Changing Hearts
Chapter 14
Stephen quickly threw scrubs on over his clothes and ran with several other doctors down the hallway of The Metro-General Hospital, wheeling the critically injured Sorcerer Supreme on a gurney as he ordered several doctors to be careful. Once he reached the nurse's station, he saw various doctors and nurses preparing for the upcoming emergency surgery. Calling for Christine, the annoyed surgeon looked around and saw the Ancient One on the gurney and immediately jumped into action. The doctors wheeled her to the nearest room to prepare for the emergency surgery. One surgeon strapped an oxygen mask to her face in an attempt to help her breathe, but the heart monitor showed it still pacing rapidly.
"Is it neurogenic?" an emergency technician asked Stephen.
"Yes," Stephen answered as he fastened his latex gloves. Various doctors and nurses gathered surgical tools off to prepare the emergency surgery. Stephen quickly picked up a scalpel, but realized his hands shook with the sharp blade in hand. Nodding in understanding, he saw Nicodemus West and sighed. "Nick. I need you to relieve the pressure on her brain."
Nicodemus West looked down at the scalpel but eyed Stephen with determination, grabbing it from his hands and commanded everyone to get ready, but just as he did, a loud beeping echoed off the heart monitor, indicating the Ancient One was going into shock.
"We're losing her! I need a crash cart!" Christine ordered and a young nurse quickly wheeled one over for her.
"Increase her oxygen! She doesn't have much time," Stephen ordered two nurses from their work and they immediately ran over to the oxygen machine above her head. Turning around, he could sense a woman's voice telling him to follow her out onto the balcony.
Looking around, Stephen's weight immediately shifted forward and his astral body jumped from his physical body. Looking around, he saw the Ancient One right in front of him, causing him to jump back.
Signaling him forward, Stephen followed the Ancient One out a window onto the hospital floor balcony. Stephen widened his eyes in awe as he saw New York City shrouded in darkness, stars twinkling in the sky and lightning striking down.
"You're dying. You have to return to your body," Stephen demanded. "You're running out of time."
"Time is relative. Your body hasn't even hit the floor yet," the Ancient One smiled. "I've spent so many years peering through time, looking at this exact moment, but I can't see past it. I've prevented countless terrible futures, and after each one, there is always another. But I fear...this terrible future will be permanent.
Stephen looked at her with a confused look but his eyes widened in horror once he understood what she meant. "Remi…Kaecilius took her!" The Ancient One nodded and looked at Stephen urgently. "You must do whatever you can with your power to get her back. Now that I am gone, I fear my magic can no longer protect her."
"But..." Stephen cleared his throat and spoke carefully. "Remi hates you. Now that she knows who you truly are, she'll never trust you again."
"If she will not listen to my words, then maybe she will listen to the man she loves," the Ancient One grabbed Stephen's hand and looked at him sweetly. "I've always hated drawing power from the Dark Dimension, but sometimes one must break the rules for the greater good. You've changed, Master Strange. You're no longer the arrogant doctor who came to me once before, you now understand that it is not about you."
"I know...but without you, I don't know if I can rescue Remi. In fact, I don't even know where Kaecilius has her. If I can't find her...what will I do?" Stephen looked at her sadly.
"Our magic is connected...I know exactly where she is." The Ancient One's eyes tightened as she stared out at New York City.
Karl Mordo stood in front of the three doors leading into the three might Sanctums and hung his head to the floor with his arms crossed. A deep sadness reflected in his eyes as he pondered his master's teachings. Everything he had learned, from her teachings to her rules, was a lie. Even though the sanctums were still intact and the globe hung brightly over his head, he could not help but feel an emptiness inside him. His thoughts were interrupted when he saw Stephen step through a gateway, staring at Mordo and shaking his head, indicating that the Ancient One had passed away.
"Remi was right. She wasn't who I thought she was," Kaecilius paced back and forth.
"Mordo, she drew power from the Dark Dimension to save lives, not destroy them. She did it to protect us," Stephen defended.
"Well what if it overtook her?! She told us it was forbidden while she drew on its power to steal centuries of life! Her transgressions lead the zealots to Dormammu. Kaecilius was her fault! Now here we are in the consequences of her deception."
"Mordo, Dormammu isn't here yet, but he will be soon! The zealots have Remi!" Stephen informed her. Mordo looked at him horrified. "You once told me to fight like my life depended on it, now today is that day. If we do not rescue Remi, she will die at the hands of Kaecilius and I will be damned if that happens! I cannot defeat them alone!"
Wong overheard their conversation and stepped out of the shadows. Stephen and Mordo stared at him as he looked at them with startled eyes. Stephen informed him of what was happening before he formed another gateway with his Sling Ring.
"Wait! We do not even know where Kaecilius has her," Mordo stopped Stephen.
"I do. He's holding her in an abandoned cathedral just outside of New York," Stephen looked at Wong.
"Allow me to fight by your side. It's time the Ancient One has been avenged!"
Remi felt the blackness surrounding her vision start to thinly come apart, allowing her mind to clear and her thoughts to return. Groaning, she slowly opened her eyes and immediately squinted as the bright sunlight started to shroud her vision. Groaning, Remi felt her muscles kick in and she returned to normal. Looking around, Remi slowly tilted her head back and forth to observe the scene. She appeared to be in some sort of huge room, filled with religious images painted all over each stone wall, on the ceiling and on the stained glass windows. There were huge pillars connecting to the floor from the ceiling and there were around thirty or so brown wooden benches aligned in front of a large brown and golden door. Shaking her head to rid her blurry vision, Remi tried to rise to her feet so she could walk around and get a better look, but a loud metal clanking sound echoed through the large room of the cathedral.
Looking down, Remi gasped as she saw two large black metal chains wrapped around her ankles, pinning them against a stone table she lay upon. She kicked her ankles to try and pry the restraints off, but they were tightly bound. Remi moved her arms to lower them, but her gaze shifted upward and she saw the same metal restraints around her wrists above her head. She grunted and moaned as she tried to lower her arms, but yelped in pain when she felt how hard they were when she tried to free herself. Her chest heaved up and down as she looked around the room, confused and terrified.
"Stephen? Where are you?" Remi asked herself as she kept kicking and tugging at the chains. "Stephen?! Is anyone here?! Hello! Mordo, Stephen, Master!" Remi gasped when she realized the Ancient One was no longer alive. She felt herself grow heavy with emotion and she shuddered as the image of Kaecilius piercing his blade through her started to form in her mind. "Master...you're dead...and it's all my fault."
"Of course not. How could it be your fault the Sorcerer Supreme is dead?" a man's deep voice startled her and she looked to her side. Kaecilius stepped out of the shadows with his arms to his side with an emotionless stare. "I'm afraid your magic is useless. These restraints are magic bound."
Remi looked at the chains around her ankles and wrists and surrendered herself from trying to release herself. Kaecilius's frown deepened as he walked to her side, hovering over her as she stared into his terrifying deep blue eyes. Breathing heavily, Remi watched his hand hover above her and lower onto her chest, touching the bare skin that showed through her robes. Whimpering in disgust, she saw his eyes widened and he tightened his hand almost into a fist, causing her to scream out in pain as her blood began to grow hot and tight, as if a thousand knives were stabbing her repeatedly. Remi cried out and struggled as she felt the diamond mosaic marking began to snake their way down her forearms, slithering over until they ended around her palms and the backs of her hands. Remi close her eyes tightly as she felt the same markings form around them, burning a hot orange before settling down. Gasping heavily and clenching her fists tightly, Remi felt as if she were slowly being tortured to death. An amazed and wide eyed Kaecilius released his hand a few seconds later, the pain instantly subsiding and the markings disappeared. Remi sighed deeply and her head fell back onto the stone table.
"Just as I thought. I always thought you were just a normal student, but you're very special, Remi Ramirez. Special indeed!" Remi felt his presence at the crook of her neck and writhed as Kaecilius cupped her face in his hands and pulled her face to his just inches away. "You never cease to amaze me."
"Where am I?" Remi finally asked.
"Where you are is not important. What matters now is you," Kaecilius smiled.
"Where are Stephen and Mordo? The Ancient One..." Remi's eyes widened and she felt tears brim the corners and slide down her cheeks. "My master...you killed her."
"Unfortunately, she was part of the problem," Kaecilius retracted his hands once he felt them grow wet and wiped them on the sides of his robes. "Now that she is gone, you are no longer a prisoner of her magic. You are now mine."
Remi glared at him and she tightened her hands into fists. "I will never help you release Dormammu! I may be in your possession, but I will never be yours!"
Kaecilius looked at her amusingly and scratched his chin, a smirk suddenly crossing his lips. "Not even...for her?"
Remi's glare softened and she grew confused. "Her?"
Signaling his hand forward, Kaecilius did a flicking motion with two fingers and Remi saw the large golden and brown door open, the loud creaking echoing through the large room of the cathedral. She watched as two young women walked into the room, their red hoods shadowing their face. Her eyes widened when she saw they had their arms through someone, an elderly woman wearing a tattered and filthy stained covered pink shirt, torn grey pants with hundreds of holes, her long white hair over her face concealing herself. Remi could hear chains around her wrists. The women took off their hoods, revealing the faces of Katrina and Delilah, and they dropped the woman to the floor. A loud hoarse groan escaped her lips as she fell forward. Remi looked at Kaecilius in confusion and demanded to know whom they were showing.
"Why, you have no idea who she is?" Kaecilius grew surprised. Remi shook her head as he marched towards the old woman, bending down to her level and tucking the long strands of hair from her face. He grabbed her chin and tilted her head upward, the lady's dark golden eyes halfway closed. Remi felt her heart almost drop out of her chest and her whole body went numb. The chains around her ankles and wrists grew excited and they clanked loudly as Remi struggled.
"R-Remi..." Isadora Ramirez groaned.
"Grandmother? Grandmother!" Tears streamed down Remi's cheeks as she swallowed a sore lump in her throat. Her happiness faltered and she seethed at Kaecilius. "What have you done to her?!"
"I've only kept her alive after I decided to spare her life," Kaecilius simply answered.
"Remi. M-my Remi," Isadora groaned but she cried when she felt herself being kicked forward. Delilah pinned a foot against the base of her spine and stepped down hard, causing a hoarse scream to escape Isadora's throat as she felt immense pain shoot up straight into her shoulders.
"Stop, let her go, LET HER GO! She doesn't need to see this," Remi's body began to shake as she looked at Kaecilius through watery eyes. Kaecilius frowned and he got up from Isadora's position, staring at her with rage-filled eyes. "I thought you would be happier to see her."
"Let go of her! Release her, dammit!" Remi snapped as the echo of chains bounced off the walls.
Gritting his teeth, Kaecilius folded his hands together and marched towards Isadora with a Time Shard grasped in one. Delilah stepped back and Isadora felt herself yanked from on her stomach into his strong arms, one wrapped around her chest as she felt the pressure of a sharp blade pressed against her throat. Remi started sobbing as she shook her head, pleading with him to release her grandmother.
"I guess keeping her alive was a waste of time, and after all the hard work I've put in, you really don't care what happens to her, don't you? That's fine with me! No need to waste anymore space!"
Isadora gasped as she saw the Time Shard rise from her throat into the air. Remi screamed for him to stop, but Kaecilius swung hard and a gurgle escaped Isadora's lips. Remi's eyes widened when she saw what Kaecilius had done. Delilah and Katrina stared down as he shifted his gaze from the elderly woman to Remi. Tears endlessly poured from her eyes as she looked away. "Ok, ok."
Isadora's chest grew heavy as the Time Shard was only centimeters away from puncturing a main artery in her throat, but Kaecilius had stopped just barely in time when he heard Remi scream out his name in agony. The blade disappearing, he dropped Isadora to the floor and rose to his feet, walking back towards Remi as she slowly turned her head, droplets rolling down her face through squinted eyes.
"Good girl," Kaecilius stroked her forehead and turned back to Delilah and Katrina, ordering Isadora to be taken back to her cell. Delilah nodded and roughly grabbed the back of Isadora's shirt, dragging her across the floor to the large door while Katrina stayed behind.
"No Remi, don't do this! Just let me die, just let me die!" Isadora wailed as the door closed behind her and Delilah.
"Abuela, I'm sorry," Remi tearfully apologized. "I'm the one who's going to die. I'll never see you again."
Kaecilius turned his attention from the door towards her. "No. You dying? I could never allow that to happen!" he walked behind Remi and cupped her face in his hands once more, wiping his thumbs across her wet eyes. "Once Dormammu is here, I will make sure he never harms you. I will teach you the ways of his magic and transform you into a super soldier, my super soldier!"
Remi growled and shot him a deadly look. "I'd rather die than fight by your side!"
Kaecilius chuckled and bent towards her ear. "You've already made your choice."
Remi gasped and her head fell back onto the stone table. She tightened her hands into fists and felt more tears flow from her eyes, soaking her cheeks. Gasping for breath, she felt Kaecilius's thumbs caress her cheeks. She never understood how someone evil and dangerous could be so gentle. "Do not cry, my dear. It will be over soon."
"Please stop. I don't want this." Remi whimpered as she closed her eyes. Kaecilius only smiled and watched Katrina walk forward. Releasing his grip from Remi, he walked in front of her and commanded to prepare for the final ritual. Katrina nodded and walked to Remi's side. Giving her a wicked smile, the apprentice zealot rose her arms over her head and started a circular motion, repeating the same movements until a ball of yellow and silver light started to appear over her. It was not that big but Kaecilius's eyes widened and his smile grew. Suddenly, Remi cried out in pain as she felt the same marking snake their way down her arms and over her eyes, sending hot flares of pain shooting through her body. Remi screamed and struggled as Kaecilius watched her. The markings pulsated blue and Remi's eyes shot open, revealing a white film over pupils. Kaecilius soon rose his hands over her chest and began to chant, causing her body to convulse even harder.
"I take this woman and release you from your prison!" Kaecilius tightened his lips and slammed one hand down hard against her chest. A halted gasp escape Remi and her eyes widened. Her back arched upward and she felt her body go from numb to normal, hot to cold, all the feeling coming together. Shuttering, Remi fell back onto the stone table and her eyes rolled back into her head, engulfed by a tornado of blackness. Just as the chaos had ended, the whole cathedral grew silent. Kaecilius lowered his hands and walked back to Remi's side. At first, the markings did nothing, but after some moments, they began to pulsate from yellow to blue. His eyes narrowed and a wide smile spread across his lips.
"She's starting to surrender," he turned towards Katrina. "Dormammu is coming!"
To Be Continued
Here it is, another chapter! This time it's longer and I'm happy how it turned out! Although on the other side, it also appears that it doesn't have much longer to go, which makes me sad. :(
All thoughts aside, don't forget to leave your reviews! Flames and all are welcomed. :)
See ya next chapter! :)