The hybrid didn't dream often.

She wondered if it was because her mind was 'too full' to create a set of lasting flashes in her mind. Or maybe it was because Tee didn't dream and as they were mainly attached to her subconscious, it influenced her ability to dream? Perhaps she was simply too fearless to have nightmares (this certainly couldn't be true though because moths were bound to be the death of her)? Maybe it didn't bother her as much before when she knew Tee was with her but, without dreams or nightmares, it just reminded her of how empty she felt.

However, the night following the incidents of her horrific reflections, while she slept, she found herself in the destroyed foyer of the New York sanctum. Broken lights dangled by threads from the ceiling, wires torn and still sparking with the remnants of electricity. The once exquisite staircase now barely reached the second floor and the grand doors to the outside of the Sanctum behind her were locked tight by dozens of locks.

Where...?

To her relieved delight, the glowing orb of her Entity manifested by the doors.

"Tee?"

Tessa?

She bolted over, only to be stopped a several meters away by one of its gaunt, gangly limbs.

No! Don't...do not come closer.

"Are you okay? Where are you? What happened?"

Tessa, I am still with you but...there is a situation...

On cue, the doors behind the Entity began to rattle and through the windows either side of the doors came that memorable, menacing crimson glow. Hurriedly, the Entity moved to the centre of the door and again broke out in the shape of a morning star, each of its many arms finding some space to dig into, securing the door further.

Let me in, Tessa!

"Is that the other?"

Yes...

"How?"

I thought I had rid it from you but a remnant of it remained and has bonded with your subconscious. I repressed myself and, consequently, it to protect you. If it gets out, if it reaches your conscious, I fear the worst for you, child.

Tessa shook her head, "What are you saying?"

I will keep you alive but you will likely not see me again. I will be with you but concealed like before - for your own good.

"But Tee - "

I can hear her, brother. Finally, she is near. Let me at her!

The doors rattled wildly again.

Tessa, I need you to go. I don't know how you have contacted me but it is not safe. You need to leave.

"I don't know how I got here, how I got to you. Didn't you call to me?"

No.

"Tessa, baby! Where are you?" Thea's scream echoed all around the sanctum from every direction possible, "Jackson! Jackie!"

Looking everywhere for the source of the voice, Tessa spun, a single word on her lips that she had given up calling for long ago and had never expected to call for again, "Mom?"

As she looked to the second floor landing, the sound of doors being shoved open echoed and to her nauseating shock, her mother appeared at the top, skidding to a halt as she reached the edge and realised the stairs were now debris.

"Oh! I'm sorry, I don't know where I am or - or who you are? Do you know where they are? Where my husband and daughter are? Their names are Tessa and Jackson Hyde."

The woman atop the landing hadn't aged a day since she had left and clearly hadn't heard Tessa's own call which would have answered her question. While the young woman stared in awe at her mother, she failed to notice the slivers of red smoke slither out from two the hallways and Tee had only realised all too late.

Tessa! Behind you!

The woman on the landing frowned, "Tessa?"

Once the loud, cerise strands had reached each other, they began to intertwine.

Whipping around, she came face-to-face with a small, malevolent, scarlet cloud that shifted sinisterly before her. With a gulp, she backed away but all too slowly as the cloud rushed forwards, surrounding her body closely, almost as though it were a costume but one that made her cough and wheeze and choke.

Tessa, run! Go! Get away from it!

The Entity pleaded with her helplessly. Should Tee move from the door, it risked the other breaking through and overwhelming her totally. Conflicted, the creature watched on knowing that this would be a fight Tessa would have to try and win herself

I can feel her.

No matter how much she tried to move, the cloud followed, so rapidly following her movements as to make her feel like she were trapped in a suffocating smog. Turning in every direction, she could see no way out and eventually became as desperate as to reach out her hand, hoping that who she thought to be her 'dream' mother could urgently assist her in this dire situation.

Thea stood atop the landing, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape. Without her sling ring, she wouldn't be able to get down to the woman safely, so she would have to help from where she was. Conjuring an eldritch whip, she sent it flying towards Tessa's outreached hand. The young woman grabbed it, still noisily, frightfully wheezing, her other hand gripping her own throat and attempting to stretch her skin away from her trachea in the hopes that it would open her airways more. Pulling desperately as she braced her feet against the floor, Thea found the woman did not move.

The red smoke held the young woman like an unwavering vice.

Tessa's grasp on the whip faltered and she fell to her knees, the cloud following. Again, she miserably reached out for something, anything, that would aid her escape from the dreadful asphyxiation.

The Entity tried to appeal to the other.

Please, whatever you are doing - stop!

Stop?

Yes!

"I'm - I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Thea cried out to the stranger and to the sentient light, "I - I don't know what to do."

Do you really want me to stop?

Please!

Okay.

But the other's idea of stopping had a far more wicked motive than the Entity could have realised. In an instant, the cloud seemed to rush into her open mouth and up through her nostrils but the inhalation was through no desire of Tessa's own. As she knelt there, she was forced to endure the grim, nasty feeling of what she imagined drowning to be like: unstoppable water pouring into you relentlessly. Her chest spasmed, the convulsions travelling out to her arms and up her neck also.

"Oh God..." Thea murmured softly, powerlessly, as she watched, not truly wanting the event to be stuck with her but at the same time, was too morbidly gripped to look away.

When the cloud was gone, fully inhaled, Tessa fell forwards, her bizarrely strong arms preventing her from knocking her head on the ground. Taking a moment to breathe, she sat back up, teary-eyed.

Tessa?

"Are you okay?" Thea called from above, still not clicking with the name.

The young woman gazed upwards at the woman atop the landing, her gaze full of watery disdain.

"You left me."

"What?"

"You abandoned me."

"I don't understand - "

Tessa stood, still gazing up at her mother, "You left him to die."

What have you done?

I've merely enlightened her.

"You're not - "

"I'm Tessa." The sorceress levitated up towards the other woman, "I'm the daughter you abandoned. I'm the daughter you left in the care of the man who murdered your husband, my father."

"What?" The word was barely audible. Thea backed away in shock, shaking her head, "No. No, that's not right. Tessa's not - you're not - "

A little way behind Thea, Tessa summoned a portal, formed by a shadowy ring.

"It was nice not knowing you so we'll go back to how we were before."

Tessa, don't!

"Goodbye, mother."

As the corrupted sorceress rose her hand, a ball of both red and black smoke forming in her palm, the Entity made the dangerous decision to interfere at the risk of causing more trouble. Ripping one of its rooted arms away from the wall, the one that would have the least impact, it shot towards the portal behind Thea.

Tessa shot a shimmering bolt of ebony and vermillion towards her mother without any sign of remorse and Thea flew backwards without even a second to process all that had transpired.

Tee's tendril touched the portal just before Thea hit it, hopefully sending her to a more desirable location. Specifically where, it wasn't sure of, but it knew it would be somewhere between the New York Sanctum and Kamar-Taj.

That would be safe enough.

* * * * * *

"Tee! Mom!" Tessa shot up in her bed, eyes wide open as a flash of red in her irises faded back to her natural emeralds.

She looked around desperately for any sign of either of the two she had seen in her nightmare. Well, she assumed it was a nightmare for her mother was not alive to her knowledge. Twenty-two years on - what else was one meant to think? Especially when the Ancient One had tried to send word to the group numerous times and yet had received little information back which eventually turned into receiving no information at all. They had assumed the worst - it was all they could do and especially in such a situation where families needed closure.

Wild, matted hair stuck to her forehead and cold sweat dripped from her brow. She shivered in disgust at the sticky feel of her pyjamas, attempting to pry her grey pyjama top away from her clammy skin. Grimacing, she threw the damp duvet off her legs and stood, attempting to air out her top before giving up entirely and headed to her en suite for a much-needed shower instead.

Water hissed as she turned on the appliance before throwing her clothes off and jumping into the shower. The water hugged her as she stood there with her flushed face under the gentle rain. Tilting her head forwards, she breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly as water dripped down from her nose and chin.

It was a simple nightmare, nothing more.

Tessa washed her hair, washed herself and still stood in the embrace of the water, not keen on venturing out of her room on this day. And for a silly reason really - she was afraid her nightmare would be true, that she would head downstairs, see Tee holding some monstrous remnant of the other back, that her mother would somehow appear and that she, herself, would become...cruel.

It was a ridiculous thought really.

Switching the shower off, she turned to the glass door, wiping some of the condensation away, flinching as she was faced with her alternate, dark-eyed, red-irised self again. She wiped the reflection away immediately but that didn't stop her from hearing a hushed:

Soon...

The whisper made her shudder.

Perhaps that nightmare meant her sleep had been disrupted and so, perhaps she hadn't gotten enough sleep? Perhaps she was just sleep deprived?

After all, nightmares weren't real and she certainly wasn't crazy...at least, she hoped she wasn't. She scoffed. Oh, how she remembered feeling the exact same way as before when she first became aware of the Entity.

Perhaps that meant Tee was trying to get back to her?

* * * * * *

Having built up the courage to leave her room, Tessa left for the only place where she knew there there would be some potential answers to her questionable, distressing circumstances.

In the library, she scoured the shelves for books on premonitions and nightmares, more so to reassure herself that: potentially all was fine; that Tee may be trying to contact her or get back to her; that Tee may very well have just left her, or had dreadfully died; that her mother wasn't alive for her to potentially turn against and banish to some other hellish place.

She sat at one of the desks with a large pile of books, most only having a page or two or a chapter on what she desired to know more about.

Ephratahion's Visions were often all negative and often ended in death and were caused by Ephratahion himself however he had been long dead and/or imprisoned for centuries; Deemara's Dreams were wholly good so that crossed her off the list; there were suggestions of another version of oneself from the multiverse dreamwalking and using one's body in another universe for whatever purpose they wished; the only one that came close to sounding like what she had experienced were demons - specifically the Phobophagi - that caused fear in their prey so that they could feast on the negative feeling.

But her biggest fear was of moths so why the hell was she seeing a demonic version of herself?

She let out a groan of frustration as she shut the book and then lay her forehead against the cover.

Wong approached her silently, peering curiously at the books she had taken prior to confronting her. It would be a lie to say he wasn't worried when he saw that the texts all commonly looked at possessions and nightmares and monsters.

"Is everything - "

"Ah!" She shot up in her seat, eyes larger than some of the books. She brought a hand to her chest as she sighed, "Wong - don't do that."

The librarian was simply glad that, without the Entity, she hadn't responded in a violent way, like they may have done so before, "Sorry. I was asking if you were alright, Master Hyde?"

"Don't call me that."

"Not used to your title?"

"No. It's just not mine."

Wong nodded, "Are you alright, Tessa?"

"Fine."

"The texts you're looking at - "

"Just studying." She replied sharply, standing from her chair that made an unsatisfying scrape across the stone flooring, and proceeded to collect the texts back up, "I'll put them back."

"Tessa, I'm not chasing you."

"I didn't say you were."

Wong nodded, his brow a little lower as he watched her pack the books away, "Out of all the sorcerers here, I trust you the most. You - and the Entity, if and when they come back - can feel free to use the library at your own leisure."

He talks so much.

She paused as she was sliding the last book back into the book case, a flash of vermillion twinkling in her eyes again before fading, unbeknownst to the host and the librarian. That voice wasn't the Entity's nor was it the Other's. It was and yet wasn't her own. She stepped away from the bookcase, heading back to the table and Wong.

"Thanks." She flashed a smile, moving to leave.

"Tessa," Wong called, stopping her in her tracks once more, "I've said it before but I'll say it again. I know we had some disagreements about the Entity before but...you can still confide in me if you so wish."

Without turning to look at him, she replied, "Why would I confide in the sorcerer who wanted me dead?"

Wong frowned at her harsh words, "I didn't want you dead - "

"Even so." Tessa still didn't look at him, "Why would I go to you when you only let up your harsh judgement when I was half-dead? Seems a bit conditional if you ask me."

"I - Tessa - "

"Have a nice morning, Wong." Said the sorceress who then left.

The librarian stood there, speechless.

* * * * * * *

Tessa headed straight for the training rooms, wondering if practicing magic like she had done so before would draw Tee out again. This would be something along the lines of the five-hundredth time she would have tried to draw the Entity out through her mystical practice. But maybe this time it would be worth it? Maybe that nightmare was the Entity saying she was close? But on her way, just as she turned a corner, she bumped into another person.

Colliding with the flat-chested other, she stumbled back a step and hissed, "Watch it!"

"Woah, someone get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" Stephen questioned, his brow high.

Realising it was Stephen, she paused. Still with a frown, she replied, "Sorry. I didn't realise it was you."

"And if it wasn't me, that's how you would react?"

"No! I'm not a horrible person, I'm just - "

"Grouchy?" He smirked.

Seeing that contagious teasing look of his, she struggled to fight back her own smile. With a roll of her eyes, she nodded honestly, wiping the sleep out of her eyes with her fingers.

"Sorry. I am sorry. I think I did just wake up on the wrong side today."

"I didn't do something wrong last night, did I?"

"No, no. Other than keep me up late - I did not mean that in that way, you can wipe that grin off your face."

"You said it, not me." He rose his hands in defence with a cheeky grin.

Tessa shook her head, finding his implications shamefully amusing - and yet, rather irritating.

"I was actually coming to find you." Stephen said amiably, "I was wondering if we could talk about that second date."

"You really want my chicken parmigiana, don't you?" She said.

"You sold it to me when you mentioned you had a secret recipe for it."

"And of course, the inquisitive Doctor Strange is hoping to learn my trade secrets?"

He pulled a face, "Perhaps..." Stephen paused, "So, do you have a moment to spare?"

She smiled, "No."

"Great, because I was thinking - hang on - no?"

Tessa nodded, her smile lingering, "No, I don't have time. I'm going to train. Feel free to join me if you'll keep quiet."

"Oh, uh - "

"In fact, I know you could join me. If you were willing to waste your time organising a foolish second date, then you have the time to train. Unless some 'Sorcerer Supreme' task awaits you?" She tilted her head sweetly after her small accusation.

He scoffed, perplexed by this change in her demeanor and offended by the suggestion that their dates were silly, "Well, we wouldn't be wasting time - "

"You're wasting my time now. So I'll make it easy for us both and go. See you later." She waved her hand nonchalantly as she passed him.

Stunned, Stephen blinked and muttered, "Okay..."

The Sorcerer Supreme looked behind him, staring at the young woman until she turned a corner at the end of the hallway. With a heavy look, he shook his head and narrowed his eyes. He guessed she hadn't been joking when she said she had woken up on the wrong side of the bed. Maybe Tessa was the kind of person to get a little sharper when she was tired? After all, they had only known each other for two and a bit months. No one could learn everything about a single person in that time unless they were one's sole focus - and given the nature of his role in the world, having one sole focus would be nigh impossible from here on out.

"Stephen?"

Again, the sorcerer looked over his shoulder to see the librarian approaching him.

"Wong," He greeted but tilted his head curiously as he acknowledged the disconcerted look upon his friend's face, "What's wrong?"

Clearly troubled, he asked, "Do you know if Tessa ever...forgave me?"

"You two reconciled, didn't you?"

"I thought, yes..."

"Why do you ask?"

"I know we were still wary of each other, the Entity less so when Tessa was asleep because it was actively trying to repair and make new bonds especially with those like myself who were still...ignorant to its change. But I thought that after she awoke, after we spoke, that we were okay..."

"But?"

"I met her in the library just now. She...I understand not wanting to confide in me after my distrust, I understand that, but the way she worded it..." Wong's brow wrinkled, "Tessa didn't seem like herself."

"Funny you say that - I just saw Tessa now and I didn't think she was herself either."

"What happened?"

"She was..." Stephen struggled to find the words.

"It's difficult to explain, isn't it? I felt as though she was irritated by my presence."

"Irritated, yes." Stephen nodded, adding, "A little bit sarcastic and rude too?"

"Yes." Wong paused, "Hm...I know somebody else similar too."

"You do - oh." Stephen's features straightened out when he understood what the librarian meant, "Very funny."

"And there's the sarcasm." Wong smiled tightly.

"Well - "

Before Stephen could finish, a whoosh drew their attention from down the end of the corridor Wong had approached from. When Stephen looked past his friend and Wong turned, they saw a portal but not an eldritch one like their own. Instead, one with an ominous, smokey ring around it. The centre was transparent for all of about three seconds prior to a flash of lightning ripping through the middle. A woman shot out of it backwards, almost doubled in two for a reason still yet unknown to them.

Summoning his cloak, Stephen sent it to catch the woman before she landed roughly on the floor. The material caught her, gently laying her on the ground as both men hurried over to the woman. Stephen was down on his knees beside her in no time at all, pausing when he noted the similarities between the stranger and Tessa - in particular her loose auburn hair.

"J - Jacks - " She mumbled weakly.

"It's alright, ma'am, you're okay." Stephen gently reassured her, checking her temperature, her pulse and the size of her pupils, "Can you tell me your name?"

"Tess - Tessa - "

Stephen frowned, as did Wong, "Can you say that for me again, please?"

"Where's Ja...cks..." Her eyes fluttered closed.

The two skilled sorcerers stared at her for a moment, both silent as they noticed her charcoal tunic was of a similar style to their own. This at least confirmed that the woman may very well have been a sorceress. Yet both of them knew that Tessa's colour was green, in memory of her father.

"Did we hear that right? Did she say her name was Tessa?" Wong questioned as Stephen stood up, still looking at the woman.

Stephen shrugged and shook his head, "I'm not sure. I know what I heard, but I'm not sure."

"They do have an uncanny resemblance."

He gave a single nod, "Cloak, take her to the healing room. We'll be there shortly."