Young Writers Society

Wong slowly let his eyes open again. He couldn't quite be sure how much time had passed through his... well, to put it lightly, existential crisis. To make matters worse, the sorcerers had been hard at work transforming the pristine environment into a perfect trap for whatever the Ancient One was planning. Everything looked the same to the regular eye, but layers and layers of magical projections, barriers, and traps of various sizes and shapes were hidden underneath the chromes and crimsons that covered the dimensions to the naked eye. The sheer intensity of the magic present caused Wong to cover his eyes instinctively, but it did little to help. Magic permeated everything in this place. He didn't know how people could stand this amount of magic for long periods of time.

At least he wouldn't have to deal with it for long.

No, you will not start with that way of thinking, Wong thought. Your final hours will be filled with productivity, not intrusive thoughts that will mean nothing in the end.

Before he would die, he would at least know what the Ancient One's plan is so he could help in any way he could. He was no Sorcerer Supreme, but he spent much of his life protecting the what became the Time Stone and learning all he could about the very things that will kill him. The universe has ways of showing its ironic nature in the end.

He started off into where he believed he was in before, being careful to avoid seeing any faces that might cause him pain. But, this was a place entirely foreign to him, even if it wasn't constantly morphing before his eyes. He wondered if this was a common occurrence, this complete disregard for permanence in land. Knowing the people who inhabited this place, he wouldn't doubt it.

Every few moments, a familiar face would catch his eye. He was surprised by just how many Ancient Ones and Doctor Stranges there could possibly be in this place. Then again, actually knowing those two, he was not at all surprised that there were so many of them thaat had become Sorcerer Supremes. However, there was no chance he would find them in this mess.

He finally built up the motivation -and became too fed up to continue the fruitless efforts of attempting this on his own- to ask someone for assistance. He straightened his shoulders -shoulder at this point- and strode up to a Doctor Strange, who was the only person near him who wasn't completely focused on something likely important. He stood behind the man and cleared his throat.

No response.

Wong began sweating from nervousness. Perhaps he had chosen the wrong Strange to ask, or perhaps he should just not bother asking anyone and attempt this by himself...

No. Wong steeled himself. No more of that, Wong.

He cleared his throat again, louder this time.

Still no response. Wong didn't know what this Strange was doing, as he couldn't see the front of him too well, but it shouldn't have been that difficult to notice when someone is trying to get one's attention.

Wong finally resort to doing the unthinkable: he tapped Strange on the shoulder.

Strange jumped and turned around, his mouth stuffed and a half-eaten, classic New York-style hot dog in his hand. His eyes went wide at the sight of Wong and he hurried to swallow the rest of the frank in his mouth.

Wong ignored the food in his hand. "Strange, I have a question to ask--"

"You're Wong, right?" Strange interrupted him in between mouthfuls. He managed to fit the rest of the dog into his mouth, which was almost half. While chewing, he managed to speak again. "I don't mean to be so abrupt, but I heard rumors that there was a Wong here and, well, I haven't seen a Wong in such a long time." He swallowed. "I'm sorry, did you have something to say?"

"Well, yes, I was needing some directions to--"

"Oh, to the Gleaming City? Yes, all newcomers love to go there, but I'm not sure the rules on an outsider being let in there. You're not a Sorcerer Supreme, right?"

"Well--"

"Of course not, I would have been notified if that were the case. We haven't had a Wong Sorcerer Supreme in such a long time that i t would certainly be a talk of the town--"

And Wong left after that. It was obvious that Strange had no real intention of answering any questions he had. That wasn't the Strange he had become so close to. That seemed more of a mixture between Strange and Tony Stark than the quizzical snarkiness he had become accustomed to. He walked for a few more minutes before seeing another familiar face. In a turn of events, this person had approached him instead. Daniel Drumm nodded to him as he approached. He had to remind himself that this wasn't the same one from the multiple realms he met him in. None of those Drumms were Sorcerer Supremes of their respective dimensions.

"You seem lost, Master Wong." He greeted him with a firm handshake. With a look at his magic frame filled with dust and no arm, he added, "in more ways than one."

"Sorcerer Supreme Drumm, you are right, as per usual. And direct, too."

"I prefer wasting my time with meaningful actions instead of words. Where are you headed to?"

"I'm looking for the Ancient One."

"That certainly narrows it down," he said with a smile.

"This particular one would be heading this plan."

"Ah, that Ancient One." He summoned a classic orange glyph and morphed it to an orb. "There you are. This will lead you to her; it shouldn't be too far."

"Thank you, Drumm. You are far more helpful that some people I've talked to."

"Of course, Master Wong."

Wong chuckled softly. "You know, I was going to say that you've been a lifesaver, but that would be ironic." At Drumm's confused look, he coughed, "sorry, it's just ironic in my situation right now."

"I'm sure. Well, if you ever need assistance again while you're here, do not hesitate to use magic. Everything is more potent here, but also intrinsic. Magic will aid you in far better ways than most here."

"Thank you, Drumm." And with that, he let the orb guide him in the right direction. Ironically, he was much closer to her than he thought, with it leading him only for a minute or two to her location.

The Ancient One was now in slim armor instead of her usual flowing robes. The armor linked together and gleamed in the pale sunlight, and it seemed as if it was constantly flowing with some unknown wind current. She and Doctor Strange were fixed on a large spell in front of them, their hands outstretched around it as it spiraled and gained more opaqueness. The Ancient One swiveled her head to Wong. "Welcome back, Master Wong."

Wong pointed to the spell, his eyebrows raised. 

"We are creating something needed in the plan."

"About that plan. I have not been let into what, exactly, we're doing."

"Ah, yes. I apologize, Wong. In all of this chaos, I haven't been able to fill you in on what we're doing. It's quite magical in its simplicity, honestly." She turned to Strange. "Thank you, Strange."

He nodded to the Ancient One and removed his hands from the spell. It tugged in his direction, wobbling before collapsing into a much smaller sphere in front of her. He nodded to Wong this time and bowed out of the conversation, walking away. The Ancient One focused her attention back on the orb, but continued to talk. "We... well, at this point, it will just be me. I'm going to lure Thanos to this dimension from my own. When he's here, all we have to do is get close enough to him to trap him. Simple." She scoffed. "There's only an army, three Infinity Stones, and Thanos himself to get through."

"How are you planning on getting him here, though? Technical issues aside, Thanos isn't a brute."

"You're right, Master Wong." She grunted, and the sphere contracted again, merging to a lighter color. "We need a lure." She punched the sphere and it cracked, revealing a bright green gem that fell into Ancient One's hand. She concocted a quick contraption around it. The gem roared to life to Wong's mental eye with magic. Even though he knew it wasn't, his senses were screaming to him that it was an...

"Infinity Stone." Wong mumbled.

The Ancient One clapsed a chain around the metal eye that contained it. "Well, no. But it does look like one, doesn't it? That's the intention. In reality, it's just a fake. A well designed one, of course, and still incredibly dangerous and powerful, but one all the same. However," she hung it around her neck, "if it fooled you even after you saw it created, hopefully it will also fool Thanos." She smirked. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Master Wong, I have a war to instigate."