A/N - Whaddup my bros...

Never again. Anyways. A new chappy-chap-chap for y'all. I worry about this one sounding a lil same-y but I believe it serves an important role in the story and had multiple purposes so if it does sound a lil same-y, my apologies!

Also sad boi BC, enjoy 😂😭

I hope you enjoy anyways ❤

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"Wong, what the hell's an Entity?" Stephen asked when his friend had come to.

"Did you not read about them in the books I gave you?"

Stephen shook his head, knowing he would have recalled it if he did. Wong sighed, assuming he had missed out a book before glancing at Tessa who was resting on the low healing room bed. The librarian looked back at Stephen before casting an illusion to assist him with his explanation. Before them appeared several sun-like pulsating orbs, all of various colours and sizes.

"Every Entity is a separate existence, each nothing like the other. Brought about by mere thoughts of anger, sadness, joy, fear etc or simple actions following a strong emotion, Entities multiply like rabbits. Everything all beings in all dimensions do can guarantee the arbitrary creation of an Entity, somewhere within the multiverse. There are good and bad Entities, the former only recently discovered, all decided by which emotion or action they were born of. Good Entities you don't hear about, can you guess why?"

"They're...good?"

"Exactly. They cause no harm but are mere observers of the multiverse. However, bad Entities," Wong threw a cautious look back to Tessa before looking at the illusion he had created, "Bad entities bring chaos, death and destruction to all who are unfortunate enough to cross its path. Earth has had its fair few encounters with these cosmic beings, but we have been able to ward them off successfully in the past though...not all the time."

"Right, so what's different this time?"

"In no recorded history has an Entity ever bonded with another being."

"Ah..."

"Stephen?"

"Yeah?"

Wong stepped over to the sorcerer and lowered his voice, "I worry about the impacts this bond could have on Tessa. It might have resided in her for over two decades but the Entity within her is not good – if it were, it would have never brought Tessa or us harm in the first place. Once others find out about this, they will see her as a danger and that's if they don't already."

"Wong, the things Tessa said to prevent the Entity from killing me – "

"It is a dangerous being, Stephen. It could be lying."

While turned away from the bed, the two had failed to notice that Tessa had awoken, only, when she heard them speaking about the Entity, she couldn't prevent it from taking over.

Entity, what are you doing?

It just wanted to reinforce the fact that it wouldn't be going anywhere, anytime soon. No harm would be brought to anyone, it reassured her. Silently, the Entity stood and approached the men from behind, catching on to the last word of their hushed conversation.

"Please Wong, don't say it."

"You need to separate its bond from Tessa."

"I told you before, you will not be separating us." Came the Entity's voice.

Both were startled by the sudden presence behind them, both jumping forwards and whipping around, Tao Mandalas summoned in preparation and everything. A creepy chuckle left their lips at this display, its beady black eyes staring into their souls as it folded its arms, proving it meant no harm to them this time.

"Dismiss the mandalas, my fight with you is over...for now."

Its whispery voice sent shivers down their spines, but they both obeyed, both fearing the consequences if they didn't. Who wouldn't fear a thing with chilling black eyes?

"You cannot separate us." It looked between the two as it spoke, "It will either kill us both or it will kill me and drain Tessa to the point of death anyway. Two decades is long enough to root our mystical bodies to each other, but really we were inseparable by the fifth year."

"What's your plan?" Stephen asked, curious.

"I have no plan. I cannot leave. The only thing I can do is protect Tessa...what happened to the Ancient One?"

Both sorcerers were caught off guard by its question.

Wong answered, "She died at the beginning of this year."

"We know that. We wish to know what happened...how?"

The Entity shut its eyes and it cricked its neck. The veins on Tessa's face seemed to have black blood recede through them. When the Entity switched with her the first time, it felt like fire was burning every inch of her body, even her eyes. Now, it was uncomfortable but swift. When she opened her eyes again, those glass-green orbs looked at them both and she dropped her arms by her sides.

Stephen had watched this transition fascinated. Wong had watched it and was perturbed.

"The Entity is lonely. I keep seeing glimpses of memories when I'm asleep, not just mine." She smiled softly, reminiscing, "The Ancient One was a mother to me when my own mother wasn't present – still isn't present. She trained me, raised me as much as she could herself and I honestly always preferred her over my – over Master Kent. And when I would sleep, she and the Entity would speak. The Entity doesn't have that anymore - we don't have that anymore. We're just looking for a bit of closure."

"The Ancient One knew?" Wong questioned.

Tessa nodded, "It's come to my understanding that she repressed the Entity in my mind while she was still here, acknowledging that, as a child, I wouldn't be strong enough to allow it to coexist with my own consciousness. We met frequently in the year and eight months without a conversation is...well, you can imagine it gives you a bit of cabin fever. What happened in the training rooms was the Entity attempting to break our own bonds having not been given...a little run around, we'll call it. It was stressed and scared and still trying to understand the situation itself. We both knew the Ancient One was gone and the Entity assumed it could just be quiet, but I don't know any person who could do that without going a little bit mad."

"Tessa, you have to understand that what is inside of you is not a person." Wong spoke quietly.

He does not trust us.

"Yeah, okay Tee, you did give Wong concussion. I wouldn't blame him."

Tee?

"Shorter than Entity, less syllables, easier to say, kind of a cute nickname."

I brought misery to countless civilisations and now you call me...cute?

Tessa chuckled softly, looking up at the two men, forgetting they couldn't hear what it was saying.

"You can talk with it?" Stephen was intrigued.

"Mm hm. I'm pretty sure you worked that out during the fight when Tee spoke to and could clearly hear me."

"Yes. I just didn't realise it worked both ways. When did you start speaking with it? Have you heard it before that?"

Tessa gave Stephen a bit of a nervous smile, "So...I first heard it the night before the training room incident and I may...have started conversing with Tee the first time I was in healing room and you spoke to me. Hence the kind of, no pun intended, Jekyll and Hyde situation. I should have told you, I'm sorry, I was still processing it at the time."

Wong shook his head, "That kind of reckless behaviour could have gotten us all killed, Tessa. What if you couldn't communicate with it? What if you couldn't persuade it?"

"Wong – "

"No, it's okay, Stephen." She met his gaze and offered him a small smile before addressing the other, "Wong, my Entity is all about self-preservation and change. You're right, it was bad, it was dangerous before, but it actively came to Earth wanting to change. It was sick and tired of bringing fear to all and yeah, why not just be an observer like good Entities then? It didn't want that. It wanted to learn love, not hate and it was lonely, and it wanted to be accepted. My Entity attacked you because...I didn't want to talk because beforehand. When we found Elijah's body and Master Kent came to me, the Entity called him a 'murderer'. I was in a state of shock and yes, I was troubled and it could sense my irritation of you asking questions and it could sense you knew something more was going on so I tried to remove myself for the benefit of us all but after that last question, the Entity felt I was upset, I could feel how fearful the Entity was and so it attacked because it was afraid that, if it didn't, you all may very well have worked out what was going on and would have tried to attack it first which would result in...our death. Wong, I know you're afraid, but you need to give my Entity a chance."

Should I say something more?

Tessa turned her head away so they knew she wasn't talking to them, "You could, if you wanted."

Rather than withdraw, Tessa shut her eyes and the black veins appeared again, heading straight for her eyes. Opening them, the two sorcerers stared back into the two shadowy pools.

"I am...sorry. She is right. I fear death without...having changed. I am...afraid."

Wong looked at Stephen and shook his head. The librarian couldn't forget the past and still remained wary of the creature. Stephen looked at Wong with a conflicted look. He wanted to spare life where and when he could, and he had the opportunity to do so. What if he was called out again for lacking a spine? He didn't care. He was keeping to his word.

Strange looked back at the Entity, compassion in his eyes, "I'm willing to give you a chance."

"Stephen!" Wong scolded.

"Your librarian clearly is not."

It takes time to build trust. You have to be willing to give Wong a chance to build trust in you.

"I do not...like it."

Not everyone will like you. That's just a fact. But you have to give him and anyone else who is wary of you, a chance.

"It is better to be feared than loved if one cannot be both. Safer."

"But you wanted to learn love, didn't you?" Stephen jumped into the conversation now, despite not being able to hear what Tessa was saying, "That takes time and trust. To be accepted takes time and trust. Entity, what you want isn't going to happen overnight – two decades hidden should have taught you that already. You may be afraid of the change because of how...vulnerable you may feel but you have to put in the time and effort if you do want to improve yourself."

Listen to him. He's right.

"I will not be safe. I am afraid I will...make grave mistakes, that I may attack those that are hostile towards me."

I'll protect you.

"We'll prevent that from happening." Stephen said confidently, "No one really knows yet. We can keep it from them until then."

"Stephen, this is something everybody should be made aware of." Wong reasoned, "For their own safety too."

"And what about the safety of a unique Entity? The only one of its kind to have done this as far as we know, Wong, we have to help it."

"If I cannot help you see that this is in no way, shape or form okay then I want no part in it."

"Wong."

"No, Stephen. This will be on you and on Tessa." Wong looked at the Entity briefly before approaching the door, "And secrets come out eventually so just make sure you tell everyone at the right time."

And with that the librarian left. Stephen was at a loss for words at the loss of his friend in this situation. The Entity let Tessa regain control of her body and she shared a worried look with Stephen.

"Thank you. But what do we do now?" She paused, remembering and suddenly looking around the room, "Wait, where's Master Kent?"

Good first question, he thought...great second question too – both of which he didn't have an ideal answer for, the second of which he was worried to give the answer that he did have. He approached her, a solemn look on his face.

"Master Kent...left."

"When? Where to?"

"After you had made the shadow cage dissipate, I presume, but I don't know where."

He saw the anger flash in her eyes and for a moment, almost thought he saw black specks among her bright green irises as this expression crossed her face. She turned away from him, scoffing at the thought that Marcus thought he could get away without consequence.

He will turn up, do not worry, child.

"He can't get away with this."

"He won't. We'll find him."

"I knew there was a reason why he always felt off, why he always tried so hard, I just never thought it would be because he was responsible for tearing my family apart." She swallowed, "The Entity hid the memory from me for so long, knowing it was for the best but as we were fighting...it was like I saw door and I opened it and it all came flooding back..."

Stephen listened, silent, letting her process her own thoughts.

Tessa turned, her eyes shiny, "Can I show you what happened?"

"I heard...when you spoke with him."

"No. I want to show you. I want you to know what kind of a monster he is. So that...if and when he comes back or if we find him, I know you'll do something about it...before I will. I said to you that I wanted to do it, I meant that. I want him dead but that is precisely why I cannot be the only one that knows the truth of it. You have a wish to preserve life, normally I would too, but I can't forgive or forget this." Tessa spoke honestly, "So will you let me show you?"

Stephen nodded, appreciating her honesty and admiring the fact that, despite her own anger and upset, she still wanted to try and do the right thing. She gave a single nod in reply before heading to the door and beckoning him to follow.

******

Tessa brought Stephen to the relic room in the New York Sanctum and when she found the spot she was looking for - a pool of darkened wood on the floor by an odd chalice like relic - she stopped. Crouching down, she gingerly placed her hand on the stained wood and shut her eyes for a moment, remembering, respecting.

"When I was old enough to know, they lied and told me that my father had attempted to fight off a being, but was pushed and hit his head off this relic case," She stood and turned to face the sorcerer, "The blood stain just doesn't quite make sense with the injury though, does it? Of course, I was too naïve to question it."

The sorceress hurriedly moved away, leaving Stephen to stare at the spot analytically before he turned to see her by the Window of the Worlds. She stared out at New York standing tall and proud in the daylight, envying the people that walked below on the sidewalk without a care in the world as heavy as the toll of being a Master of the Mystic Arts. Tessa turned to look at Stephen again.

"Whenever I was upset, or I couldn't sleep, my father would bring me to the window, and we would just sit together quietly and watch the world go by. Sometimes he would tell me stories, illustrating them with magic or he would tell me about the Seal of Vishanti and would ramble about how much he loved the pattern." Tessa shook her head, a sad smile upon her lips and waved her hand up to the window, bringing a sombre shadow to block out the light and bring darkness to the room.

As the lights in the room flickered on, Tessa approached Stephen again and beckoned him to follow, bringing him to the door. The Entity took over her and looked at the sorcerer beside it.

"I arrived at night." An illusion was cast to play out the scene before them and a bright white orb floated in front of them, "I sought the Ancient One but did not know where to find her and came across Master Hyde instead."

In front of the orb appeared a vision of Jackson Hyde, holding his plain, non-magical staff.

"He told me to stop and asked who I was and why I was there. I only answered his second question, afraid he would judge me. But I knew I had to be honest if I wished to meet with her. So, I told him and prepared for his judgement. He stepped away from me but barely said anything before Master Kent came in."

Master Kent opened the doors wildly in the vision and stormed over to Master Hyde.

"Master Hyde told him not to have the conversation with him then but later. And then Master Kent saw me, and I saw a cunning glint in his eyes before he continued their argument. He asked why Master Hyde would send his wife away. Her father looked at me and gave me a look no other gave me before – one of trust. He trusted that I would remain still and unviolent. And I did. Despite his second effort to diffuse the situation, Master Kent irritated him when he said that his wife would be safe with him and not her husband. Then a fight broke out between them, a shouting match to begin with, then pushing and shoving."

The Entity took a gentle hold of Stephen's hand as they watched the scene before him.

"Can you feel it?"

Stephen had an odd sense of fear and distress wash over him and he looked at their hands, a light string of shadow wrapping around them. He looked up at the Entity curiously pained by the feel of its humanity and then looked back at the scene.

"I was so afraid. Afraid of doing the wrong thing so I never intervened. Master Kent became violent. Master Hyde begged him to stop, pleaded, cried even, but even after shouting this twelve times, Master Kent never refrained."

They watched the scene play out as Marcus formed a space shard and plunged it down into Jackson's chest. A tear fell from the Entity's eye – or Tessa's – Stephen couldn't be sure but even his eyes were tearing up at the scene. The Entity gave up its control to Tessa whose lip began to quiver as she took a breath.

"And that's – " Her voice broke, "That's when I walked in. Six years old and asking for my dad because I was struggling to sleep...when I saw him on the floor and that hint of red pooling out under him..." She sniffled, "I cried. Why wouldn't I? And that bastard still had the guts to try and blame his actions on someone else."

They watched Marcus attempt to attack the Entity and watched as the orbs rays of light seemed to reach down to the child as the Entity took over.

"She cried and so I stopped her crying. I made her forget what she saw because I wanted to console her."

The scene froze after six-year-old Tessa had appeared to absorb the Entity: a panic-stricken Marcus looked over at the unconscious Tessa while the body of Master Hyde remained on the floor by the relic. More tears rolled down her cheeks, two long, wet lines of grief. She let go of his hand and left Stephen by the door, approaching the illusion of her father on the floor, looking down at him sorrowfully. Catching a glimpse of his staff, she picked up the ghostly vision, showing it to the sorcerer who looked on at the scene and at Tessa woefully.

"He never attacked him once. Never. Only begged for him to stop. He used none of his magic and his staff...was just a regular staff. He had relic, he never used it. My father did nothing wrong and tried to do everything right to prevent it because he was about peace, but he," She approached the illusion of Marcus from behind, "He didn't care, he didn't listen, and he took my father from me anyway."

She brutally forced the illusion of the staff in her hands through the illusion of Marcus's torso, causing him to fade from the illusion. Dismissing the whole scene, she watched the staff in her hands fade like breath on glass, letting her arms fall hopelessly to her sides.

Stephen approached her slowly, standing in front of her speechlessly but compassion echoed in those dull green eyes of his.

"He didn't deserve this." Tessa finally broke her composure and sobbed, looking at the floor, "My father should still be here today."

Wordlessly, he listened to her cry and gently, hesitantly drew her close, sensing that one would probably welcome an embrace in this situation. Stephen didn't tend to hug, it wasn't really him, but this was needed. The top of her head rested in the centre of his chest as she still kept her head facing the floor. His trembling hands softly rested on the back of her neck and her upper arm, his own head lightly resting on hers.

"We'll find him, Tess, we'll find him, and there will be consequences."

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A/N - What do we think about our special Tee (Entity)?

Do we agree with Wong or do we agree with Stephen?

And what would you do to Master Marky-Moo Kent if you found him? Kill him and avenge the deaths of those he killed or try to be better than him and show him mercy in some way?

Also yay hugs! Sad times but yay hugs! 😄