"Try to channel your magic through the Amulet," Strange suggested. 

Riley clenched her fist around the warm metal of her Relic, "What do you think I've been trying to do?"

Strange gave a half smile, "Waste my time?"

Riley rolled her eyes in reply, taking a deep breath before trying again. Nothing. Her magic stretched forward, touched the Amulet, and stopped. Strange watched her as she tried, her face set in determination. 

"Try to draw from the Amulet," he said thoughtfully. 

Riley changed directions. Instead of trying to push her magic into the Amulet, she tried to draw from it. A warm feeling spread through her, filling her up with the sensation that nothing could stop her. Her magic seeped through her fingertips, lighting a flame in the palm of her hand. 

She opened her eyes, looking at the small, blue flame that flickered in her palm. Strange walked closer to her, peering down at the small speck of magic. A pain flashed through Riley's head, and she clenched her fists. The flame extinguished, leaving her feeling weirdly empty. 

Strange looked into her dark brown eyes, "What happened?" 

"My head, that's what," she snapped, "You promised me you'd find an answer to this! How do you expect me to figure out what to do with the Amulet when I can't even think straight?"

Strange stepped back away from her, his scarred hand reaching up and grasping the Eye, "I have the answer, right here."

Riley looked at the Eye skeptically, "That?"

Strange didn't reply, instead, he formed a complicated shape with his hands. His forefinger and thumb forming a sort of parody of the Eye's shape. He drew his hands to the side, and the middle of the Eye opened. 

A green light shone from within it, bathing Riley in its ghostly hue. Strange held out his  left hand, and immediately a circle of green magic wound its way up his arm. He pointed the circle floating in front of his hand towards Riley. He walked around her, putting the green circle of magic over the exact spot her tumor was. He turned his right hand counter-clockwise. 

Riley gasped in pain, she could feel her brain shifting. It felt wrong, but it also gave her some margin of relief. She collapsed onto her knees, shaking from the pain. Strange kept the circle of green magic over the right side of her head, continuing to draw time itself backwards. 

It was done. Strange closed the Eye, and the green magic dissipated into thin air. Riley laid down on the bamboo mat flooring of the training area. She shook, left-over tears escaping her eyes. For once, she felt... Normal. No constant headache, for one thing. It felt wonderful. 

"How is it?" Strange asked. 

Riley slowly got up, taking the hand Strange offered her. She leaned against him heavily, her legs feeling weak. 

"Maybe we should take a break," he said worriedly. 

Riley pushed away from him, "No, I feel fine."

Strange watched her for a beat as she summoned another blue flame in her palm. 

"Are you sure?" he asked again.

The flame in her hand grew, tripling in size and turning an even deeper blue. 

"I said I'm fine!" she snapped. 

The blaze in her hand caught her attention. She shook her hand, effectively extinguishing the flame. 

"Why'd it do that?" she asked quietly. 

Strange was quiet for a minute, "I think it's connected to your emotions."

Riley looked up from her hands, turning her attention to Strange. The momentary distraction of her powers gone. The weight of what he had just done for her hit her hard. She was healed, safe, cured, in remission. Call it what you will, he had just given her a miracle. 

"Thank you," she whispered. Her voice was so heartfelt and full of emotions. "You healed me." Riley moved forward and wrapped Strange in a tight hug. He moved to hug her back, feeling her body tremble with emotions. Tears leaked out from under her lashes, and stained his shirt. 

Around them, it began to rain. Strange and Riley both stepped back from each other at the same time. Looking up in wonder at the rain that fell around them, on a sunny day, inside the house. Riley laughed, holding her hands out to feel the miracle rain that fell. 

Strange blinked as the raindrops hit his face. "This is getting a little out of hand, Riley."

Riley frowned, "I'm not doing this... Am I?"

Without answering, Strange nodded towards her Amulet, which glowed painfully bright. 

"Oh," was the only thing she said. She threw her hands up to the ceiling, and the rain stopped, just like that. 

They were both silent for a long time. "We've got to work on controlling that," Strange muttered. 

<>

"The Mirror Realm?" 

"You need a safe space to practice your more, destructive abilities," Strange explained, "Nothing that happens here affects the real world. You have your sling ring?"

Riley held up her hand, showing him the intricately carved ring on her finger. 

"Good," he replied, "You don't ever want to be stuck in there without it."

He threw his arms out wide, his cape spreading out dramatically behind him. In front of the two of them, a wall of reflective shards danced. Strange walked through them without hesitation. Riley held out her hand, the glass looking wall bent around her, leaving nothing but a fleeting chill on her hands. 

She walked through it, stepping out into a room that was the same but, well, mirrored. Strange was waiting for her, a glowing shield in hand. Riley closed her eyes, summoning a blue flame in her palm. She waited. 

Strange gave her a cocky grin, "Do your worst." 

The flame in Riley's hand grew to a blaze, and she threw a ball of flame at him. He blocked it, barely even flinching. She drew back, again hitting him with another ball of flame. He sidestepped it, this time lashing out with his own spear of gold magic. 

A wall of blue fire engulfed the arrow, melting the magic into a golden puddle on the floor. Strange's eyes widened as he summoned two matching, smaller shields on both hands. He launched forward, swinging the sharp edge of magic towards Riley. 

Her own shield appeared, blocking his attack. Sparks flew around them as they fought, both seeming almost equally matched. She gained the upper hand, slicing forward with the sharp edge of her golden shield and grazing Strange across the cheekbone. 

Blood welled across the cut, a line of blood dripping down his cheek. Riley let herself have a moment of victory, grinning. 

But Strange still had a trick up his sleeve. 

He waved his arms in a clockwise movement, and the world listed to the right. Riley's eyes widened as the ground shifted from under her feet. She fell down, hitting what used to be the wall, which she realized was the ground now. 

Strange did it again, moving the room back and forth as he floated in the middle of the chaos. Riley's temper burned, then finally snapped as she hit her head on the corner of the fireplace. 

"Enough!" she roared. The room shook with her scream. It literally shook, the walls trembling and rattling. A piece of plaster on the ceiling fell as a spider's web of cracks shot through the walls.

Strange dropped to the ground, running to her as the walls began to crumble. He took her arms into his hands and shook her, snapping her out of her daze. 

"Riley! Stop!"  

She took a deep breath, steadying herself. The room gradually stopped shaking. Riley looked around at the damage she had caused around her. Strange frowned at the ruins of the house around them. 

"Are you done?" he asked. 

Riley gave him a tired smile. "Yeah, pretty sure. Earthquakes, huh? That's new."

"Try not to do that in the real house, alright?" he teased. 

They both paused for a second before breaking into laughter. Her powers were frighteningly strong for her to have such little control over them. They didn't want to think about that though, they wanted to bask in her accomplishment first, and then worry about the consequences. 

Their laughter was cut short as something shook them, all the way in the mirror realm. Strange looked at Riley questioningly. 

"Don't look at me," she defended herself. 

Immediately, Strange made a portal back to their world. They stepped through it, and into a house that was still standing. Another explosion almost knocked them off their feet. Strange took off down the hallway, with Riley close behind. 

They approached the main staircase. Below them, a man in a dark hood stood. The front of the building was gone and smoldering in ruins. Strange jumped off the balcony, his cape fanning behind him and slowing his fall. Riley ran down the half destroyed stairs. 

The man looked up, and Strange's face let Riley know that he knew who it was. 

"It was you, all this time? You're the one who's stealing magic?" Strange asked, his voice heavy with sorrow. 

Riley wanted to ask who he was, why he was here, and how you could steal magic. She didn't though, because she could sense a fight coming. 

"Did you think you could break natural law, again, and not face my wrath?" the man angrily whispered. His voice was deep and menacing. 

"I saved her life!" Strange yelled. 

Riley's eyes widened when she realized she was the reason that this man had shown up and attacked the sanctum. 

"Why don't you tell me what's going on?" she asked them, a dangerous edge to her voice. She could feel the power from the Amulet building up inside her. Pressing in her, wanting to be let out. 

"And you," the man sneered, "a usurper deigning to use the Amulet of Vishanti, like you were a true believer. When all you wanted was to be healed!"

"We all came to Kamar-Taj to be healed, Mordo," Strange reminded him. 

Mordo, the man Strange had fought with not so long ago, ignored him. 

"You shouldn't save things that are destined to die, Strange," Mordo jeered. 

Riley felt the earth tremble under her feet. Her anger was getting the best of her. Strange shot her a warning look, begging her to keep her new-found powers under control. Mordo summoned his shield, lunging forward to try to slice Strange's throat. A wall of blue fire appeared in front of Strange, protecting him from Mordo's attack. 

Riley's hands pushed outward, causing the fire to encircle Mordo. He looked over to her, realizing just exactly what kind of powers the Amulet gave her. He summoned his shield again, and the battle was on. 

A/N

so if you stayed to the after-after credit scene, then y'all know where this is going. 

quick recap:

Mordo, the guy who fought with Strange? The one who was so betrayed to realize the Ancient One was drawing magic from the Dark Dimension? Yeah, he's evil and he steals people's magic, possibly to make himself stronger. And the reason he attacked the sanctum? Because Strange broke "natural law" by reversing time to fix Riley's brain tumor. Yeah. I know. It's a lot. 

Anyway. If you didn't see the after-after credits scene, now you are caught up to speed. :)