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Clea refused to look at Stephen. She knew if she so much as glanced in his direction, she'd lose her nerve. Instead, she concentrated on holding tight to Mordo as he twisted beneath her grip. They glided through the Dark Dimension to land next to Stephen.

Clea's heart jumped into her throat at the sight of her mother, but she forced herself to remain calm. Clea couldn't see Dormammu, but she knew he was nearby, watching them. His presence was a cesspool of evil intent, suffocating the air around her. She threw Mordo down and took a deep breath.

"Uncle." Clea's voice carried through the darkness. "Mother." Her voice wavered on that last word.

"I see my niece has brought me a gift." Dormammu's deep voice rang out through the darkness.

Mordo scrambled to his feet, but Clea held him steady. "This one is barely worth your time," Clea said. "Mordo doesn't think too highly of sorcery, at least not anymore."

Mordo gained his feet. He grabbed at Stephen, his voice pleading. "We have to get out of here!" He wiped the sweat from his brow and crafted a Tao Mandalas shield. "For God's sake, Stephen, help me!"

But Stephen didn't move.

Mordo snarled. With the speed that surprised Clea, he threw a Eldritch dagger right at her.

Time slowed. Clea saw Stephen tense, ready to protect her. She tasted her mother's fear, felt her uncle's rage, but she wasn't about to let any of them fight her battles for her. Time was on her side here. Mordo just hadn't realized it yet. Clea lashed out with a counter-spell as black as pitch. The wave of dark energy decimated Mordo's spell and toppled him to the darkness beneath his feet. His body crumbled as he screamed in pain.

"This is what happens when you fight," Clea said. Her voice trembled as she tried to restrain all the power flowing over her. This dimension was thick with it, and all she wanted was more.

Stephen stared at Mordo, a look of pure pity on his face at the fate of his former friend. When Stephen's eyes drifted upward, Clea caught his gaze.

Stephen knows, she realized. He wants to do something, anything, but he knows exactly what the penalty would be if he took any action, if he cast any spells.

So Stephen remained still. Whether to protect her or his own self-interests, she didn't know. She only knew he felt genuine hurt watching Mordo writhe in pain. It made her want to weep.

"You did well, niece," Dormammu whispered. "Your gifting of this 'Mordo' to me is well received."

Mordo fell to his knees. At first Clea thought he was about to beg for his life, but no. Dormammu forced him into a posture of submission, using the combination of gravity and the energy inside the Dark Dimension to paralyze his prey. Mordo shook with terror.

"Mordo believes this dimension to be corrupt and vile," Dormammu whispered. "I will enlighten him."

Mordo screamed in horror as his body slowly dissolved. His soul, however, remained intact. Clea watched with newfound grief as Mordo's physical body was sucked away. From somewhere in the reaches of the Dark Dimension, Clea could feel his consciousness materialize in the depths of a hellish torment only her uncle could contrive.

Clea caught Stephen's eye again, and the look on his face almost broke her. But she had to stay strong.

"Clea." Her mother strolled forward. She palmed Clea's face with her hands. They were ice cold. "You don't remember me, do you?"

Clea swallowed hard. Stay strong. "No, I'm sorry."

"It's all right. We're together now."

Her mother opened her arms and embraced her. Clea's body stiffened as if subconsciously distrustful of this new affection. But her mother refused to let go. Gradually, carefully, Clea relaxed until she finally collapsed in her mother's arms.

Tears fell from Clea's eyes. Waves of joy poured from her mother, joy at finding her, the thrill at them being reunited again. Her mother didn't hold it back, and Clea allowed herself to take it in and to mourn the woman she might have been if only she hadn't left her mother alone inside the darkness.

"I'm sorry I lost you," her mother murmured. "But you were meant to go to Earth. I see that now. You had to learn the magic from that dimension in order to faithfully serve in ours."

Clea couldn't speak.

Her mother pulled away, but kept her hands on Clea's face. "But you're home now."

Home. A home inside the Dark Dimension.

Stephen still hadn't moved, a wise choice but not without its downside. Clea could read the indecision on her teacher's face. Stephen wanted to fight, but knew doing so would cause his own death and maybe risk hers as well. He was a good man, she noted with sadness. Far too good for her. Heartbreak formed a bitter weight that settled inside her gut.

"I tried to fight the darkness," she whispered to Stephen. "I really did, but…"

Every word she spoke sounded hollow. How could she explain the force of Dormammu's will, or her desire to feel more of the dark magic swirling all around her? Stephen wouldn't understand, couldn't understand. Because he was human.

"I should stay here," Clea said.

Stephen shook his head. "Remember the mind seek, Clea. You can choose who you become…"

"The Sanctums will lay unprotected without you."

From behind Stephen, the Cloak of Levitation fluttered sadly. Clea's eyes filled with tears. She had to look away from it.

"Wong is still healing," she said. "He needs you…"

"I need you," Stephen said softly. "This is not your home."

Clea touched the Dark Gem buried in her skin. "This is my birthright. It's a magnet for dark energy, just like I am."

"The Dark Gem is far more than that," Clea's mother purred, moving closer. "It's an anti-Infinity Gem, created to diminish the power of the Infinity Stones, and should the Dark Gem come into contact with one of the stones, it would absorb and replace it with its own dark power." A predatory smile grew on her mother's face.

Dormammu's presence came nearer, mirroring her mother's delight in destroying those stones. Clea shuddered. She remembered how terrible his wrath could be, and it was only a matter of time before it was directed at Stephen. She didn't have much time.

"Uncle, Mother…" Clea breathed in fresh courage. "I propose a trade."

To Clea it seemed the entire Dark Dimension grew silent, waiting for her next words. She would only have one chance to save herself. And Stephen.

"I know where the Time Gem is," Clea said. "The Eye of Agamotto. That's what humans call it."

Dormammu's rage was almost palpable now. He hated that gem, hated what Stephen had done to him with it. Dormammu wanted it back, to trap Stephen in eternal torment the same way he'd been trapped by him, before destroying it.

"Clea… don't." Stephen's voice sounded far away.

Clea started shaking. A tear fell from her cheek as she spoke. "Uncle, please mute this sorcerer so I can finish."

From the depths of the Dark Dimension came invisible bonds, each one a segment of black magic. They lashed around Stephen, tying his hands and feet, his tongue. Clea's eyes silently pleaded with him to understand right before Dormammu placed a dark spell over his vision. Stephen's eyes glazed over but stayed filled with sorrow.

"I also know where the Darkhold is," Clea said.

She watched Stephen have a visceral reaction to this. He strained against his bonds, but couldn't free himself.

"The Darkhold," her mother breathed. "We've felt its energy coming from the Earth just as we felt yours. Have you read it?"

"No, but with the combined power of the Time Gem and the Dark Gem, I'm certain I can free it. I can bring back all the magic that's been denied this dimension for centuries."

Stephen lurched against the magic surrounding him.

"You said you have a trade," Dormammu said. Clea could hear the hunger in his voice. "Name your price."

"No matter what happens with those gems or the Darkhold, I want to rule over Earth. Just me, with my mother's guidance. And I want Stephen to live. He was my teacher, and without him I wouldn't be standing with you now."

She could tell Dormammu wasn't thrilled by that last part of the trade. He wanted Stephen's spirit to be shattered. Dormammu's energy wavered over her deal, turning it over in his soul for any weaknesses. And there were many, Clea knew. She hadn't specified where Stephen would live, or how, but this was the only way she knew to free him.

Stephen jerked his body with an even greater urgency now, desperate to be free. Dormammu constricted his bonds to a death vise. Clea could feel Stephen terror as acutely as if it were her own. She could also feel Dormammu's triumph.

"It shall be done," Dormammu decreed.

Every particle of the Dark Dimension trembled as Dormammu spoke. Clea felt his words go out, forming a binding covenant to seal their deal.

Even though he couldn't see anything, Stephen must have felt the permanence of their agreement. He closed his eyes. The cloak collapsed.

Clea plucked a piece of dark magic from the air around her to create a gateway back to Earth. "I'll be back," she said.

"With the Darkhold?" her mother said expectantly.

"And the Time Gem?" Dormammu asked.

She could hear the anticipation in their voices, the desire for more darkness, more power. It mirrored her own.

"Don't worry," Clea said. "I'll find them."