New York

Stephen was ready… and then the Tao Mandala on his right hand flickered before it disappeared.

Stephen stared at his hand in dismay. Maybe Maya had been a tiny bit correct in saying he wasn't exactly ready… Stephen shook his hand, trying to bring the weapon back as the Zealots strode with deadly purpose toward him. The air around his fist flickered, sparked slightly... and then nothing.

And he was out of time. Stephen looked up in alarm as the first of the Zealots came at him while Kaecilius leapt up and spun so that he was somehow walking on the ceiling. Stephen lost sight of the man for the moment after that as he focused on the Zealots intent on killing him as they charged at him, leaping from the ground to the walls. He blocked the woman's attack, his Tao Mandala shattering from the impact of her glass-like weapon against his energy although he succeeded in throwing her back behind him.

Stephen was not as successful against the male who grabbed him by his lapels and threw him bodily against the wall. Stephen grunted as he fell down before looking up just in time to create a Tao Mandala in front of him as a shield. The spell sparked as the male Zealot's glass weapon smashed against it and Stephen was thrown back again from the sheer force of the blow.

Stephen landed with a grunt yet again before he scrambled to his feet as the Zealots charged him again. Drawing on himself, Stephen created the Eldritch whips Maya had taught him and he whipped it into the woman's face, sending her flying backward… just as the entire room began to turn on itself. Stephen looked up at Kaecilius in alarm before looking down at his feet as he felt the floor tilt right beneath him. Stephen only had time to gulp before he was sent tumbling into the wall on his right that was now the floor as what had been the floor beneath his feet turned ninety degrees.

Stephen cried out as his face smashed right into the window, breaking it he hit it so hard, before he yelped as the walls spun counterclockwise this time and he ended up on his back on the floor that was now the floor again. Stephen barely had the time to get his bearings before Kaecilius was spinning his section of the room again and Stephen lost complete track of what was the floor as he was sent tumbling over and over while the walls around him kept turning and throwing him onto whatever became the new floor before it became a wall or a roof.

The spinning finally stopped and Stephen landed on his side on the ground. Glancing back, he saw Kaecilius starting to draw his hands together once again; sensing it didn't mean anything good for him, Stephen scrambled to his feet and attempted to run… only the corridor seemed to be stretching away from him indefinitely. And the floor was tilting up…

Stephen realized what was happening as the fallen books and tables and vases around him (or what remained of them after the spinning and crashing they'd gone through) began to slide along the floor and down toward Kaecilius and his men. Stephen tried to push himself against the pull but the floor had risen to past forty-five degrees by that point. He flung himself to the side, grasping the handles of a window just in time as the floor tilted a complete ninety degrees and left Stephen dangling completely horizontally. Unfortunately, the window frame was cracked from all the earlier smashing and it creaked under his weight before it snapped off completely.

Stephen barely managed to grab onto the light fixture attached to the wall near the ceiling as the broken window frame went flying back down the hall. Stephen glanced back to see the female Zealot avoiding the window frame, allowing it to fall behind her where it smashed through the french windows at the end of the hallway.

A plan - crazy, insane, brilliant - formed in his mind and Stephen made the split-second decision. Letting go of the lamp fixture, Stephen yelled as he dropped down the hallway. Kaecilius and the male Zealot were close enough to the sides to avoid him but the female was not as lucky as Stephen aimed his feet right into her stomach. Together, they were thrown down and the woman went flying out through the broken french windows and into the middle of a random desert where she toppled down a sand dune.

Stephen managed to cling onto the edges of the desert, saving himself from falling out with the woman. The hallway tilted back to normal immediately as Kaecilius realigned the french windows with the desert so his Zealot could return through when she made it back from across the desert. It also meant Stephen was able to get back inside as he pulled himself upright and Stephen hastily reached for the knob near the window that would change it from the desert scenery.

His hand was kicked aside as the male Zealot launched at Stephen, and the two exchanged quick blows and dodges as the Zealot attempted to keep Stephen from the knob while Stephen tried to reach it. Stephen was the weaker brawler but he was close enough to the knob… it was right there…

And as the Zealot attempted to twist Stephen's arm, he was able to turn about completely, pushing off the other man and Stephen's hand touched the spinning knob.

The french window switched from the desert to the thunderstorm rainforest as the male Zealot attempted to strangle Stephen; remembering what Maya had spent several months recently teaching him, Stephen reared back before he pitched his entire weight forward. The Zealot lost his balance and Stephen flipped him bodily over his back and sent the Zealot flying into the rainforest.

The Zealot disappeared into the trees with a cry and Stephen hastily spun the dial on the windows to the Grand Canyon… just as Kaecilius, realizing Stephen was stronger than he had thought, came storming over. Stephen ducked, avoiding Kaecilius's swings as the man attempted to slice him in half and he ran for it.

Escaping down a side corridor where he had noticed a secret door earlier, Stephen scrambled away from Kaecilius, pulling down bookcases or hauling across tables into the path behind him in an attempt to slow down the other man who simply started to run across the wall, perpendicular to the ground, as he continued to chase Stephen.

Stephen raced up the steps back into the attic room he had toured earlier, hastily creating an Eldritch whip as he went. It was a good thing he did as Kaecilius ran up the walls of the stairs to launch right into Stephen's path when he tried to run around and Stephen lifted his whip as a shield against Kaecilius's glass weapon.

Kaecilius retaliated by simply kicking Stephen in the stomach and Stephan grunted as he bumped into a table with a goblet that shone with a light inside it. Grabbing the goblet, Stephen held it threateningly against Kaecilius, who paused as he glanced from the goblet to Stephen and back.

"You don't know how to use that, do you?" Kaecilius guessed and Stephen glanced at the goblet he'd thought was… a goblet.

"Uh..."

With nothing to lose, Stephen lifted the goblet and whacked it down at Kaecilius. The older man blocked the attack quickly with his own weapon, slicing the metal in half and Stephen was forced to defend himself as Kaecilius retaliated with a swing back at him. His Eldritch whip held as he blocked Kaecilius's swings at him, when Kaecilius kicked him hard right through the glass case of the floating red cape Stephen had seen before.

Dazed, Stephen had no time to react as Kaecilius lunged at him and swung his glass shard right at Stephen… only to be blocked by the cape. Stephen looked back at the floating cape in shock before he tried to scurry away, only for Kaecilius to grab him by the head and haul him back. The man swung at Stephen again… and he was blocked once more by the cape.

Incensed, Kaecilius kneed Stephen in the chest before throwing him bodily across the floor where Stephen skid across the broken glass. He hurriedly blocked Kaecilius's attempt to stab him, using both his hands to keep the weapon at bay but unaware he had been backed against the stairs. Kaecilius noticed; and unable to break Stephen's hold, he simply kicked Stephen in the side, making him lose his balance slightly. Using the moment of weakness, Kaecilius leapt up to kick Stephen hard in the chest, throwing him bodily back and Stephen toppled over the stair railings and over the edge just as something red streaked toward him.

London

Maya spun and kicked the last Zealot on the back, sending the other woman crashing into the cement where she ended the woman's life with a quick but efficient slice of her Eldritch fans. Nearby, Mordo was straightening up after defeating the last of his foes as well, the two Masters unscathed although quite breathless.

But it didn't matter - London was lost.

As the thought went through her head, a golden circle appeared in the air and Maya looked over in relief as the Ancient One and Wong stepped through. The Ancient One's expression was as neutral as always but her blue eyes were fiery as she took in the dead bodies strewn around the street and then the dusty remains of the London Sanctum.

Her eyes then returned to her adopted daughter as Maya strode up, explaining curtly, "We couldn't stop him; now we must follow Kaecilius."

"He could be anywhere." Mordo protested as he joined the others, before he paused as his words caught up to him and realization dawned. "He has his eyes set on the Sanctums."

"Why else would he make such a public attack on London?" Maya asked rhetorically before she looked at the Ancient One. "He has to be trying to draw us out."

"You mean me." The Ancient One observed.

Maya didn't lower her gaze as she simply stared back at her mother grimly. The Ancient One nodded curtly.

"Master Wong, you and I will go to Hong Kong." She ordered. "I would think that is where he would go next; New York is the more difficult one to successfully take even by surprise. However, we take no chances - Maya, Master Mordo, check New York. If either side finds nothing, regroup at the other Sanctum."

"No," Maya shook her head sharply. "I will go to Hong Kong. Strange ended up in New York and I do not have the confidence to see him - especially if Kaecilius did end up there and turned Strange to his side."

"Are you questioning your order, Master Garthe?"

Mordo and Wong tensed as they watched Maya face off against the Ancient One, neither side giving an inch. The air around them seem to get colder too as though they were physically radiating the coldness in their gazes as Maya stared at the Ancient One defiantly.

"I am suggesting an amendment."

"Then your suggestion is denied." The Ancient One's voice never rose nor did it change from her usual, cool tone. "You will go to New York."

"Ama!" Maya was not as cool-headed and her rising temper was clear in her sharp tone.

"Do you have so little faith in her student?" The Ancient One cut in.

Maya snapped back, "Look where my faith landed my last student! See the destruction he has caused around us! So of course I won't trust Strange, he is too similar-"

"You came to believe in him - I know you did." The Ancient One responded.

"I did not-" Maya began defensively but the Ancient One cut her off sternly.

"You are blinded by your fear, child. You were deeply affected by Kaecilius's betrayal, not just to Kamar-Taj and to my teachings but also to you, to the affections you held for him. You have always seen in him the father figure you never had, I know you did. Do not for a minute think you once fooled me with the lies you told yourself to ease the pain. And what has come of it? You have become bitter to not just him but to the world ever since - Mordo and I have seen this, as have the other Masters. But we let it be, hoping that time would heal you as it has healed so many others. But I will not stand and let you ruin an innocent man because of your own fears."

Maya stood muted. Her anger was still there but much dimmed by her adoptive mother's admonishment and the shame in knowing her mother was right.

The Ancient One then softened her harsh tone as she continued gently, "Stephen is not like Kaecilius. You know this. You guarded yourself against it but even you cannot deny that in your heart, you know that Stephen is the good man that Kaecilius, as much as we had hoped otherwise, never could be."

Maya hung her head, biting her lip uncertainly, but the Ancient One placed a finger under her daughter's chin and brought her face back up so they could meet eyes.

"Trust your heart, my child. You have been burnt once but all wounds heal with time. Let your heart learn from the pain, let the scar be a reminder that not all things in the world are kind but do not let that shut out what is good."

With that she released Maya and turned to the others, her expression grim.

"Now, we have lost much time - we must hurry."

"Yes, Ancient One." The two men responded instantly and Mordo glanced at Maya. The Ancient One also looked at May expectantly and the younger woman sighed in reluctant (for now) agreement.

"Yes, Ancient One."

Stephen stood, out of breath and feeling extremely sore, while before him Kaecilius knelt, unable to move as he was held captive by a metal chain that had imprisoned him quite effectively. Truth be told, it hadn't been Stephen's idea to use the chain mail - it had been the cloak, which had also saved him from the fall off the stairs, that had dragged Stephen to the metal net on display and all but ordered him to use it.

Stephen didn't have the time to attempt to thank the cloak, however, as Kaecilius began mumbling around the metal mouthguard.

"What?" Stephen asked, groaning as he straightened up. Of course, Kaecilius couldn't answer clearly and the man kept mumbling so Stephen pulled off the muzzle tiredly… only to realize Kaecilius was speaking ancient mystic arts. Or, to Stephen, just straight gibberish.

"Oh, stop it." Stephen groaned, and when Kaecilius continued to chant he repeated more loudly and more insistently, "I said, stop it!"

"You cannot stop this, Mr. Doctor." Kaecilius answered quite calmly for a man who was rendered completely immobile.

"Why… look," Stephen sighed tiredly. "I don't even know what 'this' is."

"It's the end and the beginning." Kaecilius replied as though it were obvious. "The many becoming the few, becoming the One."

Stephen just gave the other man a dirty look and he threatened, "Look, if you're not going to start making sense, I'm just going to have to put this thing back on."

He lifted the muzzle back toward Kaecilius, who ignored the threat as he began, "Tell me, Mr. Doctor-"

"Alright, look." Stephen snapped, annoyed that the man kept getting it wrong whether unintentionally or not. "My name is Dr. Stephen Strange."

"You are a doctor?" Kaecilius asked, genuinely surprised.

"Yes." Stephen snapped and a knowing look entered Kaecilius's dark eyes.

"A scientist." Kaecilius prompted, watching Stephen intently. "You understand the laws of nature. All things age. All things die. In the end, our sun burns out, our universe grows cold and perishes. But the Dark Dimension, it's a place beyond time."

Stephen had lost the will to keep listening by then and he lifted the muzzle again as he said resolutely, "That's it. I'm putting this thing back on."

"This world doesn't have to die, doctor." Kaecilius said sharply, making Stephen pause. "This world can take its rightful place among so many others, as part of the One. The great and beautiful One. And we can all live forever."

"Really?" Stephen asked, feigning more interest than he really felt as he placed the muzzle down on a nearby statue (he really hoped he wasn't being unforgivably sacrilegious in doing so). "What do you have to gain out of this New Age dimensional utopia?"

"The same as you." Kaecilius answered resolutely. "The same as everyone. Life. Eternal life. People think in terms of good and evil, but really, Time is the true enemy of us all. Time kills everything."

"What about the people you killed?" Stephen countered.

Kaecilius replied without missing a beat and without a shred of remorse.

"Tiny, momentary specks within an indifferent universe."

Stephen stiffened at that. It was what he had said, his exact words, the first day he had arrived at Kamar-Taj. Suddenly, he could see exactly why Maya had feared he would become like Kaecilius; never had he really understood the connection she seemed to have made from his first day at the temple between him and a murderer and betrayer.

But now, now Stephen realized this was what she had seen. Maya had seen in him a man beaten down by life but retaining an arrogant and indifferent attitude to the lives of the people he had promised to save when he became a doctor, and in that darker side of him she had seen the man who had thrown her away.

Kaecilius seemed to see some realization, some connection, in Stephen's eyes and he breathed, "Yes. You see, you see what we're doing?"

Stephen lowered his gaze, avoiding Kaecilius's eyes as the man continued.

"The world is not what it ought to be. Humanity longs for the eternal, for a world beyond Time, because Time is what enslaves us. Time is an insult. Death is an insult. Doctor… We don't seek to rule this world. We seek to save it, to hand it over to Dormammu, who is the intent of all evolution, the 'Why' of all existence."

"The Sorcerer Supreme defends existence." Stephen muttered defensively. But even he heard his hesitance, the lack of conviction.

Kaecilius picked up on that at once and he questioned, "What was it that brought you to Kamar-Taj, doctor? Was it enlightenment? Power?"

Stephen's mangled hands clenched slightly at his side, even now unable to stop their tremors; Kaecilius noticed and he seemed satisfied.

"You came to be healed, as did we all." Kaecilius said with conviction. "Kamar-Taj is a place that collects broken things. We all come with the promise of being healed, but instead, the Ancient One gives us parlor tricks. Not even her so-called daughter is taught more. The real magic the Ancient One keeps for herself. Have you ever wondered how she managed to live this long?

"I…" Stephen hesitated. "I saw the rituals in the book of Cagliostro."

Kaecilius nodded.

"So, you know." He said persuasively. "The ritual gives me the power to overthrow the Ancient One and tear her Sanctums down. To let the Dark Dimension in. Because what the Ancient One hoards, Dormammu gives freely. Life, everlasting. He is not the destroyer of worlds, doctor, he is the savior of worlds."

"No."

Stephen shook his head. He didn't know why he hadn't stopped the man earlier; perhaps because he had been waiting for the proof of the suspicions he himself held of the Ancient One? Perhaps because there was a tiny part of him that had been fascinated by this man's psyche? But at the man's words, at his declaration that he would bring down the Ancient One and tear the Sanctums she and her masters protected so firmly… it brought him back to reality.

This was wrong. Even if he didn't completely agree with or trust the Ancient One now, he knew that this was wrong. For the first time, he could truly appreciate the lessons Maya had worked to instill in him as he looked at Kaecilius's haunted and disturbing face.

"I mean, come on. Look at your face." Stephen said, gesturing at the man's face.

And the man's desecrated face was just the tip of the iceberg. He thought of what Wong had told him before Kaecilius's attack. The mystical war that Maya had been undoubtedly fighting since she was a young woman and maybe even younger. The war he had never been aware of as he lived an opulent life as a celebrated neurosurgeon, the war that was the reason he had been told to slow down in his quest for knowledge because Maya and his masters had not wished for him to become a casualty. The war against which the Sanctums stood to protect. Sanctums that Maya, whose trust he had broken by unwittingly attempting the very spells Kaecilius had murdered for, would undoubtedly protect with her life if it came down to it.

"You've let yourself become a murderer and you betrayed the people who placed their trust in you." Stephen continued. "The woman who took you in; the people you trained with; Maya-"

"You think I would have betrayed Maya if I didn't think it was more than worth the cost?" Kaecilius replied although he was now eyeing Stephen rather shrewdly. "You know nothing, doctor, but that which they have told you. Maya was but a seventeen year old girl when we met. And yet she was already so powerful. I admired her, loved her even-"

Stephen's hand clenched into a fist again, something which did not escape Kaecilius's notice.

"How could I not? She was a sweet girl, kind, always laughing even when she sparred with me. Despite being a young master, she was... exceptional. And she wanted me to be so as well."

Here his gaze grew a little more shrewd.

"Did they ever tell you she helped sneak me out even after hours to learn faster, that she looked the other way when I practiced spells that were far more advanced than my lessons?"

Stephen stared at Kaecilius silently and his silence was enough.

"She was like my daughter, the daughter I lost. But in the end she betrayed me. Don't let her fool you, doctor. Maya may seem to care a great deal about you but she will always be loyal first and foremost to the Ancient One."

Kaecilius's expression contorted with pain that Stephen almost believed. Almost.

"Like her name, Maya's affections are mere illusions that slip through your fingers like water. She has only love for the Ancient One. And no matter how selfish and cruel the Ancient One is, Maya will never stand up to her. She will always side with the Ancient One. You and I, doctor, we are but passing flights of fancies - it is to the Ancient One and the Ancient One alone that Maya's heart will truly belong and damned be the rest of us."

Stephen shook his head again.

"You're wrong."

"Am I?" Kaecilius challenged, raising a brow but Stephen knew the truth.

Maya wasn't usually the most expressive woman but now he realized it was because of this man. Yes, she seemed to follow the Ancient One so blindly that Stephen often wanted to shake her but it didn't mean she cared any less for them. She had shown on numerous occasions (often reluctantly) that she cared about his well-being; had watched over him so he wouldn't let his curiosity and ego throw him into danger he wasn't ready to face; had worked many hours with him to prepare him for a war but would never force him to become a part of. Most importantly she was honest. It was the reason she shut down questions because she refused to lie or even pretend to not lie.

So if she banned the magic Kaecilius spoke of (that he now wielded), it was because she truly believed that it was destructive. As Kaecilius was only proving too well. And Stephen knew she fought the evil Kaecilius bowed to because she truly believed there was still good that existed in the imperfect world, the imperfect universe; and not because the Ancient One had simply decreed it so. And if she was willing to give her life for them, his Maya who he now understood far better than he ever had as all the pieces fell into place in his mind, then Stephen knew that the decision he was about to make was the absolutely right one.

"Dormammu made you a monster." Stephen said grimly. "Just how good can his kingdom be?"

Kaecilius's lips curved up and he gave a small chuckle. Stephen's eyes narrowed.

"You think that's funny?" He demanded.

But the amusement didn't leave Kaecilius's face as he answered in a light tone, "No. No, doctor. What's funny is that you've lost your sling ring."

Stephen's eyes widened and his eyes flew down to his empty pocket. He turned, eyes automatically and anxiously searching for his sling ring... and a shard of magical glass flew through the air and stabbed him right in the chest.