[ Awakening fully now, even with his mind a bit more sluggish than usual, it doesn't take the Doctor long to piece together what's happened. He'd heard and felt it growing, building to a terrible crescendo while he lay there prone, desperate to move. Still, nothing quite prepares him for the chaos that has dominion around them, the deafening roar of swarming bats and wounded beasts, the madness given power and life, like nothing at all that he's ever set eyes upon in a thousand years. It leaves the Doctor bewildered and uncertain of himself, of what he doesn't know and can't control. If he trusted that he could speak with full authority now, he wouldn't even be heard and he can barely comprehend his own thoughts enough to gather them.
Red - Cerberus has been summoned by Vanessa's own tongue. He may not recognize each word, but he knows enough to understand, and the context of the moment fills in the rest. When Red had allowed him into her mind, he'd seen Cerberus, of course, just a glimpse, but it couldn't have prepared him for what stands before them now. Magnificent, he thinks, because it's Red, it's part of her. They need her now, but at what cost? The toll it takes on her, the fear he knows she felt at having Cerberus unleashed, he worries at the same time he pities the minotaur for its own hubris.
Look what you've done, he thinks of the minotaur, you deserve this; the dark and terrible part of him, the monster inside his own soul, the moment his sense of mercy quiets. The monsters are scared of me, he'd told someone once, long ago. It feels truer now in this moment than it has in a long time. This flicker of a moment, where the dark doesn't unsettle him as absolutely as it should, perhaps because it's so familiar and because he knows it must live for them to survive.
He watches from his kneeling position, fear mounting every time the minotaur lunges at Cerberus. Can he stop this? Should he? To interfere now, to miscalculate and disrupt, could risk them all even further.
Vanessa - He turns his attentions to her, so near to him. Minutes ago (was it longer?), her hands had lifted, cradled his head, moved him with a tenderness that contrasts sharply with the taut and convulsing visage now promising, welcoming, bringing violence. He fears for her, too, his hearts constricting and slamming discordantly in his chest as he watches helplessly, questioning himself second by second. She's fully in her power, the beast at her back has her, and this is everything she'd tried to explain, but that he couldn't understand.
Vanessa and Red - his beautiful monsters. His. He will see them through this, one way or another.
Lacking complete awareness of what will happen if he interrupts, the Doctor hesitates, urgency growing. This will build and build and break, this could destroy them both, take them from him. Yet, if he's not careful, his own desire to help may be their doom.
It's taking from Vanessa, though, taking everything she has, and he can't let it consume her. He has to trust and hope that Red will come back to them, that she'll be safe, if he can disrupt the signal that's beckoned Cerberus. He has to believe that the message he left for her in her mind will anchor her in some way.
Carefully and slowly, the Doctor reaches out, trying to wrap his hand around Vanessa's wrist. ]
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Red - Cerberus has been summoned by Vanessa's own tongue. He may not recognize each word, but he knows enough to understand, and the context of the moment fills in the rest. When Red had allowed him into her mind, he'd seen Cerberus, of course, just a glimpse, but it couldn't have prepared him for what stands before them now. Magnificent, he thinks, because it's Red, it's part of her. They need her now, but at what cost? The toll it takes on her, the fear he knows she felt at having Cerberus unleashed, he worries at the same time he pities the minotaur for its own hubris.
Look what you've done, he thinks of the minotaur, you deserve this; the dark and terrible part of him, the monster inside his own soul, the moment his sense of mercy quiets. The monsters are scared of me, he'd told someone once, long ago. It feels truer now in this moment than it has in a long time. This flicker of a moment, where the dark doesn't unsettle him as absolutely as it should, perhaps because it's so familiar and because he knows it must live for them to survive.
He watches from his kneeling position, fear mounting every time the minotaur lunges at Cerberus. Can he stop this? Should he? To interfere now, to miscalculate and disrupt, could risk them all even further.
Vanessa - He turns his attentions to her, so near to him. Minutes ago (was it longer?), her hands had lifted, cradled his head, moved him with a tenderness that contrasts sharply with the taut and convulsing visage now promising, welcoming, bringing violence. He fears for her, too, his hearts constricting and slamming discordantly in his chest as he watches helplessly, questioning himself second by second. She's fully in her power, the beast at her back has her, and this is everything she'd tried to explain, but that he couldn't understand.
Vanessa and Red - his beautiful monsters. His. He will see them through this, one way or another.
Lacking complete awareness of what will happen if he interrupts, the Doctor hesitates, urgency growing. This will build and build and break, this could destroy them both, take them from him. Yet, if he's not careful, his own desire to help may be their doom.
It's taking from Vanessa, though, taking everything she has, and he can't let it consume her. He has to trust and hope that Red will come back to them, that she'll be safe, if he can disrupt the signal that's beckoned Cerberus. He has to believe that the message he left for her in her mind will anchor her in some way.
Carefully and slowly, the Doctor reaches out, trying to wrap his hand around Vanessa's wrist. ]
Vanessa, please-