Kirsty narrowed her eyes at the beast. "Your master bid you do this to me...? Why? Who is he and how the hell does he even know out me? Did you both follow me to Shokushu?" Again she was assuming she hadn't been on the island long enough to draw this kind of attention. "What exactly where you trying to do by pouring all the extra power into me?" And how the hell do they get it out of her without her having to have sex with him? She was not at all ready to believe that was her ONLY option.

"Iss THAT what Muiry told you!?" Xoku's eyes grew wide as he responded to Kirsty's unspoken thought. Though he answered his own question by searching through her memories.

"Hmph . . . she's very likely right, she always was very intuitive about such things . . . " Xoku turned his gaze out of the tower, looking down on Muirethriel where she was currently engaged with entertaining Gardum. Her giggles floated up to them in the intervening silence.

"That's a relief," the serpent continued as he entered the chamber and closed the curtain completely. "I was afraid history was bound to repeat." He still did not advance farther than he needed to, however.

"But you asked about my employer." Xoku shivered with disgust. "It's best not speak its name lest we draw its attention; besides its true name would drive you mad. It's quite possible that its been watching you your whole life, even if it just learned of you yesterday. I know you don't understand, but it's really best you not know if you can help it." The serpent only hoped Spectre's interest would wane before it decided to visit Kirsty directly.

"And I didn't put that much power into you," Xoku grimaced as Muirethriel's voice filtered up through the gauzy curtain, crying out with pain and pleasure; the beast must have caught up to her. "Not really." he continued, trying to ignore the sounds of distant sex. "Just enough to overcome the island's inhibitors-" the serpent slapped several tentacles over his mouth; he wasn't supposed to tell her about that.

Kirsty raised a brow as the beast tried to explain things to her without really telling her anything at all. She gathered that his master was powerful and that he hated working for him. He also seemed to imply that the unknown master had only found out about her yesterday but that make still have been watching her her whole life. Gee, that was nice and cryptic. If he continued answering questions in this manner...

She heard Muirethriel scream and started to spring out of the bath but paused when the scream became a moan and then... Seriously, right outside the window!? She blushed and then realized she was halfway out of the bath, leaving her bare breast exposed to leering eyes and quickly plunged back into the water. Muiry clearly didn't need rescuing. She covered herself by latching onto the last thing she'd heard Xoku say. "Inhibitors? Like power inhibitors? Why would the island need..."

She paused when she realized the beast was covering his mouth as though he'd said too much and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Your not telling me the whole story." It was a statement, not a question. She frowned and crossed her arms over her chest. He couldn't see this because they were underwater but he didn't need to see the gesture to see she was annoyed. "You know what, I don't really care. The hows and whys are not really what concern me right now anyway. I want to know how to fit what you've done. And don't you dare try to tell me that that sex thing is the only way because I am not doing it. Not without exhausting all other avenues of possibility first."

A flash of anger lit Xoku's eyes as Kirsty disregarded Muirethriel's plight with disdain. "You'd besst to be more grateful girl! Muiry'ss doing what sshe'ss doing for your benefit. It'ss the pricse sshe'ss paying for deflecting the ogre'ss attentionss from you. And it'ss not nearly ass comfortable ass sshe'ss making it ssound." Xoku's irritation brought back his lisp.

As quickly as the fit had come, it was gone, and the ancient serpent's features softened again. "I suppose that means she's doing it for me, too, then," he conceded. "The whole situation would exist if it weren't for my actions; weren't for that Thing sending me after you." Damn Spectre! Xoku accidentally broadcast his curse telepathically.

"We don't have time to explore possibilities, not when we have an avenue that will surely work." Xoku explained, trying to sound reasonable. "I'd much rather have your consent, but if I have to force you, I will." The creature looked sad and regretful again. "I won't allow an innocent to be sacrificed for me . . . Not again."

"Don't you dare scold me for that!" Kirsty shot back heatedly when he lashed out at her angrily. That's funny, she didn't remember saying anything about the noises outside aloud but maybe she had. She was really too annoyed to think clearly. "It's not my fault that creature suddenly got the hots for me. Besides I didn't know..." She trailed off as the uncomfortable sex sounds grow a hair louder and she suddenly felt guilty. It wasn't her fault but if she'd known Muiry was going outside to do that for her sake she would have stopped her.

"This is insane! You won't even entertain the possibility of trying something else!?" Kirsty drew her knees protectively into her chest. His threat of forcing her mad her shrink further back against the wall of the pool and her body to tense up defensively. Still, she tried to sound calm and rational. "Couldn't you just fly me away from here? Somewhere where the Goblin King can't get to me. Surely, his reach isn't infinite." She had to dissuade him from his desired course. She had absolutely no desire to lose her virginity by force.

Xoku paused, blinking. Why hadn't he thought of that? One look at the feisty young girl brought the answer, though: He really did want her, just as he had wanted the other so long ago. Could they run far enough for his power to clear from her system? The serpent slowly shook his head miserably.

"There's nowhere we can go here that the Goblin King can't find us," Xoku began. "This pocket dimension isn't much bigger than what you've seen. Go but a day's journey in any direction and you'd end up at his castle." The serpent's voice was soft as he explained. "And we can't get out of it until your power is disengaged . . .'

"Which could take days," he added preemptively. "We have hours at most."

Xoku paused for a moment, looking at the tensely defensive young woman opposite him. Compassion filled his eyes as he thought of her plight and how terrifying this all must be. But he really was trying to save her from a fate worse than death. He had to make her understand that!

"Believe it or not, I don't really want to steal your innocence from you . . . " Whether Kirsty accepted it or not, that was plain truth. "Though, I do desire you," he admitted. "Still, if there was another way out of this, I would take it . . . But there's not! And the more time we waste talking about it the less time we have to do it!"

Kirsty shot the beast an irritated look. "I won't be rushed into this. You said we had hours. I maybe a virgin but I know it doesn't take that long to have sex." At least, that's what she'd heard. She had touched herself before and had been able to draw the experience out for some time but she could cum quickly if she wanted to. Men, supposedly, could come very quickly. Within minutes until, again, they were trying really hard not too. She didn't see any reason to draw these experience out, if it even came to that. "We have time. I want to discuss this! This is my first time we are talking about damn it!"

Okay, so they couldn't run... What else, could they do? She closed her eyes and tried to think. "What if I tried to use the power up? I could make another dimension for us to run to..." She'd never tried making an dream world within a dream world but really it should work. It might making getting back out harder but Xoku didn't need to know that. She just wanted to get out of this situation, right now. "All I'd need is a book or a really good daydream..."

"Oh, no you don't," Xoku cried and his golden eyes glittered with eldritch power. The water of the pool responded to his commands, taking on a life and properties it didn't normally have, seizing Kirsty's arms and legs and lifting her out of itself. He wasn't sure how good she was at losing herself in a daydream and didn't want to take a chance, so he used the shock and fear of the act to keep her from focusing.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you chance that," the serpent said as he drew Kirsty closer to him, holding her aloft with tendrils of water around each limb and another around the waist. "For one, you can't 'use the power up;' Having her suspended naked before him, Xoku couldn't help but ogle her a bit - especially her long, lovely legs - but he didn't let it distract him too much.

"For another, think about how the play changed into this," the monster gestured expansively again with several tendrils. "That was the effect of my essence entering you. It caused your ability to tap into my subconscious and bring this memory to life. As bad as this situation is, it could be much worse." Xoku looked at the girl as earnestly as he could manage, struggling to keep his gaze from sliding back to her legs.

"Plus, there's always the possibility I wouldn't be brought along with you, so you would have to deal with whatever happened on your own. And there's nothing to say the Goblin King couldn't follow you, since he is a master dreamwalker himself." Xoku finally fell silent, letting his words sink in. He intended to let the girl back down if it seemed he'd made his point.

Kirsty screams and her eyes shot back open as the water can alive and ripped her from the pool. Ropes of water coiled around her arms and legs and she panicked as the carried her closer to the dragon. "No, Stop It!!! Let Go Of Me!!!" She struggled the whole way, fighting to curl up into a protective ball so he couldn't touch her. It was all in vain though because she could not break free of the restraints. The horrible realization of how easily the beast could take her revealed itself and she wanted to cry. She had to stop that from happening. "Alright, I get it!! I won't use my power! Now please, put me down!"

She tried not to hyperventilate while she waited for Xoku to comply. If he did let her go she would draw her knees back into her chest and wrap her arms tightly around them. Sending a clear message that she didn't want to be touched. Kirsty generally tried to be an optimistic and progressive person but Xoku had just destroyed her last avenue of escape. He hadn't even allowed her the safety of distance. It was hard to be optimistic in the shadow of the beast who has about to rape you. Given time she might have been convinced but time didn't seem to be a luxury they had. "Please..." She muttered, almost like a prayer. "Please, it wasn't supposed to be like this..."

Xoku looked down on the girl who cowered before him, now huddled in the closest part of the pool where he had set her down. A storm of emotions crashed over the serpent as he felt pity for her, anger at Spectre and himself and lust . . . He couldn't help but be turned on by how lovely and vulnerable she was. Again he was struck by how much she was like that other from so long ago.

"No," he agreed. "It wasn't supposed to be like this." His mirror of her plea held many meanings, most of which were likely lost on the young woman. "I am truly sorry, my love."

Had . . . had he just said that?

"I-I'm sssorry . . . I didn't mean . . . You jussst look ssso much like . . . " Flustered, the beast hissed horribly and blushed fiercely (a truly strange sight to behold).

Outside, the distant duet of ogre and Lady of Springs reached a crescendo. A strangely harmonic blend of a rough shout and a beautiful watery scream floated through the sudden silence between serpent and student.

Kirsty looked up at the beast upon hearing his odd slip. At first she'd thought he was patronizing her and she was about to berate him. Then he suddenly apologized and from the embarrassed look on his face it was clear he hadn't meant to call her that. It seemed he had momentarily mistaken for someone else. She latch onto it, eager for any distraction. She ignored the langished cry that had interrupted him (She absolutely could not bare to think about what Muirethriel and Gardum were doing outside right now.) and asked. "I look so much like who?"

Surprised by Kirsty's question, Xoku's eyes took on a longing, wistful quality. He was looking at the young student, but seeing something, someone from long ago.

"Celeste," the serpent sighed, then shook his head, pulling himself to the present. "The original Lady Meander," he continued by way of explanation. "She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen . . ." He trailed off for a moment, lost in memory.

"Muiry warned me about getting involved with a mortal - I should have listened, but I couldn't stay away. She feared me, of course, but I was persistent. Eventually we began to meet secretly in these woods, happy with one another's company. Like you, she was still pure and though I desired her, I refused to take that from her. If only I had . . .

'One day, Sqwazit captured her on her way to see me. By the time I found her, she had already been forced to marry the Goblin King. I demanded he turn her over to me; a 'sacrifice' to appease my 'anger.' He agreed . . . But I had been tricked. The King had already consumed Celeste's soul and I was left with but an empty husk. Even that had been violated in every conceivable way by the Sqwazit and his hunters . . ."

Xoku took a deep breath to steady himself, blinking tears from his huge golden eyes. "In my fury, I lashed out and my powers went out of control. I destroyed the King and his castle; his horde and his lands. But it didn't stop there - everything you've seen here was consumed by my anguish . . . That was the last time I killed any being . . . and the last time I loved."

Kirsty listened in pensive silence, slowly relaxing out of her tight protective ball. Hearing the creature's sad love story helped minimize her fear of him. She still didn't want to have sex with him but she now had a better understanding of his motivations. At the end of his tale she paused to look around, as though expecting to see the building they were in suddenly i shambles. "So, I take it this is the past then? This place, Muirethiel, they were all consumed in your fury?"

"Yes, this is my memory of how things were before . . . " Xoku's regret was palpable. "They only exist now in my mind and in fantasies like this one." He shook his head again. "But we have no more time for such reminiscence." The serpent declared. "You must understand now that I will not allow such harm to happen again. Despite your reluctance, I will apply Muiry's solution . . . the sooner the better."

Xoku slithered forward, sliding into the water. He began to wind a wide circle around Kirsty, seeking to hem her in with the bulk of his long, scaly body. He readied himself to form shackles of water should she choose to run or fight, otherwise she would remain free as long as she was compliant.

And just like that the tension was back. She didn't try to run but she did press back against the wall on the pool to get further away from Xoku as he slide into the water. "Whoa, whoa, wait a second! You can't just come at me like that!! The least you could do is try to put me at ease first. I know we don't have all the time in the world but this is my first time damn it! I'm not expecting candles and rose petals but still..."