Stephen left Maya to say goodbye to her mother's body where it lay on the operating table before the hospital would cover her up. The master was no longer crying as she stayed unmoving beside her mother, staring with bloodshot eyes at the woman lying peacefully in a sleep from which she would never wake.
As Stephen stepped out to give Maya privacy, Christine walked up to him.
"Are you okay?" She whispered.
"Yeah." Stephen answered automatically before he realized who he was talking to. "No."
Christine stared up at him with sympathetic eyes before she drew him into a hug. Stephen returned the gesture, grateful for her friendship before he took a deep breath.
Leaning back, he looked Christine in the eye and he began, "You said that losing my hands didn't have to be the end, that it could be a beginning."
"Yeah." Christine nodded, remembering her own words and reaffirming her belief. "Because there are other ways to save lives."
"A harder way." Stephen mumbled and Christine let out a watery chuckle.
"A weirder way."
The pair stood in comfortable silence for a moment. It was nice, a faint reminder of what they had once had. But things had changed; they could both feel it. Stephen watched as Christine's gaze became rueful and his shoulders slumped just a little.
"Christine, I-" Stephen began apologetically.
But Christine cut him off with a shake of her head.
"You don't have to apologize." She told him firmly. "Not for her, at least."
She nodded to the operating theatre doors and Stephen sighed; he should have known Christine knew Maya was inside. And that she would easily have put two and two together. After all, Christine was clever, almost as clever as Stephen; and she knew him better than anyone else in the world.
Christine stared up at Stephen, her gaze softening and filled with the love they would always have for each other - it just wasn't what it had been.
"She healed you. Where I couldn't do anything for you, she brought you back. When you began to regain yourself, to find yourself again through this… mumbo-jumbo you've got going on," Stephen laughed a little at that, "she was the one who was there to push you and test you. And that's the person you always needed, really. You need someone to fight you and challenge you head on. And that's okay."
Christine smiled and Stephen was a little embarrassed to find himself blinking back tears. But he was unashamed to feel wholly grateful to his old friend; and he knew she deserved to know the truth.
"I'll always care for you, Christine." Stephen spoke with emotion catching his voice. "You were my first love, ever."
Christine smiled at that and she promised, "And you were mine. You'll always be special to me too, Stephen, and I'll always love you in some way. Even if it's only as my best friend."
"Dr. Palmer, the ER, please. Dr. Palmer, the ER."
The pair went silent as the call echoed through the speakers before Christine sighed.
"That's my cue." She said reluctantly and Stephen nodded.
Letting her go, he murmured, "See you, Christine."
"Bye, Stephen."
She started to walk away before she paused and looked back at him.
"By the way, don't bother about the bill. It's all covered."
Stephen's eyes widened and he started to protest, "Christine, I can't accept-"
"Consider it an early Christmas present to both of you."
With that, Christine walked away, leaving behind the man whom she had once thought she would always love. And perhaps, in another world, she might have as he might have always loved her. But life worked in different ways and fate had dealt them both a different hand.
Stephen watched her go, feeling a strange sense of relief. His guilt, not just at having moved on from her but at the nasty way they had ended things the last time he'd been in New York, had been lifted at last and it renewed his spirits even if his heart was still heavy when he turned back to the operating theatre.
Maya hadn't moved from where he had left her earlier, still staring silently at her mother. She made no indication that she had heard him enter nor did she seem to notice when Stephen slowly came up beside her. Instead, she just continued to gaze down at the Ancient One with the same heartbreak in her amber eyes that had been present since the Ancient One's passing.
Stephen remained quietly beside Maya for a long moment before he finally spoke.
"You know, I had a sister."
Maya's head tilted slightly toward him although her eyes remained on her mother. Stephen took this as a good sign and he continued.
"She died many years ago. Accident in a pool. She got a cramp and she drowned."
He paused before he said softly, "I know it's not the same, but… I wanted you to know I do understand a bit how it feels."
At that Maya finally turned her head. And Stephen's heart tugged at the haunted and troubled look in her amber eyes, at how young and vulnerable Maya looked. Maya had been strong and fierce for most of the time he'd known her, and it pained him to see her so lost.
"It's my fault."
At Maya's croaky words, Stephen shook his head.
"Maya, you know that's not true."
"It is." Maya sighed as she looked back at the Ancient One. "I was the one who bent the rules for Kaecilius, who encouraged him and turned a blind eye to the monster I was creating. Did he tell you?"
Her abrupt question threw him for a moment and Stephen didn't answer immediately. It was only when Maya looked back at him expectantly that he admitted, "He said you used to help him sneak out at night."
"Then he didn't tell you everything." Maya looked back at the Ancient One. "You probably won't be that surprised after what you learnt about my mother, but I'm a hypocrite as well. I yelled at you for opening gateways into the library but I used to do the same for Kaecilius."
This did surprise Stephen; as well as he'd come to know Maya, it was still hard for him to picture Maya breaking any rules. To see the woman Kaecilius must have known.
"I bit your head off for asking questions but I used to provoke Kaecilius to think past the boundaries because I thought he could handle it. And he could - just not the way I thought he would."
"That still doesn't make this your fault." Stephen pointed out.
Maya closed her eyes.
"Did you know that I refused to believe Kaecilius was the one who stole the pages from the Book of Cagliostro?"
Stephen was surprised again although he supposed he shouldn't have been. He had seen glimpses of Maya's unwavering loyalty before and he hadn't even needed to hear from the Ancient One that Maya was forgiving to those she loved; he just knew it from being around her.
Maya looked at him again when he didn't speak immediately.
"That's how blind I was. I helped create the monster that Kaecilius is today but I didn't even realize until it was far too late. That mistake, that immaturity, is the reason my Ama is dead."
"You loved him." Stephen shook his head. "That's not a crime and it still doesn't make this your fault."
Maya stared at him, her gaze turning thoughtful.
"You've been awfully calm even after everything I've just told you." She noted after a long moment. "Is this because you're a doctor? You're used to shock?"
"Well, yes."
Stephen nodded before he sighed.
"But, like I said, I can understand a little bit. When my sister died..." His blue eyes dimmed slightly as he remembered the little girl who had been taken far too early. "I blamed everything. I blamed the lifeguard who didn't notice my sister in time. I blamed the bystanders who didn't know CPR to save her. I even blamed the doctors who declared her brain-dead when she was wheeled in. But most of all, I blamed myself for not being able to save her. Even though it was ridiculous; I wasn't even there. But I blamed myself."
Maya stayed silent, digesting what he had said as she looked back down at her mother.
"It's not the same."
"But it is." Stephen placed a hand on Maya's shoulder and she turned to look at him again. "The one to blame here is the man who killed her. Life is full of choices but we can't hold ourselves responsible for the choices of others."
Maya sighed, closing her eyes before she opened them and looked up at Stephen again.
"Thank you." She whispered. "I… I needed to hear that."
"You're welcome. And there's something else you should know."
Maya tilted her head before she sighed as Stephen said firmly, "She loved you. No matter what else she might have done or lied about, she did love you and she knew you loved her. So don't beat yourself up about it."
Maya's eyes swam with tears again as Stephen gave her a meaningful look.
"I just… I just wish I could have told her." Maya whispered as she looked back down at her mother.
"It's not like I didn't know. I always knew the truth about her, subconsciously at least. How else could she live as long as she had? I've known her my whole life and she never changed, not even one wrinkle in all thirty-five years. I know the Mystic Arts as well as anyone, probably the best after her. But, when I was confronted with it… I just thought, if she and Kaecilius are the same then what am I fighting for?"
Maya closed her eyes briefly again before opening them once more.
"But they're not the same. I can see that more clearly now than I have ever seen it. Her rules were to stop us from following her down a dangerous path, a path that had no return. Because she knew me just like I knew her. She knew I would have followed her without hesitation and she didn't want that for me. For any of us. She kept it a secret to protect us. Until someone headstrong enough to challenge her came along."
Stephen's lips lifted in a half-smile while Maya took a deep breath and let it go wistfully.
"I just wish I could tell her I don't hold it against her."
"She knew."
Maya turned to look at Stephen but this time he was staring down at the Ancient One.
"She knew you'd forgive her, even if it took some time. She trusted you just like you trusted her."
Maya stared at Stephen until his eyes shifted back to her. He fidgeted under her stare.
"What?" He asked and she shook her head.
"I'm sorry." She said in a low voice that he almost didn't hear. "You're being far too kind after I treated you very unfairly."
"Well, you had good reason-" Stephen muttered but Maya shook her head again.
"No, I didn't. I was… afraid. And it made me foolish. I was wrong to say the things I did to you. You are not Kaecilius and never have been. I should not have ever compared you as such. And for that, I'm sorry."
"I understand why you did it." Stephen replied, taking Maya's hand gently in his.
She glanced down at his hand covering hers before she looked back up at his eyes as Stephen went on quietly, "And yeah, it's maybe not right to judge a person first but you did try to do right with it by showing your trust in me. And, I'm sorry too. For breaking that trust."
She smiled slightly before she sighed again.
"We're a sorry pair, aren't we?"
"Maybe." Stephen acknowledged. "But I for one think that your Ama would be proud of us."
"Bevakupha." Maya muttered but she still cracked another smile. Stephen grinned, and Maya turned back to the Ancient One.
Letting go of Stephen's hand, Maya walked up to her mother's side one last time. Stroking her mother's cheek, Maya leant down and pressed a soft kiss on the Ancient One's forehead where the mark of the Dark Dimension had once blazed.
"Goodbye, Ama." Maya whispered, tears welling up in her eyes again as she bid a peaceful farewell to her mother at last. "Thank you for taking care of me and for protecting this world until your last breath. May you find your peace at last."
Stephen's smile had softened into a gentler one as Maya stepped away from her mother to take one final look before she gently covered her mother up with the hospital-issued cloth herself. Stephen waited while Maya took a deep breath before she stepped back to be beside Stephen again.
He took her hand in his again and Maya's gaze softened as she stared up at him with the warmth he had started to cherish before he'd even realized it.
"Thank you, priya."
"What does that mean?" Stephen asked, frowning at the unfamiliar word.
Maya laughed a little, and Stephen's heart leapt at the sound,
"Google translate it when you have time." Maya answered fondly, before her face slid into a grim mask.
"Right now we have to go."
Kamar-Taj
Stephen and Maya found Mordo in the destroyed Seeing Room.
The man stood rigidly and unmoving in the darkness as he stared at the broken doorways to the Sanctums. He didn't even move when the other two approached him, only moving when Stephen announced softly, "She's dead."
Despite having made peace with her mother's passing, Maya still shuddered just slightly at his words. Stephen squeezed Maya's hand comfortingly while Mordo croaked out, "You were right. She wasn't who I thought she was."
"She was... complicated." Stephen answered with a sigh.
Mordo whirled around on them incredulously.
"Complicated?"
He didn't even seem to care that Stephen was still holding hands with Maya as he stated with his entire face contorting with his raging emotions, "The Dark Dimension is volatile. Dangerous. What if it overtook her?"
He began to pace in his agitation as he continued accusingly, "She taught us it was forbidden, while she drew on it's power to steal centuries of life."
"It's not that simple, Karl." Maya rebuked while Stephen amended gently, "She did what she thought was right."
Mordo scoffed.
"The bill comes due." He turned back to them grimly. "Don't you see? Her transgressions led the Zealots to Dormammu. Kaecilius was her fault."
Maya flinched before she glared as Mordo spread his hands to indicate the destruction they stood amidst.
"And here we are, in the consequence of her deception. A world on fire."
"You know that's not true." Maya snapped back and Mordo glared at her.
"Maya." Stephen murmured.
Maya didn't back down although she did soften her tone at Stephen's chastising tone.
"My Ama has protected this world and all the multiverse for centuries. Kaecilius is just the next of the many evils that she had to face and he has proven to be the one who was her undoing."
Her voice caught there but Maya forged ahead with Stephen's hand placed comfortingly on her shoulder now.
"It's up to us to continue where she left off. To protect this world as we were sworn to do."
The two friends stood in a standoff for a minute. It was clear Mordo was not convinced but Maya was more than equal to his stubbornness. It was Stephen who interrupted their staring match as he interjected firmly,"Mordo, London Sanctum has fallen. And New York has been attacked. Twice. You know where they're going next."
"Hong Kong." Mordo nodded; the thought had occurred to him already.
Maya opened her mouth, but Stephen's hand squeezed her shoulder and she allowed him his chance to speak first. Stephen faced Mordo completely and his tone was serious with a hint of pleading and a drop of urgency.
"You told me once to fight as if my life depended on it, because one day, it might."
Mordo frowned unhappily but Stephen pressed, "Well, today is that day."
Mordo began to shake his head, although it seemed to be more out of reluctance than actual disagreement. Stephen let go of Maya to take a step forward and closer to Mordo, the plea winning out in his voice as he spoke again.
"We can't defeat them alone."
Mordo stared at Stephen, his gaze conflicted. Maya held her breath. Would Mordo deny them his help, too deeply hurt by the Ancient One's betrayal? Or was her friend still in there, the man she knew he was, the man who would lay down his life to protect an innocent?