Chapter VIII:

"Yelena, where are we?"

"I don't know Percy, ask your cat."

"He's asleep."

All the dimension traveling had finally gotten to Moby, who was slumped on Percy's shoulder as they took stock of their new standing.

They were back on Earth, that much was clear. Only problem was that they were in a place Percy definitely had never heard of, the first thing of note being the massive mountain ranges surrounding the city. The city itself was clogged with buildings and people that stared at them like aliens descended from Mars. Everything else, from the colors to the weather, gave off the vibe of maybe somewhere in the Middle East or Asia, although he was never known for his geographical prowess.

To make matters worse, it appeared that the quinjet was no longer in their possession, which was a shame. Percy would miss the ship.

"Great." Yelena intoned without much eloquence, huffing as she led them through the moving crowd.

Percy, slightly amused, took time to soak in and enjoy the scenery. He had not been outside the States for a while, the only times before being the handful of demigod excursions from his youth. With this in mind, he appropriately decided to act like a tourist as much as possible, if only to annoy Yelena that little bit more.

"What are you doing?"

Percy gave Yelena a goofy face as he shoved a stick with what looked and tasted like cotton candy into his mouth. "Eating?"

"Now is not the time, Percy."

"Yelena," he drawled deliberately, licking his lips. "If we're going to be walking around all day, I'm going to need some fuel. These guns don't power themselves, you know?"

"Yeah, whatever," she grumbled. "Let me know when you're ready to be useful."

Percy smiled.

It was the little things like their quibbling, that made him appreciate whatever they had with each other. Sure, everything had happened in the course of what? Two weeks? Two weeks of mind-bending, ass-tearing adventures that had been nothing short of psychotic. But with every stone they gathered, he became increasingly more aware of the end. The elephant in the room, or in their case, the gauntlet in the flerken.

With everything Yelena had told him, he knew to expect the worst with whatever followed their completion of the gauntlet. Perhaps for a while his ignorance was bliss, but he was roped into this thing now. And the conclusion was visible on the horizon. Whatever that may be.

Suddenly, Yelena's face changed. "Kathmandu."

"Huh?"

"Kathmandu."

"Cat-ma-what?"

"Kathmandu," Yelena repeated, rolling her eyes in annoyance as she pivoted. "We're in Kathmandu."

Looking in the direction she was pointing, Percy found the massive sign with the big colorful lettering.

He scratched his head. "Is… that a good thing?"

Yelena, now with renewed purpose, nodded enthusiastically, the speed of her steps increasing.

"This is where the Time Stone is." She said, looking around. "The sanctuary. It's somewhere here. Moby knew to bring us here."

Percy's brow raised in question. "What? Sanctuary? Huh? How do you know?"

"The Masters of the Mystic Arts," Yelena answered. "This is where they train. This is where Strange came from. But—fuck! I can't remember what the sanctuary is called."

There were about a gazillion street signs surrounding them, with even more names printed on them.

Yelena let out a frustrated sigh. "It's two words, with a hyphen connecting them. That's all I remember."

"And they have the Time Stone?"

"The Ancient One does, the Sorcerer Supreme."

"Ancient One? Sorcerer Supreme? Sounds like a fun guy."

"I think he's actually a she. Can't remember though."

Percy checked for the flerken still on his shoulder,

"Well, Moby's still asleep, and I doubt we want to find out what happens if we wake him up. So I guess we gotta try find this Ancient One by ourselves first."

-Ω-

"Tamar-Kaj?" No.

"Karma-Dag?" Maybe? No.

"Flida-Vaj?" Ha! No.

"Big-Mama?" …

Every attempt of them asking random passerby for the directions to a magical sanctuary was met with confused faces and behind-their-backs laughter, leaving Percy convinced that the place did not even exist.

"Are you sure you're thinking about the right thing?" He asked.

Yelena's complexion remained stern. "Yes, we're in the right place. I'm certain of it."

Percy hid his tired sigh with a closed fist. "We've been at this for hours now though, you would think that a place filled with magical time peoples would be pretty obvious to find, no?"

"I'd think the opposite, actually."

"Your first attempts were much closer." A new voice said.

Percy and Yelena spun around to face a man that was following them. He was in the middle of them height-wise, clothed in an earthly-colored robe, his face hiding within the shadows of the hood.

"Excuse me?" Yelena asked.

With a flourish, the hood dropped, to reveal the man's full head of hair,

"I believe the place you are looking for is Kamar-Taj, no?"

By gauging Yelena's reaction, Percy could tell they finally hit the mark.

"Yes," she answered, her relief evident, "how did you know?"

The man laughed heartily, his fingers combing the wispy beard hanging from his chin. "It wasn't hard, really. Even a grasshopper could tell that you guys weren't from around here."

Yelena nodded her head. Percy just wanted to know what grasshopper the dude was talking about.

"And as for how I knew you were looking for Kamar-Taj?" The man laughed again. "I've watched you all visit nearly every major shrine and temple in Kathmandu, while at the same time bothering anybody willing to look at you by asking about various forms of a two-part word. It was quite obvious."

Percy's brow raised in surprise. "You were following us this entire time?"

"Not following, just watching." The man answered, his cadence never changing. "The place you are looking for, Kamar-Taj, is not advertised. May I ask how you came to know of it?"

"We want to speak to the Ancient One," Yelena named, "About Dormammu."

Like an extinguished flame, the man's face turned dark, his hearty demeanor shifting to rigid in an instant,

"Very well. Follow me."

-Ω-

With the knowledge now of what Kamar-Taj looked like, Percy did not feel so bad about having missed it.

The entrance to the temple was disguised as a rundown townhouse, in an alleyway so far out of the public's eye that it would have taken them years to even pass by it, let alone identify it for what it really was. The insides were a different story however, the architecture exuding complexity and elegance, the layout giving off the temperament of higher knowledge. It reminded Percy of a library he had seen once in Olympus, this one though filled with sorcerers instead of nerdy satyrs.

To all appearances, Yelena had put the fear of god in the man that first approached him, the man quickly leading them through a series of hallways that ended in an airy wooden-decorated room.

"Please, take a seat." The man motioned, allowing them to enter through first. "The Ancient One will see you now."

Within a second of them sitting down, an elderly man of the same dark tones as the first appeared. His skin was nearly translucent in the light, his entirety appearing to weigh no more than a pillow. Percy thought it to be kind of cruel, calling this old man the Ancient One, like they were trying to rub it in his face.

"Thank you for seeing us, Sorcerer Supreme." Yelena thanked, expressing her gratitude towards the elder man.

"You're very welcome, Ms. Belova." Said another voice from the other side of the room.

Both of them turned towards the new direction, finding a bald woman smiling slyly at them.

The woman then looked to the elder man, "Thank you Master Xu," and then the first man, "Thank you Jingha."

Both nodded and left the room, leaving them alone with the woman, who walked over to the table across and began pouring herself a cup of tea.

"Wait," Percy said with a raised finger. "You're the Ancient One?"

The woman's smile grew. "What? Surprised, Mr. Jackson?"

Percy blinked, completely thrown for a loop. Neither Yelena nor he had told anyone their names, let alone their last name.

Ignoring their staring, the woman sat down opposite to them, stirring her cup in a slow but calculated manner. "So tell me, Ms. Belova, Mr. Jackson, Moby, what brings you to Kamar-Taj?"

At the mention of his name, Moby awoke from Percy's shoulder, his eyes narrowing at his new surroundings.

Yelena seemed the most composed, even as uncomfortable as she was, "I feel like telling you would be pointless. You already seem to know our names."

The woman's smile broadened as she gestured to a book by her side. "Ah, but just because you know the title, it doesn't mean you know the story."

While Percy parsed over what her words meant, Yelena took the initiative. This was her journey, after all.

"Okay, well, to put it simply I guess, I've been sent on a time heist by one of your ex-pupils to stop Dormammu from rising again."

The Ancient One's complexion remained unchanged as she sipped from her tea. "This heist you speak of, I assume it has involved the Infinity Stones and gauntlet that you store in your flerken friend?"

"Yes…" Yelena said, looking at Percy and Moby. "Your pupil believed that with them, we would be able to stop Dormammu."

The Ancient One cocked her head. "This pupil you speak of, do they have a name?"

"Strange. Dr. Stephen Strange."

"Dr. Stephen Strange." The woman took time to repeat the name, letting each syllable hang in the air, "And he was convinced that this was the only way to go about doing so?"

Yelena nodded sullenly. "Those were his words. He said that I needed to get all six."

"You say 'I,' and not 'we.'"

"Percy and Moby?" Yelena again looked in their direction. "They joined along the way, but I guess you already know that too."

"You assume I know everything." The woman sat back in her chair, folding her hands together in her lap. "Such confidence in my abilities. I'm flattered."

Yelena shrugged. "Am I wrong?"

"I've been watching your progress closely," she chuckled. "Which is why I expected you, sooner or later," her chin then tilted downwards to the locket hanging around her neck. "The arrival of four Infinity Stones on Earth at once is a presence that doesn't go unnoticed."

To Percy, it felt like a minute or so passed before either of the two said anything more.

"My… future pupil, Dr. Strange, chose you, Ms. Belova?"

Yelena nodded in confirmation.

The Ancient One sat back again in her chair, looking confused for a second, then impressed. Next, she drew her attention to Percy.

"You, Mr. Jackson, are not of this world, of this reality, are you?"

This woman certainly knew her shit.

"Uh, yeah," Percy responded, clearing his voice. "And you knew because…?"

"Kamar-Taj is guarded by many spells. Your non-human presence set off quite a few." The woman's smile still had not left. "What are you, if not fully human?"

Percy's hand subconsciously found the necklace around his neck. "Demigod, a son of Poseidon."

"Of the Greek Pantheon, and from a different Earth than ours?"

Three for three.

"Yes." He answered, taken aback.

Her smile grew constrained. "Quite unusual, no? But I suppose you all are used to unusual by now."

The Ancient One set her teacup back on the table, again her eyes falling upon her locket. With a flurry from both her hands, it began to move, revealing a glowing green orb in its center that could only be one thing.

"I suppose you've come for this?" She said simply.

Moby meowed, his first sound since his awakening, all three of his eyes fixed on the Time Stone.

"Thank you, Moby." The woman chuckled, eying the flerken with fondness. "You know, in the Mystic Arts, the possession of a third eye holds a great deal of weight."

Percy held Moby out with his arms. "What do you mean?"

Moby let out another, louder meow, and squirmed out of Percy's hold, landing on the floor and making his way towards the Ancient One, who allowed him to lick her outstretched hand.

"Perception beyond that of ordinary sight does not come by often," she said, rubbing Moby between the ears.

"Are you saying that Moby can also tell the future?"

"Perhaps, maybe, or maybe not."

The Ancient One's attention returned to Yelena,

"I find it hard to believe that Dormammu has managed to return again." Her skepticism did not show on her face, though. "Dormammu has not reared his head in many, many millennia."

"I'm not sure what else I can tell you to prove it." Yelena was messing with her thumbnail, a little tic Percy noticed whenever she was nervous.

"You don't have to, Ms. Belova." The Ancient One smiled a knowing smile, cradling Moby now in her lap. "It's impossible to lie in this room."

Yelena and Percy both remained speechless, as she stared at the flerken.

"You two are certainly unpredictable." She continued. "And unpredictability tends to cause problems. And problems are something I don't typically enjoy."

Percy fought the urge to gulp. If this woman was just casually wielding an Infinity Stone around her neck, he was more than sure that she could clean house if she wanted to. The closest he had gotten to using one was with the Power Stone back on Morag, and even then he only swung at it with Riptide. And well, the Tesseract also, he guessed, somehow.

With a wave of the hands, the green orb detached from the locket, spinning in the air between them,

"The Eye of Agamotto is the only thing keeping this dimension at peace. Without it, we will be unguarded against the forces of darkness."

"But you've seen the future, haven't you?" Yelena said in an almost plea. "You know that everything will be alright."

The woman's brow furrowed, studying them further. "Perhaps." There was a pregnant pause. "You're right in assuming that I've examined the possible futures. The last time being when I first noticed your presence in this universe," she pointed at Percy, which felt like a threat, "yours specifically."

"And?" Asked Yelena anxiously.

The Ancient One's gaze once more fell on Moby, who returned hers with equal intensity. Then to everybody's surprise, she floated the Time Stone to Moby, the flerken opening his jaw and accepting the gift with a loud gulp.

Percy sat, stunned. Yelen too sat, even more stunned,

"You just gave it to us? Like that?"

"Surprised?" The Ancient One smiled. "Like you said, Ms. Belova. I've studied the futures. Like my future pupil, I know what must be done in order to protect our dimensions, past, present, or future."

"Wow," Yelena admitted. "I don't know. I thought it was going to be a lot harder."

Percy blinked. He felt completely out of it.

"Trust that it will only get more difficult as your journey nears its end." The woman said, her even tone showing signs of wariness. "Now only one more remains, no? The Soul Stone?"

The revealing visage of Yelena answered her question.

"I'm afraid not even your flerken friend will be able to bring you to where it is being kept." The Ancient One allowed Moby to trot to Percy, the flerken jumping back onto his shoulder. "It is a place guarded by magic. Archaic magic, older than Time itself."

"So you're saying it's impossible." Percy said.

"Travel to Vormir is not impossible, more like a process." She corrected. "But it is a process I am able to easily bypass for you."

"Right now?" Yelena said incredulously.

The woman's smile warmed. "Right now. If you're ready."

Yelena looked to Percy, who gave her a grim nod of encouragement,

"I guess we're ready."

There was an exchange of unspoken words between Yelena and the woman that did not go unnoticed from Percy, leaving him to wonder as the Ancient One abruptly said,

"May we meet again."

With a smile Percy would remember until the end of Time, she drew a small circle in the air with her finger, opening a portal directly underneath their seats, depositing them at the steps of a cliff.


Author's Note:

Man I love crack writing. Shoutout to intata and Stellarys for helping with this one! Feedback is appreciated :)