I look alive.

I am dead inside.

My heart has holes.

And black blood flows.

- Anon

Pepper was adrift in a peaceful dreamless sleep, when she heard something whisper to her. A serpentine deep voice that kept saying something. She grumbled at it to go away but it kept whispering, disturbing her sleep.

Finally she opened her eyes and blinked hard, trying to clear her mind of sleepiness. She heard it again.

Virginia, find Anthony.

She tilted her head to one side. "From where is the voice coming?"

Find Anthony now. He needs you...

She was wide awake now and said, "Hello!" But the voice had disappeared.

Pepper stood up and stretched. She could see that Tigliath had disappeared from her room. The big cat had developed a habit of sleeping alongside both Tony and her, alternating between their rooms in short intervals. She had dimly noticed Tigliath's arrival during sunrise.

Pepper wrapped herself in her robe and walked to Tony's room. She knocked on the door and waited. Then she remembered how deeply Tony could sleep and she entered the room.

She was surprised to see the bed empty. Typical man, he hasn't worn his robe. Or shoes...

The bed was rumpled, the blankets tossed wildly.

She headed downstairs. Tigliath was loudly chirruping by the main door. He was circling in place and making her feel dizzy with his movement.

"Alright, Tigliath, alright." She opened the door to let him out. But the big cat just stood there and growled softly, looking up at her with his amber eyes.

"What's the matter? Don't you want to go out?"

He growled again, put one paw forward and looked back at her, growling incessantly.

Pepper realized Tigliath wanted her to follow him. She said slowly, "Let me change my clothes and I will come with you."

The cat's behavior and Tony's absence was starting to worry her. She ran back upstairs, quickly changed into a dress and ran back down. Tigliath was pacing worriedly in the courtyard.

He yowled at her and she walked to the Workshop. Pepper opened the door and looked inside but Tony wasn't there. She called out his name but received no answer.

She looked in the stables but Balthazar was in his stall.

So wherever he's gone, he's gone on foot...

Normally she wouldn't have worried. But Tony would not have disappeared without telling her, either in person or with a note. Also, Tigliath would have gone with him. Instead, the big cat was now tugging gently on her skirt.

She decided to give in and said softly, "Tigliath, show me where Tony's gone."

She followed the big cat as it padded slowly to the back gate. Pepper opened the gate and saw Tigliath bound towards the clearing.

"Hey! Slow down!"

She ran to keep up with the big cat, who was running rapidly through the tall green grass. Pepper stopped short as she saw the panther disappear into the forest beyond the clearing.

"Tigliath! Come back you!" Then she muttered to herself, "Tony Stark, I had better find you sleeping under a tree..."

She walked slowly into the lush green forest. The sun shone in spots, through the thick green canopy of tree leaves and branches. The woods were quiet except for the occasional chirping of a bird or two and she walked aimlessly.

"Tigliath..." she called out softly, not sure why she was whispering, "Tigliath, where are you?"

Then she nearly shrieked as the big cat softly crept out from the shrubbery. "You scared me!" she scolded Tigliath, only to see he was carrying something in his mouth.

Pepper took the object from him and felt her heart start to thump loudly in her chest. It was the Dagger of Aramiah, unsheathed.

"Tony loves this dagger..." she whispered to herself. "He would never leave it behind. Something has happened to him! Tigliath," she said firmly, "where did you get this from? Show me!"

She followed Tigliath to a large oak tree. Pepper bend and looked around her, her worry growing. "Three sets of footprints but only two of them leave... oh!" She gasped as she noticed a few reddish spots on the flat ground. "Blood! Is it Tony's? The dagger is clean, so he didn't use it..."

She straightened and stared into the dense, green undergrowth of the forest.

Pepper took one step forward and stopped suddenly, as she heard the serpentine voice roar in her head. No! You must go prepared!

"Prepared? Whatever do you mean?"

It roared again. Prepare yourself for a fight! Go back, wear armor and come here again, you will need it to save Anthony! Do it now!

She didn't argue further. Pepper turned on her heel and ran back to the Keep.


There was a loud buzzing noise in his ear and he shook his head to get rid of it. The buzzing stopped and restarted in his other ear. So he shook his head again and the buzzing went away. Then he opened his eyes and blinked once, twice to clear his vision.

Tony came to consciousness slowly, his head and face throbbing with pain. He was also feeling very hot. His shirt was torn off, so he felt very warm as the sun shone down on him brightly. As his vision cleared, he realized he was standing in the middle of two trees and each arm of his was chained tightly to the trunk of each tree, effectively immobilizing him in place.

He pulled on one chain as hard as he could but it held. His fire felt weak and there was a dull ache in his chest. He tried to hold his head straight but the effort was too much. His tongue was dry and heavy in his mouth.

"I feel so weak... as if... wait, I felt the same way when ... when Morganna dr..."

A deep gravelly voice completed his sentence. "When the Witch of Carinthia drained you off your powers. Using the Bloodstone."

Tony blinked as a tall figure spoke from behind him, from the undergrowth.

"It is interesting, how she identified you from the crowd. But you knew each other at some point of time, didn't you Stark?"

The figure stepped into the sun, standing a short distance from him. It seemed like a very tall man, his face shrouded by a thick black hood. He wore a black tunic with a red symbol painted on it. Tony squinted to stare at the symbol but he couldn't make out what it was.

Then he felt his heart race as the figure pushed the hood back and turned to face him. Tony stared into a very familiar face, a face he never thought he would ever seen again.

The thin, neat mustache... the broad forehead and noble brow... the short jaw... it can't be...

He said loudly in disbelief. "It can't be... You were dead... I saw you fall... it can't be you... my friend..."

The figure bared its white teeth at Tony, in a semblance of a smile.

"Friend indeed... It has been so long, has it not, Anthony Edduard Stark...the last time I saw you, you were riding ahead on the snow... I am glad you remember... I wondered how to make you remember who I was..."

Tony swallowed and shook his head, trying to clear it of disbelief. "Good lord, Rhodes! How...how is this possible? You survived the attack?"

The tall figure laughed maliciously, his raucous laughter in the stillness of the forest, sent birds fleeing from the trees.

"No Anthony... there was only one survivor of that damned bloody night... the man who led me to my death." Then he moved quickly and punched Tony in his ribs, under his chained arm.

Tony wheezed with the pain, his lungs shrieked with the force of the blow. He gasped and tried to remaining standing. While the tall one, Rhodes, just flexed his hand.

"Did I hurt you?" He asked, smiling darkly.

Tony said faintly, "Rhodes..." Then he was punched again, this time in the face. He felt blood in his mouth and then the figure stepped closer to him and caught his neck tightly.

"Look at me, Stark... do you see anything that remains of your friend, James Rhodes? Do You!?"

The figure's hands were harsh and painful on this throat. A thick smell of decay came from him and Tony exhaled slowly, trying to rid his nostrils of the cloying smell.

He could now see giant, red gashes across the bottom half of Rhodes face. Gashes that seemed like he had been scratched viciously by a claw. What frightened him more was the the figure's eyes. Light grey with no pupils, blank empty pools that focused on nothing.

"Okay if you are not Rhodes...what... who are you?" He rasped out and the gloved hand around his neck tightened for a minute and then let him go.

He rocked backwards on his heels and felt faint. Water was thrown on his face and the shock jerked him to focus.

"Now Anthony, don't faint on me... you used to be a lot tougher..." the figure smirked and walked away slowly.

Tony was angry now and he spat out, "Hey! You scarred fiend!" That attracted the figure's attention and he turned back to Tony. "Whatever you are, let me go!"

The figure shook a giant, gloved hand at him. "No Anthony... I am afraid you are needed... you are needed by my Master."

"Are you... did Stane send you?"

The figure grinned evilly. "I am Necromancer Stane's Black Knight... just like you were King Leoric's knight three years ago... but..."

It stepped closer to Tony and whispered slowly, "My Master is not from this Earth. It is the Lone Wanderer, the Devil from the Depths of the Abyss... it pulled me out from Death's hand and I will do its bidding...There is nothing left of Rhodes in me, Anthony Stark...Nothing human is left in me... so your pleas will do you no good."

He punched Tony hard again, this time right in the stomach and Tony fell to his knees. He gagged and spat out a wad of bile onto the grass.

He manged to wheeze out, "What's the matter, Black Knight? Are you just going to hammer me till I die? Why don't you let me free and we go a round or two? Is this a fair fight, me tied up?"

He was staring at the Black Knight's booted feet and he winced as the figure painfully pulled him to his feet by his neck.

"Such a smart aleck you are, Stark... such a smart one... but your empty taunts will not distract me from my mission..."

"What is your mission? What do you want?"

The Black Knight grinned again and began to flex his fingers. "It is not you per se that my Master wants..."

A cold sweat began to drip down Tony's spine. "Pepper?" he whispered.

The fiend chuckled. "Yes, your red-haired companion... my Master wants me to bring her back to Cumbria..."

"You have used me as bait..." Tony whispered in dread.

"Yes, Anthony... your mate must be looking for you as we speak... and when she comes..." He snapped his fingers viciously. "Well, then you will no longer be needed."

The Black Knight pulled off his gloves, revealing thick fingers made of pure bone. He flexed the bone fingers and they glistened an ugly white in the sunshine.

Tony's heart was racing. No, Pepper, no... he mustn't catch her! He mustn't... Dragon!

The voice in his head was eerily silent. Tony focused on his Flame, trying to bring it to life but he was just too weak. He could feel it pulsing in him faintly but it wasn't strong enough.

The Black Knight was busy issuing orders now and Tony studied him quietly. Then he saw it. A thick chain was around the Knight's muscular neck. There was something round hanging on the chain, like a pendant but it was hidden inside the Knight's tunic.

The Knight turned to Tony and caught him staring. He grinned his teeth fiendishly and pulled out the object from under his tunic. Tony felt a splitting pain in his chest and cried out. It felt as if his Arc was being ripped from his body. He gritted his teeth to absorb the pain and watched in horror as the object was revealed to be a small red orb, eerily glowing on the Black Knight's chain.

The Knight held it up and brought it closer to Tony, who groaned in pain as it neared him. "A fragment of the Bloodstone, Stark... does it pain much?"

He held it close to Tony, who began to feel his Arc leave his body. He cried out from the blinding pain and the Knight took the chain off his neck and placed on it on a low hanging branch. It was close enough to make Tony feel weak and drained. He sagged against his chains and struggled to stay upright.

The Knight observed his weakness and said wickedly, "After I capture your mate, I am going to use this stone to absorb all your power, your precious Fire and take it with me... leaving your empty shell of a body behind."

He looked up at the sky. "Can you smell it? The smell of a human... approaching us." Tony gasped in fear as four foot soldiers stepped out from the undergrowth.

The Black Knight turned to leer at Tony. "Your Queen approaches, Stark... start saying your prayers... not that they will do you much good..."

Tony closed his eyes, trying to block out the Knight's evil grin and the throbbing pain in his chest. He was trying to regain his strength to break the chains. But his mind was on Pepper and what was waiting for her.

Pepper... my love... I am trying my best here... Good lord, I must... I must break free... I can't let them take you...