Darkness Leads the Way

Darkness Leads the Way

Chapter 9

Flesh and Blood, Torn and Undone

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*
Warning: Language, harshness. There will be violence and gore, so be warned.
By no means am I an expert of Human Physiology, so please keep that in mind and have mercy.


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Vaako finally decided to give up trying to salvage the remains of his shirt, what few buttons remaining unable to hold the front of the shirt closed. The button holes that weren't ripped completely open were either too large to hold the button in place or they were twisted askew, given the rough treatment Riddick had used in order to free Vaako from his clothing last night.

"Nice." The Lord Marshall's voice rumbled against his back, tanned hands reaching around to slide underneath the open front of Vaako's shirt, bronze against marble skin.

Vaako sighed at the contact, head rolling back to rest against a firm shoulder. His breath hissed as strong hands slid up and down his chest, tracing the sloping lines, working like a whore's adept fingers along the top edge of his pants, Riddick's fingertips barely sliding past the waistband.

"We finally got cleaned up." Vaako said, trying to make his voice carry an air of chagrin at Riddick's amorous behavior.

Riddick made a humming sound of agreement, more focused on tracing the curve of Vaako's neck with lips and teeth. His tongue stabbed at the small pink scar on the side of the Commander's neck, earning a small sound from the man and a restless flex of his body.

"You're not even listening, are you?" Vaako asked.

"Maybe." Riddick finally spoke, "My attention is elsewhere."

"Apparently." Vaako said humorously, body leaning forward fluidly as the Lord Marshall bent and pushed him forward so that he was pressed up against the wall, near the bathroom where they had just previously exited.

Riddick ran strong fingers along Vaako's back, tracing the small bumps of his spine, testing the flexing muscles as he arched away or against his touch. Nudging Vaako's shirt upwards, he located and traced the edges of the bruises along the tautness of the Commander's hip, bruises matching the shape of fingers, confirming what he had observed in the shower. "Looks like I marked you."

Indeed. They were both of aware of the expanse of ruby marks that stretching haphazardly up across Vaako's chest, a few also on the inside of his thighs. The more vibrant and predominant ones were in easy view, painted across his neck, the ache in Vaako's body increasingly apparent but strangely pleasant.

Vaako hummed softly when Riddick bit down slightly over one bruise the size of a quarter over his jugular. The slight ache and burn from the Furyan's mouth caused Vaako to stretch into the larger man's touch, hand falling down to rest over Riddick's as it began a slow track down to the waist of his pants.

A sudden sharp and furious pounding at the main doors made both men jerk, and Vaako couldn't help but cry out softly when he jerked hard into the press of firm teeth. Riddick pulled away swiftly although his arms still maintained their grip around Vaako as the man try to sooth the throbbing ache along his throat.

"This better be important!" Riddick nearly roared. Vaako felt sorry for whoever was on the other side of the door. Most likely the person on the other side was feeling the same way as well, probably wondering why they even dared to get out of bed.

A quaking voice made its way through the sealed door. "My Lord! My Lord Riddick!! You must come with me! There has been an attack!" The plea made both men still and their stomachs drop. Vaako met Riddick's gaze, just as lost as the other man was.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Riddick demanded, pulling away from Vaako and striding furiously to the doors. He nearly ripped the doors off of their hinges, pulling the stuttering aide into the room, the thin man gasping from the sudden grip and pull of his lapels. He cringed under the fierce silver gaze, hands clutching tightly and uselessly on the hands that were nearly choking him with his own shirt. "What… has… happened?" Riddick demanded, nearly shaking the man if he wasn't certain that the force of such an action would rattle the frightened man's teeth.

The aide nearly squealed in fright at the Lord Marshall's fierce gaze. "T-there w-w-was an attack. Lady Beryl is dead. L-Lord Marcs, who was with her, said some sort of beast attacked her." He swallowed, trying to relieve the dryness in his throat, "Doctor Quinn asks that both you and Lord Vaako to please come to the morgue. H-he needs you there while he examines the remains."

Riddick barely heard the last of what the aide managed to stutter past his fear. He nearly threw the man out of the room, slamming the door shut behind the aide. An audible squeak of surprise was heard before a loud crash, signifying that the man had smashed into an ornate and probably fragile vase that had been situated across from the Lord Marshall's room.

Riddick turned back at the sound of something heavy hitting the floor.

Vaako's legs seemed to have given out underneath him, the commander sliding down and finding he was sitting on the floor with his back to the wall. Wide and almost glassy eyes met Riddick's.

'Such a fool. How dare I think that everything would be so different. I thought I could escape it all.'

"Not a dream." He murmured dully, saying nothing more.


The two men dressed hurriedly, barely speaking as they rushed to follow several highly appointed guards who quickly escorted the two men, not speaking or looking moved by the fact that the Lord Marshall and First Among Commanders had obviously shared a room together.

The morgue was a cold and sterile room. Large enough to hold over a hundred people, its walls lined with too many shelves to count and trays that held various implements. Any bodies that came into the morgue would swiftly be moved to one of the coolers. From there they would either go to the Incinerator or be jettisoned into space, in either case if there was no room left in the coolers to store the bodies for the more elaborate funeral processions.

Several large steel tables formed a long line down the middle of the room. Doctor Quinn and two of his medical assistants stood on one side of one of the tables. The Lord Marshall Riddick, Lord Vaako, and several of the Higher Guards for the Lord Marshall stood on the other side. All of them were hunched over what lay on the table.

Or more precisely, the pieces that were spread over the table.

Doctor Quinn's face was lined deeply, his gaze hard and entirely focused on the pieces of meat that had one been Lady Beryl. One of assistants was noticeably green around the edges, the woman earlier having to dart to an adjoining room with a hand clapped tightly over her mouth. She had returned, embarrassed and subdued even though she received no reprimand for reacting to a unanimously agreed gory spread.

"This is just…I can't believe this." Doctor Quinn murmured in shock and awe. "Lady Beryl weighed around a hundred and forty pounds. This…thing…I don't know how large it is, but it consumed so much without any qualms or reservations."

"Look at this." Doctor Quinn motioned with a latex-gloved hand at the pieces of tissue and organs spread out upon the table, barely taking up half of the space that was necessary to hold a human body. "There is almost nothing left. What you see here is a piece of a lung. And here these are, from what I can tell, several fragments of teeth. This piece here I can only discern as being the bladder."

Several of the people around the Doctor winced and pulled back as he prodded a piece of meat with his left hand and the instrument in his right, causing the disfigured flesh to wiggle obscenely.

"It ate everything else?" Riddick asked, apparently unaffected by the gore and pieces on the table, nor had the blood and tissue that had painted the passageway overly affected him when both he and Vaako had went to observe where the scene of the attack had taken place. "Was there anywhere else that the pieces could have ended up?"

"Other than the creature's stomach. No, no. That would be too simple, I'm afraid. The few pieces of bones that were found clearly had signs of teeth and claws gouging into them. They were cracked open and with portions that were obviously bitten and most likely devoured. What amazes me is how much of the organs were devoured. Muscles and fat does not shock me, but nearly the entire digestive system is completely gone! The few organs that remain are those necessary for filtration, such as the liver, bladder, and kidneys."

Doctor Quinn leaned back, sighing and absently reaching in a reflexive action to try to rub away at the ache between his eyes. He stopped several inches away from his face, realizing that the gloves were covered in gore. "The entire spine was torn from the body and was obviously chewed on. The head and brain cavity we can only assume was devoured as well."

The Doctor actually slammed his fists into the table, causing his assistants and several pieces of meat to jolt. "What I don't understand is how this thing can consume all of this, including so much bone material, and yet there have been no signs of fecal matter anywhere on the ship. That would at least give us some hint as to the digestive quality that this beast has. Or at the very least give us an idea of where the creature makes a habit of returning to in order to rest and digest its meal."

"The Hellhounds have not been able to find anything as well, even though they have been with the various search parties through the entire ship." One of the guards supplied the information.

"And they probably won't. This ship is so large and vast with a great deal of levels, enough space to hold two cities. There are so many areas to hide." Vaako finally spoke, although his gaze did no rise up from the table. He seemed to be in some sort of trance, mesmerized by the stains left of a woman he had known only by name and appearance.

"Lord Riddick." Doctor Quinn spoke directly to the Lord Marshall. "When you were on that planet, were you able to recall how many fingers the beasts had?" His question came as such a surprise that Riddick looked ready to take a step back and glare at the man.

"What does this have to-" Riddick began.

"Please, my Lord!!" Doctor Quinn interrupted, entreating the Lord Marshall.

Riddick was silent for a moment, obviously trying to think back and recall such minor details. A small frown spread across his face, trying to recall events from so long ago. "...Four. Four total."

"How can you possibly recall that?" The male assistant muttered under his breath. Doctor Quinn hissed a low word of warning to the man.

The Lord Marshall grinned at the assistant. It was a pretty gesture. "Hard to forget when you grapple with one of those things hand to hand."

The assistant blanched and didn't reply to that.

Doctor Quinn cleared his throat, peering speculatively down at the various items on the table, including the decimated remains of a pale leg.

"What's on your mind, doc?" Riddick asked.

The Doctor reached out and shifted the damaged limb, indicating with his hand to five ragged marks along the thigh. "The creature that attacked Lady Beryl had five fingers."

Several sharp and surprised hisses escaped those standing around the table.

"What exactly does this mean?" One of the guards asked. "Are we dealing with something entirely different?"

"Most likely not." Doctor Quinn assured.

Vaako didn't have to look towards the Lord Marshall to discern that his silver gaze narrowed behind the black goggles. "What do you know, Quinn?" Riddick commanded softly.

Vaako winced. Riddick's tone was enough to make everyone else visibly startle and glance at the Doctor with trepidation.

For the first time since Vaako had become a Necromonger, he watched as the Doctor shifted nervously, biting his lip in fear and worry.

Doctor Quinn nervously cleared his throat, a slight blush spreading across his face. "I…may have observed the video records from when you and your escort ventured onto the planet in your search and rescue mission for the First Among Commanders."

"You did what?!" One of the guards erupted.

"That is classified information!"

"Doctor!"

"Sir!"

"Quinn, why?" Vaako demanded, a thorn of betrayal jabbing deep.

Riddick cut everyone off, answering for the Doctor. "You wanted to learn about those things. Wanted to learn what made them tick."

Quinn nodded, looking as if he had swallowed poison.

The Lord Marshall crossed his arms over his broad chest, staring down the fidgeting Doctor. "So. What did you learn? And what can you tell us about all of this?" Riddick indicated with his chin the bodily remains on the table.

"Um..well…" Doctor Quinn shifted, indicating again the torn limb. "From what I can tell from the width and degree of these claw marks, this animal was very big. The beasts that you met on the planet, the largest of them, was easily 1.5 to twice the size that you are, my Lord." Doctor Quinn raised his head to meet the Lord Marshall's blank and goggled gaze, "From what I can tell from these marks, this beast is three to four times your size."

"You must be joking…" One of the guards drew in a deep breath, eyes speculating the size difference as he looked at the Lord Marshall, Riddick being the tallest and second largest man in the room.

"I was able to determine that 80% of the creatures on the planet were actually female." Quinn added.

A few grunts of surprise or mild interest.

"Did you notice that?" Vaako asked, finally lifting his eyes to look at the Lord Marshall.

Riddick snorted, but not with the intent of undermining Vaako's question, "Didn't really have the time to ask the girls to lift up their skirts or the boys to drop their pants."

The female assistant sputtered and turned red at the Lord Marshall's crudeness. She spoke softly.

"Yes, well, we were able to successfully determine the sexes of the creatures by figuring out what separates the genders once we had examined the corpses--"

The female assistant's teeth audibly snapped together as her mouth slammed shut when the others' attention was focused entirely on her.

Vaako's face blanched white at the realization of what the woman meant. The Commander looked as if he were ready to either pass out or dry heave on the spot.

The Lord Marshall looked ready to throttle someone. Doctor Quinn backed away from the table, out of Riddick's reach.

"You brought them onto this ship." Riddick hissed, not even bothering to form the sentence into a question.

The doctor shuffled nervously. "You didn't state that that couldn't take place."

"I didn't think anyone would want those things close enough to spit on." Riddick shot back sarcastically. "Unless you KNEW what those things could do and wanted to see how effective they were at hunting prey down."

Quinn blanched, growing nearly as white as Vaako had. "No! NO! I…I made certain that the corpses brought onto the ship were truly dead. It was merely for observation and dissection. The carcasses were strapped down the to tables even though they were obviously dead!!" Quinn pleaded with the Lord Marshall. "I was with the assistants as we took the carcasses to the Incinerator and watched as the carcasses were burned to ashes. There is NO WAY that any of them came onto the ship alive nor that any of them could have possibly survived being burned!! I swear to you my Lord, I swear!" Doctor Quinn looked as if he were ready to drop to his knees in front of Riddick, pleading his innocence. Fearing for his life, most likely for the first time ever.

Riddick continued to stare hard at the Doctor.

"Please…" The Doctor begged. "I swear. There was no harm meant by my actions, no matter how stupid they were. I watched all of the carcasses be destroyed. There's no way--"

"Um……" The male assistant cut in, shifting uneasily.

Once again attention was focused on one of Doctor Quinn's assistants. The Doctor turned towards the assistant, asking the question that was apparent in everyone's mind.

"That's not…entirely correct…" He mumbled softly.

If anything the entire atmosphere seemed to freeze, the air growing heavy with the tension that suddenly filled the room.

"What do you mean?" Quinn demanded, seeming to have in a span of several minutes to have grown old and weary, his shoulders slumped and defeated.

"Well…" The male assistant flushed at the penetrating glares he received for how slow he was answering the question. "There was two carcasses that did not make their way to the Incinerators."

Doctor Quinn nearly exploded.

"What…the hell…made you think…to not take them there?" He snarled, hands clenched tight into fists.

The assistant tried to appear insulted, "It was such a great opportunity to view such specimens. I only thought of how they could possibly be studied later on…"

"So you purposely violated my direct orders to have the bodies destroyed? And you didn't think that that would possibly risk all of us?!" Doctor Quinn demanded, whipping around the face the man.

"They were both dead! I only ordered the bodies to be stored in Cooler 27." The man persisted.

"Show me." Quinn ordered, leaving no room for denial.


They left the assistant to his work, given specific orders to clear out and prepare to be transported to another and less prestigious vessel, as punishment for undermining the orders of his superior.

There were no words to describe what they found in the cooler.

The cooler was small, only about 200 feet in each direction, their breath misting in the air. The carcasses were laid out flat on their sides, each having its own designated gurney.

But both gurneys had been toppled over. One carcass was composed of only bones and a few scraps of ragged meat, some areas cleaned down and picked clean to the very marrow. The other's abdomen was torn open; from the inside.

Doctor Quinn knelt down next to the carcass with the shredded stomach, peering into the damaged torso. "There is no mistaking it. This one was not only a female but was carrying offspring. The lining for the birthing cavity is right there. I can also make out what remains of a umbilical cord."

"How many do you think came out of it?" Riddick asked stiffly.

Doctor Quinn sighed, rising to his feet and pulling off the damp remains of his gloves. "Just one, thankfully. What I don't understand is why this one is so much bigger. The males of the species don't grow that much larger than the females, so why this one is so large is a mystery."

"How did it get out of this room?" One of the guards asked, peering into the corners and searching for any possible means of escaping the small quarters.

"At whatever size it had been when it had first torn its way out of its mother's carcass, who knows? I can't believe that we missed any signs of one of the carcasses being pregnant, let alone one surviving in the body of its dead mother."

"From what your observations state, these are efficient and vicious predators. It only seems likely that biologically they are one of the more superior species in their methods to survive, whether it reflects on their offspring or on themselves." Vaako replied to try to answer the many questions blasting through their minds.

One of the guards offered his own idea. "I once heard about certain insects that have different class structures within their groups. One class is the gathers/hunters, another is the warriors, and the other consists of a queen and a king. Perhaps most of the ones that were seen on the planet were the regular ones of the species and this one is…special."

"Would make sense. Or some sort of mutation." The other guard agreed.

"I don't care about the specifics. I plan to make it extinct, no matter how special it may be." Riddick said. He turned to Doctor Quinn, who retracted under his gaze, "You're coming with me so we can figure out how to kill this thing."

"I'll go and visit Lord Marcs in the infirmary to see if he can give us any more information." Vaako insisted.

"Sure you want to deal with that? He's been barely able to form a simple sentence." Riddick asked.

"I'll be fine." Vaako persisted, not looking half as confident as he sounded.

Riddick nodded to the two guards, "You two go with him."

"No." Vaako said, stopping the guards in their tracks as they moved forward to follow the Lord Marshall's orders.

"Vaako-" Riddick began.

"I don't need babysitters. I'll be fine."

"No one is supposed to be going anywhere alone-"

Vaako turned to the female assistant, aware of how Riddick stiffened when the Commander turned away from him but also slightly bitter that the man didn't appear to trust him to handle himself no matter how afraid he was of the creature that could be lurking anywhere. "Would you like to accompany me to the infirmary?" He asked, holding his hand out to the slighter female.

The assistant blushed, but accepted the hand held out to her. "Y-Yes. Thank you. I was planning to go there."

As they moved down the passage towards their destination, Vaako knew he wouldn't be able to escape Riddick's gaze, or escape the inevitable questions that would come.


Vaako had known Lord Marcs for several years and had found him tolerable, even though prone to being quite withdrawn and unlikely to form any close attachments to a person. Lord Marcs had neither sided with the previous Lord Marshall and neither did he interfere, preferring to remain neutral and uninvolved with the Court and politics. The man carried himself with a certain cool dignity, and Vaako had come to the personal conclusion that the man was somewhat afraid of becoming close to anyone because he feared that it would somehow make him weak and feeble in other people's minds.

The Lord Marcs that lay in a private room was almost a polar opposite. The guard who had initially approached the distraught man after the attack on Lady Beryl, Commander Kolte, was in the room with Lord Vaako.

Lord Marcs was dressed in the loose and pale clothing that all patients wore, his lean frame almost swallowed by the vast fabric. He shivered as if cold even though he had wrapped several blankets around him. Commander Kolte sat on the edge of the bed, his wrist held in a firm grip by smaller hands, Lord Marcs curled near the larger man with his head resting on the man's armored lap, Vaako certain that it wasn't that comfortable of any area to lay.

Commander Kolte was no small man, actually near the height and somewhat the width of Irgun the Strange, the large man who had fought Riddick on Helion Prime. A shock of white hair fell down to his shoulders although he was actually the same age as Vaako. He easily dwarfed Lord Marcs slimmer form, brushing a hand through the invalid man's shorter strands of blond hair.

Now that Vaako thought about it, he seemed to recall that the two men had for a period of time had shared a bed for at least a year. Why that changed, he knew not.

"You have taken to guarding him, I see." Vaako noted, coming to sit in the single chair near the Commander.

Commander Kolte gave Lord Vaako a grin filled with slight irony. His voice was deep and calm, like a voice spilling through a deep well, a soft drone that could nearly make your bones tremble. "He's grown attached to me. He must have remembered me in that moment when he stumbled into my unit."

Vaako raised an eyebrow, "So you two were together. I had thought so."

"For a short time, until he ended the relationship."

"Why did he do that?"

Commander Kolte looked down at the man lying with his head in the larger man's lap. As if sensing the other man's gaze Lord Marcs shifted, burrowing closer with a small sound of discomfort. The Commander shushed his soft sounds, Vaako just happening to catch the phrase, 'It's alright, Doyle'. Finally the larger man answered Vaako's question, "I believe he became afraid of how much he began to care for me."

"Apparently that has changed." Vaako noted, looking pointedly at the hands gripping Commander Kolte's wrist.

"Hmmm." Was all Commander Kolte said in reply.

"Has he spoken yet?"

"A little. His speech has improved. At the very least his memory isn't too badly affected. He can remember my name, at the very least."

Vaako began to feel that he was invading on too personal of a situation, so he continued with his questions from earlier, "He hasn't been able to give you any new information, then?"

"Nothing at all. He's come out of shock though. Hopefully his nightmares will ease some."

"Hopefully." He couldn't give Commander Kolte any other response, since he was aware that his own nightmares still caused him grief.

"Is there anything else you need, sir?" The Commander asked. "In a couple of minutes they're going to come in and run another check-up."

"No. I'm done. Thank you for your time, Commander Kolte." Vaako rose from the seat, bowing to the other Commander who bowed his head in return.

When he had just stepped out of the infirmary Vaako was surprised to hear the clacking of nails coming from his right. He turned and watched as a Hellhound came striding towards him, ears raised in interest as it came to a skidding halt at his side. Vaako was nearly jostled off of his feet when the large beast butted its head into his hip, an easy feat since its shoulders were level with the Commander's hips.

Vaako rubbed his hand under the Hellhound's chin and was rewarded by a deep rumbling purr, its mouth opening in a gaping grin of bliss.

The beast wasn't there as an escort, apparently, merely having caught the familiar scent of the Commander. It strode easily at his side as the Commander continued on his trek towards the Lord Marshall's chambers, the long and wide hallway empty of any other living beings. Their only companions were the rows of tall statues that stretched down the vast stretch of the passageway.

What occurred next made the Commander extremely nervous and edgy.

Vaako was surprised when the Hellhound came to a sudden halt. Its ears flattened along its skull, and a deep and frightening snarl trickled out of its throat, hackles rising and flashing orange and red across the large body.

"Easy." He soothed, trying to calm the beast's sudden ire.

It would have none of that. A heavy shoulder pushed into his hip, the snarl rising in tempo and intensity.

But Vaako could make out nothing that could be causing the beast to respond in such a manner. No matter how hard he looked, nothing came to his attention. The hairs along the back of his neck began to rise though, especially in reaction to how the Hellhound was reacting to some unseen threat.

Almost as soon as the snarls began, the Hellhound's jaw snapped shut, and its short tail curled between its hind legs. A short and almost silent whine escaped from its mouth, broad back shuddering and beginning to shake.

Vaako was beginning to find that he was shaking as well. There was only one thing that could possibly cause a Hellhound to cringe in trepidation.

The Commander warily began to back away, not needing the large beast's head pushing at his hand to urge him any faster. He gave a small sound of shock when teeth closed firmly over his hand, without breaking the skin, and tugged at him forcing him to move quicker and away from the hall.

As the two fled, finding it wiser to retreat than to face the unknown, neither heard or saw the soft rasp of talons scratching along marble and the slick shadow that slipped across the ceiling away from them.


Once the Commander had nearly rocketed through the main doors and into the Lord Marshall's chambers, he warned Riddick of the unseen threat. The Lord Marshall and several other Lords and Commanders were momentarily drawn back by the sight of a usually calm and collected Commander flushed and panting from running and the Hellhound that nearly ran the man over in its haste to join the rest of its pack. Immediately units were sent out to investigate the hall, taking with them all of the Hellhounds to use for tracking including the one that had accompanied Vaako.

Riddick nearly tossed the other Commanders and Lords out of his chambers, sealing the doors tight behind him. A sweep had taken place over an hour ago and every individual was accounted for and had withdrawn to their own private chambers. The only people exempted from the curfew were the soldiers who performed sentry duty and the units continuously searching the vast ship.

Vaako had shed his earlier attire and nearly drowned himself in the shower to clean away the sweat that seemed to taunt him with the reminder of his fearful flight, afterwards donning loose black pants and thin loose long-sleeved shirt. Damp strands of long hair seemed to melt into the fabric of his shirt, beads of water that had escaped from the towel dripping down to dot along his clothes.

The Lord Marshall's goggles lay forgotten on the table across the room, Riddick pacing the vast room having not spoken a word since Vaako had burst in.

With a great deal of hesitation Vaako finally called up enough bravery to sit down at the foot of the bed, a blush spreading across his face at the unkempt blankets and sheets from their time in the bed sleeping and…other things.

"So how did the interview go with Marcs?" Riddick's voice caused Vaako to startle.

"Nothing new at all." Vaako finally said, looking at the Furyan.

Riddick stopped his pacing, standing there and just staring at the Commander. Vaako fought a nervous fidget. "And how did things go with Doctor Quinn?" He asked.

"Nothing new at all." Riddick echoed Vaako's earlier statement.

"Oh."

When the Furyan strode towards him Vaako was proud to find himself not leaping off of the bed and towards the other end of the room. He sat warily as Riddick came to stand in front of him, feeling very small sitting there in front of the other man.

A firm hand lifted from Riddick's waist and touched the side of Vaako's face, thumb brushing along the arch of the Commander's cheekbone. Silver met ebony as the two stared at one another, Vaako helpless to think of anything to say.

"Tell me what happened earlier. What made you so afraid?" Riddick asked.

Vaako hesitated, finding himself pressing his face into the warmth of the Lord Marshall's hand. "I don't want to talk about it." He murmured softly.

"Tough." Riddick grunted.

Vaako jerked away, and Riddick's hand followed.

"Don't keep secrets from me, Vaako. As my Commander and as my lover, don't start now." Riddick commanded.

Vaako slapped Riddick's hand away, "How dare you start ordering me around. After so long you FINALLY decide to start and at the worst time? You bastard."

"You're letting this consume you."

Vaako threw his hands up in the air. "I'm sorry I can't be like you, Riddick! I can't bury my fear, even though it is shameful for a Necromonger to be ruled by such pathetic emotions." He snarled, "It's a little hard to bury the hatchet after going through that version of Hell."

"Talk to me, then." Riddick said, sliding onto the bed after Vaako as the dark-haired man pushed himself back and away from the Furyan.

"No."

Riddick's eyes narrowed.

"NO. It won't help anything."

"It won't hurt you either."

"FUCK YOU!" Vaako burst out. "You survived that hell because you were stronger, faster, and meaner than those things were. You could see in the dark, and you only needed your bare hands to fight! You’re a predator, Riddick. And no matter how hard I try, I can only be a man who simply knows how to fight or die against a human enemy. Going against something with teeth and claws is not something I was trained to do, and you expect me to just get over having those things chase me down and having watched them tear my wife to shreds?!"

"You had every reason to be afraid, and every reason to be angry with me." Riddick agreed, sliding between Vaako's thighs and catching his hands, holding them tight within his own and pressing both of their bodies flush together. "But don't let it continue to chase you. Don't let it make you so afraid that you jump at every shadow or at every sound. 'Cause then, they've won. And then you will die after driving yourself to the edge and allowing yourself to fall."

"I. Can't. Escape. Them." Vaako grunted, tugging uselessly at his hands, even as Riddick pulled him forward and he buried his face in the crook of Riddick's neck, "It's like they're inside of me. I can't escape something that's like poison. It just keeps eating away at me. In my skin, in my blood, all the way down."

The broad warm shoulders offered some comfort and Vaako was quick to bury himself in the living shelter. His hands were freed so that he could claw at Riddick's back in an effort to hold him close.

"So they're inside of you." Riddick's grip tightened until Vaako made a small sound of discomfort. "Then we'll just have to flush it out."

Vaako gave a small snort of laughter. "How do you expect to do that? Bleed me dry?"

"Nah. Something better."

Vaako gasped as his head was jerked back and teeth and lips smashed into his mouth, wrenching him open and devouring him. With an audible and nearly tearing sound of flesh separating from flesh he jerked back. "Is this an excuse for us to have sex?" He demanded, amused and yet indignant.

"If you want to think that, fine. You say that it's consuming you, biting deep." Riddick tilted Vaako's head back, meeting his gaze once again. "Then I'll devour you. I'll consume you, and wash the poison away."


The End

…..Kidding!! Kidding! Don't throw objects at me!


Vaako was barely able to breathe by the time Riddick pulled away, lips red and tender from so much continued assault. "…Stop already.." He commanded, one hand pushing at the Furyan's shoulder. "I can barely breathe…"

Riddick flashed a grin that was all teeth. "Glad to see I affect you that way."

Vaako groaned, tilting his head to the side and burying his face into the pillow. "You can be such a pain at times."

He startled when he was yanked more fully onto his back, peering up as Riddick rose above him, pulling off the dark tank and throwing it to the floor. Vaako was thankful that he didn't have to worry about his shirt, having already been divested of it a long time ago along with every other clothing and apparel other than their pants.

The paler of the two found his hands exploring the broad and firm chest, feeling the muscles flexing and rolling underneath his fingertips. The heavy weight of the Furyan straddling his hips gave Vaako little room to maneuver. However, he managed to raise himself up enough to lay his hands on Riddick's hips, pressing his mouth against the line of flesh from the Furyan's pectorals to his navel. After pressing a light kiss against the warm stretch of skin, Vaako traced his tongue upwards, barely touching the skin with the tip of his tongue.

His actions obviously excited Riddick, a lot more than he was anticipating since Vaako considered himself to have little experience in pleasing a male partner. Everything was going so fast, and it was all so hard and rough, primal and with such a great deal of sensation and fire, that it made the Commander dizzy.

When Riddick's hands plunged down to nearly tear open the zipper of his pants and slide within to encircle his cock, Vaako cried out from the feel of warm hands surrounding him. Hips thrust forward and legs spread even wide, his back arching and bowing upwards as his head jerked and shook.

When Riddick's head disappeared and wet and hot suction replaced hands and surrounded him, Vaako had to bite down on his knuckles to keep from screaming out loud.

There was no mercy. Riddick's hands allowed for no movement other than what he commanded, gripping Vaako's hips and thrusting them forward and back in however manner he deigned them to move. The wet noise of the Furyan practically eating him alive made Vaako shake and jolt as if he were being electrocuted from the inside out.

The familiar sensation between his legs was rising, and Vaako tried to pull away, wanting to make it last, not for it to end so quickly. "No--too soon. I can't--"

One more downward motion of Riddick's head, and when he bobbed upwards, he ran his tongue along the bottom of Vaako's cock, from root to tip.

It felt like Vaako imploded, lids falling shut as stars and lightning flashed across his eyes. He must have fallen into some sort of lulled trance or state of semi-consciousness. What pulled him out of that state was the feel of a slick and lubed finger sliding inside of him, pressing past the stubborn ring of muscle and into his body.

The sensation of something sliding into him, even as mild as a finger made Vaako twitch and nearly leap out of his skin. It didn't feel bad, but at the same time it didn't feel good.

"Breathe." Riddick instructed, feeling Vaako's body unconsciously tighten around his hand.

Vaako lay back further onto the bed, allowing Riddick to move as he pleased, feeling as the Furyan used his free hand to continue tugging the Commander's pants down.

When the Lord Marshall's body blocked the continued progress of the pants he moved up to lay along Vaako's side, finally tossing the pants to the floor but still lay against Vaako. The Commander raised up and sighed when their lips met, letting himself be distracted, tongue sliding and rolling with Riddick's even as the finger inside of him began to slide back and forth, easing the way within.

A shot of heat, pure pleasure that fired through him when Riddick's hand thrust back in and brushed along a certain area inside of him. Riddick chuckled when Vaako arched against his hand, a surprised mewl muffled between their lips.

"What did you do?" Vaako gasped, eyes wide with awe at the shot of pleasure from that one touch.

"THAT is how I'm going to make you feel good once I'm all the way inside." Riddick rumbled.

The statement only comforted Vaako until Riddick reached for the lubricant, the second finger sliding in bringing a shot of heat and discomfort that made the Commander wince.

"Relax." Riddick instructed, soothing the slight panic that had begun to rise in Vaako's eyes, "Just lay back, and let me make it feel better."

"..Okay." Vaako said with apparent uncertainty.

Vaako lay his head back, repeating a silent mantra in his head. 'Relax, relax, relax…'
Thankfully the burn began to ease and the two fingers moved much smoother, actually beginning to feel good, the sense of being filled and possessed making his skin flush with excitement and desire.

The third finger sliding in caused a small twinge, but Riddick continued to kiss away the small pains, stealing Vaako's pain and breath. He pushed strands of hair from Vaako's face, tracing the contours and arches of bone along his cheeks and jaw. Traced the edges and inside of the Commander's lips with his tongue.

Riddick slid away, yet again, almost tearing his own pants off and free, hurling them away. The hot and firm weight of the man's body against and weighing him down nearly made Vaako come again. His hands curled around Riddick's shoulders, using his body as leverage to arch more fully against the hand arching and rocking inside of him.

"This is going to hurt, okay? You've got to relax. It'll be uncomfortable no matter what you do, but relaxing will make it easier and quicker, and that's when it'll start to feel good." The warning obviously made Vaako tighten initially, but he grit his teeth against his trepidation.

"Do it." He hissed, tired of waiting, wanting to be filled. Wanting the fear and doubt to end, even if it meant submitting entirely to another force that was Riddick.

Vaako was fine when Riddick lined and angled his hips. He was even all right when the head of Riddick's cock nudged against his opening, the slick head from pre-come and lubrication making them slide and push together.

He wasn't fine when the head of Riddick's cock pushed its way through the ring of muscle. Vaako cried out softly, feeling like he was being torn open. He jerked reflexively, and was horrified to find that his actions actually caused the Furyan to slide deeper, almost halfway inside.

"Pull out." Vaako groaned, willing to resort to begging. "I can't take it. You're too large to fit."

"Just hold on."

"Riddick-"

"Take a deep breath."

"Riddick--"

Riddick pushed forward and slid all the way in. Vaako cried out from the dual sensation of hot pain from the force pushing its way in, and from the shock as the Furyan brushed fully against the spot inside of him.

"Ooh." Vaako gasped.

"And there it is." Riddick chuckled.

But he didn't move. Making sure that Vaako's body adjusted, giving the Commander time to regain his breath and let his body stop throbbing from the pain.

Riddick leaned down, dropping a soft kiss against Vaako's lips, brushing his mouth along the Commander's cheek. "You okay?" He asked.

"Y-yeah." Vaako confided. "You can move now, if you want."

"Oh, I want." Riddick's growl was as much of a force as his hips snapping back and then flush against Vaako.

The Commander cried out softly, pulling the Lord Marshall tight and close, burying his face against a tanned shoulder. "Riddick!" He moaned, soft sounds in unison with each rocking push inside of him.

Teeth brushed along his throat, closing over a patch of flesh. When Riddick bit down enough to leave an imprint of teeth without drawing too much blood, Vaako's hands nearly scoured his back. The Furyan growled softly when Vaako's mouth bit into his shoulder, relishing the burn and ache that signified that the Commander had marked him as well. Tooth and blood, binding them both flesh to flesh.

Each thrust that pounded into him made Vaako ache from pleasure and a small tendril of pain that felt just as good. He was surrounded and nearly engulfed by Riddick, pressed into from nearly all sides, the bed at his back allowing for nowhere to go except for against the Furyan. Vaako gladly accepted.

Riddick's hand closed over Vaako, manhandling his cock with rough friction that made him writhe and bite his lip to keep from screaming. It was too soon after his previous release, and Vaako came again, not as much fluid escaping but the force of it making his limbs grow too heavy to move.

And still the Lord Marshall continued to move, slowing down though to prolong the connection of their two bodies. Vaako didn't have the voice to persist that he couldn't take any more. A soft sigh was released from both men when Riddick finally reached his own release, the scalding heat filling Vaako until he felt that he could burst from it.

"No." Vaako grabbed Riddick, keeping him from pulling out and away. "Stay. I want to feel you."

Hardly willing to argue Riddick lay back down, enough to the side that he wasn't crushing the paler and smaller man. He pressed his mouth to the bruises and imprint of teeth along Vaako's neck, soothing yet unapologetic for leaving the mark upon the pale skin.

Vaako ran his fingers along the mark he had left on Riddick's shoulder. "I made you bleed." He said, noticing the slight shine of blood and tasting the bitter copper in his mouth.

Riddick shared that coppery bitterness, bending down to sweep his tongue with Vaako's sharing the flavor of the Commander's release. Blood and sex all rolled into one.

"Tastes very good." Riddick murmured, half-lulled by Vaako's embrace, his head next to the Commander's.

Vaako hummed, one hand idly discovering fluid cooling on his stomach, spreading the milky and sticky substance along his skin. "You were right, though."

"'Bout what?" Riddick asked, curious.

"You did devour me." Vaako shifted, stretching to press his cheek against Riddick's, "And you also filled me. Washed away the taint. I feel…cleaner somehow."

"Glad to know you like it." Riddick said, "'Cause this ain't going to be a one time thing."

The Commander stretched his arms so that he could move closer and deeper into the Lord Marshall's embrace. The finality of the statement was strangely soothing, and gave him a great deal of comfort. More than he could recall ever feeling. "I think that I would like that." He answered softly.