Claire was dying. She knew it. The pain of opening the portal, the agony that was crawling across her body felt like she was both burning alive and freezing to death. Jim, Toby, Blinky, Not-Enrique, Arrrggghhh… She couldn't feel them. Couldn't feel their presence anymore. She was alone, everything that she was being ripped away from her.

Then there was light.

Darkness.

Wind…

And her slamming into the hard… wooden floor? The staff went flying away to who knew where and Claire just lay on the floor. Her entire body ached worse than it ever had—worse than after she'd almost been killed by Angor Rot. She tried to say something but only a whimper escaped her lips.

"You're lucky to be alive, after coming through the wards like that."

A voice. Male. Claire didn't know who it was. She rolled onto her side, gasping in pain. She could feel dampness around her eyes and nose and mouth. The taste.

Blood. Looking up, blinking at the light, she realized she was at the bottom of a flight of stairs.

There was a cloaked man, who was… floating down the stairs. Who could he—She tried to rise, failed, fell, a moan pulled from her by the pain.

"Hold still," he said in a calm voice. "That was a hard impact, and you may have internal injuries."

Glowing, golden symbols swirled around. Moments later, the man sighed. "Well, good news—no brain injuries, no critical injuries, just one big full body bruise." Then his voice became firmer. "Oh, then there's the fact that you almost killed yourself with a dark artifact. Care to tell me where you got it?" He was lifting her, carrying her like a child, floating up the stairs.

Claire's head lolled against his chest. "Gotta… Gotta go, save…"

"Save who?"

"M-friends. Gunmar, the other trolls, have to help 'em escape."

"You're not saving anyone for the next couple of days." Claire felt herself falling into darkness.

"Wh-you?" she murmured, the effort taking the last of her energy.

"Dr. Stephen Strange, young lady."

When Claire woke up, she realized two things. First, she was feeling better. Secondly, she was in bed, in a night gown…

In a night gown? Had that gu— Claire shot up,and moaned, a lancing pain running through her body.

"Hang on, young lady, not so fast."

Claire blinked and looked up. It wasn't the "Doctor Strange" she'd seen first. It was a woman, who looked a little bit like Jim's mother. "Who?"

"I'm Doctor Christine Palmer. Don't worry, I was the one who changed you. Stephen has run you through a check for magical issues, but right now, I'm going to run you through some reflex and cognitive tests. Okay?"

"I…" Claire nodded.

"Okay, now, What's your name?"

"Claire Nunez."

"Good, now lets talk about your family…"

For the next several minutes, Claire was quizzed, while there were also tests for her reflexes and coordination. Finally, Christine smiled and gestured towards the closet. "There are clothes for you there, but good news, you look like you're fine—just a headache from a knock on the noggin and a fall onto a very hard floor."

"How—do you know how I got here?"

Christine smiled. "I leave that end of things for Stephen."

Claire nodded, but waited until Christine had left before she dressed.

It was then that she realized it was gone. The Shadow Staff was gone! Claire didn't hesitate, bursting out of the room, looking around a floor that looked like a cross between a museum and mansion. Sitting a little ways away was Strange and Christine, talking softly.

"Wh-where is it!" Claire cried out, angry at how her voice was wavering. If I lose it, I won't be able to help them…

"The staff? Safe. Safer than it was." Strange frowned at her. "That is an extraordinarily dangerous artifact. How did you get it?"

"You know about ma—you said something about wards. Who are you?"

"Well, short form? I'm the magical protector of the world. While that involves a fair amount of oddities, It usually doesn't see non-existent young women fall onto my floor."

"Wh-What do you mean, non-existent."

"Claire…" Christine said quietly. "When Stephen called me, the first thing we did was check your ID so we could get in contact with your parents."

"You called mom and dad?" I am dead. I am so dead…

"No. We tried to," Christine said. "But we couldn't because…"

"Because there is no Arcadia. Not in that part of California. This is an earth Claire. It's not your Earth." Strange frowned at her. "Now, I'm going to try help you get back, but first, I want you to tell me how you got that staff. Why a 16-year-old girl is fighting…"

"I—Not my world?" Claire looked around and sat down on a bench.

"Here." Strange pressed a steaming cup into her hands.

"Thanks," she gulped it down, feeling calmer as the fluid trickled down her throat. "Okay… I'm part of a group. Jim, Toby, Blinky, and Arrrggghhh…"

It took almost an hour for her to finish her story, Strange occasionally asking probing questions. Finally, he nodded. "So, you took the staff from this Angor Rot… that explains partially why you can use it. Magical items tend to have a well, ego of their own. You proved worthy of it."

"So can I have it back? I need to get back to my friends."

"Not yet. You see, possession may be 9/10ths of the law, but that last 10th? Pretty important magically. The staff is dangerous and my scans of you showed that your mind is just sitting open to all sorts of malign influences, likely because of the stress you put yourself through. Then there's the minor fact that I bet you have no idea how to get back."

Claire closed her eyes. "I—no." She said. Enrique, so soon after I got him home. Mom, Dad… Claire sniffed and angrily dragged an arm across her face.

"Well, Stephen, one thing that being a sorcerer hasn't changed is your bedside manner." Christine got up and walked over to Claire. "Honey, we're not saying you can't go home ever, but that you can't go home right now. Stephen was just about to explain it, aren't you, Doctor Strange?"

"Right. Claire, the problem is that sending you back isn't like a spell you can just rattle off and be safe with. You have to know how to get back, you have to be able to protect yourself. I'm not even certain how you breached the barrier. That'll take time. Also, I wasn't kidding about the staff. If you keep using it…" He shook his head. "Bad things. On the other hand, someone without any talent couldn't have used it at all. I can help teach you what you need to know."

"You mean… Magic?"

Strange's smile was wistful. "As my old teacher would have said… Magic is the easy part."