Little

Chapter 26

The Cloak flew him inside the Dark Dimension. It set him down on what appeared to be a planet. All around him, there were planets, each with different features. It was oddly dark and colorful at the same time.

Stephen opened the Eye and spun green bands around his arm. He hoped his plan worked, or else he would be good as gone.

In front of him, something started to rumble. Then it started to move. And when it had stopped, a huge being stood in front of him. Or floated? Stephen wasn't sure. But he guessed that this was Dormammu.

The Cloak helped him to jump to a planet that was closer to Dormammu. Stephen again checked that the green bands of energy were there, then he spoke. 

"Dormammu!" he shouted. "I've come to bargain."

"You've come to die," Dormammu said, in a deep and rumbling voice. "Your world is now my world, like all worlds." And with that, Stephen was disintegrated into dust.

You might be worried...but don't. Stephen came bouncing back again. "Dormammu!" he shouted. "I've come to bargain."

"You've come to die," Dormammu said. "Your world is now my world..." he picked up that something was off. "What is this?" he asked, bewildered. "Illusion?"

"No, this is real," Stephen said. For now, his plan was working.

Dormammu seemed to find this amusing. "Good," he sneered, as he again disintegrated Stephen into dust.

The same thing happened again.

"Dormammu!" Stephen shouted. "I've come to bargain."

"You... " Dormammu started. Again, he picked up that something was wrong "What is happening?" he said.

"Just as you gave Kaecilius powers from your dimension," Stephen said. "I've brought a little power from mine."

He held up his arm, to show the bands of circling green energy. "This is time," he said, introducing the new concept to Dormammu. "But it's endless looped time."

Dormammu refused to take it. "You dare!" he shouted, bringing down his fist on Stephen and ultimately squashing him.

Again.

"Dormammu!" Stephen said. "I've come to bargain."

This time, Dormammu eyed him. "You cannot do this forever," he said, almost cheekily.

"Actually, I can," Stephen said. Dormammu's smirk disappeared. "This is how things are now: you and me, trapped in this moment, endlessly."

Dormammu tried some different tactics. "You will spend eternity dying," he warned. 

"Yes," Stephen said, hiding any traces of pain or anger. "But everyone on Earth will live." Finally, he'd stopped being so self-centered. This wasn't for him. This was for the planet. This was for the 7 billion people who lived on it. Including Peter. This was for Peter. For Christine. For his new friends, Wong and Mordo. It was for everyone. 

"You will suffer," Dormammu warned again.

Considering all he'd been through in the last year, Stephen wasn't convinced. "Pain is an old friend," he said. Dormammu scowled and killed him again. But to no avail.

"Dormammu!" Stephen shouted again. "I've come to bargain."

"You will never win!" Dormammu said, trying to convince himself.

"No," Stephen agreed. "But I can lose. Again, and again, and again, and again, forever. And that makes you my prisoner."

Now Dormammu was angered. "Stop!" he shouted, as he killed Stephen again. He came back again. "Make. This. Stop! Set me free!"

"No," Stephen reminded him. "I've come to bargain."
Dormammu groaned. "Oh, what do you want?" he said.
"Take your Zealots from the Earth," Stephen said. "End your assault on my world, and never come back."

Dormammu scowled. It was apparent he didn't like it.

"Do it," Stephen said. "And I'll break the loop."

==================

Back in the streets of Hong Kong, time had also being repeating itself. Mordo, Wong, Kaecilius, and the two Zealots had been trapped in the same moment. Kaecilius couldn't break out of this one.

"Isn't it beautiful?" he said, for possibly the 1000th time. "A world beyond time. Beyond death." 

Behind him, the Cloak set Stephen down on the ground. He was smirking. Kaecilius turned around.

"What have you done?" Kaecilius said.

"I made a bargain," Stephen said, matter-of-factly. 

Kaecilius looked down at his arm. It was now rapidly dissolving into purple ash. "What is this?" he asked. He for once looked terrified.

"Well, it's, uh...it's everything you ever wanted," Stephen said, remembering what Kaecilius had told him. "Eternal life as part of the One." He chuckled. "You're not going to like it," he added.

By now, both of the Zealots were also dissolving into purple ash. All three of them screeched and were pulled backwards into the Dark Dimension. 

They were gone.

"I think they really should have stolen the whole book," Stephen noted. "Because the warnings... the warnings come after the spells."

He didn't expect any laughter, but heard some. Out of all people, Wong was laughing. "Oh, that's funny," he said, chuckling.

Stephen cracked a small grin, but it didn't hold. He still had to fix a ruined Hong Kong. Using the Eye, he made time move again, backwards. The Sanctum reformed. All the debris was gone. Finally, time stopped, and started moving forward again. Everything was normal. It was like the night hadn't even happened. Now, Stephen, Mordo, and Wong were just three guys dressed weirdly standing in the street.

"We did it," Stephen said, with a sense of pride.

"Yes," Wong said.

"Yes," Mordo added, but with a sense of sarcasm. "We did it. By also violating the natural laws."

Stephen sighed. When would he understand? They had to break the rules in order to win. "Look around you," he told Mordo. "It's over."

Mordo gave him a serious look. "You still think there will be no consequences, Strange?" he asked. "No price to pay? We broke our rules, just like her," he said, referring to the Ancient One. 

"The bill comes due," he continued. "Always. A reckoning." He started to walk away from them. "I will follow this path no longer," he said, before he turned and disappeared into the crowd. 

Stephen and Wong could only stare in shock at what had just happened, but they didn't stare for too long. 

Stephen had to remember his promise to Peter that he would come back to him.