Finally I am able to upload a new chapter :) The next one will also take a while because I'll have a lot of exams in university the next few weeks :/

Thank you for all the support and the reviews, I'm really glad you enjoy this story :D

Happy reading!

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Tony didn't knew how often he had already flown around the Island, he had stopped counting. Everything he knew was, that he couldn't abandon Pepper. The Island was covered in crusted lava, but thanks to Jarvis' scans Tony knew it wasn't safe to land yet. Furthermore it was pitch dark and the air was full of ash, without the help of his AI, Tony wouldn't be able to see anything at all. But he couldn't resign either, he had to find Pepper...

If she's still alive...
Pepper isn't stupid, she has found a way to survive!
Jarvis has already scanned everything...

Tony shook his head and tried to get rid of the thoughts. He didn't want to think about what could have happened to her or how afraid she must have been as the volcano errupted. Tony felt incredibly guilty because he had left her, he should have stayed with her at the beach. But above everything he felt guilty because he couldn't find her. Tony nearly had a meltdown when Jarvis spoke up again:

"Sir, I know you want to find Miss Potts, but I suggest you continue the search tomorrow, when the ash vanished and you can step on the island."

"She could be dead until then...", Tony said with a broken voice. He didn't want to think about it...

But where could she be? If his theorie that she had saved herself in the ocean was true, he should have found her already. Suddenly he felt als helpless as never before and couldn't hold back the tears welling up in his eyes.

"If you continue like this, you will be too!", Jarvis answered dryly and Tony sighed.

"What can I do, Jarvis? I have to help her... i have... I have to find her, I'm the only one who knows she's out there... She needs me! I have to... I have..."

"Sir you have to leave the suit... you will die when you use it longer than needed. Fly back to the house, it's for your own safety!"

Tony would have loved nothing better than to scream and shut Jarvis down, but if he would have, the suit wouldn't work at all. Resigning, he flew back to the House of Mr. and Mrs. Mioko, who where probably also dead because of the eruption.

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Pepper knew that she could not remain here. Her power wouldn't be enough to wait until someone would find her and the mainland was too far away. But what could she do instead? She would not make it till the lava was cold and she could wait on the island either.

Tony... it shot her through her head. He would certainly come looking for her, at least she hoped so.

Pepper suppressed a sob and forced herself to bear up, even when she noticed how her arms and legs got heavier every second. The air was full of ash and breathing increasingly difficult.

Suddenly, she had an idea. She had read before that among volcanic islands caves are found often and she knew this was her only chance. If she managed to find one, maybe she could survive there long enough there, or at least until she could enter the island again. So she took a deep breath, dived under a few meters and looked around, but after a few minutes she already emerged again, gasping. She couldn't see anything at all.

Just as Pepper gave up all hope that Tony would save her, like he had already saved many people, something else occurred to her. She knew that the probability to find a cave, which began under water and ceased in a cave filled with air, was close to zero. But she had to try it.

Pepper took their last forces and carefully swum back to the island. When she was about 10 meters away from the beach, she clearly felt the heat of the lava. She swam along the shore, but it didn't take long till her last strenght vanished.

That's it, Pepper. It's over.

You won't survive this.

Tony won't find you... you will never see him again.

Pepper had given up, but just as her body sank towards the seabed she saw a cave entrance directly in front of her. She knew this was her only chance, so her will reared up again and she swam in.

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Tony knew he would hardly find sleep that night. He was terribly worried about Pepper and would have preferred to fly back to the island immediately. But Jarvis had disabled the suit and persuaded Tony to stay for his own safety. It was already 3 in the morning and Tony knew that he had to sleep if he wanted to keep a cool head tomorrow. The sun rose early and he didn't have much time left, so he sunk down on the futon and sighed. His hand laid on the spot where Pepper had slept in his arms peacefully yesterday and he wished once more, he wouldn't have left her alone at the beach. But now it was too late. He had to wait and hope that she would be still alive tomorrow. Also the Palladium problem had to be resolved urgently, otherwise he would neither have a future with pepper nor any other. Tony suppressed a sob, shut his eyes and fell into a fitful sleep.

In his dream he suddenly saw Pepper. She was on fire and yelled at him:

"Why did you leave me Tony? "How could I love you... You only ever failed me!"

Tony startled up, sweaty and heavy breathing. The sun had already risen, and he jumped up, suddenly more awake than ever.

"Jarvis... Get the suit ready"

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Pepper emerged gasping. It was pitch dark and she swam slowly until she reached the cave walls. Her hand slid carefully among the wall until she found a plateau, pulled herself up and collapsed.

When she opened the eyes again her whole body ached and she shivered from the cold. Pepper knew if Tony wouldn't find her soon, she couldn't survive. But how should he find her in here? She had no sense of time, but she knew that, sooner or later, she had to leave the cave if she wanted to survive. But at the moment she was too exhausted so she wrapped her arms around her knees, tried to calm down.

Tony, please get me out of here...

When Pepper woke up the next time, she felt even more miserable than before. It was freezing cold, her body was shaking and felt numb. She was hungry and thirsty and knew she couldn't stay in here any longer. But how should she leave the cave when it was pitch dark? She had no idea how long she had been here, if Tony was looking for her - if he even believed that she was still alive.

Desperately, Pepper pulled herself to the edge of the plateau and sat up. As she slid into the water, she gasped as soon as the cold water hit her skin, but tried to ignore it and carefully groped her way along the wall. The craggy cave wall made her numb fingers ache with every contact, but she knew she couldn't give up.

Pepper's despair grew, as she only reached the plateau again, and dragged herself back on top when she lost her last energy. She stayed where she was, lying face down on the hard, cold rock. She would die here... Tony wouldn't find her, nobody would ever find her. This was the end and Pepper closed her eyes, waiting that it was finally over.

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Tony flew to the island as fast as he could, the sky was still dark with ash, but he could see much more than the previous day. What he saw was terrible, the trees were charred and the entire island was covered in a layer of crusted lava. Thanks to Jarvis, Tony knew that it was safe to land and as soon as he reached the surface, he said:

"Jarvis, please scan the island again. Inform me about even the smallest sign of life"

"Yes, Sir", replied Jarvis and Tony could have sworn that he sounded worried.

He flew slowly and close to the surface of the island, tried to calm down. He would find her... But when he had rounded the island for the third time and Jarvis hadn't spoken up yet, despair cooked up in him again. Tony landed on the spot where the beach had been yesterday and stared at the ocean. He had lost her... Now, as he was finally sure that he wouldn't be able to spend a minute without her, she had been taken away from him. He didn't tried to protect her, it was all his fault...

Suddenly, Jarvis' voice tore him from his thoughts.

"Sir, I got a weak signal..."

Tony startled, hope germinated in him.

"Where?", he asked hurriedly.

"About 20 meters inland... But it seems to be beneath."

As if he could see Tony's wondering facial expression, Jarvis quickly added:

"I've located a cave not far from the beach. You should look there."

Tony didn't need to hear that twice, quickly, he flew in the direction which Jarvis pointed out to him.

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Pepper was still motionless on the rock, her body was numb, and she floated in a state between faint and delirium. Hardly, she felt the cold in her bones or the completely soaked clothes on her skin and she didn't care. She had given up hope that Tony would come and save her.

Pepper didn't know if she could trust her senses when she suddenly heard a voice calling her name.

"Pepper! Pepper... No, please don't. Pepper! Pepper!"

This had to be the end, now she even had hallucinations. But then she felt a hand on her arm and the voice got clearer:

"Pepper... Please, we have to get out of here!"

He opened the iron man mask so that she could see him and lifted Pepper up, relieved when he saw that she was still alive. But she looked frightful, incredibly pale and her face was covered with dirt and small bloody scratches, her eyes staring blank and expressionless through him.

Tony could not suppress the tears and he moved cautiously, rocking her back and forth gently.

"Pepper, I'm so sorry... I shouldn't have left you. But you will be safe soon and I will do everything to get you better as soon as we're out of here. I will never disappoint you again", he muttered.

But the woman in his arms didn't show any reaction, and Tony's fear came back. He knew he had to hurry.

So he sat Pepper down carefully, she leaned against the cave wall and stared into the darkness. Tony quickly took off his helmet and approached Pepper's face.

"I give the helmet to you, Pepper... So you can breathe and don't have to hold your breath when we get out of here, ok?"

Pepper looked at him though, but in her face, Tony saw no reaction. It broke his heart to see her like that. Quickly, he kissed her forehead and closed the helmet before he firmly wrapped his arms around her and hurried out of the cave.

Carefully, he flew to the nearby forest with Pepper and sat her down. He got rid of the suit and then rushed to her, where he could only take off the helmet, before she collapsed in his arms.