[ There's a hopeful moment in the way that Cerberus seems to hear his voice and halt. Trading glances between Cerberus and Vanessa, the Doctor calls to his friend again, needing to believe that he can break through the darker forces at play here. ]
Red! Hear me. I'm with you. I'm here!
[ He paces himself slowly, though, taking careful steps back towards Vanessa. She's unleashed a darkness like he's only ever known in his own soul and he's too afraid to think about it for long, what that means exactly. How often has he been here, in this exact place? When his desire to negotiate has failed, when the better part of his nature hasn't prevailed, when he's forced to do the unthinkable and show no mercy on countless beings in his long life. It weighs on him, takes it toll, takes pieces of him away every time. He never knows when and he always hopes it won't come to that, but it has and it will again.
He wanted to avoid this, but the part of his mind that Vanessa's spell has tangled with knows this destruction - abhorrent, terrible - had to happen. They always get one chance with him, and they had it. He should feel more remorse, but right now, he simply can't. There's nothing there; only worry for his friends.
With Cerberus at least aware of him now, the Doctor has to attend to Vanessa and he has only one trick left at the moment, one last hope of overpowering her. Why didn't he do it before? Too risky; would he have hurt her or Cerberus? Or is that a lie he tells himself to avoid acknowledging that her magic served a purpose? He doesn't want to think about that either, not now. He just needs to help her, if he can.
Though his powers have been unpredictable in this tower, he'll need to be confident and sure of himself now. If he's wrong, if he's underestimated, he has to trust that Vanessa won't destroy him, but he can't be sure of anything at the moment. Closing his eyes briefly, he reluctantly makes his choice and marches back towards her, giving her no time to stop him before he reaches out with his index finger, tapping her forehead and sending a sleep suggestion to overcome her mind.
Blessedly, as it always has, it works quickly, nearly instantly, and the Doctor's arms move to catch Vanessa, gently easing her down to a few of the drier rocks jutting out from the water. He didn't miss the sob from her lips, nor the tracks of tears on her face. She's injured, too, and all that he wants is to carry both of them out of here safely. His hearts break, that this had to happen (it did) at all, and he quickly smooths her hair back, kissing her forehead before he goes back to Cerberus. Now, at least, if Red comes back to them, the continued spell won't interfere. ]
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Red! Hear me. I'm with you. I'm here!
[ He paces himself slowly, though, taking careful steps back towards Vanessa. She's unleashed a darkness like he's only ever known in his own soul and he's too afraid to think about it for long, what that means exactly. How often has he been here, in this exact place? When his desire to negotiate has failed, when the better part of his nature hasn't prevailed, when he's forced to do the unthinkable and show no mercy on countless beings in his long life. It weighs on him, takes it toll, takes pieces of him away every time. He never knows when and he always hopes it won't come to that, but it has and it will again.
He wanted to avoid this, but the part of his mind that Vanessa's spell has tangled with knows this destruction - abhorrent, terrible - had to happen. They always get one chance with him, and they had it. He should feel more remorse, but right now, he simply can't. There's nothing there; only worry for his friends.
With Cerberus at least aware of him now, the Doctor has to attend to Vanessa and he has only one trick left at the moment, one last hope of overpowering her. Why didn't he do it before? Too risky; would he have hurt her or Cerberus? Or is that a lie he tells himself to avoid acknowledging that her magic served a purpose? He doesn't want to think about that either, not now. He just needs to help her, if he can.
Though his powers have been unpredictable in this tower, he'll need to be confident and sure of himself now. If he's wrong, if he's underestimated, he has to trust that Vanessa won't destroy him, but he can't be sure of anything at the moment. Closing his eyes briefly, he reluctantly makes his choice and marches back towards her, giving her no time to stop him before he reaches out with his index finger, tapping her forehead and sending a sleep suggestion to overcome her mind.
Blessedly, as it always has, it works quickly, nearly instantly, and the Doctor's arms move to catch Vanessa, gently easing her down to a few of the drier rocks jutting out from the water. He didn't miss the sob from her lips, nor the tracks of tears on her face. She's injured, too, and all that he wants is to carry both of them out of here safely. His hearts break, that this had to happen (it did) at all, and he quickly smooths her hair back, kissing her forehead before he goes back to Cerberus. Now, at least, if Red comes back to them, the continued spell won't interfere. ]
Can you hear me, Red? It's me, it's the Doctor.