Seeing Scarlet - Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

~VI~

"RUN!"

"I got his sling ring - they can't escape now, right?"

"RUN!"

The whole world spiraled and kaleidoscoped around them at a dizzying pace. Roads ended abruptly, turning into sides of  buildings. They were suddenly running upside down, then smashing into the windows of a passing bus. 

"This was a mistake,"  Stephen admitted gravely. 

"No shit, Sherlock!" Kat cried back.  "This wasn't just a mistake, this is madness! It's chaos!"

And all the while Kaecilius and his followers never let go of the chase. 

"Can you do that red energy blast thing you did to me that time during training?" Stephen asked her.

"I can't control that, it just happens sometimes-"

Suddenly, the chaos stopped, as quickly as it had started, and the Ancient One appeared. The same symbol was burned into her forehead as Kaecilius and the others.

"It's true," cried Mordo in horror.

Their teacher took over the fight with the Former Master, Dark Dimension vs. Dark Dimension.  The followers distracted her while Kaecilius came at her with a blade of his own conjuring, striking her directly through the heart.

--------------------------------

"She's not gone yet, we can still save her," Stephen insisted as they carefully transported their teacher's body to his former hospital.

He reunited with Christine and other doctors who immediately got to work, but they were too late. She was already gone. 

"You were right. She wasn't who we thought she was," Mordo admitted solemnly as Steven reunited with him and Kat at Kamar-Taj.

"She was complicated," offered Stephen.

"'Complicated'?" Mordo scoffed. "The Dark Dimension is volatile. Dangerous. What if it overtook her? She taught us it was forbidden all while she drew on its power to steal centuries of life-"

"She was obviously doing what she thought was right," said Kat, trying to see it from their teacher's perspective.

"The bill comes due," Mordo reminded them. "Always. Don't you see? Her transgressions led Kaecilius and his followers to Dormammu - they were her fault! And here we are, in the consequence of her deception."

"This is not how she would like to be remembered," said Kat. 

But Mordo shook his head. "A world on fire."

"The London Sanctum has fallen. The New York one has been attacked twice. You know where they're going next. Mordo, you told me to fight like my life depended on it cause one day it might. Well today's that day. I cannot defeat them alone," cried Stephen.

"You're not alone." Kat stepped forward to join him.  "Mordo, are you with us?"

Mordo said nothing but gave a brisk, brief nod. Stephen used his Sling Ring to open a portal and they hopped through into the streets of Hong Kong. 

But just as with the Ancient One, they were too late. 

----------------------------------

Hong Kong lay in ruins. Not just the Sanctum, but the surrounding area as well. 

"The Sanctum's already fallen," Stephen cried. 

Purple energy engulfed the area, spreading out from where the Sanctum had stood.

"The Dark Dimension," Mordo exclaimed.  "Dormammu is coming. It's too late, nothing can stop him now."

"Not necessarily-" Steven suddenly waved his hands in some sort of sequence before the Eye of Agamotto - once again around his neck. Green light formed around it and he spun his hands. Little by little, the city began putting itself back together again. "The spell's working!"

"We've got a second chance!"

They fought back against Kaecilius and his minions, trying to buy themselves enough time so that the Sanctum itself could reset - so that Time itself could reset.

"You have no place here, Dormammu. Go back to the dark depths from where you came," Kat declared, staring up into the sky where the deep purple void was vanishing, slowly but surely.  

"Wong!" Their fellow Master was lying crushed beneath a load of rubble. With Time turning backwards, he suddenly leapt to his feet, looking very confused. 

"Breaking the laws of nature, I know," Stephen admitted.

"Well don't stop now." Wong joined their  group of defenders. 

"When the Sanctum's restored, they'll attack it again. We've got to defend it-"

But a giant blast of energy, cast by Kaecilius himself, knocked them all back. 

"Get up Strange, get up and fight. We can finish this," Mordo groaned, getting to his feet, the others stumbling to stand as well. 

"You can't fight the inevitable," Kaecilius was saying.  "Isn't it beautiful? A world beyond Time - beyond death."

"Beyond Time-" Stephen got to his feet as well, only for Cloak to lift him up and carry him right into the colorful orb - right into the heart of the Dark Dimension itself.  

(Just had to make a Sherlock reference ;) haha!

Last chapter from the storyline of the first movie next - the rest will all be Far From Home and Multiverse of Madness!!! :D

Thank you so much for reading and, as always, I hope you enjoyed! :))