☆

"TALIA, YOU NEED TO GO TO Sienna," Stephen told her as he stood to leave, uncaring of the fact that he had just been stitched up and perhaps close to dying.

"Stephen, slow down," Talia said, hands pressing lightly against his chest as she held him upwards, heart pounding in concern. "If I go to Sienna now, then she could be in danger. They know about me, Stephen."

Stephen's gaze fell to her, pained irises softening.

"Sienna's safe," she reassured him.

For now at least.

"But not you," Stephen realised, where Talia had told him their prisoner had escaped.

"When we get back, I will tell you everything," Talia promised him, still holding him upright. "But it's too risky here."

"I don't understand what's going on at all," Christine told the two. "Maybe I don't want to know. If there's anything I can do, though..."

"Actually, there is," Talia turned on the doctor. "Could you call Nicole for me? She's watching Sienna. I hid an emergency bag at Nicole's, so she'll have everything she needs — including a safe space that I only know about. Tell them to go there and I will find them once this is over."

"Talia, you've been preparing for this?" Stephen questioned, shocked.

"The moment I found out about myself, I have done everything for Sienna," Talia explained.

"Okay," Christine said. "Tell me what I need to know and I'll go call Nicole."

Talia shared the information, writing a quick note to Nicole as she felt guilty for suddenly springing this on her friend. Since Talia had found out about herself, she had always had a plan in motion. Before leaving, Talia had even told Christine to remind Sienna of their next trip to the ice cream parlour — this time, they were supposed to be trying cotton candy.

"If you wanted to keep Sienna out of this life, then why did you join?" Stephen asked as the two walked back to the janitorial closet with Talia supporting him.

Now her head whipped round, glaring at her ex-husband. "What makes you think you have the right to question me when you left us and chose to become a sorcerer?"

"You chose this life too, Talia," Stephen told her. "You chose to raise our daughter in a Sanctum of all places."

"Because you left us," Talia snapped at him, keeping her voice quiet. "And I had no choice. I want nothing to do with the Mystic Arts. All I want is to control my power so that I don't hurt our daughter or so I can protect us from something like this. Once I have that, then I am gone, Stephen. So, don't you dare question how I choose to raise our daughter. You lost that right."

For a moment, Stephen remained silent with Talia hoping that he felt horrible. Of course, she didn't want him to suffer, but she wanted him to realise the damage that had been done.

Stephen opened the door for the two with Talia spotting the embers of the portal, leading them back to the New York Sanctum.

"Talia," Stephen caught her hand before she stepped through. "I'm sorry, you are right, I have lost the right to question Sienna's upbringing. If I had been there, then maybe we could have faced this together."

That was the second apology on the same day; Talia might die from shock.

Talia simply forced a smile, pulling her hand from his before she stepped through the portal. Their issues were the last thing on her mind right now.

In the hallway, Talia found the man that had once been breathing completely still. His dark, shadowed eyes were staring up at the ceiling with Talia already knowing he was dead. Still, though, she crouched to check his pulse with her eyes on Stephen, knowing this would break him.

With them back, the red cloak had hovered close to Stephen as if the material was happy to be reunited with the sorcerer again.

"Stephen..."

Not saying anything, Stephen reached for his cloak before twisting it around to fall in place down his back. Talia pressed her lips together to suppress a sigh before she stood, following him.

Of course, as Talia had already seen, their prisoner was long gone.

"Talia!"

Hearing Mordo's voice, Talia's body turned, eyes falling on her friend as he joined them, wrapping his arms around Talia. "You are okay?"

"Daniel he's..."

"I know," Mordo pulled back, eyes lit with worry. "Sienna?"

"She's safe, we managed to get her out," Talia reassured him. "I've sent her somewhere safe until this is over."

"Oh, thank God," said Mordo, finally looking to Stephen. "And you, Strange? You're okay?"

Stephen's eyes were narrowed, irises darting between the two.  "A relative term," he said, unhappily. "But yeah, I'm okay."

Talia could see through the words, but she stayed silent.

Mordo stepped forward, pointing to Stephen. "The cloak of levitation. It came to you."

"No minor feat," said the Ancient One joining them. "It's a fickle thing. I can reassure you both that arrangements have been made. Sienna and Nicole will be escorted to safety with our best sorcerers. They will still be going to the safe place that you arranged, Talia, and only they know where that is."

Talia let out a long breath, exchanging a look of relief with Stephen.

"Thank you," Talia replied.

"He's escaped," Stephen informed the Ancient One.

"Kaecillius?" The Ancient One questioned.

Hearing his name for a second time caused Talia to frown. Stephen had explained the missing parts that Talia did not know, where she now was not sure how much danger she was in. Would the Dark Dimension want someone who could potentially travel the Multiverse or do more?

Though, thinking of that child in another world, Talia already suspected that she had travelled.

"Yeah," said Stephen. "He can fold space and matter at will."

"He folds matter outside the Mirror Dimension... in the real world?"

"Yeah."

"How many more?"

"Two."

"One ended up stranded in the desert," Talia explained. "And the other..."

"His body's in the hall," Stephen finished, pacing. "Master Drumm is in the foyer."

"He's been taken back to Kamar-Taj," Mordo told them both.

"And, you, Talia," the Ancient One's eyes fell on her. "How much did Kaecillius see of you?"

"Kaecillius somehow knew who I was," Talia answered, feeling all eyes on her. "He was interested in me joining him. I, uh, might have died and travelled the Multiverse, but I ended up back here again."

"Sorry, what?" Stephen questioned.

"You physically travelled from one universe to the other?" Mordo asked, mesmerised.

"Yeah, I'm certain I did."

"But you did not stay," the Ancient One repeated. "Something is preventing you from travelling, Talia. That is a mystery for another day. I had suspected that it was only time before someone discovered you, so we must not let Kaecillius capture you. I assume you have not quite filled in Strange yet."

"I haven't really had the chance," Talia confessed. "But I'm going to."

"I figured as much," said the Ancient One. "The London Sanctum has fallen. Only New York and Hong Kong remain now to shield us from the Dark Dimension. You both defended the New York Sanctum from attack. With its master gone, it needs another. Master Strange."

Talia's eyes fell on Stephen, wide with shock. To be master of the Sanctum, there would be no return to surgery.

"No," Stephen decided, turning to face the Ancient One. "It is Doctor Strange. Not Master Strange. Not Mister Strange. Doctor Strange."

The Ancient One tilted her head, remaining silent.

"When I became a doctor, I swore an oath to do no harm," Stephen exclaimed with the cracks showing that Talia had seen. "And I have just killed a man. I'm not doing that again. I became a doctor to save lives, not take them."

"You became a doctor to save one life above all others," the Ancient One told him. "Your own."

"Still seeing through me, are you?" Stephen questioned.

"I see what I've always seen: your over-inflated ego. You want to go back to the delusion that you can control anything, even death, which no one can control. Not even the great Doctor Stephen Strange."

"Not even Dormammu?" Stephen challenged. "He offers immortality."

Talia's head twisted, eyes falling on the Ancient One in doubt.

"It's our fear of death that gives Dormammu life. He feeds off it."

"Like you feed off him?" Stephen stepped closer. "You talk to me about controlling death? Oh, I know how you do it. I've seen the missing rituals from The Book of Cagliostro."

"Measure your next words very carefully, doctor," the Ancient One warned.

"Because you might not like them?"

"Because you may not know of what you speak."

"What is he talking about?" Mordo questioned.

"I'm talking about her long life, the source of her immorality," Stephen replied. "She draws power from the Dark Dimension to stay alive."

Mordo scoffed. "That's not true."

"I've seen the rituals," Stephen informed them. "Worked them out. I know how you do it."

"Once they regroup," said the Ancient One. "The Zealots will be back and they will come for your wife, Stephen. Talia will always be a target. You'll need reinforcements."

Then, she left with Talia staring after her, believing that it was all true from her reaction. There was no denial, the Ancient One had simply ignored Stephen's accusations.

"She's not who you think she is," Stephen warned Mordo.

"You don't have the right to say that," Mordo argued, voice rising. "You've no idea the responsibility that rests upon her shoulders."

"No," Stephen snapped back. "And I don't want to know."

"You're a coward," Mordo accused.

"Because I'm not a killer?" Stephen challenged.

Talia sighed at the two. "Arguing is not going to get us anywhere."

"These Zealots will snuff us all out," Mordo told them. "And you can't muster the strength to snuff them first? Not even for your own wife?"

"What do you think I just did?" Stephen shouted.

"You saved your own life!" Mordo's voice rose. "And then whined about it like a wounded dog."

"Oh, you would have done it so easily?"

"You've no idea the things I've done," Mordo answered, calming down. "And the answer is yes. Without hesitation."

"For who," Stephen challenged. "For the greater good or for Talia?"

"Stephen," Talia snapped his name.

"For both," Mordo answered.

"Even if there's no other way?"

"There is no other way," Mordo told him.

"You lack imagination."

"No, Stephen," Mordo stepped closer. "You lack a spine."

"Right," Talia pushed herself between the two, forcing them away from each other. "That is enough. Both of you. This," she gesutred between the two. "Is not getting us anywhere, so shut up and let's go."

However, the Sanctum started to rumble, signalling that they did not have to figure things out as the Zealots had come to them.

"They're back," Mordo confirmed.

"Talia, you should leave," Stephen insisted.

"I won't run and hide," Talia told them both.

Then, Talia was the first to run out to the foyer. Beneath them, the Zealots had returned with their weapons already drawn. Kaecillius had magic brewing with a golden orb floating.

"We have to end this," said Mordo. "Now!"

Conjuring a blade, Talia found the surge of power as she teleported to the lower level with her blade rising. One of the minions turned, defending herself as their blades struck. Mordo was next to her, knocking the second one to the floor.

"Strange! Get down here and fight!"

Before the orb caused destruction, the world around them changed. Around her, everyone had vanished as Talia quickly turned, seeing that Stephen had disappeared too. Knowing what had happened, her heart thundered with anger.

"Stephen!" Talia shouted.

Whatever Stephen had done, he had left Talia out of it. While Talia understood why, she could not calm herself down. Maybe she was in danger, but this was Talia's fight.

Letting out a groan of frustration, Talia was not going to back down so easily. Talia was not going to sit around and wait for them to come back. So, Talia's fists curled together, picturing the temple room in Kamar-Taj in her mind as she teleported to another country.

"Talia Strange," the Ancient One was surprised, having only just briefly returned herself.

Around the open room, there were other sorcerers, who were all just as shocked at her arrival. Somewhere, a bell was ringing, signalling that a fight was coming. In the Ancient One's room, they were preparing themselves as they strategised.

"Leave us," the Ancient One ordered.

No one dared to question the Sorcerer Supreme as they left the room, knowing their assistance was needed elsewhere anyway. The Ancient One stepped forward, hands clasped together.

"Kaecillius is back," Talia told her. "They vanished, leaving me out, but they are outnumbered."

"Then, we best find them," the Ancient One stated.

Relieved to hear that, Talia felt the tension loosen slightly. There was no waiting around as the Ancient One created a portal, taking them back to New York. With all the power she had, the Ancient One had located the two in the Mirror Dimension.

Talia could not believe her eyes as the city landscape had shifted; it had duplicated, inverting on itself, and appeared no longer a city, but a fractured mirror of it. On a ledge, Talia stood with the Ancient One, two blades being conjured in her hands as her eyes found Kaecillius.

Before he could make the final blow on Stephen, the ledge was moved away from him.

Then, around them, the Mirror Dimension shifted, closing them in. As Talia's eyes found Stephen's, she could see how unhappy he was that she was there. Talia's glare was icy as her irises focused on Stephen, wanting him to know that she was furious to be left behind.

The Ancient One had flicked her hand, an orange fan appearing as she prepared herself to fight. Around them, the enclosed space spun, continuously moving. As the Ancient One's hand spun, Talia, along with Stephen and Mordo, where she pushed them away from the upcoming fight.

Looking back to the Ancient One, Talia saw the symbol on her head.

"It's true," said Mordo. "She does draw power from the Dark Dimension."

But the Ancient One did not respond. Instead, her eyes fell on her old pupil. "Kaecillius."

They both started walking, circling each other.

"I came to you broken," said Kaecillius. "Lost, in need. Trusted you to be my teacher, and you fed me lies."

"I tried to protect you," the Ancient One told him.

"From the truth?"

"From yourself."

"I have a new teacher now."

"Dormammu deceives you," she told him. "You have no idea what he truly is. His eternal life is not paradise, but torment."

"Liar," Kaecillius accused, arming himself along with his two minions.

The Ancient Ond dodged the first attack before her hands sparked with a golden-orange shield. Between them, the fight shifted from weapons against shields to hands causing the bricks to jump, knocking each other backwards.

It was one of the minions that fought the Ancient One next. As the fight escalated, the second minion joined, becoming trapped in the Ancient One's hands. Yet, before the Ancient One could even make the final kill, Kaecillius' blade had struck high to be blocked, but no one had suspected his second blade to slice through his ally, entering the Ancient One too.

Talia gasped, watching as the Ancient One was kicked through a portal. Together, the three chased after her through the portal, not being able to save her from the fall that followed. As they found her, Talia had fallen into shock.

They were losing too many today.

☆

At the hospital, the Ancient One was rushed straight in with Stephen calling out for Christine. There was chaos as Talia hurried after the paramedics with wide eyes, unknowing if they could save the Ancient One or not.

They hurried the Ancient One to the operating theatres, where Stephen moved to follow. Catching his arm, Talia met Stephen's gaze.

"This is not your place to help now, Stephen," Talia told him, gently.

But Stephen did not listen as he followed after his old colleagues. Talia sighed, watching after him, having thought that maybe he had learnt to put the knife down.

It felt like deja vu as Talia sunk down on the seats in the waiting area. The reminder of Stephen's surgeries caused her chest to tighten with a surge of panic. Being here, Talia had to remind herself that it was not for Stephen.

Christine had been the one to come out. Seeing her, Talia was back to the night of the crash, having hopelessly been waiting for that update that would destroy her. For Stephen, the bad news had never come; for the Ancient One it had.

And Talia did not know how to feel.

Over the long months, Talia had worked close with the Ancient One to train. Though, Talia had never fully trusted her, and the gut feeling had been right in the end. Still, anyone dying was sad, even more so with the weight of power the Ancient One held within the Mystic Arts.

Christine had told Talia where Stephen was, giving her permission to enter the theatre (though, Talia was going to go anyway). She found Stephen washing his hands, where he looked up upon Talia entering.

"Stephen, are you okay?" Talia asked.

There was no answer, but Talia already knew.

As Talia stepped closer to him, Stephen turned the taps off before drying his hands. Talia watched him, wondering how they had ended up here. A year ago, they had been a normal family with ordinary problems.

"Talia, I want you to stay out of this," Stephen told her.

"This is my fight too, Stephen," said Talia as he turned to face her.

His hands rose, cupping her cheeks with Talia not pulling away from his touch. For so long, Talia had missed his touch — had craved for a simple moment like this. Now, after everything, she was cracking again. And all she could feel was the cold wedding band on her cheek.

"I should have fought for you long ago," Stephen said. "I should have never forgotten that I had everything I had ever needed. But, Darling, after I lost you, I was terrified. The one time I needed to be a doctor the most, I failed you — I was powerless. All I could do was watch you die."

"Stephen, there was nothing you could have done," Talia reminded him, knowing where his mind was at. "Pushing me out now is not saving me."

"I've seen you die twice," Stephen reminded her. "I won't survive a third."

Talia placed a hand on his chest, understanding. "You know, I had to watch you force yourself into facing multiple surgeries," she told him. "Each time it failed, I watched a little bit more of you die inside. We deserved better, but I could not stay to watch you break anymore. You know, losing your hands could have been a new beginning for us. You don't have to be a doctor to save lives."

"Now, I've found a harder way," Stephen said.

"A weirder way," Talia agreed, smiling sadly. "You and I were always destined for this path, Stephen. There's so much you don't know about me now."

His fingers brushed her cheeks, eyes still soft and hopeful. "Whatever it is, I will still love you," he reassured her, but the words simply caused her heart to crack. "I will always love you, Darling."

Talia closed her eyes, hands holding onto Stephen's neck as she rose on her tiptoes. Her lips were a gentle touch against his cheek, wishing that those words were enough to fix everything.

Instead, Talia told him everything about her power, witnessing the puzzle pieces fall into place for Stephen, and finally understanding the mystery of his wife. With that, he also recognised the danger, knowing that power like Talia's would be wanted.

☆

I've missed them so much🥺 They've still got a long way to go before Talia will let Stephen back into her life again.