As I so rudely ended the last chapter on a cliffhanger :), here's the next chapter one day early.

Pepper is a Bad Ash MF in this chapter...


And that proud look as though she had gazed into the burning sun,

And all the shapely body no tittle gone astray.

I mourn for that most lonely thing; and yet God's will be done:

I knew a phoenix in my youth, so let them have their day.

William Butler Yeats, in "His Phoenix" in The Wild Swans at Coole (1917)

Pepper dropped her sword and the faceless ones shook their rounded white heads at her. There were four of them now, facing her and Tigliath.

One of them, the axeone stepped forward. She saw a small dark line appear on its white surface, crudely drawn as if by a child. The line moved and curved.

Pepper gritted her teeth as she realized the axeone was grinning at her. Her fear was gone now, replaced by a white-hot rage but she was in control.

"So..." she said slowly, concentrating on powering her flame, "you think this is a game? You want to play with me, banister head?"

The axeone nodded slowly, the crude grin still drawn on its blank white surface.

She lifted her hands to her mouth and blew on them gently, sending a wave of fire towards the faceless ones, who scattered like leaves at the sight of fire.

Tigliath turned to chirrup at her softly and she said gently, "That's right, Tigliath... we are going to play a game."

She raised her shield and her hand at the faceless ones. "You heard me, banister heads? We are going to play Catch AND Cook. I am It, you heads need to run. Else... get burned..."

The faceless ones stepped towards her as a white wall of blankness, so Pepper lobbied a flame orb at the pikeone.

It hit the soldier straight in the chest and it let out an unearthly howl and began to run around wildly as its body was on fire.

The other three stood their ground and the axeone threw the beaker down with force. It crashed on the grass and filled the air with a pale, wispy brown fog.

Pepper narrowed her eyes and looked around her carefully. "Something is trying to creep up on us! Tigliath, watch yourself!"

Tigliath growled as she heard the dark figure say in his booming voice, "Lady Virginia, face a stalwart member of the Dark Legion!"

Then they heard a whooping, yowling sound emerge from the brown cloud. And as the fog began to clear, Pepper looked at the beast before her with horror, her breath catching in her chest.

It was a round poo-colored ball of a beast, that looked like it was made from bone and gristle. She watched as the ball opened to reveal eight arachnid-like legs with pointed ends. Its tiny head was spiked heavily and its mouth was a mass of fangs and teeth, that dripped with saliva.

Tigliath was growling angrily now, tail wagging, fur raised and she whispered to herself, "From what hell have you come from?"

The beast whooped loudly and the dark figure said evilly, "Meet the Mugermutch, with the compliments of Necromancer Stane!"

She jerked her head towards the figure, her heart beating like a drum in her chest. "Stane!? You are Stane's minions!"

The figure bowed deeply to her and the faceless ones bowed as well, the incongruity of their behavior alarming her further.

"My Lady," the figure said in his menacing voice, "There is no need to fight... Come quietly with us... We won't hurt you, I promise..."

She swallowed and looked at Tony's bent head. He was still unconscious and she asked, trembling, "What about Lord Stark? Will you let him go?"

The dark figure tightened his hands around his axe and looked at Tony. As he flexed his hands and then raised his head, she could see him bare his teeth at her and Pepper knew.

What am I thinking?! These are Stane's foul beasts, they will kill Tony!

She raised her hand and said loudly, feeling light and fire flow through her, "I am not afraid of any minion of Stane's! Set Tony free or face my wrath!"

The dark figure said slowly, "Very well, my Lady, if it is a fight you want... so be it!"

He yelled something in a fell tongue and the faceless ones walked towards her slowly. Tigliath moved slightly away from her, his whole posture tense as he concentrated on the whooping Mugermatch in front of him.

Pepper took deep shallow breaths, feeling the coil of fire unfurl within her, willing it to move through her limbs. She dropped the shield for a moment, to form a fire orb in each hand.

She saw the crossbowone sneakily aiming for her and she held herself back, waiting for the arrow. As it came towards her, she turned slightly, then lobbed both orbs at the crossbowone, trying to set him on fire.

She didn't wait to see what happened. Pepper picked up her shield and blocked the axeman's blow, then shot him with a bold of fire. She turned to dodge the sword swinging at her from behind and shot off another fire bolt.

Her fire bolts were doing some damage but not enough and Pepper gritted her teeth in irritation as she kept dodging and firing at the axeone and swordsone, who were taking swings at her.

Think Pepper! Think! You need to use your flame but how!

Then she had an idea. What my touch burns them? If I touch them with heat... perhaps their skin is their weak spot!

She shoved her shield at the axeone and when he stumbled backwards, she caught his hand. It was so cold and clammy that she nearly let go but instead, Pepper focused all her energy on it. Her palm started to burn and she fired off a deflecting shot with her other hand, to blind the swordsone.

Pepper held the axeone firmly and began to burn it with her hand, feeling the heat flow from her to the faceless one. Its drawn-on mouth began to move jerkily and she whispered to it, "I caught you, fiend."

She increased her strength, feeling fire pour out of her and the faceless one began to yowl as she saw it turn orange with her flame.

"Time to cook." And the faceless one fell to the ground like a lump, still alight with fire. It started to pool into a thick white paste, smoke rising from it.

She wanted to watch what happened to it but she realized the swordsone was still around. She picked up her shield and blocked its first stab, then its second jab.

It managed to hit her on the third stab but again Tony's armor saved her and she silently thanked the Dragon who had urged her to wear it.

Then she parried the faceless swordone and punched it squarely, where its nose should have been. Its head snapped back and she caught it by the throat and began to focus her fire on its neck. As she squeezed her hands around its throat and felt her fire rage in her hands, Pepper glanced sideways and ducked as a crossbow bolt shot towards her.

The bolt grazed her arm and as she wasn't wearing any armor there, it cut her flesh and Pepper swore viciously. She tightened her grip on the swordone and lifted it slightly off the ground, choking it hard. She began to burn it with her fire and turned, using it as a shield as she raised her free hand to fire three straight shots at the crossbowone.

Two shots hit the grass and the crossbowone answered with two arrows of its own but she used the swordsone as a shield to protect herself.

Then Pepper felt the swordsone's white paste-like flesh melt under her fingers and she shook off the white goo, to rapidly fire off one, two, four, six rounds at the crossbowone, in quick succession.

They hit their target and she watched in satisfaction as the crossbowone began to melt where it stood.

She wiped her sweaty brow, easing the heavy chest plate off her chest momentarily as the adrenaline of the fight faded away.

Pepper looked around.

"Three down, what about ... aha!" The pikeone had finally stopped running around and had smashed itself into a tree, where it dissolved slowly.

Then she heard Tigliath yowl and she remembered he was facing the spider spiked thing. Pepper muffled a shriek as the Mugermatch scratched Tigliath viciously with one of its spider legs.

She shot a bolt of flame at it and it rolled out of the way quickly. Then it shot one of its spikes at her, which hit her in her thigh painfully. Pepper pulled the spiky thing out and tossed it away angrily.

The beast fired some more of the spikes and she raised her shield to protect her neck and head. One more spike hit her in the other leg now and Pepper picked up her broadsword from where she had dropped it.

Tigliath circled the thing, crouching low and dodging as rapidly as he could, whenever it would fire spikes at him. The big cat went back on the offensive, giving Pepper some time to study the Mugermatch

It really seems like a spider with fangs... how does one kill a spider? Smash it?

She studied the fanged mass of bone and shuddered. No, I have nothing to smash it with but... she watched as Tigliath ran towards the beast, swiping at its legs and then jumped back rapidly.

Tigliath's trying to trip it up... because! Spiders have a soft underbelly... if I get this one on its back, he can claw at it!

She raised her sword and ran at the Mugermatch, raising her shield to block out the spikes being shot at her. Pepper ignored the pricking sensation as some spikes struck her and then she brought her sword down heavily onto one spidery leg.

She managed to cleave it and nearly gagged as a wad of sticky fluid shot out from the severed limb, onto her armor.

"Yewwww! It smells!" she grumbled and hacked backwards, this time, hitting the Mugermatch in the face. It rolled angrily towards her and she jumped sideways to get out of its path.

Tigliath followed the rolling ball and then Pepper decided to aggravate the beast by firing at it.

She fired off three shots, one of them hitting the moving ball. It whooped angrily and sped towards her and she held herself still, raising her sword high.

"One, two, three!" she counted loudly and brought the sword down hard, smashing it into the spider thing.

It couldn't reverse in time and spasmed with the blow. It shakily uncoiled itself and Pepper smiled as she saw it was bleeding, the smelly sticky goo leaking from its bony mass heavily. With a deep growl, Tigliath pounced on it, tooth and claw bared, to claw at its underside.

"Tigliath, I think you can handle this now..." and she turned towards the other end of the meadow, towards the dark figure, who was stretching himself.

Pepper raised her sword to him and said, "You! Stane's minion! When are you going to face me, huh?"

The dark figure stepped onto the clearing and she held herself straight, trying not to shiver.

He said softly, menace coating every word, "Do you know what I am? I am the Black Knight from the Abyss..."

He pushed his hood off, revealing himself to be a bald, coffee-skinned man with a thin mustache. He had a thick muscular neck to go with his broad-shouldered, heavyset frame and height. The Knight had empty grey eyes that glowed at her and she swallowed, suddenly feeling very small. One side of his jaw was covered in a ugly mess of red scars.

Then he tore off his black tunic and Pepper shrieked in fear. From the neck below, the Knight was completely enshrouded in a thick black gooey mass that seemed to be his skin. It oozed and moved over him like a living armor. He pulled off his gloves slowly and she saw the same mass covered his massive arms and hands. But his fingers were actual thick bones, creepy and white.

It is his armor... and what is that... in his chest...

A symbol was being drawn in the midst of the black swirling goo in the middle of his chest. It was red in color and Pepper narrowed her eyes at it.

It seems to be a coiled... snake?

She gasped, the horrible thought coming to her suddenly and the Knight laughed wickedly. "I am a creation of the Master, you have met Him, haven't you, Virginia of Cumbria?"

He raised his mighty battle axe. "My Master desires your presence at Cumbria Castle... last chance, Virginia, come quietly and I shall not hurt you... but..."

He tightened his grip on his axe and the symbol began to swirl hypnotically. "Fight me and I shall break you... just a little... just enough to drag you back to my Master..."

She positioned her sword below her shield, tensing herself for the fight ahead. Pepper sneered at him. "Let us see what you are made of, Black Knight. Come at me!"