So finally the Celestial Beast is here! I know you must be frustrated that it took so long to get here... but hey, Gods don't come down from the sky every day you know :)


Non ducor, duco.

Translation: I am not led, I lead.

Full Moon night, 10 in the evening

Tony walked rapidly to the small dock by the canal. He had to be at the Lacus Norturana before the Menolestes. He would find a good hiding place and wait for them to come with Pepper. Then Le Loup would arrange for a 'distraction' at the Palace and at least a few priests or horsemen would leave the Lacus. The stragglers he could handle on his own. Then he and Pepper would face the Great One and settle this once and for all.

In anticipation of Pepper's involvement, he had carried along an additional short sword. Le Loup had fussed but Tony had stood firm. They had to tackle the horsemen while he and Pepper handled the Great One.

Milene had helpfully been feeding them information on the priests whereabouts. Tony had left strict instructions with Mackie and Le Loup that she was their ally and was to be protected at any cost. They were to convey the same to King John's knights and Hereald's task force.

Tony knew the Menolestes were now in their secret lair, busy preparing for the Great One's arrival. He shivered suddenly. They must be preparing Pepper as well. God, Dragon, I hope they do not hurt her.

Nay, Anthony, if she is to meet this Great Being, she must be in the best of conditions. But I am afraid they may drug her senseless as you know Lady Virginia will not go along without a fight.

Tony chuckled grimly. Yes, I know Pepper's temper. Wait, is there someone standing there at the dock?

He crouched low as he could see a lone figure standing on the dock. As he crept closer, he saw it was a Chonsario horseman, guarding the boats. Tony knelt on one knee, pulled out his crossbow from its sling on his back, aimed and shot off two bolts in succession, one hit the horseman in the throat, the other in the chest. He fell dead on the dock and Tony ran to his body, pulled out the bolts and pushed his body into the water and moved it under the dock.

He debated whether to use a boat to reach the Lacus or to run there. A boat is faster but if there are more guards at the Lacus, then I am a sitting duck in the water. He slung the crossbow back and began to run towards the Lacus, with speed.

He looked up at the dark, empty sky. The moon has not appeared yet. But where have all the stars gone?

He began to huff with the exertion of running on grass, the heaviness of the steel chest plate beginning to bear on him. He stopped for a minute, breathing deep and then continued running. No time to rest, no time, I need to be there before they come.


11 in the evening

Pepper woke up when a voice from the darkness, whispered squeakily in her ear. "Sweet Virginia, time to meet the Great One. First we must go to His meeting place."

She could not see, she could not speak and she could not move. At least on her own, she could not move. Her tongue felt thick and alien in her mouth. There was a curious warmth, continuously flowing through her veins, throbbing within her. She tried to lift her head, trying to push it away but no, it had pinned her self down. Pepper was a prisoner in her own body.

Multiple hands moved over her feet and her hands, removing her shackles and lifting her to her feet. She felt wobbly, her sense of balance disturbed. The warmth seemed to be flowing in her brain as well. She could not stand straight and felt herself being steadied firmly by a pair of hands. She stood in place shakily, not sure of her own knees being able to support her.

Then she heard the heavy footfalls of Rana coming closer. Someone straightened her clothing, whatever she was wearing was long and flowing. Rana came close and wrapped something around her and clasped it around her neck. He caught her chin in his large hand and she shuddered as what she felt was a hood, was pulled over her head.

Then Rana slipped a cuff around her wrist and tugged on it gently. "Come, my child. It is time."

He pulled her along with him and Pepper felt herself walking and walking until she heard the sounds of crickets chirping and felt a cool breeze on her face and body. Are we outside? She smelled the thick incense of the Moonflower, smoky and fragrant.

The ground did not feel flat beneath her feet anymore, it felt gravelly and soft. Then they were walking through grass, the blades tickling her ankles.

The sound of water gently lapping against a shore, came to her ears and she stopped walking abruptly. But Rana kept moving, so so she was dragged along anyway. Where are we going? she tried to say through a mouthful of cloth. Then the tugging stopped and she felt firm hands about her waist, lift her in the air and place her down in something that swayed and rocked frighteningly. She was quickly pushed to sit down on something low and Rana patted her head soothingly.

"Just a short boat ride, my child. Then you will meet the Great One."


Tony stared absently into the darkness of the Lacus. He was safely out of sight, perched high in a tree, opposite to the clearing's entrance. From here, he could easily see anyone arrive by boat and would remain hidden by the tree's thick foliage. He had been waiting for an hour and some time now.

They are here, Anthony... whispered the Dragon.

Tony watched through the leaves as two boats entered the clearing, illuminated by large lamps at their sterns. One froggy priest, one more froggy priest, ah ha and that walking behemoth of a man, Rana is here... wait, he's helping someone hooded out of the boat... That's Pepper!

He could feel the flame roar inside him as he watched Rana gently pull Pepper along to the middle of the grassy plain. Tony clenched his jaw. Dragon, those fuckers have drugged her again! Look at the way she's swaying as she walks!

The Dragon hissed and Tony watched as Rana took off Pepper's black cloak and handed it to one of his acolytes, who was holding a lamp. She was dressed in a long, crimson red, shoulderless dress, which clung beautifully to her slender form. Her hair was open, with a garland of white-and-blue flowers placed on her head like a crown. She was blindfolded and gagged.

Rana had bound her to him by a cuff around her hand. He removed the cuff from his hand, then stood behind Pepper and pulled her hands behind her, to bind them together.

Tony''s control on his temper snapped. He angrily pulled the crossbow off his back and aimed its sights at the giant priest's head. Just one shot, just one bolt through his massive head and Pepper would be free... I'm fed up of him manhandling her...

And that would accomplish nothing, Anthony but instead, alert the others that you are here. Be patient, you can face him and make him pay for hurting Pepper, make him pay well but later. hissed the Dragon and Tony lowered his crossbow grudgingly.

Tony looked up at the sky in anger. No sign of the moon yet. Damn it! Le Loup, now would be a nice time to start the fire! So that these damn priests would go away... grrgh... it is too early...

Then he watched in confusion as the one by one, the priests climbed back onto the boats.

Surely they are not going? Did something happen at the Palace? Did Le Loup start the fire? Wait, even Rana's going! They are just going to leave her here alone?!

The huge priest had boarded the second boat and was staring at Pepper's bound form as the boat floated towards the bend. She was left behind on the grass, head lowered, with a solitary lamp on the ground.

Tony waited impatiently for the boat to round the bend. At last, it was just him and Pepper in the clearing and he nearly fell down the tree in his haste to get to Pepper. He broke into a run and came to her side. She heard him approach but shied away nervously and he said soothingly, "Pep, Pep, it is me, Tony!"

She lifted her head at the sound of his voice. "Let me get these damn things off you," he said, untying the gag and pulling off the blindfold. She blinked heavily, eyes trying to adjust to the pitch-black darkness. He placed the lamp closer to her and used the dagger to cut the rope around her wrists. Tony rubbed her wrists firmly, to stimulate blood circulation. Pepper inhaled deeply and seemed to be trying to get her bearings.

"Pepper, are you alright?" He asked with concern as he noticed up close, the paleness of her skin and the way she was breathing deeply. She looked at him fully then and he stared into her dilated pupils. "Pepper, say something!"

She closed her eyes and swayed dangerously. Tony pulled her to him, trying to hold her and she leaned heavily against him, head resting on his shoulder, hands hanging limply by her side. She sighed deeply.

When I catch that fat priest, I am going to skewer him for whatever he's done to Pepper.

He patted her back and said firmly, "Pepper, listen to me, what do you feel like? Can you stand up straight?"

She whispered slowly, "I am so thirsty. So thirsty. Water please."

"Sure, sure", he had a little flask with him and he raised it to her lips. She drank it all greedily.

"Some more?" When she nodded weakly, he steadied her in place. "Pepper, sweeting, I need you to stand on your own, alright?"

She stood still and he quickly refilled the flask from the lake and returned to her side, pulling her against him, to support her. She drank deep from the flask, leaning on him heavily. She handed the flask back to him and murmured urgently against his throat, "Tony, Tony, listen to me, you have to leave. You have to go."

He gently brushed the top of her forehead with his lips. "I am here, Pepper and now I am not going to leave you. We are going to face this Great One together."

This seemed to jar Pepper and she moved away from him, looking at him with wide, frightened eyes.

"Tony! You need to go! You can't stay here! This thing is a monster!" She clutched him urgently, still swaying slightly. "I saw it, I saw it in a dream! It..." she looked at him, eyes welling with tears, "it killed you, Tony!"

He caught her chin firmly. She stood there mutely, staring at him appealingly. Her eyes are so unfocused. And she is so hot to my touch. I have got to calm her down somehow.

"Pepper, it was just a dream," he said soothingly. "Do not worry. We will defeat this thing." From her cheek, he brushed away the lone tear she had shed.

He placed his hand against her forehead. She was sweating violently and her temperature bothered him. "Pepper," he said firmly, trying to reach her because her eyes were so unfocused, he wondered what she was looking at. "Pepper, what did that fat fuck do to you?"

She swallowed heavily. "They, the...High Priest, Rana, he injected me twice with something weird. It is flowing through me, it is so warm, Tony! I feel so warm! Like I am going to burn up!"

He pulled her against him and stroked her hair, trying to soothe her. "Pepper, Pepper, relax. Do not think of the burning or the warmth. Focus on my voice."

She trembled against him but remained quiet. He tucked her head into the crook of his neck and wrapped his arms gently around her. He murmured to her softly, "The night is so quiet and peaceful, don't you think? Focus on the sound of the water, gently lapping at the shore. Take a deep breath, sweetheart, come on, breathe for me." She obeyed him and inhaled deeply, then exhaled tiredly. She stopped trembling then and raised her hand to touch the back of his head, stroking his hair.

He continued to talk in the same soft, gentle tone. "Do you remember the day we came to Loros by boat? We stopped at that stream?" She nodded slowly against him. "You left me to sleep and you went to play in the stream... Remember? The beautiful stream surrounded by grass and poppies and cornflowers."

He felt Pepper smile against his neck. "Then you drove the cart, the wind in your face, the mountains and fields of grass passing us by. Do you remember what that felt like? Your moment in the sunshine. The crisp hillside air. Leave this darkness, this warmth. Go to that place, imagine yourself there."

He began to hum softly, something incoherently, just to calm her. She tightened her grip on him and began to hum along with him. After five minutes, he felt her relax completely against him, then she sighed deeply. She raised her head from his shoulder, her hand still in his hair. "Can we go back there one day?" she said softly. "Please."

Her eyes were not dilated anymore. He touched her forehead with the back of his hand. Still warm but not burning up. The color had returned slightly to her face and she bit her lip. At that familiar gesture, he smiled in relief. "Sure, Pep, we will go back there. When this is all over, that is the first thing we will do."

She smiled at him then and he recognized that soft look in her blue eyes.

He said "Why don't you splash your face in the pond? The cool water may help you feel better."

He helped her to the edge and they knelt down. Tony scooped water in his hands but Pepper was more direct and simply dunked her head into the cold water. She came up for air, gasping. She rubbed her face with her sleeve.

"Tony," she said clearly, "do me a favor and cut this dress short, please."

He stared at her in shock. "You want me to do what?"

She raised her eyebrow and said "Give me your dagger." When he hesitated, she said firmly with a soft smile, "Come on Tony, trust me, give me the dagger."

He handed it to her, curious to see what she would do. She stood up steadily and gathered the hem of the dress in one hand, giving him a tantalizing look at her slim ankles and firm calves. Then she neatly sliced the bottom half of the dress away. It was now at her knees.

Then she made a tiny slit on one side of the dress and pulled upwards, enlarging it. Tony gulped as she slowly moved her leg sideways, as if to check that the slit was large enough, exposing a creamy firm thigh in the lamp light.

She glanced at him sitting at her feet. "I cannot move comfortably if the dress is too long. So I had to shorten it. Wait, I will need the slit on the other side as well."

She repeated her action on the other side of the dress and Tony's gaze lingered admiringly on her other alluring thigh as well.

"Hey!" she said and he raised his gaze guiltily to her face. She smiled at him, one eyebrow raised. "Knight, why are you staring so at my legs?"

Tony relaxed completely then. My queen is back.

He drawled at her, "Forgive me, my lady, from my vantage point, they look fantastic."

She snorted at that and he stood up, grinning at her.

She pursed her lips at him, "I don't suppose you brought a spare pair of pants as well?"

He laughed at that, covering his mouth belatedly. "Nope. Sorry."

She looked at him with uncertainty in her eyes. "Tony, are you going to ask me to sit this one out? Because you think I'm not ready or that I cannot handle such a battle?"

Tony sensed that Pepper had somehow lost confidence in herself and wanted to check if he had any confidence left in her.

He said calmly, "Pepper, I need you to be in this fight. You are the only one here with me, you have to fight. Also..." He shrugged. If I was going to leave you out of this... would I have brought you this?"

He pulled his kite shield off his back and handed it to Pepper, who took it with delight. "And ..." he unsheathed the small sword and gave it to her... "this".

She whooped with joy and began to stretch herself with the sword, using the techniques he had taught her. He felt a weird sense of pride fill him with warmth internally. "Pep, you remember the stretching techniques I showed you..."

She was halfway through a technique. Sword caught in both hands, hands raised and then sword lowered backwards behind her head. She turned her head, breathing out and looked at him curiously. "Of course I do. I practice them every morning. So I do not forget how to use the sword." She swung the sword downwards in a killing blow and he couldn't help but admire her anew.

Pepper straightened and was smiling at him, when the breeze strengthened and started to whistle eerily through the trees. Tony felt the force of it on his face and body.

Pepper gasped, looking up at the sky. "Tony, look! Look at the moon, it has become so large in the sky!"

Indeed the full moon was clearly visible now, round and white, like a giant shining orb in the sky. It was unusually enormous. Its light was blindingly white in the sky.

Tony said out loud, "It must be very close to the Earth. It seems to be floating right above us."

The moonlight shone upon the clearing and the pond's water started to glow and ripple.

Just like the previous time I was here.

The water rose in a slight wave as the moonlight washed over it. The wave came with force, towards the shore, lapping upwards as it broke against the land.

The breeze was gently strong, the grass bending with its force as it moved around the clearing. Pepper's hair billowed gently about her face. She was looking around the clearing silently. "Tony," she whispered, "Tony, the flowers are starting to bloom."

Then he also noticed that numerous buds had appeared in the shrubbery, white and dark blue. They were even scattered in the grass. The buds were tightly closed but seemed to be vibrating slightly.

He watched with fascination as a bud right in front him, slowly and sensually opened its petals and bloomed fully, the delicate white flower glimmering beautifully in the moonlight.

He whispered curiously, "From where did they come from? Where they always here? Or ... have they appeared because of the light?"

He turned to see what Pepper had to say and his words caught in his throat. He swallowed hard at the sight before him. Pepper had knelt in the grass to caress one bud in mid bloom, her finger gently stroking the half opened petals. The moonlight was shining on her and the flower. Her head was bent but her delicate profile was illuminated by the light, her aquiline nose, her cheekbones and the lush curve of her mouth, which was currently set in an alluring half smile.

The flowers aren't the only things that are blooming... Pepper...

Her reddish gold hair shimmered ethereally in the moonlight and she glanced up to look at Tony watching her. He felt his heart thump powerfully as her eyes met his in wonder, the deep blue depths shining like the ocean in sunshine. He wanted nothing more than to pick her up and kiss those rose lips senseless as she moaned against him.

She smiled curiously at him and asked softly, "What's the matter, Tony? You seem shocked."

He shook his head at her and glanced up at the sky. Damn it, moonlight... I'm not going to let you take my lady away. I don't care how great you are.

As if it understood his challenge, the moon turned blood red. Then something happened that made Tony's blood crawl.

A giant drop of something whitish grey, dripped from the moon and dropped with force into the pond.

The water splashed and rippled as the grey mass began to dissolve into the pond. He stared at it warily.

Pepper had not seen the drop falling, she turned as Tony grabbed her arm. "Pep..." he whispered urgently, "something has dropped into the pond... look, it is moving."

They both stared at the grey mass but it dissolved completely into the water. Tony took a deep breath. He was starting to feel on edge. Then the water shimmered again and rose slowly in the form of a small wave. It began to move towards them.

Pepper gasped. The wave seemed almost curious as it slowed down and then ebbed backwards, only to rise again. It reached the edge of the pond and Tony pulled Pepper back from the edge and tried to push her behind him. Of course she had to object and said indignantly, "I have a shield!"

She was about to raise it, when the water rose high up as if it was being pulled. They both followed its upward path. Then it fell back heavily onto the pond, such that it splashed onto the shore with force. Tony instinctively raised his gauntlet over his face and because Pepper was entranced by the water's movement, he held the shield up in his other hand to protect her.

Some of the water splashed harmlessly over the shield and his gauntlet. The pond rippled and was still once more.

Pepper whispered to Tony, "What was that?"

"I do not know. But I don't think that was the end of it. Something is out there."

His fear was founded as they both saw another object, this time larger and reddish gray in color slowly appear on the moon's edge like a giant tear. It started to separate from the moon and Tony moved away from the pond. pulling Pepper with him. "This is going to splash hard, watch out!"

This time, as the drop fell into the pond with force, water splashed heavily onto the grass. Pepper and Tony were sprayed liberally, even though they were at a safe distance from the pond.

Tony shook his head like a dog and looked at the pond. "There is something in the water..." Pepper whispered.

Something white and red was bobbing in the center of the pond. Then slowly a figure emerged, rising steadily, water cascading off its body.

Tony swallowed hard and Pepper gasped loudly at their first sight of the Celestial Beast.

It was a giant, four legged creature, blood red in color. It was the size of a small house. Its two front legs were scaly columns that ended in powerful talons. The rest of its body was like that of a lion's, lightly furred, high chest and powerful back legs with no tail. The beast's diamond-shaped head was regally coiffed with a mane of fine, silver, tendril-like hair.

Its wide silvery eyes, with red pupils gazed down at them from an intelligent face. A gentle breeze blew and ruffled its hair.

Dragon, are you seeing this? Look at its mane. The fibers are so fine and white...

The Dragon whispered cautiously, I do not think that is hair, Anthony. I think that is pure light. And I think it can control the light's movement. Do not make any sudden moves.

The Beast was looking at Pepper with interest. Is it growling? Then Tony stared in horror at a silver tendril extended itself from the mane and headed straight for Pepper.

She was slow in reacting but Tony was not. He brought his sword down on the tendril with force, slicing it in half. Pepper fell back, trying to get out of its reach. The Beast reacted in pain, yowling and retracting the tendril quickly.

It faced Tony then, shaking its head to swirl its mane and roared loudly, exposing finely pointed teeth lining its mouth.

Tony raised his sword in front of him, poised to strike, one knee in front of the other. He shouted as the Beast continued to roar at him, challenging Tony. "Come on you big cat, come at me!". He noticed Pepper had adopted a similar stance a little distance away. The time for battle has begin.