Thanks to these reviewers:

Yes, sadly the story is over. This is the epilogue, it is the end. There will be no epilogue of the epilogue. I would like to generally thank everyone and anyone who reads this and then specially thank the reviewers.

Wait, before I do that, I would like to thank Caz, my beta. Caz, otherwise known as Iridescent Twilight, has been beta'ing my work. You, my friend, rock.

IT – I just thanked you.

XinnLajgin – Yeah, that cliffy was a super bitch, I know. Sick puppy in a good way? And how does that work?

njrd – Woo! Exciting chapter, I know, glad you liked the fight scenes, they're always my favourite to write, always. Oh, but Riddick just had to be jealous of someone. Hyret really pissed me off, but, good character to create then get killed off. Glad you liked it.

TotallyRiddickObsessed - sheepish Yeah, it took me a real long time to post. Sorry!

lamyka – Action sequences are, like I mentioned above, my favourite to write, I can make them flow so much easier then any smut scene. Hope you like the end.

TrunksgirlBlaze27 – Suspense! Ha!

Kookie315 – Well, can't have you hanging off a cliff. Here you go.

Twixy – This is the last update, but glad you liked the story.

Epilogue

"Oy! No dirty mouths when Mar is around!" One of the hunters shouted, who was sitting next to Marius. He had taken to eating his meals with all of Riddick's hunters, often contentedly squished between two men with terrible manners. He grinned at his new nickname, shoveling a forkful of rice into his mouth.

"Oh, and what 'cha goin' to do 'bout it?" The other replied jokingly, standing up from his place on the bench.

"I'll tell Rid-"

"Me." Jack said, appearing behind the standing hunter who nearly fell back into his seat. They all loved Jack, she was an amazing chaser, but when it came to Marius, she was as protective as a mother bear. Not something they wanted to mess with.

"Evenin' Jack!" A half-table of hunters shouted from across the room, raising their mugs at her. She casually saluted across the room before turning her attention back to the table she was standing near.

"Marius, when you're finished, meet me up front, will you?" She asked, sounding somewhat serious. His gaze flickered for a moment, but nodded before going back to his meal. Jack turned on her heel and walked back out the door, heading down one of the hallways towards the front. Lost in thought, she barely had time to react when the bedroom door suddenly opened and an arm shot out and dragged her in, the door shutting securely behind her. Had it been someone else, she would've fought 'til death, but she instantly recognized the touch.

Pushed up flat against the door, Riddick attacked her open neck, biting a path down her collarbone and stopping at the end. As he kissed up her neck, finally ending at her mouth, Jack tightly wrapped her legs around his waist. Just as she pushed her body into his, there was knocking on the door right behind her. With a few well-chosen curse words, Riddick gently let her to the ground, glaring at the door already. Jack just finished redoing her hair when she called to whoever was behind the door to open it. It whooshed open to reveal Marius, who smirked slightly at the situation.

"Sorry for interrupting, should I come back later?" He asked, receiving a gentle smack on the head from Jack.

"No, this is serious, c'mere and sit down." She motioned towards the bed and he slowly walked over to it, observing it for a few moments.

"It's not gonna bite you." Riddick said, standing behind Jack and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Beds don't bite, I'm just wondering if it's sanitary. You know, I think I should calculate exactly how much less sleep the two of you have gotten since-"

"SIT!" Jack snapped, fighting the urge to scold him. Grinning, he sat on the bed, looking up and Riddick and Jack. Something was up and he didn't like the looks of their faces.

"So, what's up?" He asked, wondering what was going on.

"Marius, when we bought you back to the ship, we were forced to use the machinery to fix you up. Part of its workings make it take a blood sample and analyze it, to make sure you don't have any blood transmitted diseases. Also, if we use part of that program, we can discover through the DNA coding who your parents are." Jack stopped for a moment, letting this new information settle in. "We did. Marius, I have no idea what happened to you before we met, but you're no street urchin."

"Who am I?" He asked, his usually confident voice almost shaking.

"First, you're an original Earth child. Second, you come from a long line of boxers, professional fighters. This isn't surprising, but your mother-"

"Was a prostitute." He coldly filled in, making Jack almost wince. Whatever sexual desires she had had a few minutes ago were now gone. Riddick tightened his grip on her and she knew he wasn't pleased with where this conversation was going.

"And now a well-respected scientist. Marius, I'm telling you this because you have the chance to live a normal life now. We can take you to her; contact her, whatever you want." Jack reasoned, but it looked like he wasn't quite sure.

"Look, we're trying to give you the life neither of us had or could have ever had." Riddick filled in and then it made sense to Marius.

"But I'm happy here, do you want me gone?" He sounded shattered and Jack wanted to hit herself for doing this.

"No, we don't. I was doing this so I wouldn't be hiding the truth from you. It is your choice, not ours." Jack reasoned, her upset voice whipping at Riddick's inner beast. That was the last thing he wanted to hear.

"I…I will think on it." Marius replied, looking at the floor. He stood up, not making eye contact with either Jack or Riddick. They both watched him leave the room, the door closing behind him. Jack moved away from Riddick and sat heavily on the bed, resting her head in her hands.

"Fuck, Riddick, I screwed that up." She said, lifting her head and looking at him. He sat down next to her and with one hand, rubbed Jack's tense neck, trying to get her to relax.

"You did something for him that I probably wouldn't have done for you." He said, making Jack look sideways at him in confusion. "When we traveled together, if I had found out who your parents were, I wouldn't of have told you." He explained and Jack nodded.

"Why?"

"That's the difference between you and Marius. When we traveled and lived together, it quickly got to the point where we couldn't of have been separated, not without pain. Marius…he easily adapts to other people's company, yes he would miss you, but he would re-adapt, like he raised himself to do." Riddick wasn't looking at Jack, who was intently watching him, but staring ahead at the wall, his gaze a little unfocused.

"You didn't quite answer my question." Jack said, raising an eyebrow.

"Why? I said why. We couldn't of have been separated, I couldn't of have lived without you at the time." He said, wondering where this blatant honesty was coming from. He had to check it in the future.

"'At the time'?" she questioned. Oh Jack, she never missed a word.

"We obviously separated, but-"

"It was like going into withdrawal." Jack finished, leaning into Riddick's shoulder. He fell back onto the bed and she moved in closer, resting her head on his shoulder, her hand on his chest.

"Of the worst kind." He added, looking down at her head and feeling that he was, she looked up at him, her eyes blinking owlishly. Their lips met in a gentle, compassionate and forgiving kiss.

Riddick hoped they would never have to bring up that period of separation again.

"GO GO GO!" Rex shouted and Marius shot out of the room as fast as he could, disc in hand. They ran together, Marius pulling out his gun and firing a few bullets into the window, effectively shattering it. Without thinking twice, Marius ran and leapt through the window, Rex right behind him. Some fifteen feet beneath them they landed on an outside walkway of the same building. Just as they landed, an explosion rocked the building, papers, desk parts and chair flying out of the already broken window. Rex reached out and grabbed Marius, wrapping his arm around his waist, tugging him towards him so he could shield his body from falling object.

Soon it quieted and just as the pair opening their eyes, a computer monitor crashed down right next to them, right over where Marius had lain seconds before. Gulping, Marius stood up, helping up the taller man.

"Death by computer monitor; that would've been embarrassing." He said, grinning at Rex who rolled his eyes. Marius' eyes grew cold and serious, narrowing at something behind Rex. Rex turned around and cursed as he saw police cruisers speeding towards them, hovering in the air.

"Now look, we were told we can't kill anyone." Rex began to reason, knowing Marius' need to escape would overpower any control he had on himself.

"What we did isn't legal and you know how the cops think about hunters, 'specially Riddick's. So, this isn't legal, murder isn't legal, so let's just put 'em together." Marius replied, training his hand gun on the cruisers.

"You can't even hit them with a handgun!" Rex exclaimed, his body tensing as he heard shots fired from the gun. To his surprise they did hit, but not the intended target.

"Machine tried to kill me, so I kill a machine back. Murder, Rex, murder of machine, not human." He smirked, watching the cruisers spiral down towards the street, the riders floating down slowly from their escape. "We should go."

Rex considered picking the lock on the glass door, but Marius just stepped in front of him and broke the door down with a strong kick. He followed the shorter man and in minutes they were out on the street, running towards the port. Grabbing the radio from his belt, Rex called in to get ready for takeoff and to open the hatch.

They weren't being chased, but the faster the better. The hatch door was barely open by the time they reached it and Marius dove in, scrambling up into the ship, Rex following suit. The door shut behind them and they stood up, catching their breath.

"Let's move this bitch!" A familiar voice yelled from the main room. They walked in and found Laiker seated in the captain's chair, turning around to grin at them as they entered.

"We got it!" Marius crowed cheerfully, sitting down into one of the co-pilots seats. Sticking his hand in his duster, he took out the disc and set it on the control panel of the small ship.

"Good, let's go home." Laiker said, powering up the ship. Marius sat back, relaxing in the duster, it was originally Jack's and she had given it to him for his eighteenth birthday. He had been suspicious at first, wearing a woman's coat, but then she had told him that it had first belonged to Riddick.

He glanced over at Laiker, who was focused on getting them out of the port. Sighing, he remembered the day quite a few years ago when everything had changed for Laiker.

"Go!" Marius shouted, yelling into the radio as he sat in front of the computer. Over the radio connection he heard them charge out of the door, running across the darkening lot. The connection was lost and he was left alone. He had to wait until the jam was finished, just to see if he could start a new one. Maybe he couldn't jam, but a GPS virus could do the trick. He immediately began to work for it, unaware of what was going on outside.

Riddick scooped Laiker from the ground, holding him against his chest. He was relieved to hear a heartbeat, although it was faint. Panther, Rex and Jack were right with him as they neared the closed-in street. They had made it to there, but they kept running as fast as they could, towards the port. Jack had made a connection with the ship and told them to open the door.

Just as they ran through the port, gun shots rang out, a bullet whistled right by Riddick's ear. He quickly glanced behind to see Bellger's men lined up right near the entrance, using handguns and rifles. They kept running and just as they ran up into the ship, he realized Jack wasn't with them. He shouted to Rex and gave Laiker to him and turned to see her about thirty feet away, firing a handgun at them, each shot on target. The men began to fall but one ran forward at Jack.

She dropped the gun and released her bugnucks, jumping straight at him. Jack easily gutted him, his lifeless and intestine-less body collapsing to the ground, organs and blood spilling on the concrete. She turned and ran towards the ship, bullets crunching cement beneath her feet, whistling past her head. She dove into the ship, the door closing up behind her, the locks sealing. Jack stood right up and suddenly paled.

"Shit! If Marius comes to the ship, they'll still be there! They're going to shoot him down, Riddick!" She cried aloud, panic evident.

He had gotten to the ship, not without Riddick's help. He had armed his men and they snuck out the ship and took down each one of Bellger's men in the port. They were all safely together, but not without loss.

Laiker had sustained terrible injuries. The sniper's bullet had hit him right in the spine, paralyzing him from the waist down. It was going to change his life and as soon as he woke he begged Riddick not to let him off. Riddick wouldn't hear of it, he would never get rid of one of his best hunters. As a result, Laiker had stayed, but always within the ship.

"We can take off now." Laiker confirmed, pulling back the lever. Marius shook himself from memory and glanced around and found that Rex had disappeared.

"Rex?" He questioned and Laiker grinned.

"Lover boy won't be back for a while." He said while winking at Marius.

"But Panther stayed back, is he cheating on him?" He asked, suddenly confused.

"Nope, old kitty snuck on. Why do you think Rex looked so tired every morning?" Laiker smugly asked, easily pulling out of the port and through the atmosphere. When they had reached outer space he put the ship into hyper drive and turned to Marius.

"You alright, Mar?" He asked, watching the younger man's face stay impassive. He had definitely grown up and become an object of lust and affection for both men and women. He had kept his long hair, always keeping it tied back or braided. His blue eyes froze people in their places; they showed how he felt as if they were windows into his mind. Right now, he saw masked worry.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He replied, shrugged off his duster. He neatly laid the long coat over the back of his chair, settling down again before looking at Laiker.

"Really, what's up?"

"Not much…really. Just worried about Kirsten." He said, his eyes becoming soft at the thoughts of his young niece. At first he had insisted that he wasn't old enough to be the uncle of one of Riddick and Jack's children, but she had insisted to the threat of death.

"She'll be ok; I bet it's just a bad form of something she caught outside. You know how wild she is, not going out in good weather and purposefully going out when it's raining or snowing without any proper clothes." Laiker replied, not going to reveal that Kirsten's fever had worried him too.

As if the gods had heard them, a bleep for an incoming transmission came in. Laiker checked it and told Marius it was from Jack. Opening it up, the holographic screen flickered into view in front of the window, filling the background to Jack's face with stars.

"Got the quick message. You didn't cause too much mayhem, did you?" She asked and Marius shook his head.

"A few lost pieces of office supplies, nothing that can't be replaced. Well, besides the information on the disc." He replied.

"Good, Riddick will be glad to have it back." She said, sounding relieved.

"Care to tell me what's on it?" He asked, surprising Jack. "You dragged me out of bed at two in the morning, tossed me on this ship and then I was just told to get this disc back and that's it." He explained and Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Laiker, that was your job." She sounded annoyed.

"Didn't want to get him anymore emotional on the subject, you know how he gets with stuff related to you guys." He said and Jack just rolled her eyes.

"It was information about where our bases are and more importantly, who is in our immediate family." She said and tensed as she saw Marius jump from his seat.

"You mean information about you and Kirsten!"

"I think I might've not told you on purpose," Jack mused, ignoring his outburst. "All that matters is that you've got it back. Oh, someone wants to say hi." She said, looking to the side and picking up a young girl, sitting her on her lap.

"Uncle Mar!" Her voice was energized and excited.

"Kirsten! Feeling better?"

"Yeah-huh, I am! Daddy was so pissed at me, though."

"Watch your mouth! Who said that in front of you?" Jack scolded her daughter, who grinned at her.

"He told me not to tell you. Nyehnyeh!" She giggled before turning back to Marius. "You gonna be home soon?"

"Yeah, I am. We can go out and play if you want." Laiker smiled, it was more like 'We are going to go out and play when I get back, no questions asked and no, you can't say no.'

"Yeah! We can go swimming!" She bounced on Jack's lap.

"Uh…yeah, maybe if the tide isn't too harsh…" Marius trailed off, not wanting to say that the island Riddick had chosen for his main base had shark-infested waters.

"Woo!" Kirsten yelled, suddenly protesting when she was picked up off her mum's lap. "Daaaaaad!" He heard her complain. Jack's face came into view again and he could just hear Riddick talking to Kirsten in the background.

"Got to put her to bed, it's getting late." Jack explained, smiling.

"We'll be there around dawn if we stay in hyperdrive." Laiker supplied, and Jack nodded.

"Good, goodnight guys, get some rest." She said and suddenly she moved and Riddick's silver eyes pierced them, even through the holographic image.

"Get your asses back here, I'm taking you all for granted way too much, these new hunters are doughy pieces of shit." His gravelly voice sounded annoyed and tired and he winced as Jack's hand angrily smacked the back of his head.

"Yes sir." Laiker and Marius replied at the same time. "Have a pleasant evening, boss." Laiker added, smirking as they heard Kirsten 'oohing' over the fact her dad had just cursed twice in front of her.

"Once I get this demon-child to bed, I'll be having a great night." Riddick smirked and was glad Jack was out of earshot. Riddick cut the connection and the holographic image faded from view.

"Let's go home," Laiker said, resting a hand on Marius' shoulder. He squeezed it before dropping his hand to the control panel. "You're part of the family, you know."

"Yeah, I guess I am." Marius replied, looking out at the stars speeding past them. There was all this outer space, empty, lonely and black space, but unlike before, when he was a child living off the street, he had a home and family that cared for him. When he was young, he had the space as his companion and now that he had a real family, it had become his companion and territory. He was an evolved hunter, from street to space.

HEY – I know I've said this many times before, but I am going to start writing a sequel to Keeping Faith, the update will be…whenever, but keep an eye out for it. Thanks again.