Amaris and his behavior inspired by this song:

Chaandanii raatein, o, chaandanii raatein

Sab jag soye, hum jaage,

Taaron se karein baatein

Chaandanii raatein, o, chaandanii raatein

"Moonlight nights,

The whole world sleeps, I stay awake

To talk to the stars

Moonlight nights"

Looong chapter... But it just could not be split. I hope you like the being's abode.

I will be taking a break for one day, to write the final battle chapter.


Non est ad astra mollis e terris via

There is no easy way from the earth to the stars

Pepper woke up to the pleasant, soothing sound of water flowing softly. She slowly opened her eyes, feeling reluctant to wake up completely. White light was shining on her, light like early morning sunshine, not bright or jarring. She raised herself on her elbows. And looked around with awe.

She was lying down on a hill of lush green grass. A gentle breeze blew and ruffled the blades. Due to the height of the hill, she could see that she was standing on a little patch of land surrounded by a deep and vast ocean. The water stretched on endlessly as far as the eye could see, like a rippled, gently swaying carpet of azure. Funnily enough, the water seemed to flowing away from the land.

She realized with some shock, that the sky was pitch-black with light, fluffy clouds but the land and water were illuminated because of the multiple bright stars twinkling in the darkness. She gasped at the sheer number of stars, practically touching each other.

Like a canopy of little lights. Where am I? Am I even on Earth?

Pepper remembered flying upwards into the sky, filled at fear at the vast blackness of space, clutching the Beast's hair tightly. Then she had blacked out.

And now I am standing on a hill, looking at an endless sea... Oh! Tony... he's ... he's gone. Or rather... I have gone...

She blinked back the sudden tears that came in her eyes. I must not cry, I must not cry... at least Tony is safe... for now. Brave idiot that he is, he's probably gone to challenge the Captain and Rana to a duel, both of them together. Without a care for his wounds.

She grinned involuntarily at the thought of Tony threatening the two villains aggressively. Then she wiped her eyes and straightened her shoulders, mentally girding herself. First, I am going to try my best to leave, to return to Earth.. and if I can't... If I have to stay here, then and only then will I cry.

She took another look around. Then she gasped as she saw a tree seemingly growing in the middle of the water.

How is that even possible? And what sort of tree is it?

Pepper ran down the hill, extremely curious. She nearly tumbled over as she jogged down the hill, her speed increasing. Then she came to a grinding halt as she realized a good stretch of water separated her and the tree. She peered at the tree, which was broad and shady with low hanging branches.

It was a bright crimson in color, with what looked like white flowers growing on it. Pepper watched as one of its flowers drifted to her, over the water, on the breeze. She plucked it out of the sky and examined it.

White and soft and wait... that aroma... Damn it, it is the Moonflower!

Pepper dropped the flower as if it were poison and looked at the tree. She squinted, trying to get a better look. And then her blood froze as she saw the faint form of someone or something sitting below the tree.

She gasped out loud as the form seemed to be looking at her and then it stood up. Then the strangest thing happened, the form started to walk over the water, coming towards her.

Wow, how, how is that possible? Is this really water! ? But I can't see the bottom of the ocean...

She cautiously put her foot in the water and withdrew it quickly, as it was indeed water and was not shallow.

She watched with trepidation, as the form was walking slowly toward her, smoothly on the water, leaving little dips and dents as it walked by.

It is a man... at least it seems like a man. Well, nothing to do but to face him.

He was illuminated by the star light, giving him a silvery glow. From this distance, she could make out he was broad shouldered, lean and tall. She could not see his face.

As he neared, Pepper gasped with awe. God's teeth, what a handsome man ... being... whatever ... so good-looking...

Indeed, he was a very attractive man with a thick silvery mane of white hair, and a regal profile: straight nose, beautiful sensual mouth with firm lips and a straight jaw. He stood in front of her, the scent of the Moonflower around him. He was smiling at her in a friendly manner, his dark blue eyes twinkling at her.

The man was dressed simply in a blue tunic and blue trousers with his feet bare. From behind his back, he brought out a dark blue lily and offered it to Pepper.

It looked so similar to the dark flower that was always used to drug her heavily. Pepper turned pale and backed away quickly in fear. No, no, not that flower, please not the flower again.

A look of worry crossed the Being's face and he said in a deep voice, "Please do not fear me, Virginia... I mean you no harm."

The flower vaporized in his hand and he placed his hand on his heart and bowed slightly. "Let me introduce myself. Amaris... Being of the Stars... And you are?"

I know he hurt Tony and I want to react but... but first I want to understand what's going on. He does not seem like the Beast in the clearing.

She said softly, "Virginia Potts from Cumbria."

He nodded, smiling at her reassuringly. "Lady Virginia, would you like to take a walk with me?"

He added, "Give me a chance to explain this all. You must be confused."

She took his offered arm and he stepped towards the water. She halted then and he said softly, "Do not worry, the water listens to me."

He snapped his fingers and the water seemed to ripple powerfully. Its direction changed and it started to move towards the tree island.

The Being stepped onto it and Pepper put one foot forward hesitantly. Then she gasped as her foot found a firm but fluffy surface that she could step on. It dipped slightly as she placed her other foot as well. He laughed as she gently stood on her toes and bounced in place, entranced by the behavior of the water.

"Does the water please you, milady?"

"Yes!" she said with awe, "It is so beautiful...This is all so beautiful, the endless water and the starry sky..."

"I am glad my humble creation is to your liking. Come, let us go to the Yggdrasil... my living area."

They walked together slowly, towards the great crimson tree.

"Virginia, how much do you know of me?" "If you are the Celestial Being, who or what was that Beast on Earth?"

They both spoke at the same time and the Being said, "Please, please go first. Ask me anything you like."

Pepper took a deep breath and repeated her question.

He looked at her thoughtfully and said, "This is my main physical form. But I can assume other forms as well. You saw me in my Moon Griffin form on Earth. I had asked Rana to leave you alone because I wanted to talk to you myself but I saw that ... that warrior and got defensive."

He tensed up and Pepper saw a spasm of pain pass over his face. "I hate the sword and iron of man." he said bitterly.

They had reached the tree and Pepper sighed with pleasure at the sight of the picturesque beach on which the tree was located.

Soft, almost white sand on a gentle slope with the tree located in the center. The waves of the water slowly hugged the sand with foaming waves. White Moonflowers bloomed full on the tree, stark white against the deep crimson. A gentle breeze blew and Pepper watched more flowers slowly fall from the tree, onto the sand.

She walked away from the Being and reverently touched a blood red leaf from a low hanging branch of the tree.

She heard the Being come behind her and she turned. He was looking at her serenely and she asked firmly, "Being..."

"Amaris, please."

"Amaris, I must confess, I'm confused...you don't seem... you don't seem like a vengeful god. You..."

He looked confused now and she carried on, "Why are you helping those horrid priests? Rana... the Oracle and the kidnappings. Innocent people are not given a choice and instead drugged senseless, just for your choosing. And why Earth?"

He said worriedly, "Hold on, hold on Virginia. Kidnapping ? Drugging people... Rana never told me this .. Wait...what's this about people being kidnapped?"

He seemed so confused that Pepper did not know what to say. Either he's an excellent liar or he's telling the truth... let me ask more.

They were standing under the great tree now. Pepper said, "Amaris, why don't you start from the beginning? Who... what are you really?"

He nodded and spoke, "I was born of the union between a moon of space and a trinity star. Such unions happen every trillion years."

"Space is so cold and empty and vast... beautiful but void of feelings and companionship. As a young one, I would gaze at the Earth instead and I became curious as to how its inhabitants lived with each other."

"I would observe humans in the light of the stars or in the light of the moon. They had these curious concepts of friendship and affection. Connecting with each other mentally and physically, without being in lust. Sometimes without rhyme or reason. I was fascinated by it. I realized how alone I was, in the stars."

He looked up at the tree. "I started to orbit the Earth as a beam of light, burning fast through the sky. One night..." his voice softened, "one night I met another lonely soul... talking to the moon. I listened and then I had to come down from the stars, to get a closer look. "

The water rippled and the Being swallowed hard. "Milene was just a child when I met her. Just a sweet, innocent child. Alone, an orphan, she would talk to me for hours on end, about this and that. Every night. From out of her window or on her tower's roof or her room's balcony. We were... friends and I learnt first-hand why humans treasure such relationships."

"As she blossomed into a beautiful young woman, I realized that I had grown too attached to her. My feelings of friendship had evolved into something deeper. I ... I was in love with her. Another human emotion I never expected to experience."

He chuckled wryly. "But Milene was not in love with me... she... she was so young and full of life and laughter. She filled me with joy. So I never told her how I felt. I did not want to lose our friendship."

Pepper whispered, entranced by his story, "The people of Patait do not know of your friendship. They think you came to her because she prayed to you when..."

Pepper stopped in fright as the sky darkened ominously and the tree began to shake. The water churned. She gasped as she saw Amaris' mane turn crimson red and his eyes hardened like ice.

"The damn ambitions of men and their conquests." He spat out angrily. "That Kroll, that monster of iron and sword. She called out to me and I wanted to take her away immediately but... gentle loving soul that she was ...she worried about her people... She told me to help them first and then we would leave..."

He whispered then, sadness in his voice, head lowered. "But ... I could not save her in time... I was pleading with Milene to come with me, when that monster... that monster killed her... in front of my own eyes. I cradled her in my arms as she died, shedding her blood all over my light."

The water stilled and Moonflowers began to drop gently from the tree, all around the Pepper. The Being's hands were shaking. Pepper touched his shoulder softly and he looked at her with such anguish in his blue eyes that she felt like crying.

"So... that is how, Virginia, I got what I wanted. You see, I experienced what man calls love... immense joy, followed by... endless sorrow when the one you love is lost to you forever."

He sighed deeply. "I wrecked my wrath upon Kroll and his men. In retrospect, I went mad with rage but I managed to calm down eventually and then I remembered my promise to Milene ... to take care of her people."

He said earnestly, "I wanted to honor her memory. I had seen humans construct memorials to honor great beings who had gone. I wanted an architectural wonder that would commemorate Milene's presence through the decades."

"So I created Patait in her memory and guided and aided her surviving people for a while. Then... I left..." he shrugged "I drifted for eons amongst the stars... Alone in my grief, travelling across galaxies and time..."

He looked deep into Pepper's eyes, chips of dark blue marble. "In your human time, it has been a hundred years since Milene died and I created Patait. A hundred years I've spent amongst the stars in solitude. And I was content to mourn for evermore. Then ... a month ago ... I felt my presence being summoned. From Earth... using an old artifact of the stars themselves. The message was not very clear but I felt I was being called back."

Pepper was confused and he must have seen her confusion for he explained, "It is like listening to an echo. You only hear the end of the sentences. Or certain words. So I pieced together the messages. I realized it was from my people, my land, Patait. They wanted my council, my aid. I felt guilty that I had ignored them for so long. So I came back and tried to talk to them."

"They wanted my help in defeating evil forces that have surrounded Patait. The current ruler is inefficient and ignores his people. The people are suffering. The evil is widespread and their allies in other lands are also looking to me for aid."

"I gave them some help for the time being. I can create blooms out of light and darkness, so I created a special flower, Siwa. Its numbing effects can be used as a powerful nerve weapon. They always had the Moonflower, a special bloom that I created on Patait itself. But I blessed their cultivar with the power of drugging the senses."

"While we were able to communicate, I have spent so many years outside humanity, that it is difficult for me to converse with people on Earth directly. So I showed them what I wanted, an Oracle, a messenger so that I could be more involved by communicating easily. I can only commune with a select few. There should be something special about them, that will enable them to understand what I am saying. That's why the Menolestes have been helping me by gathering a select group and I am assessing them."

"That day's ceremony, to my great astonishment, I ... I found something better." He took Pepper's hand in his. She let him because she was very curious to hear his explanation.

He said earnestly, looking at her with something like wonder, "Virginia, I felt a kinship with you that day. When my light passes over a candidate, I invoke their deepest memories to gauge their personality. And I had been disappointed so far. Either the person was too young and immature or there was some element of greed or violence that frightened me."

He whispered in awe, "But you..."

He stepped closer.

"I saw your past. Your family. I felt your grief, your sadness. I admired your strength and courage... you fought back the forces of fate that wanted to destroy you. But... what I liked the most of all ... was your memories of times you had spent in my light... in the moonlight."

Pepper stared at him in confusion. "Times in your light? Moonlight? I don't understand..."

He smiled gently at her. "Some of the best and worst memories of your recent life, the times you experienced the most pain and the most joy, were in the light from my moon. My light. I felt a connection with you like no other."

His eyes were shining a deep blue at her and she swallowed hard. He continued softly, now very close to her, "Virginia, I felt your loneliness in my light. It touched me. I too, am alone. Perhaps two lonely people can find each other in the moonlight and..." he pulled her gently into his arms, "and fall in love."

Pepper pushed him back with force, stepping away.

She raised a hand as he stammered out an apology.

"Your Greatness... you..." she sighed, wanting to let him down gently, "you are a very attractive man... god... and I am touched by your story but... but I love someone else." She said firmly.

He smiled at her sadly. "The man you danced with, in a broken down room, one moonlit night ago? And almost kissed?"

She whispered, "Looking back, I don't know when it happened. How it happened... perhaps in the moonlight itself but I love Tony Stark with every fiber of my being. I cannot imagine life without him. He is ... my one true love."

The enormity of finally admitting the truth about Tony, even to herself made her shiver.

The Being, Amaris spoke softly, "You do love him, I'll grant you that... but did he not reject your love?"

Pepper's heart contracted painfully at that sentence.

"After all your time together, the man says he does not have the same feelings for you. You ran away crying from his room and his home... you wanted to forget him completely."

He pressed on, his words eating away at Pepper's resolve.

"The pain in your tears was unbearably sad. Yet you still love him." He tilted his head with confusion. "Why do you torture yourself? Why waste your love on a man of the sword who will not reciprocate?"

"Virginia, there is something very special about you. I saw you cast fire. Oh yes..." she looked at him then with wide eyes, fearfully. "Do not fear your power. It is a gift. Perhaps you are the reincarnation of another being of light, this time of fire."

"You are special, Virginia. Just like my Milene. Blessed with a gift that you wish to hide."

Pepper asked "I don't understand. What was she hiding?"

"A mere child could communicate with a spirit and then a being from stars. No tools, no aids, nothing. We always spoke as clearly as you and I are now. This power is what drove her parents from her. They feared her. So she hid it from her companions, out of shame. But she still loved her parents and yearned for their approval. I never understood why, when it was so clear they would never love her the way she loved them."

He looked at her with sadness in his eyes. "Again I ask Virginia, why waste your love on a warrior?"

Pepper said slowly, "It is not that easy to forget someone you love, Amaris... I can not forget Tony, even though he hurt me terribly. Wait, what about you?" she countered.

"You always came back to Milene, even though you knew she didn't love you. Not only that, after her... her passing, you supported her people, honoring a promise made to a dead person. Then you spent years mourning her."

She paused, trying to be sensitive, "Your Greatness, Amaris..let me ask you this... If there was a chance, any chance, that Milene could come back to you...if you could have her in your life once again... would you take it?"

He looked at her and then walked to the water's edge. He cupped his hands together and dipped them into the sea. He stepped back onto the beach and dropped the water onto the sand. Pepper came closer and peered curiously as the sand did not absorb the water but instead, a medium-sized depression formed in the sand like a small pond, the water resting in the pool. The Being picked up one of the fallen Moonflower blossoms and tossed it into the pond.

Then he knelt next to it and Pepper did so too. She gasped as the water began to glow and suddenly she could see a face, a smiling young woman, her reflection so clear in the small pool of water, smiling up at them.

The Being gently touched the water with his fingertips and whispered in a voice full of pain, "I would do anything to bring her back. Anything just to see her smile at me again with those bright eyes of hers. All the sunlight went away from my life when she died. I am stuck in endless night..."

Pepper comfortingly patted his shoulder and spoke, trying to control her own emotions, " Sometimes we must ask ourselves, is loving someone worth the pain and the anguish? Is it truly worth the sorrow? And we both know, yes it is... we wouldn't do it any differently. We wouldn't stop loving them..."

She couldn't control herself anymore and let the tears fall from her eyes, unheeded. "I do not know if Tony loves me. I do not know if he will ever love me. But... but I cannot leave him behind. I cannot forget him. And, your Greatness," she turned to the Being who was looking at her, "I cannot love you. I am truly sorry."

She braced herself for the Being to react with anger, with rage. But he just smiled at her, eyes soft. The water disappeared into the sand. He stood up and offered Pepper his hand. She took it and he helped her rise.

"I apologize, Virginia." He ruffled his silvery mane and sighed deeply. "I realize now that I behaved in the same manner as Kroll, I came to your land and abducted you without saying a word. How could I be so stupid?!" He whispered, "I am deeply ashamed. I will send you back immediately."

Relief filled her and she felt as if her heart would burst with happiness. "Really! You will take me back to Earth?!" She jumped for joy on the beach and he laughed at her gaiety.

"Yes, I will send you back. But before you go, I want to know, you mentioned kidnappings and the priests... can you explain please?"

Pepper widened her eyes. Eep, I forgot to explain all about those Menolestes. But I think he has been lied to. He is not the malevolent being, that the priests paint him out to be.

She said softly, "Your Greatness, I fear you have been lied to by Rana and indeed, the Menolestes."

She quickly explained about the priests and the Oracle ceremonies, the kidnapping of the candidates and the involvement of the Chonsario. When she spoke about the drugging being performed on the candidates using the Moonflower, the Being clenched his fists. His mane and the sky turned blood red.

"My noble flower, my gift, my creation," he roared with anger, his voice echoing across the sea, "They dared to use it for harming others!" He turned to Pepper, eyes flashing blue, "I will rain my moonbeams down on the Palace and smite them where they stand! How dare they!"

He exhaled deeply and the water behind him began to rise in small waves. Pepper spoke slowly, trying to calm him, "Your Greatness, I understand your anger, I understand and I am angry too but..." she paused and then continued firmly, "this is not your fight."

He stared at her incredulously. "Virginia, how... what do you mean by that? I have to stop this."

She said firmly, "It has to be stopped, I agree... but if you rain down moonbeams, you risk toppling the entire Palace into the ocean! Amaris... the Palace is on a cliff, yes? That overlooks the Normanian Sea?" He widened his eyes as he understood what she was saying.

Pepper continued "Send me back to Earth." She smiled as the thought of seeing Tony, made her heart sing. "My Knight waits for me. Never fear your Greatness, together he and I will destroy this evil."

Amaris had tilted his head, regarding her with a tender expression. "I must make amends for my rash and stupid behavior. Unfortunately, I have no money or riches... those items hold no value for me. I have nothing much to offer you."

She smiled gently. "Amaris, you do not need to apologize, I understand now how the Menolestes lied to you."

He shook his head wryly. "Well, I must. I must give you something... wait, you can control fire. I will bless you with a gift. Do you accept it?"

She nodded, curious. He covered his face with his hands and then blew onto them. Then Amaris caught Pepper's hands in his own and she felt a soft, slow glow of heat fill her body, from head to toe.

Pepper widened her eyes at Amaris. "What... what have you blessed me with?"

He opened his palm and she gasped in delight at the tiny beam of white flame, ebbing in his palm.

"White moon fire, my own blend of flame and moonlight." He said with pride. "A special type of flame for someone as pure and kindhearted as you. Something to remember me by..." He ended on a whisper.

Then he snapped his fingers and Pepper saw, wide-eyed, as the two waves came towards the shore, in the shape of a watery cart. Amaris took her hand and helped her get in. The water did not touch her but rather suspended her mid-air, such that she was floating.

He held her hand and said "You will now fall downwards but do not get scared, my water will not let you fall. It will drop you on the roof of the Palace, which is the closest it can reach."

Then he smiled. "Good luck, my lady, defeat this evil and save Patait."

He paused and said softly, "Sometimes on a moonlit light, look to the sky and see me there. Please remember me not as the violent Beast or the creator of the drug flowers but... but as a man who admired you for your spirit and wanted to fall in love again." He kissed her hand softly and stepped back.

As the water began to descend, Pepper waved as Amaris faded out of sight. The descent to Earth began and she closed her eyes, hoping and praying that Tony was alive and not destroyed by the combined evil of the Priest and the Captain. I am coming back, Tony, I am coming back to you...


Why does the Beast always have to be a villain?

Yes, he came down from the sky in a dreadful form and attacked two people but what if... he was wrong for a moment?

What if he was misled, mistaken in his assumptions, went along with the wrong crowd that wanted him for their own nefarious purposes?

What if he was threatened and reacted in kind, forgetting his own strength?

What if he was just a lonely being, who wanted a second chance at love? Why should he be denied?

I do not know if it was the right decision or not but somehow I decided to make this 'villainous character', a new friend for Pepper in the stars.