IF ALL FAILS

A foreboding premonition washed across Eve's face, and an instant later her black clothing transformed into a suit of steel. She raised her hands in amazement, marveled at her sudden transformation repeatedly flexing her fingers. Gazing around at her comrades, she asked, "Could someone explain what just happened?"

Kearyn reached out, placed two fingers on her throat, and said, "Interesting. Your pulse is still normal. I expected it to be elevated."

"Is this cool, or should I be freaking out right now?"

Kearyn took Eve by the hands, only mildly interested in the heavy armor now covering her from just below her chin, all the way to the bottoms of her feet. "Do not worry, you are fine. I do not believe this is a malfunction." He said, reassuring her as he felt the seam around her neck. "This is just one of the built-in self-protection features I installed in your new body. It is a normal function you will come to appreciate soon enough."

Still transfixed by her newly armored hands, Eve replied, "This is cool. Does it come in something other than black?"

"Although," Kearyn said, ignoring her fashion question still running a fingertip along the edge of Eve's armor where the suit turned to skin, "I am concerned something triggered a threat level one security response in one of your neural subsystem. The replacement chip I placed in your brainstem is linked into the central mainframe."

"Kearyn," Toombs said, marveling at Eve's new garb.

"What is it, Alexander?"

"Why does Eve's armor look identical to mine?" he asked, feeling the material.

"I would have thought the answer to that question would have been self-evident. Eve's armor is identical to yours because it is like yours." Kearyn answered. "Although, in actuality," he continued as an expression of pride crossed his face, "It is not armor at all; it is a highly advanced biomorphic skin that acts like armor."

"You know what I'm talking about. I've been wearing this armor for six months and..."

"Six months," Riddick interrupted. He laughed at Toombs and added, "And you blamed Kearyn for the smell."

Toombs ignored the blatant attempt to get a rise out of him and kept talking, "In all this time, nothing has ever happened to me like this." Toombs pointed at Eve who in return fired back an expression meaning my suit's way cooler than yours.

"True," Kearyn replied. "But that does not mean your suit cannot undergo a metamorphosis."

Toombs was speechless as a million questions exploded into his thoughts all at once.

But Kearyn preempted the oncoming onslaught by saying, "Stop. We simply do not have time to address this conversation. Besides, if my suspicions are correct, we are all in grave danger."

"What kind of danger?" Riddick asked, noticing the vacant stare taking hold of Eve's face. The trance left her sitting motionless, as if she were watching something no one else could see.

Toombs walked to Eve's side, took her by the hand and asked, "What's wrong, darlin'?"

Eve stared into the abyss as Kearyn checked her vital signs, and Toombs shook her arm to snap her out of the trance she had succumbed to. The three of them watched Eve's lips move, but nothing came out of her mouth. Instead, her voice came out of the ship's speakers. "Long-range sensors show an unidentified ship on an intercept course with our position. It will arrive at these coordinates in T-Minus 35 minutes, 12 seconds."

Without warning, the sterile white lights in the med bay suddenly changed to an ominous red hue, prompting Toombs to blurt out. "That can't be good."

The emergency strobe light above the exit pulsed frenetically, causing Riddick to pull his goggles down over his ever tightening eyelids. The transformation had not completely taken hold yet.

"Warning," Eve's voice echoed around the med bay, "This is a threat level two security override. Short-range sensors have identified faint engine emissions from a cloaked trident missile traveling along an attack vector with the Rapier. Estimated time of impact is T-Minus 5 minutes, 11 seconds."

Toombs, who had been frantically focusing on Eve, turned back and found Riddick had vanished.

"Dammit!" he screamed, "Riddick's gonna take his ship and leave us all for dead." He ran to Kearyn, grabbed him by the arm and yelled, "WE'VE GOTTA GET EVE UP AND GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!"

Kearyn tore Toombs' hand away and shouted, "I'd rather die here than lose the chance to save Kera! Now, go to the bridge and help Riddick."

"Didn't you hear me? He's going to..."

"MOVE YOUR ASS, ALEXANDER!" Kearyn screamed over the din.

Toombs ran out the exit door, through the center cargo hold, noticing the still closed hatch leading to the disembarkation gantry, and realized he'd falsely accused Riddick. "Shit," he said to himself, knowing he was going to have to make amends later. But for now, he needed to get to the cockpit and do whatever he could to assist Riddick.

He raced into the cockpit, found Riddick sitting in the pilot's seat trying to spin the two ships around, and asked, "What do you need?"

"Sit in the port side gunner's seat and hold fast until I get us spun into position." Riddick instructed.

"What are you thinkin'?" Toombs asked in a perplexed voice.

"The missile has already gained a target lock; there's no time to get away. Our only chance is to spin the ships around and put my ship between us and the missile." Riddick explained, working frantically to make that happen before the missile passed the point of no return.

"How's that gonna help?" Toombs replied, sitting down in the gunner's seat and hurriedly priming the cannons to fire at the incoming missile. "A trident missile has enough punch to destroy both ships at once."

"I'll disconnect us before it gets here." Riddick replied, quickly pressing buttons on the console in front of him. "I'm going to blow the docking collar and use the port side mooring thrusters to move us further away. The added distance will force the missile to go around my ship to maintain its target lock. When it does, you'll get one chance to light it up."

Toombs scowled at the console in front of him and said, "How's destroyin' your ship gonna help us escape?"

Riddick shrugged his shoulders and explained, "If we get lucky, the explosion will generate enough force to ignite the missile before it reaches us."

Toombs reeled in his seat and asked, "And if it doesn't?"

Riddick looked over his shoulder with an ominous expression and answered, "You won't get that second honeymoon you've been fantasizing about all these years."

Eve's voice filled the cockpit. "Impact in T-Minus 1 minute, 30 seconds."

Toombs lurched in his seat and Riddick smirked and said, "Skittish Toombs, still skittish. Now, get ready to fire."

"Riddick," Toombs said, "before I lose the chance, I'd like to apologize for something I just said to Kearyn."

Riddick turned back to Toombs as if they weren't under attack and said, "Let me guess, you thought I ran out on you." Riddick smiled at Toombs and admitted, "It's OK. I've always had a reputation for placing self-preservation high on my priorities list."

"If it means anything, I am sorry."

"T-Minus 1 minute until impact." Eve announced.

"Eve," Riddick instructed, "jettison the docking collar and fire the port-side thrusters for as long as you can."

"Affirmative. Jettisoning docking collar now. Firing port-side thrusters in 3, 2, 1." The ship lurched to the side, rocketing away from Riddick's ship.

"Signal when the missile reaches my ship." Riddick said, turning towards Toombs. "That'll be your cue to open up with the main guns."

"Docking collar at minimum safe distance," Eve said, "Increasing thruster output to maximum, now."

"Call out the distance."

"We are currently moving away from your ship at a rate of 15 meters per second."

"That's not gonna put a lot of distance between us." Toombs said.

"It's the only chance we have."

"Warning. The trident missile will be in striking distance in T-Minus, "10... 9... 8... Fire primary starboard cannon in, 3... 2... 1.., Fire."

Toombs fired the cannons and Riddick's ship exploded into a ball of flame, engulfing the Triton missile for a moment. But the explosion had no effect; the missile continued racing towards them and with it followed certain doom.

Toombs shouted, "It's still coming!" He began firing blindly at the incoming missile until by sheer dumb luck a round struck the missile between the two ships detonating the warhead before it had the chance to strike the Rapier.

"Yeah!" Toombs screamed, jumping to his feet. "Take that, you dirty mother..."

A violent shock wave slammed into the Rapier, throwing Toombs face down on the floor like a sack of discarded potatoes. His head bounced along the aisle like a bowling ball skipping across a concrete floor.

Unbeknownst to anyone inside the ship, the warhead had detonated near the drifting docking boom floating mid-way between the Rapier and Riddick's ship. The resulting explosion launched the boom like a speeding arrow straight at the aft section of the Rapier.

Sensing the impending impact, Eve shoved Kearyn towards the exit door. He flailed through the exit hatch like a rag doll, ending up in a heap in the corner of the adjacent cargo hold. Kearyn leapt to his feet, watching the hatch close between him and Eve as a helmet formed around her head. A second later, the debris tore a gaping hole in the outer hull of the aft med bay, throwing the ship into a spiraling drift as the explosive decompression blew everything not fastened down in med-bay out into the frigid void of space. Eve drifted away like puppet left dangling from its strings.

Toombs lay sprawled face down on the floor with his eyelids fluttering uncontrollably. Riddick shouted something from the pilot's seat. But Toombs couldn't make out what he was saying over the alarm.

"Warning: there is a hull breach in the med-bay." An unfamiliar digital voice called out. It sounded nothing like Eve.

"Toombs, can you hear me?" Riddick shouted above the din. "Get up. Eve and Kearyn are in trouble. Get up; I need your help!"

The words were like a lifeline. Eve's in trouble. In an instant, the world came zooming back into focus, and with it came a new purpose. Toombs pushed himself off the floor and immediately lost his balance, collapsing into the seat next to Riddick. Disoriented, he fought the urge to pass out.

Riddick reached over, gripped his shoulder, steadying him in his seat. "Are you alright?"

But Toombs head was pounding and he still couldn't hear anything over the alarm. Blood oozed from his ears and nose. He couldn't focus. The ship spun around him.

"Kearyn, can you hear me?" Riddick called out, "How do I turn this damn alarm off?" But the alarms subsided just as Riddick finished shouting.

"Riddick, I silenced the alarm. Are you and Toombs alright?" Kearyn asked.

"Toombs is a little worse for wear, but I'm sure he'll be fine in a few minutes." Riddick answered as the cockpit hatch opened and Kearyn walked in.

"That is good to hear." Kearyn said, racing in through the still open hatch. He favored diagnosing the extent of Toombs injuries for himself.

"Get off." Toombs protested as Kearyn shined his flashlight in his face. Kearyn slapped his hand when he tried to grab the penlight. "He has a severe concussion." Kearyn said, turning to Riddick as he snapped his fingers in Toombs' face. "Unfortunately, in his current condition, Alexander will be of little help to anyone."

"I suppose this isn't a good time to remind everyone a Necro ship will arrive in less than 25 minutes." Riddick replied with a foreboding expression.

"I'm fine," Toombs said, trying to get up only to end up on his backside again.

Riddick leaned towards Kearyn and whispered, "As much as it pains me to admit it, our odds of survival are much less without his help."

"Agreed," Kearyn replied, gesturing for Riddick to come over next to Toombs. "I'll need your help to remove the sub systems restraint installed at the base of his skull."

"What would you like me to do?" Riddick asked, moving over to them and lifting Toombs out of his seat.

"Simple, you just have to hold him down." Kearyn instructed, gesturing to the floor halfway down the aisle..

"What?" Toombs asked through an ever-thickening funk.

Kearyn turned to Toombs and replied, "I am truly sorry, old friend. If there were any other way, I would never do this to you. However, as Riddick has keenly deduced, we cannot win the upcoming battle without your full participation. Therefore, my medical options in your case are quite limited."

"I can still help." Toombs protested, clumsily slapping at Kearyn's hands.

"Not like this." Riddick replied, ushering him down the aisle to the spot Kearyn gestured to. "You can barely stand."

"What are you doing?" he demanded, feebly trying to fend off Riddick.

"Alexander, I am going to remove the system restraint I installed the day you donned this suit."

Even though the cramped aisle afforded minimal space, Kearyn motioned for Riddick to help him lay Toombs on the floor between the aft seats. When Toombs was in position, Kearyn raced to a storage locker at the rear of the compartment and removed something shimmery from inside a cabinet beside the door. He brought it back and gave it to Riddick. It was a death shroud.

"Is this necessary?"

"It is the only way to ensure he'll survive the rapid transition." Kearyn answered, kneeling down behind Toombs and raising him into a semi-seated position. "Now, come and kneel in front of Alexander, so you can place this over him when I tell you too." Kearyn instructed, handing the shroud for him.

Riddick did as instructed and then waited for Kearyn to remove the tiny black clip from between Toombs shoulder blades. The moment he did, Toombs went limp and Kearyn carefully laid him back on the floor, signaling it was time for Riddick to place the shroud over him and hold him down.

"What next?" Riddick asked, kneeling on Toombs.

"Now we pray I did not just kill him." Kearyn instructed, standing up to watch.

Toombs's eyes rolled back in their sockets. His body spasmed violently beneath the shroud. A split second later, he started flopping around like a fish on the hot sand. The sounds of snapping bones filled the compartment. His convulsing body twisted around like a corkscrew in a tornado. And when Riddick looked up, he found Kearyn holding Toombs' hand. After what seemed like an eternity, his convulsions finally subsided and his breathing returned to normal.

Riddick leaned forward. Toombs' eyes popped open, and he said, "You can get off me now."

Kearyn released his hand, and both he and Riddick stood up. Toombs sat up weakly and the shroud covering him fell into his lap. Riddick reached down, picked up the shroud, stuffed it in his pocket, and then offered Toombs a hand up. Toombs reached up and Riddick snatched him up onto his feet as though he were weightless. He noticed Toombs face seemed younger, his skin smoothed out, and the telltale pallid Necro complexion had vanished.

"Nice to see you back on your feet." Kearyn said, patting him on the shoulder.

Eve's voice came over the cockpit speakers. "Hey guys, if you're done messing around. I'd like to come inside now. Before the Necros get here."

Riddick shot Kearyn a look that said bad idea and said, "Not gonna happen. The Rapier won't outrun anything in this condition. Hold your position. Toombs and I are coming out to you."

"How's that supposed to help?" Eve asked.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we aren't going anywhere in a ship with a barn door sized hole torn out of its hull. At least, not until we repair the damage." Riddick explained, grimacing at the staggering array of system failure lights flashing on the monitor in front of him.

"Well, ain't that just fucking great?" Toombs replied. "And just where the hell are we supposed to get repair parts out here? It's not like we can call for star side assistance."

Riddick shook his head at him and said, "I see your recent transformation did little to fix your glass half empty outlook."

"Funny," Toombs retorted.

"Luckily for us, I do have an idea. I say we hijack the incoming ship and strip out the parts we need to make our repairs."

"And just how do we mask our energy signatures when they get here," Eve asked.

"Their sensors won't register anything if we're not in here when they arrive." Riddick explained.

"And what about Kearyn?" Eve snapped.

"Kearyn can remain behind to power down the systems, open the exterior hatches and vent the Rapier's remaining O2 supply."

Toombs turned to Riddick, eyebrows raised in shock, and said, "That's suicide. We'll only have a couple hours of air in our suits."

"Your point?" Riddick asked.

"If we vent the O2," Toombs snapped, "what do we breathe when we come back inside?"

"We aren't coming back aboard," Riddick replied, "This ship is dead in space and if we stay here, we'll end up just like the floaters outside."

"Maybe that's how they got there." Toombs thought out loud.

"That's not how they got there." Kearyn replied.

Eve gasped at his plan. "Where does that leave Kearyn, trapped inside a ship with no air or life support to sustain him? What about his chance of escape?"

Kearyn laughed to himself and replied, "While I thank you for your heartfelt concern. I would ask you to remember that I have not needed life support for a long time. And as for escape, if all goes well, they'll be the ones in need of escape."

"Sorry," Eve replied. "This is all a little new to me."

"OK," Riddick continued, "if that's settled. Here's the rest of the plan. When the Necros get here, they'll send a boarding party over to secure the ship and make sure everyone is dead."

One thing in our favor is there is far too much wreckage floating around out there for them to make any reliable quick scans. Riddick pointed to Kearyn. "At the same time you're dealing with the boarding party, the three of us will slip aboard and seize control of the incoming ship's main deck," Riddick explained. "With a little luck, we'll have our replacement parts soon."

Toombs turned to Riddick and said, "Yeah, I remember how lucky we were the last time."

"Don't underestimate the value of getting lucky. None of us would be here right now if it weren't for luck. If you remember, my grand plan went to shit." Riddick admitted.

"OK then," Toombs conceded with a smirk, "If all else fails, we'll just have to rely on good old-fashioned luck."

"Before we continue," Eve said, "Long range scanners identified the ship as a Necromonger Basilica class Frigate."

"We're fucked." Toombs said, shaking his head. "That ship has a complement of tens of thousands."

"Could someone explain why they won't just pull up and start shooting?"

"Because the Rapier is the only ship in the Necromonger fleet equipped with an interstellar jump-drive and a hull design that allows for subspace travel." Riddick answered.

"So, you were paying attention, after all." Kearyn said.

"What's an interstellar drive?" Eve inquired.

"It generates a temporal displacement field allowing the Rapier to travel from one fixed point in space to another, instantaneously." Riddick explained.

"Holy shit." she exclaimed in disbelief. "That could revolutionize space travel as we know it."

"That's only one of this ship's unique capabilities." Kearyn added. "The primary reason they want the Rapier back is because it is the only ship capable of entering the underverse without a total loss of life inside."

"So why'd the dumb asses fire on it?" Eve asked.

"Luckily for us, I encased the jump engine in a quantum shield stabilizer, making it invulnerable to outside forces." Kearyn answered.

"And unluckily for them, they're going to be expecting minimal resistance. To bad Eve and I are here." Riddick replied.

Kearyn nodded to Riddick and said, "it's time to go; does everyone know their part?"

"Sure, sure." Toombs mumbled as he and Riddick walked into the cargo hold.

"Gentlemen," Kearyn called out as Riddick opened a locker containing spacesuits, "if we survive the upcoming battle, I promise I will tell you everything. No more secrets."

Toombs turned to say something to Kearyn, just in time to see him vanish behind the closing hatch.

"There's no time," Riddick said, donning a EVA suit. "We have to get outside before the frigate arrives."

Toombs turned and said, "I'm ready. Let's get this thing done." Then he stepped inside the airlock and waited for Riddick to finish dressing.

Riddick locked the inner airlock door, noticing Toombs was wearing a helmet and said, "Neat trick." He opened the communication channel on his helmet. "Kearyn, we'll be outside in a minute. You can begin shutting down the systems as soon as we're out."

"I'm already on it," Kearyn answered. "Riddick, you and Toombs need to be aware Eve's security protocols will have switched to threat level three by now. If she perceives either of you as a threat, she may act according to her new subroutines."

"What are you suggesting, Kearyn?" Eve snapped angrily. She would never hurt either of them.

"I'm just saying it would behoove your two companions not to point any weapons in your direction for the foreseeable future. If they do, your self-defense protocols may take over causing you to become unpredictably aggressive." Kearyn explained as kindly as possible.

"What do you mean, unpredictably aggressive? Why would I become aggressive to either of them?" Eve asked, becoming more alarmed with each additional question.

"Calm down, Eve," Kearyn warned sternly. "I did what was necessary to ensure no one would ever harm you again. In fact, if anyone ever tries, they will spend the remaining moments of their life in pain and agony."

Eve gazed down at herself, found she had transformed once more; only this time, a sense of utter horror gripped her. She was a monster. Eve screamed in horror and cried out, "I'm a monster." She lifted her hands, forcing herself to suppress the urge to scream again. They were hideous mitts, at least 14 inches from the tips of her two middle fingers to her wrists. On the bottoms of her fingers there were long rows or tiny suction cups with small fish hook like barbs protruding from the centers. Six hideous fingers ringed a wide palm containing a black onyx beak. When the beak opened, an angry tongue jutted out like a hollow drill-bit spinning at a dizzying speed.

Eve's eyes followed her forearms from her slender wrists up to her knobby elbows, where a pair of long course bone like katanas protruded from each of her elbows. When she straightened out her arms, the bones disappeared inside, deep grooves running up the backs of her arms. She turned her trembling hands over and gasped in shock. The tops of her fingers looked like eerie black spider legs with meaty, oversized knuckles. Eve's long slender body had transformed into a jet-black skin resembling a chrome steel bodysuit stretched over a muscular but feminine torso. Turning left and right, she saw two bones jutting from each of her shoulders like black rhino tusks.

Reaching around, she felt a line of small jagged plates like reptilian scales growing from each of the vertebrae running down the length of her spine. At the bottom, a long meaty gator-like tail wrapped around her waist like a long, jagged belt. Reaching beneath it, she felt a series of large suction cups running down to a treacherous serrated gaff hook at the tip.

Eve turned to the side, extended her foot out, inspecting her new leg. It was long and feminine but appeared to be strangely amphibian, as though it had once been on a giant three-toed frog. A single razor sharp talon jutted from her middle digit and a set of formidable bones matching the horns on her shoulders protruded from the center of her muscular calves. At the bottom of her suction cup toes, a blunted spike grew from her heel, making it look as if she were wearing chunky black stilettos.

For the first time since Eve emerged from stasis, she saw the full extent of what Kearyn did to her. "Are you saying I can't stop this thing from killing?"

"No." He answered. "While the transformation may seem extreme..."

"Seem extreme!" she blared, cutting him off before he could explain.

"I can assure you... under normal circumstances... you'll be in complete control of your actions."

"So," Eve cut in, "I'm not in control?"

"You are an infant only just born into a body you cannot possibly hope to understand. I am sorry, Eve, if you are to survive this encounter, you must learn how to control your new body during the heat of battle." Kearyn apologized.

Stepping into the darkness outside, Riddick asked, "Eve, what's the frigate's estimated time of arrival?" The outer airlock closed behind them with an ominous hiss.

"It will arrive in T-Minus 9 minutes, 13 seconds," Eve answered. "Wait. How do I know that?"

"Your neural subsystem remains linked to the Rapier's mainframe." Kearyn answered as he began shutting down the ship's systems. "Eve," he added, "You are not a thing, nor are you a monster. I have only created one monster and I can promise you; it wasn't you."

"How could you do this to me?" Eve asked, floating alone in the frigid void of space. "Look at me. I'm hideous!"

"The only thing I've done to you is equip you with the most advanced suit of armor ever created. You have not changed, only the armor encasing your body has changed. And as soon as your security protocols return to normal, so too, will you." Kearyn explained, doing his best to reassure her before she completely lost it.

Toombs could see something looming in the distance, but couldn't focus on the object because it blended into the darkness beyond. As it floated closer, he motioned to Riddick and asked, "is that her?"

"Oh, come on. I'm insulted, baby. You don't recognize your little sugar britches? Doesn't my new body make you want to run off to the nearest cargo hold so you can caress my little...? Hold it," Eve held out a hand, extended one of her middle fingers and asked, "Does this still mean the same thing when you have six fingers instead of five? Here, I have an idea." Eve said, raising another middle finger and laughingly added, "l'll just give you the middle fingers. Yeah, I like this. It's like twice the fuck you in one gesture."

Riddick smirked at Toombs and said, "I think Kearyn should have warned us about her unpredictable mood swings."

Toombs whispered to Riddick, "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be mean. I just didn't recognize her. As for the mood swings, she's always had a wicked temper."

"You realize I can hear you, right?" Eve replied, floating closer by the moment.

When she was ten feet away from Toombs, she reached out, wrapped her long arms and tail around him, and pulled him to within a few inches of her. He stared in amazement at Eve's face; he thought it was both terrifying and beautiful.

Eve smiled at Toombs like a spider, smiling at a fly stuck in its web. The inside of her mouth was a vivid fleshy pink lined with jagged white teeth, appearing as if they would be more at home in the mouth of a great white shark. Toombs stared into a pair of chrome eyes, reflecting the terror of his own expression.

Eve opened her mouth wide and Toombs could see descending rows of serrated teeth moving deeper into the darkness of her throat. She licked her bright red lips with a forked tongue that dripped sticky venom and covered him in her arms as if he were a fragile plaything to caress with her long tongue.

The pheromones in Eve's dripping saliva steamed on Toombs tinted face mask as she moaned erotically, "Um, now that's the man I remember. I need to get you somewhere we can get you out of this annoying armor." The neurotoxin in Eve's saliva penetrated Toombs' mask, making him completely submissive to her every whim. It was a love potion intended to make her victims unwittingly submissive.

Riddick could tell she was no longer in control. It was obvious the beast within had taken control of her mind, so he warned her, "We don't have the time for your Along Came a Spider routine, Eve. The Necros are coming."

Eve's eyes flared open as she reeled around and snarled, "Screw you, killjoy. I'll do as I goddamn please. Nobody is going to tell me what I can or cannot do, ever again. So, piss off, old fool."

Eve turned back to Toombs and began petting his helmet like a little girl, straightening the hair of her favorite dolly. Her new plaything infatuated her so much, so she didn't notice Riddick moving closer. By the time she heard his words or felt the grip of his hands around her arm, it was too late.

"I said we don't have time for this." Riddick's tone carried with it an unmistakable ultimatum; or else. "Now, let him go."

Eve released her grip and Toombs floated away in a pheromone induced euphoria, sounding as if he needed some alone time with a cigarette. He floated about ten feet and hung motionless as if he were a marionette's doll left suspended on invisible strings.

When Eve's nose skimmed Riddick's tinted shield, she could see the glare from his eyes burning beneath the mask and sensed something terrible building inside him.

"Now," he said, grabbing her by the throat. "I don't really know what pisses me off more..." his voice trailed off as her tail wrapped around his waist. Bu, to her surprise, he gripped it with enough force to cause her to scream out in pain. "Your bullshit lack of respect for your own husband's well-being or the fact you called me an old fool. Either way, I just want to turn you over my knee and spank your ass like the spoiled little princess you are."

Eve's tongue darted from her mouth, splatted against Riddick's face shield, and the hot steam floated off into space.

"Sorry, sugar britches, but your mood spit won't work on me. I'm immune to that kind of shit." Riddick said, tightening his grip around Eve's throat.

"Stop."

"You think this cheap parlor trick of Kearyn's makes you a monster?" Riddick said, eyes flaring so brightly through his mask. Eve forced her eyes closed to shield them from the light. "You don't know what it means to be a monster."

Eve kicked Riddick in the stomach, sending him sailing backwards. She held out her arms, revealing the entirety of her transformation and said, "Really, I don't know what it means to be a monster."

Riddick slowly lifted, the tinted visor obscuring his face, revealing the glint of uncontrolled fury steadily growing behind his eyes. Eve watched in mounting horror as a foreboding shadow descended upon his face, causing a terrifying shiver to course through her veins. He'd become smoke and shadow filled with a mesmerizing blue light coursing through his neon veins stretching out like pulsing fiber optics cables. His eyes glowed blue and his jet-black skin seemed to drink in all the light from the surrounding stars. By the time he reached Eve, she would not even bring herself to meet his gaze.

"LOOK AT ME!" He screamed, floating just inches in front of her face.

When their eyes met, Eve knew what Kearyn meant when he said, 'I only created one monster.' Riddick was the monster Kearyn had created. Or so she thought.

Riddick held Eve by the throat with his left hand as he shoved his blade against her bellybutton with his right hand. He stared at her like a bully glowering down at an ant mound just before stepping on it. The tears of terror welling up in her eyes made him think of Ricco, and he lessened his grip. He pressed his face shield against the end of her nose and said, "You think you know what it means to be a killer. You're nothing more to me than a little girl wearing an expensive party costume. I could slit you open from your navel to your throat: pull out your still beating heart and drop kick your soul into the abyss and no one could stop me."

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, "it'll never happen again." But Riddick didn't hear her voice; he heard Ginger's and lessened his grip even more.

"Tell me how sorry you are and reassure me you're going to be a good girl from here on out."

Eve sobbed in shame and said, "I'm sorry. I lost control."

"Control," Riddick repeated, voice dripping with an eerie understanding that made Eve spasm. He held her fast, studying her reaction. "Losing control is something I'm quite familiar with."

Eve cried, "I'm sorry."

"However, as you can clearly see, it happens from time to time."

In an instant, Eve had unwittingly provoked the beast within Riddick, and he had lost control. He had become the physical embodiment of rage, vengeance and death all rolled into one apex predator. She hung helplessly suspended in his grip, thinking if she were to survive the encounter it would only be because he'd allowed her to live another day.

"Luckily for you..." he added, pausing until Eve's eyes meet his once more. "I have spent a lifetime learning how to regain control."

"Then teach me how to control the thing inside me?" Eve pleaded.

"Self-control isn't an ability taught; it a choice whispered in the darkest recess of your mind." Riddick answered.

"What choice?"

"I have no memories of family or home?" Riddick said, mater of factly. "All I remember is a voice repeating the same words over and over."

"What does it say?" she asked.

Riddick closed his eyes as if concentrating and replied, "The path you walk- whether it is in the service of good or evil- has nothing to do with who or what you are, but the choices you make while on the path."

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"Simple. Even if you are a monster, you still get to choose which side you fight for."

"You're saying the only difference between good and evil is choice?"

"Yes." Riddick answered, "The greatest power you will ever possess, even more so than any power Kearyn gave you, is the power to choose the monster you want to be."

"I get to choose?"

"Selfish or selfless; hero or villain; friend or foe. The choices and consequences are yours."

Eve's trembling voice rang out with the innocence of truth, "But I'm afraid..." she paused as if the admission were shameful, "If I lose control again, I may never find my way back to the right path."

Unbeknownst to Eve, Toombs euphoria had lifted while she was struggling with Riddick and he had found his way back to her side. He reached out, took her hand, and kissed her fingers. His unexpected affections surprised her and made her feel oddly self-conscious; she felt hideous and undesirable. Tears filled her eyes as the shame of her earlier actions plagued her thoughts. Toombs reached up, wiped the tears from her eyes and said, "There's nothing to cry about."

"Alexander, what happens if I can't change back? What happens if l'm trapped like this forever? What happens if I hurt you?" she asked, too ashamed to look him in the eyes.

Toombs still slightly under the influence of Eve's love spit beamed a dirty grin and said, "Darlin' the only thing I was in danger of getting was the screwin' of a lifetime." Then he moved in a little closer and whispered, "and between you and me. After nearly a decade and a half of celibacy, I could have really used one of those."

Eve shoved him backwards, pointing at Riddick who had returned to normal and was now shaking his head in disbelief. "Be serious! He doesn't want to hear that."

"You're my wife, and that's the one thing in this screwed up galaxy I take seriously. When I said I do, I meant, I do. So, l don't give a shit what you look like; I love you." He held up his hand, cutting her off before she could reply, and continued, "Yes. I even love you like this." He pointed at her body and cut her off once more. "No. I don't think you're a monster and yes, if the damn Necros weren't on their way here right now, I'd drag you kickin' and screamin' to the nearest cargo hold and prove it."

Riddick floated away laughing and said, "Smooth, Toombs. Real smooth."

"And before you get all shocked and appalled at what I just said, let's be honest. I am not the one who doesn't like your new body; you are."

Stupefied by Toombs' words, she hung in space with her mouth gaped open. After a few moments, she said, "Thanks, I think. But, as you've already so keenly observed, I don't like this new body very much; at least not for that. So, yes, I am afraid of losing control and not being able to get back to the old me; I kind of like that woman."

"Then I guess we'll just have to help you get back to the old you when we're finished here." Toombs thought aloud.

"That would be nice. Have you got any ideas?" Eve asked, still trying not to look Riddick in the eyes.

"As a matter of fact," he pointed to his head as if a light bulb had just turned on and nodded an affirmation. "I do have an idea. Do you remember our special place in Central Park?" he asked with a smile, partly because he genuinely cherished the memory and partly because he had only recently gotten the memory back.

"Yes." Eve answered. "The giant rock where we snuck off to get married." She smiled, remembering the two of them standing in front of the tall lanky justice of the peace who wore a bad hairpiece and appeared pale in the early afternoon sun.

"Close your eyes." He told her in a soft tone, and she did. "Picture our wedding? Feel the warmth of the sun on your skin, hear the summer breeze rustle through the maple trees. The day was perfect."

"I see it." The image forming in her mind made her feel as happy as the day they wed. His words evoked a nostalgic dream wrapped in silk and velvet.

"Hear the laughter of all the excited children playin' on the freshly mown grass and see the old red and white checkered blanket we sat on after the ceremony."

"I do."

"And how we ran out of the old apartment and almost forgot the picnic basket."

She laughed and nodded yes.

"Look up..." Toombs instructed, and she did. "Can you see the cotton ball clouds floatin' through the light blue sky? Breathe in the dark green chlorophyll hangin' in the warm summer air."

"I can." Eve replied, as she spun around barefoot in the green grass, watching her white and green sundress furled out in the surrounding air. "I remember it as if it were yesterday. It was the happiest day of my life."

She spun around and around until he caught her just before she fell on the grass.

"Mine too." He said, softly placing his hand on her shoulder as she floated weightlessly.

"Why didn't we stay there forever?"

"A part of us will always be there."

Eve could see Alexander, on the blanket in the park, staring up at her, and he spoke so softly it sounded like a gentle breeze blowing through a dream. "Promise me if you ever feel trapped you'll find your way here, I'll be waitin' on this blanket; I'll always be here. I'll always be yours."

In her mind, Toombs stood up, walked over to where she was sitting on a big rock, caressed her face and when she opened her eyes, his hand was on her cheek. "I love you. No matter what. I will always love you."

"And I will always love you too."