Rough Path to Memory Square

A couple of hours later, America opened a portal to Eath-616 and Stephen, a solemn look on his face, left, kissing your knuckles, perhaps one last time.

You returned to your chamber, feeling tired and worn out. Too much has happened in one day. By request of America, she was getting ready to sleep in your room. You agreed. The bed was too big for you anyway. Sliding under the covers, you turn to look at the girl, she does the same.

"So, what was he like?" she asks, getting in a comfortable position.

"Who?" you ask, a bit confused.

"Your Strange. Was he anything like our Stephen?"

Our Stephen.

You blink a couple of times before answering. "He uhh... He was maybe a little like him. More bold, perhaps. Reckless. He often dived head deep into things he wanted to understand or learn. But he always had a soft side. Just didn't show it to everyone."

"Soft side, like when he almost killed you one time after using Darkhold?" she asks, eyes changing a little. But you let it slide.

"I know he didn't want to choke me, he had a bad dream, alright? Plus, he apologized for that."

"Or when he choked you on purpose. After he learned about your little whereabouts with the demon? And how you canceled his healthy hands deal? That's what you call a soft side?"

You look at the girl confused. She's still the same America, smiling and a little sleepy. Were you imagining things? "What are you talking about? I never told him about his canceled deal."

"You didn't have to tell him anything. He was the Sorcerer Supreme." America's face and your whole room disappears, like it was sucked into outer space and you, suddenly weightless, drop onto the dirty ground.

Weirdly enough, you find yourself in the universe which is almost destroyed by the incursion. Subconsciously looking at your side, you don't see anyone, although you were pretty sure you were experiencing déjà vu, but the depressing atmosphere of the universe turns your attention from that.

"I've got to find Strange." you said to yourself, thinking for a moment longer and then going where supposedly New York Sanctum was.

Lost in your head, you stumble on one of the thousand big stones and bricks scattered on the ground and almost fall to the ground with no one there to catch you.

"Why am I even going here? What am I doing here? What is this place?" you keep murmuring over and over again, walking frustrated because your foot still hurt, until you finally see the Sanctum. Standing there all alone in this vast place, not surrounded by old buildings like it used to be.

The roof is disappearing in a smoke-like way, as if someone from above was trying to suck it in. Literally. You reach the building, not really expecting to find anyone there living, and standing apparently on what were supposed to be stairs to the main entrance - now it was just a weird pile of cement blocks. You fight your way up to the big door. However, you don't get a chance to knock - the door opens on itself, and you see what's left of the grand entrance - just stairs, stairs that once led to your lover's bed and embrace, now led to nowhere, or exactly where you were meant to be.

You walk up what looks like an endless staircase and get to the second floor, stealing a quick peek around, you see the familiar room only abandoned much, much more. As you come a full circle and turn back to your previous spot, a figure appears before you, almost giving you a heart attack.

"Hello, y/n." he says calmly.

"Motherfucker, you scared me." you gasp and put a hand on your chest, trying to calm your pounding heart.

"I'm sorry, didn't mean to." he smiles politely, taking a step back and giving you some space to return from the shock.

You take a good look at the man standing with his idiotic smile at you, hands behind his back. Then it hits you. It's Strange. However, a bit different. Different from whom, though? You shake your head a bit, trying to sort your racing thoughts.

Dark, almost black robes, gray steaks in his dark hair, gray eyes piercing right into you, rather longish goatee, and a menacing aura. The whole look put together created the man you knew your whole life -

"Stephen!" you shout run up to him, your hands grabbing his neck, his hands - finding their way to your waist, pulling you closer to him.

"Hey, I've missed you, y/n." he says, voice raspy in your ear.

"How? Wha-" you spill the questions, but he stops you when he put his finger on your lips.

"Hey, hey, don't ruin such a sweet moment." he smiles, caressing your cheek.
You suddenly feel so obedient to this man this if he told you to jump through that broken window, you wouldn't even doubt to do it.

"How did I end up here?" you ask, closing your eyes and leaning into his touch.

"Oh, honey, you were always meant to be here. With me." Strange answers, using the moment that you're not looking and leaning closer to smell your cologne. He looks you up and down, a crooked smile playing on his lips. You fell right into his web.

"What are we going to do?" you ask, lifting your head to take a better look at Stephen.

"Whatever you want." he coos, you feel like you need to hear his voice just like you need to breathe. "But now, I want to play something for you." he kisses temple and goes to the piano in the corner. You follow him like a puppy and take a seat next to him on that small piano chair. You don't notice the mess in the room, although it's evident that a fight happened here not so long ago. At the back of your head, a little voice is telling you to snap out of something, but the pull of the man beside you is too strong.

Stephen seems happy with how close you sit, your legs touching his. Uncontrollably, he feels his pants tighten. You, however, feel this action. Just like you feel every speck of dust flying in the air.

"What do you wish to hear, dear?"
"Maybe Für Elise? Just slower." you say, lost in thought. He nods slightly and fingers touch the keys. You feel like you can't take your eyes off his hands, his scarred hands that gently push the keys, creating the most beautiful melody this dying world has ever heard.

"Stephen, I love you." you say in a dreamy voice.

"I know." he answers, feeling satisfied with himself.

When you reach to touch his hand, the view changes. You're back at the Sanctum, meeting your Strange in the hallway. He grabs your wrist and pulls you inside his room, panic evident in his face.

"Stephen, what's going on?"

"I need your help. Do you trust me?" he asks, holding your shoulders rather tightly.

"Do I? Yes, of course. Why?"

"Do you know where is the Book of Cagliostro?"

"Why do you need it? Mordo locked it up long time ago. Thanks to you, by the way." you squirm uncomfortably, but he doesn't let go of your hand.

"I have to do one thing." he looks away, hiding his eyes from you.

"What thing? You already know how to use the Eye of Agamotto." you ask, raising your eyebrow.

"I- it doesn't matter, I just need the book."

"No."

"No?" he quickly turns to look at you, nostrils flaring, an angry expression already forming on his face.

"No. Don't ask me to do something you know damn well I can't." you pull your hand from his rather harshly and graze his fingers. He winces, looking at you like you just committed the worst crime known to humanity.

"Oh, yeah? I thought you were going with me until the end of the line? Until the end of the world? What happened to that?" he asks, fury taking over.

You can't believe what's happening. He was never like this with you. "What are you even talking about, Stephen?" you plead.

Your Stephen changes into the Stephen you met a week ago, red Cloak on his shoulders, he's standing in the same room that once belonged to your lover but now is yours.

"I'm saying that you are worthless. You shouldn't be here. I could've sacrificed you instead of Christine. At least I was happy with her." he says and harshly bumps into your shoulder on his way out.

You blink a couple of times before finding yourself back at Wanda's doorstep. She opens the door and look at you with a funny expression.

"Oh, look who returned. My killer."

"Your what? Wanda, what are you talking about? Please explain, this day has been a wreck already." you say, wiping the sweat from your forehead. When you touch your own skin, you feel weird, as if a part of yours is missing.

"You wanted me dead. Back in the tunnel. Maybe you even craved this for years. I remember how you looked at me when I brought the Darkhold. Like hawk." she spits, nearing you, "how you watched every single move, afraid that I might steal your cocky little fling." she laughs, standing so close that you can hear her breathing. "Ha, can't even call him your boyfriend. He never wanted a relationship. You were just a fling. A game. A piece of fresh meat that entered his sight. You were just dragging him down with your nonsense. Knowledge and power - that's what he wanted. Not you." Wanda whispers last words in your ear and your head begins spinning. You close your eyes tightly, hoping that all of this is just a bad dream.

Everything stills for a moment. You dare open one eye and see America Chavez standing in front of you, holding something in an opaque bag.

"Oh, America, you're here." you say and want to engulf her in a hug, but she stops you by shaking her head.

"Don't come any closer, murderer." she sounds not like herself. Like a demon. You stop, afraid to move and afraid that one person who you trust the most might disappear, leaving you in this madness again.

"America, what are you saying?" you ask, and confused.
She moves the bag in front of her, and it suddenly becomes transparent. You take a step back, looking at the bag, disgusted.
"What is this? Why do you have that thing?" you see that the bag is full of blood, bright red, and something darker is floating in the middle of it.

"Thing?" America raises her eyebrows and a smirk appears on her lips. "What you call 'thing' is your child. The child you killed so recklessly following an arrogant man into the jaws of the enemy." she simply says, and you almost faint when everything hits you like a freight train.

"Please, stop, America." you beg, and see Strange appear in front of you. His hands grab your neck, and you feel how air doesn't reach your lungs anymore.

"You killed my child. You took my hands away again. You thought a little spell could erase my mind? I am the Sorcerer Supreme, you slut!" with each word, his grip on your neck tightens, and you desperately grab his robes.

Stephen wakes up, startled by your action, and notices your erratic breathing. "Y/n, y/n." he shakes your shoulders slightly, but you don't react. "What is happening?" he mutters and notices how your eyes move behind your eyelids, quickly tapping your face, he feels your skin burning, forehead sweaty. You don't respond to any touch, and Stephen quickly lights up a couple of candles beside, in order to get a better look at you. He opens one eyelid, with great struggle, although it shouldn't be that difficult to do. Your eye is rolled back, only the white is visible, hands now tightly grasp your belt.

"Y/n, please wake up." he shakes you again, not sure what is happening and what he could do. A tear runs down your cheek, eyes closed so tight that it looks like you're afraid to open them.

"No, no." you say, barely above whisper, and a little hope that sparkled in Stephen disappears when you don't open your eyes.

Something odd catches his attention, right in the corner of his eye he notices smoke rising from the table. "What?" he asks and runs to the object. Not a smoke. He has already seen this before.

Incursion.