Dr. Strange Rough Draft
Remi's eyes slowly drifted open when her body realized it could no longer relax. Once she was pulled out of her half-asleep state, she immediately sat up with a start. When on Earth did she wake up? She could not remember, and it felt certainly weird that she was in such a deep sleep and woke up with such alertness. Pushing her feelings aside, she took a moment to look around her dark bedroom. There was nothing out of the ordinary, her desk had a couple books stacked together in a neatly order, her dresser was not out of place, and her window was halfway open to reveal the pale light of the stars and the full moon bright in the sky.
"Remi." a voice suddenly echoed through the air. The young girl's ears must have been playing tricks on her. She looked at the small alarm clock next to her side of the bed which read around 3;30 AM. Even though there was no curfew at Karmar-Taj, she was certain that it was unlikely for others to be awake at such an hour. However, she heard it again, this time more demanding and louder. "Remi!" the sudden fullness in the disembodied voice caused her to jump. Before she could even react, she saw something that terrified the living daylights out of her. In front of her, full frame and everything, the doorknob to the door of the bedroom turned by itself and the door swung open, revealing nothing but a hallway of darkness.
"I demand whoever is out there calling my name and playing ghost pranks stop it right now before I call the Ancient One!" Remi snapped, but there was only silence to answer.
"Remi," the mysterious voice repeated, this time calm and alluring. "Come to me."
After what seemed like awhile of being frozen in fear, Remi gathered enough courage to check out exactly what the heck was going on. Swinging her legs over the side of her bed, she pulled the skirt of her long white nightgown to her knees when she saw it was about to slip up. She put on a random pair of shoes and thought best to grab something that would illuminate the darkness. She stopped for a moment towards her dresser and went to open a drawer to find a flashlight, but as she did, the pitch blackness became alit. Random torches began to appear along the side of the walls, orange flames hot and bright.
"Remi, come to me," Remi could hear the same mysterious, disembodied voice again in her head. Remi shook her head put two fingers to each side of her temples, rubbing them as if she were beginning to get a pounding headache. However, seeing she really had no other option, she decided to take a risky approach and see just what the heck was going on.
Peering outside her door, her head darted back and forth. There was no one in sight, only her and her alone. Stepping cautiously outside, she continued to distract herself with looking at the scenery, until the sudden sound of the door closing spooked her from her focus. "Which way do I go?" Remi asked herself, unsure whether to take the left or right. Before she could decide, an orb of yellow and silver light began to glow in front of her.
"YEEEE!" Remi yelped loudly when she saw it appear. However, her body soon relaxed once more and the orb started moving around in small circles, beckoning her to follow it.
"This way." The orb of shining light lead her down the left hallway. Remi gulped down her nervousness and, with squeaky footsteps, followed the mysterious shining light in front of her.
Remi's eyes widened in shock when she saw wear the orb of yellow light took her. She had walked for some time, confused, curious, and afraid, but she swallowed it all down. The orb of white light had led her to the masters' and advanced student section of the library where the Ancient One's private collection remain. Why had it lead her here? What exactly was going on? She was beginning to grow even more confused, wishing she had just slammed her door and locked it, crawl back into bed, pulling the covers over her head and praying hard to God this would all go away in the morning.
"I don't understand. Why are we in the library?" Remi asked the orb of bright light.
"Because you need to understand your destiny." a deep, masculine voice sharp as nails startled her, causing her to gasp and shoot around. She froze in place when she saw whose voice broke through the air. He was a tall man, about a foot above her small stature. He was wearing orange and light brownish-gray robes, orange leather guards over thick boots, and his light eyes had what appeared to be purplish burn marks with a silver outline around both his eyes. His long grey hair was pulled back in various braids that went down into a ponytail. He appeared out of the shadows to the young girl, unfolding his arms behind his back and placing them on the table in front of them, studying her from up and down as she was some sort of book.
"W-were you the one who….c-called out for m-m-me?" Remi tried to find the right words, but when she was finally able to speak, her voice stuttered, impairing her speech.
"There is no reason to be afraid, Remi. I am not here to hurt you," the mysterious man reassured her, walking around the table towards her. Remi tried to back away, but found her legs would not move. She had a bad feeling like she needed to get away, to escape from this mysterious, hulking brute of a man with weird purple eyes, but her body would not allow it. She felt ridiculous for feeling terrified, as she was a sorcerer training under the Ancient One who was teaching her to never be afraid of anything, yet somehow, this man terrified her.
"Who are you? How do you know my name?" her voice steadied a bit.
"My name is Kaecilius, and I know you because you are special, my dear Remi Ramirez." The man, Kaecilius, smiled evilly in front of her. Suddenly, Remi realized this was the man the Ancient One and Mordo had mentioned to her a thousand times before. Her fighting senses kicked in, and immediately, she got into a fighting stance and clapped her hands together, an orange light forming in them. Just as she was about to form an Eldritch Whip, a pang of pain reared its way through her body.
"AAAGH!" Remi screamed, the orange light humming through her hands beginning to fade. She held her head in her hands, a throbbing pain beginning to sear through her bloodstream. Kaecilius watched her sink to a fetal position, eyes shut tightly, body beginning to tremble.
"No, not this again, please God!" Remi thought. Before she knew it, her eyes snapped open, revealing a light blue color instead of her normal amber ones. It only lasted for a couple seconds before her eyes snapped shut and reopened back to her normal color. The pain in her body dispersed, causing her to drop to her knees, breath coming out ragged and her chest heaving heavily up and down. Her body felt light and feathery as if she were ready to float through the wind.
"What did you do to me?!" Remi demanded, her head shooting straight up. She was caught off guard when she saw Kaecilius towering just inches above her now, causing her to gasp and fall back on her rear. Kaecilius, on the other hand, just stared at her intently, holding out one hand to help her on her feet.
"I can sense the darkness in your heart," Kaecilius told her. Remi looked at his hand, unsure if she should take it or not. Kaecilius started to grow impatient and motioned for her once more. Remi gulped and hesitantly took his hand in hers. Kaecilius lifted her to her feet, amused that she was so light for a woman in her late twenties.
"What is this dark power I have inside me? Why is this happening to me?" Remi asked, turning her head to him.
"Do you really have to ask me such a question? You know it as well as the Ancient One does, Remi. The color of your eyes, the pain, the nightmares, there is no denying it."
"I am nothing like Dormammu! I fight for the good in this world, unlike you, one who had such potential but then lost it all when his wife and son died!" Remi snarled. As quick as her sentence ended, Remi groaned when she felt a swift, strong hand clasp itself around her throat. Remi struggled for air as she was lifted off the ground, Kaecilius's grip tightening. Remi kicked her legs and wriggled her body to try and free herself, but Kaecilius only stared at her with wide angry eyes, teeth gritted, ready to strike her down.
"You know nothing of what I lost! Choose your next words carefully, for they may be your last, Remi Ramirez!" Kaecilius warned her dangerously. Remi could tell from the tone of his voice that he was not playing games, even if she had some sort to connection to him. She decided it was best to do what was told of her as she became limp in his grasp, seeing no reason why she had to keep struggling. Kaecilius's grip loosened and he lowered her to the floor until she could feel solid ground again. Remi pushed his hand away and began to breathe heavily and cough until she felt like she was going to vomit up her insides.
"Have you ever wondered why the Ancient One became immortal?" Kaecilius suddenly inquired. Remi rubbed her sore throat and stayed silent. Kaecilius began to explain because the Ancient One drew power from the Dark Dimension, she could become so powerful, but because of her constant need to draw dark power, it had slowed down her aging process until she was immortal. Remi listened intently, realizing that the Ancient One was not as innocent as she ought to be. She could not believe a teacher that she had looked up to all this time was drawing power from a realm which she made clear was strictly forbidden from touching, and yet, she was breaking her own rules herself.
"That means she is drawing magic from me as well," Remi's heart began to sink when she thought about what she was doing.
"Actually, that is where you are wrong. The Ancient One is not drawing her magic from you, she is only using the magic to try and prevent the darkness around your heart from growing stronger. That is why you feel the pain. Dormammu is trying his hardest to claw his way to the surface through you, but because of her interference, he cannot fulfill his destiny, and he is angry that you are letting this happen to him."
"The nightmares, the tremors, the pain…she's trying to protect me," Remi felt a bit of relief when she realized she was wrong. Kaecilius harrumphed and folded his arms behind his back, watching her intently as he began to circle around her, his gaze never leaving hers.
"She cannot protect you forever. Even though her aging process has stopped, she can still die. Her magic may be powerful, but it still can exhaust her to the point of passing out."
Remi's hope faltered from his words and Kaecilius chuckled menacingly. He knew she was still naïve, but he knew she was not a stupid young woman either.
"Do not keep fighting the darkness in your heart, Remi. Let go of yourself and surrender to your true power! Let the world see you for you, not this façade you throw over yourself. I can show you a better, stronger way, if you join me now."
"Are you crazy!? Never!" Remi was appalled by this man, and she so wanted desperately to strike him down and escape back to her bedroom, but her body would still not allow it. She felt two strong hands grip her shoulders, causing her to shudder when she felt Kaecilius's head next to the side of her face.
"You cannot fight it forever, Remi," he softly chided in her ear, sending a tingle down her spine. "Once the Ancient One is dead, you will have a hard time fighting Dormammu. And when that happens, my soldiers and I will be ready for you!"
Before she could react, she felt the side of Kaecilius's hand strike the base of her neck, causing her body to become heavy and fall towards the floor. However, Kaecilius caught her with one arm, steadying her. Remi's mind and hearing began to distort, her vision became like a kaleidoscope, her hearing becoming echoey and muffled. She could see Kaecilius's lips moving, but his words came out gibberish to her. Soon, her vision blurred and her world fell into darkness.
This is a Dr. Strange story idea that I have circulating through my brain. This is just a rough draft so pardon it if there are any mistakes. I just wanted to put this up to see if you all like the idea or not, if you do, then please review or PM me if you have any suggestions!
Ta-ta for now! :)