Work Text:
When Tighnari told Collei that the Doctor was back in Sumeru, she had braced herself for the worst. Was the Harbinger going to hunt her down? Capture her? Kill her?
She never expected to run into him while on patrol… alone. Why did she volunteer? Why did she think this was a good idea? In her years of safety, she had grown complacent, it seemed.
The Doctor was every bit as imposing as he was in her nightmares. His eyes were once again concealed behind that mask of his, and he smiled upon seeing her.
“Ah, Collei,” he greeted, his smooth voice masking the unhinged glee she knew he felt. “It’s good to finally see you again.”
“Stay away from me,” Collei said shakily. “Don’t touch me!”
“That is something I cannot do,” the Doctor intoned, still smiling as he stepped closer, and closer, and closer, until Collei was backed up against a tree with him looming over her. “After all, your treatment requires physical touch, does it not?”
“I don’t need your treatment,” Collei said through gritted teeth. She could feel the beginnings of a panic attack coming on. “I’m doing just fine here. Leave me alone!”
The Doctor straightened to his full height, glaring disdainfully down at Collei. For a moment, she was that scared little kid again, sobbing for her parents as a mad scientist toyed with her life. Her breathing quickened as he sneered, “You don’t give the orders around here.”
Presented with no other option, Collei called forth a burst of Dendro. It merely stunned the Doctor, but it was enough. She sprinted in the direction that Master Tighnari’s patrol was in, screaming her mentor’s name in hopes he’d hear her.
The Doctor caught up in less than a minute, grabbing her by the back of her shawl. “He’s not coming,” he said. “The Forest Watcher’s a bit… preoccupied at the moment. Listen.”
Over the frantic beating of her heart, Collei could hear the sounds of violence, including the enraged cries of Tighnari.
“It’s over, Collei,” the Doctor said. “Happy that you got all that hope out of your system? I certainly hope you are, because you’re coming with me.”
Collei screamed and sobbed as the Doctor pulled out a syringe. Distantly, she heard Tighnari scream her name before she felt a sharp pain in her neck and everything went black.