to get something for himself.

“I dun know, you got here without a sea of people to push through. ‘Ey, I want a coke,” he said to the man behind the counter. “Sooo, last night wasn’t the best way to introduce ourselves.” He raised his hand to Rose with a smile. “I’m Ramza.”

“Rosalia,” she replied as she shook his hand for a few seconds. “You were a challenge.”

“I’d have to say that if it wasn’t for that one dude, you could have beaten me,” he said nonchalantly. “Good fight, little sister.” It was said in that language from last night.

“Thanks... I guess,” she responded as she took her coffee and paid for it. She understood the language, but she didn’t know how to respond to it.

He followed after her when he got his soda, looking concerned. “You can understand, but you can’t say it back?” he asked as he raised a hand.

“One of those habits you forget when you do not even remember what your birth parents look like,” she replied cooly. He pulled his hand back with a mocking ‘Ouch, that burned’ look. At least he had a sense of humor, she supposed.

“So you got sent off at an earlier age than I had.” He grinned. “Or you’re younger than me, in which means that if we were sent off at the same time, you wouldn’t remember, whereupon I would.”

“Gee, such a quick assumption.” Just a few exchanges, and it seemed natural to talk to this man. That was strange for Rosalia to think of it that way.

“Sooooo how come you’re on the high wanted list?” he asked casually as they stopped near a building to hide from the sun, sipping their drinks.

“Oh. You know. A few incidents here, a couple of murders done there.” She noted as he blinked many times.

“You can kill?”

“I would assume that was a rhetorical question...”

“No, I mean...” He sighed. “Well, in our species’ nature, it’s... almost impossible to kill.”

“I know.” He looked at her. “It is not that hard to realize that when others are hurting, you hurt right along with them. Bleeding, for example. Headaches are also another indicator.”

“Oh. Ur, yeah, basically. Though I guess females would feel pain more... I never bled from someone else’s pain.” Seemed to be the case for them, anyway.

“I only had to when I had no other choice. I do not exactly enjoy killing.” Rosalia rolled her eyes. “I am still trying to figure if it is the same case for him.” Him, meaning Riddick. But if he hadn’t told Ramza his name, she shouldn’t even be mentioning his name in others’ presence.

“Yeeaaah, somethin’ tells me that he does it the same way as you, whoever he is.” Ramza slurped at his soda, looking as though trying to pull the name from the girl’s memory by waiting. He would be waiting for many, many years before she would ever mention it. “Are ya comrades?”

“In a sense...”

“Who’s innocent??” said a very-familiar voice as the person with the voice hung in front of them upside-down. Ramza sputtered out his soda and onto his shirt, but Rosalia quietly laughed as she sipped at her coffee. “Ah! Can I have some, Rosie?? Please???”

“Get down from there, and you can have the rest,” Rosalia said casually. Kiley flipped off the roof and landed in front of them with grace. Not-so-much grace when Rose offered the coffee and Kiley grabbed at it like it was the last cup of coffee on the planet. “You must be running yourself tired to be so grabby.”

“You know, Elemental issues to tend, much to fix,” she managed to say between gulps. “So this’iz Ramza?” Kiley asked as she finished the cup and grinned.

“How’d you-“

“-Know your name? If I had stayed quiet for ten seconds, Rosie would have told me.” She laughed at the expression he had on his face. “Oh, so much fun to pick on the less-informative ones.” She looked at Rosalia and smiled. “Alright, I’ll tell him before he has a heart-attack.” If Rosalia wasn’t so used to Kiley’s unorthodoxive ways to respond, she would have punched her friend. Or at least glared. “As an Water Elemental who achieved the title ‘Elementalist,’ not only can I control water and ice, I can glance into the future each and every ten seconds.” She grinned at Ramza’s dumbfounded look. “Not many can do that, nope! Only the most-dedicated can, though yes, it is confusing to constantly remember that I live in the present and not the future as the two blends for me so often.”

“Is that right?” It seemed Kiley stole the questions he was going to ask. Regardless, though, he grinned. He was intrigued by her. “Is all your friends like this?” he asked Rosalia.

“Oh no. I usually would kill myself before making friends like her,” she responded with a small smirk.

“Ouch, now that hurts,” Kiley said, but she laughed, ruining the look of hurt and betrayal she tried to put on her face. “Where’d be that one guy from that one place from that one time?”

“Even in the midst of enjoyment, you two keep secrets...”

“Just one of those things,” they replied to him at the same time. He rolled his eyes.

“Rosie-dear, I would love your help with stuff. I mean, I still have a lot of work to do with the water and all, but we do need a little... ah, boost to the planet’s economy system.” She winked at Ramza. “You probably dun have her special talent.”

“Which special talent?” he asked. But Rose sighed to herself.

“Nature-related...” she mumbled.

“Ah... No, that wouldn’t be my specialty.” He grinned. “Mine is forging metals together however I need to have them.” It was Rosalia’s turn to look at him in surprise. “Each of us has our own special traits, while we do have traits that we share.”

“Hm.”

“Talk, talk, talk - are you two finished so that I can whisk the lovely Rosie away at long last??” Kiley huffed. Ramza laughed while Rosalia sighed to herself. “Good enough for me!” She grabbed Rose’s wrist and pulled her away before either of them could say a word against it. “You can have what’s-his-face for awhile while I have her!”

“Eh? What’s-his-face - oh.” It was all that was needed when he turned around to realize that he wasn’t going to be so alone like he thought he would. “So you do appear in daylight,” he joked lightly, more-so to humor himself than Riddick, who didn’t look that amused. “No wonder you two ended up in the same team,” he mused to himself while scratching the back of his head. Riddick kept walking, not in the mood to be messed with. “‘Ey, wait up!”

Meanwhile, Kiley dragged Rosalia past the outer limits of the small settlement, right to the desolate and scorched-plains. It took only a few minutes once Rose realized she was not escaping Kiley’s grasp, so they had ran to get there quickly. “Gee, good thing we will be way out here so that I would not have an audience,” Rosalia commented when they stopped. She felt a little winded, but otherwise was getting better at the whole gravity deal. After all, she was still recovering from the space ordeal.

“That’s the whole point, but the planet does need the help, regardless of you havin’ an audience or not,” Kiley said with a serious look on her face. But she smiled lightly. “It’s a large planet, but the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels needs to be leveled out before any more settlers arrives next week. Just this and a few favors, and I’m your slave forever.”

“No, you wouldn’t. But it was a nice gesture all the same. Though I would do more favors just to keep you from becoming a slave to me,” Rose added with a light tone.

“You’re seriously no fun at all. But I’ll take it as a gracious and humble Elemental should, and allow you to work,” Kiley said with a grin. Always the ‘gracious’ and ‘humble’ terms. Neither applied at all for this girl, nor for most of the Elemental race. Though Rosalia would never say it out loud; let the Elementals continue to think so without her input.

“Enjoy yourself.” Kiley walked off, leaving Rose alone in the scorched plains. With a sigh as she slipped the fallen earphone back into her ear, she waited until Kiley was gone before she started her ‘work.’ Which, for her, was singing softly to herself as that strange talent worked through her voice. However it worked, it had and will do a better job than any Earth Elemental could...

Ramza was still with Riddick, but he had fallen silent after perhaps two minutes of asking questions. He can take a major hint. Riddick gave no indication of not wanting Ramza there, so he assumed it was safe to follow around with the guy.

“...So, Rosalia had taken to the collar right away,” Ramza said airily, not expecting any answer from the silent man. “She wasn’t what I expected of another... well, you know. But I guess being sent away from home at a younger age seemed to have made her entirely less of ‘the People’ than if she had been with proper parents.” He shrugged to himself. “I’m not saying that the way she’s living is bad... It kinda suits her perfectly.”

“You talk an awful lot about someone you hardly know,” Riddick finally said. “You really should hold back your comments.”

“W-what’d I say?? I mean, she’s still ey kuzel risoit milv gys Yamako, er, a little sister of the People,” he quickly added when Riddick ever-so-slightly turned his head to raise an eyebrow, “no matter what I say. It’s just a relief to finally find someone of the same homeworld.”

“Mm.” Riddick wasn’t exactly the person to talk to about ‘relief of finding another like him.’ He had met someone of his planet. It wasn’t a pleasant thing like it was for Ramza... the other Furyan had walked into the winds of Crematoria and was utterly roasted, his final decision to act against the faith he didn’t believe in. Not exactly the best reunion of ‘two brothers’ for anyone.

Riddick was willing to let Rosalia do what she wanted with the knowledge of another being like her. But he wasn’t going to be so lenient for Ramza. The guy was out of luck to any consideration to taking Rose for himself. She was a fighter Riddick had grudgingly come to respect, and maybe trust. But the future would show if she was worthy of that trust; after all, Riddick had his trust broken, however slightly, by one man he risked his neck to save on several occasions. Hm, how interesting...

“And speaking of her, she’s in those fields,” Ramza lightly commented. Of course, there wasn’t much to be seen. Ramza’s eyes, though without heat-seeking abilities, had sharp-vision to see so far out. It took only a moment for Riddick to see a single person out there in the distance. “Wow, she’s fast with those plants,” he then whistled. There was grass, and even a few young trees that already sprouted. They weren’t giving that much heat, but they were still there to be seen.

“You care to elaborate more about what she’s doing, exactly?” These two people of the ‘Yamako’ were far from any hope of being ‘normal’ when it came to their unique abilities.

“Uh, well, I dun know how exactly she’s doing it, but she’s growing plants... at a faster rate than any green-thumbed human could hope,” Ramza said while he rubbed the back of his head. “Though I hear her, kinda. Sounds like she’s singing.”

“Singing..?” Too odd of a concept. Rosalia’s personality doesn’t suit to any sort of ‘singing.’ The most Riddick had thought on first impression was a whistle, one in which she just might do while maiming Victor. “Her singing grow plants? Now what sounds more ridiculous; singing to make plants grow or planting seeds and using a machine to do the process of making green stuff grow?”

“Truthfully? The second one; it wasn’t that uncommon for a good portion of Yamakos to be so tuned with Nature that something so simple as a touch, or a thought, or even a drop of blood or tear, would render a lifeless tree to spring back to life.” Ramza shrugged. “Never so much of the voice, though. I’ve always thought it was more of a physical connection for those of Nature. Hers is a slightly new concept to me. IF it is her voice doing the work. For all I know, she’s singing while doing one of the common following.”

How convenient to weasel his way out of a tight squeeze. But, all the same, interesting. So when Ramza changed course to Rosalia, so had Riddick.

If Riddick hadn’t had any first impressions of Rose as they were approaching, the impression would have been that she was either clumsy or an idiot. As he and Ramza neared the edge of the grass (though she was still about twenty feet or so away), she fell as soon as she turned around to see who was coming. Heh, a tail must be far-more than a random accessory for her.

“You okay?” Ramza yelled at her as they neared her.

“Oh, I am dandy, I am just conversing with the grass over here...” said a muffled reply. Riddick chuckled lowly as Rosalia moved to a sitting position. “What are you two doing so far out here?” she asked while slightly-tilting her head to the side in curiosity. It seemed to be her trademark when she was curious of anything.

“Eh, shootin’ the breeze, escaping the crowds,” Ramza said casually. Riddick wasn’t very impressed with his answer, but didn’t comment. “Where’d Kiley go?”

“No idea. She is being herself, regardless being an Elemental...”

But it seemed Kiley knew she was being talked about. Though she didn’t appear to be in a cheery mood. As soon as she got to them, she had a serious face, one for a battle.

“A man is coming this way for Rosalia,” she said formally. It was the first time to hear her use Rose’s name in a formal way. It really was serious for her. “He had learned of her by some of the locals.”

“Victor?” Ramza rendered a guess. A curt nod answered him, and he sighed heavily. “He is obviously willing for another shot at half a mil...” Then he shook his head. “I guess I’ve found my reason to leave his little ‘team’ now. To hell with him.”

“Good,” Riddick said. “‘Cause otherwise, you were going to be a hazard needing to be taken cared of.” Though while Ramza had made it clear for them that he wouldn’t be fighting for Victor, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t try his own tricks against them if he choose to. He better keep his battles from being between him and Riddick or Rosalia. Or Kiley, from how she seemed to be at the moment. “How long until he gets here?” Riddick asked the Elemental.

“Two minutes, with his ship and crew.”

“He’s bringin’ his ship? Overkill for someone like him,” Ramza commented.

“All the better. Might as well take care of them all.” Rosalia sighed to herself. She looked to the others. “You know, you do not have to fight them... They are coming for me.” As she said this, she removed the collar, and didn’t make any indications to the small amount of pain as the undoing process worked. She stood up, winged and all at last. “This is more-so my fight than any of yours.”

“Fuck that, Rose,” Kiley, surprisingly, said with a hard glare in the direction of where Victor should be making his appearance. “I’m not going to stand aside and watch you fight someone like him. I refuse to be neutral for this one.”

“Eh, I was going to do it anyway,” Ramza said with a shrug. “Not my cup of tea to let someone like you fight alone, either. I’m gonna join whether you say I could or not.”

Riddick didn’t say any sort of ‘encouragement’ like the two had; he merely flipped his knives out and spun them on the palm of his hands before gripping them lightly. “It should be a challenge,” he merely said in a tone that said he was wanting to get involved.

Well, so much for being the only one to fight and perhaps get injured. But she appreciated the support. Not what she expected, not with the little time she knew of two and a long-ago friendship of another. She probably couldn’t ask for better comrades.

Sure enough, the promised ship arrived with a flare, landing on the ground in front of them, ever-so burning away fresh, new grass in the process. Rosalia growled at that fact, but otherwise seemed to be a statue as the hatch opened to show Victor on the other side, grinning ear-to-ear. Like he had won the prize at some show.

“So ya did survive!!” he crowed as he flicked a cigarette from his fingers and onto the ground. “Why, I’d kiss ya for bein’ alive. That half mil is solid gold once more.”

“Oh, shove your gold up your ass,” Ramza said for the first time, a hard look to his face. “You are not going to get her on your ship.”

Victor blinked at least three times as he took in all who were standing with Rosalia. He frowned at Ramza like he was disappointed. “Well, fuck me runnin’ sideways. I didn’t expect you to betray me. Eh, it seems I can’t get any good and loyal help these days, but damn, you were the best tracker I ever had.” Victor stepped out of the ship, with his crew following with guns loaded and ready.

“If you survive this, you’ll live without me,” Ramza cooly replied, not very intimidated by the guns pointed at them.

“Now, some blue-chick, ready to water the flowers. Why don’t you run off before you seriously get hurt, girly? Someone so pretty as you would be a nice addition to any good ‘establishment.’” He emphasized on the last word. Other words, he thought she would be a good whore.

As he was about to light another cigarette, a small and thin icicle sliced right into the middle of it and hit his tongue, making him jump. He tasted blood, and now his cig was soaked as the icicle suddenly melted. He could see the girl half-smirking before she straightened back up. “Never try to attempt to think that an Elemental would be stooped so low as what you’re suggesting,” she said, her voice oddly but suitingly icy to the ears.

“An Elemental?!” one of the crew members whispered vigorously to the others. Obviously, what confidence they had suddenly was cut by at least half. Fighting any Elemental was beyond what they knew, and this wasn’t in their contract.

“You’re no better than the next whore,” Victor said without much worry, shrugging. His crew relaxed slightly. Apparently, Victor’s confidence didn’t wavered. Then he turned his eyes on the remaining member of the ‘resistance.’ “Huh... It’s like I should know ya. Can’t place yer face on anything important, though.”

“Heh...” Riddick was going to enjoy doing this without an identity. Perhaps the idiot would recall at the last second before he was snuffed out by any one of them. “Then you’ll have to find out the hard way,” he said in a gruff voice.

“He’s s-c-r-e-w-e-d,” Ramza said so quietly, it wouldn’t reach any of Victor’s crew, but it did reach Victor. But only just. He barely made anything out beyond the letter ‘c.’ He got the jest of it, though, one way or another.

“We’ll take you on, and we’ll walk away with half a mil. I ain’t losin’ to a bunch of freaks like you. I guarantee you that.”

“We will just see how this goes...” Rosalia said in a dangerous tone, ready to attack. But she hadn’t forgotten a promise she made to herself. No, she wouldn’t forget it. Not even if a year passed by before she came face-to-face with Victor again.

After sliding something from her right pocket, she whirled so fast that no one could actually count how many times she did turn in just two seconds. But an instant later when she slowed, Victor yelled out as something slammed into his knee, digging in and nearly nicked his knee cap before resting somewhere in his muscles, in a place that made it almost impossible to bend his knee. Much less walk with it in there.

“That was a promise I made, now fulfilled... so now, I hope you go to hell,” she said as Victor clutched at the closest man near him. He will have no help coming for him, not for his wound... or his life.

What a place to stop a chapter. XD I wanted to keep going... but it felt right to stop here for some reason. Maybe I was just getting sleepy, but still. I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter! Now we’re getting into more action! I can hear your ‘Woot!!!’ through the interent, lol. See ya next time soon!