Gasps sounded from all the novices, apprentices and disciples that were nearby at the time. Stephen, who was breathing heavily at the sight before him, fearfully looked around, knowing that all the apprehensive and threatening glances from the other students and residents couldn't mean anything good for himself or for Tessa or for the Entity.

The Entity had reacted quickly. Without thinking.

Thank you. Thank you...

But it stood before Stephen, holding up a shadow mandala in front of it, the arrow that had soared through the air wedged into the darkness of its protection. Dismissing its shield, the arrow fell and clattered upon the ground. It stared up at the roof top, right at Marcus, not caring for the many stares of everyone else upon it. The Entity tilted its head as Marcus stared back at them, clearly furious but there was something else about him – his eyes. The Master's irises were of a crimson so striking that it could see it from where it stood.

"Entity, give Tessa back control." Stephen spoke in a hushed voice to it, conscious of the people that began to gather around them closer and closer, "You might want to do so now."

"It is Marcus." The Entity turned to face him, "We cannot let him get away."

"Don't." Stephen said sternly, "Do not go after him."

"He tried to kill you. We will not let him go." It turned and levitated off the ground, heading straight for the rooftop.

"Entity!" Stephen yelled after them, "Tessa!"

A student in a white uniform spoke up, "What did you call her?"

The sorcerer looked at the crowd that had gathered around him, all their eyes either accusing him of deception or laced with intrigue. He looked around them all, trying to read the general atmosphere and trying to decide how best to handle them and their questions.

"Did you call them an Entity?" An apprentice questioned.

"Entities don't look like us though, do they?"

"They might do," Another spoke up, "How are we to know when we only know so little?"

"You know what they do though, right?" Came a nervous question and then a statement, "They've attacked our sanctums before. One of them killed my father."

"They killed my wife."

"My little twins died in one of their attacks."

"Do they all mean harm though?"

"I still don't understand why you called Tessa an Entity. Are you keeping something from us, Master Strange?"

Stephen's head darted around as more of them spoke up in either protest or curiosity, looking at each of the faces that spoke with a pale worry in his own face. This was too much to deal with in one go and he needed to find Tessa and the Entity. He summoned his cloak that came racing from within the dormitories and outside to meet him, slipping past the crowd and hanging itself on his shoulders.

"Quiet! All of you!" He commanded, "I will explain but right now I have to help Tessa."

"You'll both explain when you come back though, promise us?"

Stephen gave an uncertain, "Yes."

He then flew upwards, following them up to the rooftop.

*   *   *   *   *   *

The second the Entity began flying towards the mysteriously red-eyed Marcus, he slung the bow over his shoulder and pelted away, but it wasn't long until the Entity caught up with him but at the last second, changed its plan and dipped off the side of the roof when Marcus hadn't been looking at it. The fugitive master had stopped at the opposite end of the roof, throwing a look behind him to see where the Entity was but it transpired that it wasn't floating behind him. Instead, it gradually hovered upwards in front of the ledge that he was preparing to leap off. He stumbled back when he turned to be faced with the creature that inhabited his niece. Gently, the Entity lowered itself onto the rooftop, watching as Marcus backed away.

"Who are you?"

"You know." Its voice was low, rough, distorted.

"No. I do not. You are not Master Kent though, are you?"

"No. But you do know."

Tilting its head, it frowned at Marcus. The Master watched them carefully, a wicked smirk on his face. He gave a low chuckle.

"Do you not remember? Our little run-in all those years ago? She was smaller then."

It dawned on the Entity then – the one who had been imprisoned was now stood before it, inhabiting Marcus' mind and body.

"How did you escape your prison?"

"My host broke it. Thought he was clever. Thought he could rid the universe of my existence with a mere trinket." It gave a cruel laugh, "The poor fool did not know how to use it and so I made use of the opportunity presented as I saw you had done all those years ago." Its shoulders cracked and clicked as its body convulsed, the red in its irises fading briefly to reveal Marcus's agonising stare as he gave a shout.

Marcus can't take it, can he?

"Tessa – ah!" Its bones cricked and cracked again and it grinned, chuckling as it squeezed its eyes shut, opening them to reveal that the whole of his eyes now looked as though it had been flooded with blood. It held out its hand shakily, "This body – this body is a weakening vessel, I can feel it dying. Let me join you, brother, and think of the power, of the discord and chaos we could cause on this pathetic little planet. Think of how much blood we could delight in spilling."

It said he's dying...can we...help him?

If they could, the Entity didn't know how. Marcus had dug his own grave; there was nothing they could do now other than try to stop this wicked Entity from hurting others.

"I told you before – you are no brother of mine."

The Entity that inhabited Marcus was taken aback by this second rejection. Why would its fellow being be so unkind? Didn't they know it was nice to share? If they didn't, then it would teach them how, albeit by force, because it liked the feeling of this enhanced power, it liked the feeling of a body but this one was quickly becoming useless. It needed someone stronger – it needed – it wanted – Tessa.

Tilting its head, it began to sing, "Come, little child, come to me..." Its voice was still low, but less distorted now, more so hypnotic, and still it reached out its hand to Tessa and her Entity, "Dream of a dream, and imagine what we could be..."

I – I don't like it. I know that song – I remember it. It's the song it used to call me all those years ago...

"Lullabies do not work on this child anymore."

But still it sang its eerie song, stepping a little closer now, "Come, little child, come to me, I'll sing you a song, and I'll sing you to sleep..."

Let me...talk to it.

"Tessa, that is what they want, and I cannot - " The Entity gasped as Tessa took back control.

Those red eyes appeared to light up when he saw her green eyes again, knowing it had succeeded in calling out the host. She stepped forward, slowly, lulled into an odd sense of calm that she couldn't seem to escape but equally didn't want to. As she neared that evil Entity, she started to reach out her hand too.

Tessa, do not listen to it!

And just as she was about to touch its hand, a golden whip snatched its arm away and it stopped its song. Tessa stopped too, still in a foggy state of mind but not as determined to lead as before. Without shutting her eyes this time, the black seemed to fill up her eyes like smoke rising into the air. It set its eyes on Stephen who flew above the roof, still struggling with the evil Entity.

"Stand down, Marcus!" Stephen yelled at him, "Stop fighting and we can sort this peacefully!"

"That is not Marcus!" The Entity yelled at the sorcerer, "Look at his eyes – that is another Entity!"

Strange peered down at Master Kent who growled like a feral animal in the binds of the whip and saw the bloody glance. It looked between the Entity and not-Marcus, trying to draw some connection, trying to think of a thought but he was just stunned.

"Marcus is dying, it is killing him – and that is if he is not already dead." The Entity raced forwards, conjuring a space shard ready to pierce the body in the hopes that it would stop the other Entity.

But while Stephen was in his state of disbelief and uncertainty, the evil Entity took its chance to pull on the whip, pulling the sorcerer roughly back down onto the roof. Stephen grunted as he made contact with the smooth stone, but the cloak quickly had him back up on his feet. The possessed Marcus dodged the Entity's attack, forming a shard of its own after it had leapt away and threw it at her. Luckily, it was only a close call as the shard sailed on past her. Marcus's Entity looked down at his hands, apparently confused by how off its aim had been.

"It appears I am not yet used to these hands..."

Stephen conjured another whip, lashing out at Marcus's body, attempting to bind it again. The golden rope twisted itself around its arm again, but the red-eyed Entity chuckled. The sorcerer frowned as he struggled with it – what was the cause of its laughter? He soon found out as it roughly pulled its arm to the side, sending Stephen towards Tessa's Entity. Casting a shadowy shield, it caught Stephen before it leapt up over it, conjuring two of its own whips to try and restrain it. Again, the black binds grabbed its wrists and it wrestled against its fellow Entity, straining and snarling the whole time as though it were rabid. Jolting its one arm towards its back, it pulled Tee towards it, butting its head into hers as she came forward. Tee groaned as they fell back onto the concrete roof.

"If you won't willingly accept me, I'll make you, I'll weave my way in to her mind." Came its growl as it formed a space shard, ready to pierce her chest.

"Tess!"

The Cloak shot forwards at Stephen's cry, preventing the evil Entity from injuring her at all. The sorcerer darted forward, grabbing Tessa/Tee and helped them up, getting them away from the other Entity that continued to struggle with the Cloak of Levitation.

"Any ideas as to what we do?" Stephen questioned as he held them up.

The Entity shook its head but stopped, "This Entity was originally imprisoned in a statue that Marcus broke. It mentioned Marcus tried to catch it or destroy it using a 'trinket'. Perhaps there is another ancient artefact that can be used to capture and contain it?"

"Okay, great idea. The problem is having time to go and find said artefact."

"I know what I said earlier but...we have to let it escape."

"That's less great."

"It is our only choice if we wish to do this right. It is weakening. If it wishes to remain hidden in plain sight, then it will wish to keep its current vessel in some relatively good condition."

"Marcus is still a human, you can't – "

"No." The Entity looked at Stephen, "If you value the lives of the millions on this planet then understand that there is no chance of getting Marcus back. He is already dead. He is gone. What inhabits that shell now is a monster that has no value for life, only chaos and death. You need to accept that."

Is there really no chance though?

"I thought you wanted him dead anyway?" The Entity mumbled.

Yes...but I'm not sure if I meant like this...

The Entity had no response for her but looked back at Stephen, "Do you understand? If you wish to save people, then we must either capture and contain it or find a way to end it quick. But first we must let it go so that we have the time to search." It removed its arm from around Stephen's neck and formed a shard, "We must wound it first though, ensure that it will only be recovering and not causing harm elsewhere."

Stephen was conflicted. He tried to value all life but knew the Entity knew more about its own kind than he did. As for Tessa, she was frustrated that Marcus had been taken before she had gotten the chance to confront him again. It wasn't fair that he got out of his punishment from herself and from the Masters. It wasn't fair that her family had suffered and now she could not avenge her parents either. But would her parents have actually wanted her to do that?

The Entity threw its shard at Marcus's leg as he flailed and fought with the magical material and let out a roar of pain as it was pierced. The material slid away from it, rushing back to Stephen's shoulders. Marcus's body clutched at its bleeding thigh, looking up at the sorcerer and sorceress that stood before it, the skin around its ruby eyes crinkling harshly as its brow hooded over, scowling at them.

"It will die – "

"It will not." The Entity interrupted the sorcerer, "The body is weakening but like myself and Tessa, that Entity will have given it some strength," It paused, "At least I presume so..."

Stephen and the Entity waited, ready to fight again if it decided to attack but thankfully it didn't. Using Marcus's sling ring, it formed a portal and stumbled through it. Stephen chased after it, but the fiery circle dissipated, and he huffed.

"How are we supposed to find it now?" Stephen questioned as he spun to face Tee again.

The Entity scoffed as it approached him, "You are a sorcerer, are you not?"

He frowned. The Entity raised its hand, presenting a strand of Marcus's golden hair.

"There are things such as locator spells, sorcerer. I thought you would have come across them by now?"

"I haven't lost anyone I've needed to locate until now."

"A suitable excuse."

While Tee tried to make a little light of the situation, it was deeply perturbed by the return of the once imprisoned Entity. It felt somewhat responsible for the being's exploration of another vessel as it had acknowledged that, after seeing itself and Tessa, it had wished to bond also with another. That said, it had wished to bond with itself and Tessa mainly and it could not accept that. It was too dangerous. Tee refused to put Tessa in harm's way and wished to keep to its promise to protect her no matter what. 

It paused as it processed the events prior to meeting with Marcus's Entity.

"The other students...they saw..."

Stephen nodded, "We have to explain to them now. We can't keep it from them any longer."

I'm sorry. I'll defend you, so will Stephen. You saved him after all.

"I merely hope they can see through thepreconceptions they have of beings such as myself."