➢𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗧𝗛 𝗚𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗦 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗠𝗘𝗔𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚➢

『 I hear the sound, echoes beneath
Angels and skylines meet
And I'm straining to reach
The light on the surface 』
―𝘉𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦, 𝘍𝘭𝘦𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘦

⟶𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 8: 𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉⟵

-𝙹𝙰𝙽𝚄𝙰𝚁𝚈 𝟷𝟾𝚃𝙷, 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟽-

𝙽𝙴𝚆 𝚈𝙾𝚁𝙺 𝙲𝙸𝚃𝚈, 𝙽𝙴𝚆 𝚈𝙾𝚁𝙺

The three sorcerers of Kamar-Taj run through the hallways of the Sanctum until reaching the center area, where two Zealots and Kaecilius partake in a summoning of some sort𑁋and Karl Mordo asserts, "We have to end this."

"Now!" He and Stephen hop over the railing of the building, but as Caitlyn goes to do the same𑁋raising her katana, a levitating cloak blocks the way.

Her uncle remains in front of her, and also in place, causing a shout from Mordo to emerge while he fights off the two Zealots on his own, "Strange!"

"Get down here and fight!" Doctor Strange raises his hands, and it is only then that the blonde teenager catches onto his antics𑁋that he is trying to send them elsewhere.

And that meant taking them to another dimension.

The female's eyes widen for the 100th time today when her uncle raises his hands, and an uproar of a, "No!" from Mordo is the last thing heard before a similar wall of breaking glass surrounds the entirety of the sorcerers in the New York Sanctum.

"The Mirror Dimension." Stephen's voice duplicates, Kaecilius tilting his gaze upwards at the change in scenery, "You can't affect the real world in here."

The Cloak of Levitation lowers the bearded man slightly, and he remarks with prominent wit, "Who's laughing now? Asshole."

A look of relief crosses Caitlyn Strange's features before it fades, at Kaecilius' smirk, "I am."

The room euphorically morphs again, this time turning the steps that the fourteen-year-old previously stood on, inwards, and she lets out a brief yelp𑁋an arm quickly wrapping around her waist and the red cloak worn by her Uncle Stephen carries the two towards the exit ... and Master Mordo follows them outside onto the streets of New York City.

Except they're still in the Mirror Dimension.

"I-I've got his sling ring. I mean, they can't escape, right?" Stephen says to Mordo as Caitlyn stands to his left, expression faltering in doubt as the Zealots simply charge forward.

The teenager spits out, "Well, either way, it looks like they're still after us𑁋,"

"Run!" Karl cuts her off, and the three break into an immediate sprint through the alternate dimension-styled New York City𑁋dodging cars, and such.

There can only be a few more seconds of "running" Caitlyn realizes when the street lights and cars begin to look odd, and a whole kind of distortion is bestowed onto this particular dimension𑁋presumably trapping Stephen, Mordo, and the young teenager in a warped setting.

The niece and uncle eventually stop in the center of an intersection, gazes looking over their surroundings in incredulity until the other individual explains, "Their connection to the Dark Dimension makes them more powerful in the Mirror Dimension."

"So basically, they can still kill us?" The fourteen-year-old assesses.

Mordo nods, telling the two with an extreme amount of fear and disapproval at Doctor Strange's actions, "This wasn't cleverness."

"This was suicide!"

From behind the two Zealots led by Kaecilius continue striding quickly, and Caitlyn deliberately tries to get away from the more experienced sorcerers and then hopefully to a safe place𑁋taking some optimism in that regard when her uncle's hands wave in a creation of a portal.

They are so close to escaping, but they don't. Instead, the young female yet again feels very nauseous when the power drawn from the Dark Dimension by the gray-haired man, is inflicted onto the buildings and skyscrapers of New York City.

Streets tilt first, and the curly blonde can't help but fall completely sideways as the morphing of the surroundings practically pushes her and the two other men into a moving bus𑁋another individual happening to be on the other side of it.

"Haha, that is hilarious!" An old man remarks from within the vehicle, not paying any sort of attention to Stephen and Caitlyn's smushed faces on the window, still in the Mirror Dimension of course.

A look in the lopsided direction of where Kaecilius and his zealots still run, results in the three maneuvering onto a tall building, trying to open up another portal𑁋but the chase goes on.

Kaecilius jumps down, and as he does so, a ripple courses through the structure Stephen, Caitlyn, and Mordo currently run on𑁋and that yet again prevents them from escaping.

The building under the fourteen year old's feet becomes rather bumpy, causing many grunts of concentration to leave her lips as she tries to stay steady, but that just isn't possible. They are too powerful.

And that is proven when the structure curls itself over, sounds of her uncle's and Mordo's screaming being heard and the niece's boots, unfortunately, don't stick either𑁋and she falls along with them, expression broadening when it is perceived that they are completely plummeting through the New York City landscape.

Now Caitlyn screams.

Things remain distorted, turned on their sides, and that doesn't aid at all in convincing the young Strange that they were going to die ... right here and right now.

Mordo softens the blow of the landing with a few mystical circles cast, and Stephen makes sure to grab hold of his niece once again as The Cloak of Levitation brings them down safely.

They run some more until reaching the end where there was no more building to run on, and the bearded man pants heavily while stating to the female and male, "This was a mistake ..."

Mordo gives him a look, and Caitlyn makes a remark, but surely she is cut off again.

"You could say that aga𑁋,"

"Ahh!" Gravity from the structure sends them flying again, the blonde child not holding back her fear or emotions any longer and instead watches in awe at the view of the landscape she is tormentingly sent down.

It is tortuous, truly, and the fourteen-year-old just wants it all to end.

Her uncle, Master Mordo, and herself go through another building, this time trying their best to stop falling and both Caitlyn and Stephen are lucky enough to have landed on the same fire-escape𑁋the man however sliding off it and going further down, resulting in his niece to follow.

She lays out a spell of her own so that she can drop down with no pain, and unfortunately, an extended hand isn't enough to help save her uncle as he is covered by pieces of another steel platform.

From there, railings fly out, and the Zealots, as well as the sorcerers, are sprawled out across them, and the fourteen-year-old no longer has the sword taken from the Sanctum𑁋for she had let go of it while falling abruptly.

Caitlyn tries to stay close to her uncle, fending off a female zealot that tries to come near either one of them but eventually the teenager is struck firmly again𑁋previous damage done to her head coming back to the forefront, and she suddenly feels very dizzy.

Kaecilius meets back up with Stephen Strange, the two running into each other as the evil sorcerer slams the Doctor into the ground𑁋a hand clasped around his throat.

Through the struggle, the gray-haired man snags the sling ring, then puts it away in his pocket before forming a clear-looking spear in between his hands𑁋similar to the one that almost killed him.

And Stephen shouts, "No𑁋!"

But the platform he lies on is moved out of Kaecilius' reach.

The one occupying his niece's dizzy figure is centered towards him and Caitlyn lets out a similar noise of fear when the rearranging and morphing did in the Mirror Dimension𑁋is now by another sorcerer.

The Sorcerer Supreme.

The Ancient One with an orange aura encircling her palms builds a compact structure of her own while the corrupt mystic arts students acknowledge her presence, especially with the dark symbol that is engraved on her forehead.

The curly blonde from being brought to her feet by her uncle narrows her pale blue irises in a way to take in the features of the bald-headed woman𑁋and soon enough Mordo determines, "It's true."

"She does draw power from the Dark Dimension."

The Ancient One's expression is open, and as her former student turns around to face her, she addresses him, "Kaecilius."

"I came to you, broken, lost, bleeding." The man circles her, before making accusations, "I trusted you to be my teacher, and you fed me lies."

The woman speaks with no fear, as always𑁋found very admirable by Caitlyn, "I tried to protect you."

"From the truth?" Kaecilius questions, only for the Ancient One to reply back, "From yourself."

The blonde teen shudders against her uncle as he tightens his grip on her, the next spew of words coming from the gray-haired individual unmistakably igniting an amount of uncertainty inside the two𑁋of the undoubtedly unknown, "I have a new teacher now."

"Dormammu deceives you ..." The Ancient One says with a surprisingly gentle expression, but yet with so much intensity, "You have no idea what he truly is."

"His eternal life is not paradise, but torment."

The Zealots don't back down, and when Kaecilius mutters a soft "Liar," another battle breaks out, this time leaving some permanent damage.

Caitlyn shakes her head, watching with confidence as the bald-headed woman skillfully fends off the two individuals followed by Kaecilius, but it isn't until the girl sees a familiar piece of the metal slide onto the man's fingers that she registers in𑁋that he now has the upper hand.

And it's heartbreaking.

Kaecilius creates another spear, and that particular weapon of choice goes straight through the Zealot his former teacher holds hostage, but additionally through her as well.

Stephen and Mordo make expressions of utter shock, horror, and the fourteen-year-old in between them simply downcasts𑁋knowing that this certainly isn't going to end well.

She is kicked through a portal leading back into New York, and the three follow after her𑁋eventually running over to her limp body that has since gone through a glass ceiling and onto a sidewalk no longer in the Mirror Dimension.

Stephen goes to check her vitals, and when they evidently don't perceive to be good ... he and his niece set off. Back to the Metro General Hospital.

And back to𑁋

"Christine!"

✧✧✧

Even after all the exposure to the potential threats, mystical ones to be specific𑁋after the toughening and roughening of the heart carried by one Caitlyn Elizabeth Strange ...

Her number one fear𑁋she guesses besides showing emotion, which was what this vicinity could provoke𑁋comes back to haunt her for the second time today.

And it's not a person or a thing, it's a place. 

And it was where her uncle used to work as a neurosurgeon, a hospital.

Situating herself into a plastic chair within the rather cold and commotion-like atmosphere, the flashbacks are instant to Caitlyn, and it's relentless ...

Being brought to this very building following the fatal car accident that ended both her parents' lives, her seven-year-old self screaming and kicking in a profuse struggle𑁋desperately not wanting to be held or touched by any of the medical staff, especially in a moment so vulnerable ... and then there was the accident just last year.

Sinking herself down into a similar uncomfortable chair within the hospital, and waiting, for hours ... just to find out if her Uncle Stephen was going to die the same way Paige and Ethan Strange did, but he did not.

So to put it lightly, the blonde teenager doesn't feel comfortable in the current environment, but all of that obviously bleeds into the back of her mind when the more important matter dangles right in front of her ruthlessly𑁋and it was the predicaments of The Ancient One ... the woman who accepted𑁋eventually𑁋the uncle and niece into Kamar-Taj, helped them overcome themselves, and like Stephen said earlier, "tap into powers they never even knew existed."

But she had been stabbed, through another Zealot by the corrupt and merciless Kaecilius𑁋who needed to be stopped ... but surely, his power drawn from the dark presence of Dormammu Caitlyn knew was unmatchable to anyone except for Ancient One𑁋who has centuries of experience.

And also, has a great chance of being on the brink of not surviving...

The blonde sucks in a breath, inhaling and exhaling deeply while leaning back into the hospital chair she sits in𑁋pale blue eyes reopening as they stare aimlessly at the ceiling.

She thinks she's waiting out here alone, just like the other times, this one being that Mordo had returned to the Sanctum, and Stephen had pulled on a pair of medical gloves and joined Doctor Palmer's team. 

Caitlyn believes she's gonna sit in a swirl of her own thoughts alone, but she doesn't𑁋because another teenager appears to be next to her.

The long black hair of the other individual is as shiny as always, laying at her sides, and the female folds her hands together𑁋emitting a shaky breath.

"Is she gonna make it?"

The curly-headed girl doesn't look at Bexley Nightingale𑁋instead now absentmindedly gazing across at the wall𑁋but she shrugs, answering apathetically but with much honesty, "I don't know."

There is silence for a few moments, the two registering in what was actually happening𑁋it being semi-more difficult due to the fact that in all this, they were the kids. The teens of the mystic arts, and while that came with its benefits, there were hardships𑁋ones of being heavily affected by the rigorous responsibilities coming with being a sorcerer ... especially at an age as young as theirs.

But the fifteen-year-old who was originally instructed to, "stay put" by Wong following the wreaking havoc done at Kamar-Taj, by Kaecilius, had traveled to the great New York City by conjuring a portal of her own𑁋and upon hearing from Mordo of the most recent accident, she couldn't have moved faster in those moments.

To reach the destination of the Ancient One, her teacher𑁋her supporter. Someone who had dedicated her elongated life to helping others, learning them.

She was extremely impactful to many, but especially Bexley ... which is why the girl's curiosity got the best of her, so she knew.

"She went against Kaecilius ..." Caitlyn nods at the black-haired female's retelling of what she had heard, but her gaze finally breaks from the boring-looking wall when Bexley says with unusual bluntness, "And drew power from a place that's forbidden."

The younger Strange sharpens a brow, asking with a bit of astonishment, "You knew?"

"I have this habit of ..." the teenager glances down at her lap, lips biting up into a smile that doesn't last long𑁋and she speaks lightly, "of being really observational sometimes ... so it wasn't that hard to figure out."

Caitlyn huffs a laugh, jaw coming forward as a bit of uneasiness regarding the trust in The Ancient One presents itself𑁋and the words next displayed by the youngest Nightingale ultimately diminish those impulsive thoughts when a source of sentiment seeps through.

Bexley swallows thickly, "You know ... she helped me so much."

"When I first began learning from her, I wasn't gifted whatsoever."

The fourteen-year-old next to her adjusts her tightened facial expression at this revelation, and the fifteen-year-old continues, "Sure, I was born into Kamar-Taj, parents are sorcerers𑁋but I wasn't a prodigy."

"Didn't master spells quickly,"

"I wasn't like you."

Caitlyn blinks, noticing the bitten-down lip of her friends, and also witnessing it wobble a few times in a time of silence𑁋and Bexley recomposes herself, explaining further what the kind woman had told her, "But The Ancient One said it didn't matter."

"She said ... that if you really wanted to achieve something of greatness, you needed to care about it. And I did."

"I did ..." the words strike hard into the heart of the blonde teen, chest piling up with pressure and emotion once again, but she holds it back𑁋and in the same way by nature, Bexley does not, finishing, "because she did."

"She cared about me."

The brown-eyed girl stares into the eyes of the blue-eyed one, the both of them intently locking their gazes on each other only for a moment, but that moment is long enough for the girl to get across knowingly, "She cares about everyone. Sees potential, in everyone."

"And that is what makes her so full of wisdom, the ability to read character. Because she's devoted her life to aiding people𑁋helping them."

The wee hours of the morning eventually approach, and at 2:42 A.M. exactly, The Ancient One begins to flatline.

Stephen had made the decision to fly out of his body once more, this time floating past doors and hallways in order to reach the astral form of his teacher who is very close to dying. 

To be met with death.

And yet she seems not so fearful of it.

Through the talk of the many possibilities, regarding the future in capabilities of Doctor Stephen Strange, his acceleration in life as a neurosurgeon being geared towards a phobia of failure, it comes to the attention of the male by the wise female that there was one thing keeping him from all that greatness𑁋and it was the result of the incapability of learning one simple lesson.

The bearded man questions her, "Which is?" only for the Ancient One's gaze through her astral form to drift, and Stephen follows𑁋the two eyeing one blonde and one black-haired teenager currently leaning on each other as they rest, the next generation ... and the woman says simply.

"It's not about you."

"When you and your niece first came to me, you asked me how I was able to heal Jonathon Pangborn. I didn't."

She looks off into the distance where time is relative, watching a lightning strike formulate slowly in the sky𑁋and she reveals, "He channels dimensional energy directly into his own body."

"He uses magic to walk." Stephen speaks in astoundment, and the Ancient One nods, "Constantly."

The bald-headed woman says next, "He had a choice, to return to his old life, or to serve something greater than himself."

"So ..." the man's fingers twitch, "I could have my hands back again? My old life?"

"You could. And the world would be all the lesser for it."

"I've hated drawing power from the Dark Dimension." The Ancient One admits honestly, before taking hold of one of her students' scarred hands, and breathing out with a chuckle, "But as you well know, especially with the upbringing of your troubled niece, sometimes one must break the rules in order to serve the greater good."

Features gaped in solace overcome the face of Stephen Strange upon the mention of Caitlyn, but another etched realization of an individual who possesses traits of stubbornness𑁋causes him to say earnestly, "Mordo won't see it that way."

"Mordo's soul is rigid and unmovable, forged by the fires of his youth ..." The Ancient One tells Stephen with great knowledge, but with that same level of intelligence, she insists, "He needs your flexibility."

She continues with a look of fondness while mentioning, "Bexley's determination."

"And Caitlyn's clarity."

"Only together, do you all stand a chance of stopping Dormammu."

The man expresses his feebleness, "I'm not ready."

"No one ever is." The Ancient One responds smoothly, grip loosening on Stephen's hand, and she bestows more words of constant insight, "We don't ever get to choose our time."

"Death is what gives life meaning." She explains.

 "To know your days are numbered, your time is short."

"You'd think after all this time I'd be ready ... But look at me."

The woman's hand lets go of the man's, engraining her very last words, "Stretching one moment into a thousand, just so I can watch the snow."

...

She's gone.

...

Hot tears slide down a pair of flushed cheeks rapidly, and as one girl shows immense emotion in remorse for the loss𑁋the one who has been through more trauma stays stoic.

Still, as the amount of pain on the inside makes up for the lack of showing on the out, Bexley cries.

And Caitlyn remains seated, feeling the soaking of her blue shirt with the water-works running down her best friend's face but it doesn't faze her𑁋simply allowing the other teenager to keep her head rested on her shoulder within the hospital while they try and grapple, together, the passing of The Ancient One.

The ending of the Sorcerer Supreme, but undoubtedly, the beginning of a new one.

It was then, that the acceptance settled into a wholeheartedly true statement previously said by the bald-headed woman, about life and death. That they're intertwined, provides meaning to one another.

Caitlyn Elizabeth didn't think too much of it at the time, only that she agreed with it. Believed it was true because, beyond doubt, no one ever does get enough time on this Earth ... unless you turned it back.

What Caitlyn would do if she could turn back time ...

Something sudden, she hopes.

✧✧✧

🥺🥺Lowkey sad but meaningful chapter for you all today....It's hard to believe that we are actually reaching the end of this lil season, with 3 chapters left to go with some action and definite heartfelt moments between Caitlyn and Stephen, and Caitlyn and Bexley who is just as sweet as pie....she MUST be protected ☺️❤️❤️❤️

Anyways, as always thanks for stopping by & for your constant support on my stories :)

Comment, Vote, and follow me if you haven't already in order to check out what else I write...as the next chapter I will be posting on another story involves a Civil War..and it's going to get intense.

So that's all for now I guess, yeah, lmk your thoughts on this story (feedback or advice for future plots lol I'm always open to anything) (Hint hint: IW & ENGAME stuff he he) & stay healthy and safe during this time!

(I am fighting off something rn so let's hope I get better fast because my senior year is about to start and I DO NOT wanna be sick I JUST WANNA HAVE MY LIFE BACK AND GO TO SCHOOL WITH MY FRIENDS....you feel?

Hugs, kisses & lovely wishes ❤️❤️

~Alessandra :)