A/N - The above picture is of Paapa Essiedu who is a very awesome actor that I can picture playing Master Elijah Emeka.

You may recognise him from 'I May Destroy You', 'Press', 'Black Earth Rising' or 'Gangs Of London' if you have watched any of those.

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As Stephen rushed upstairs, he paused when he reached the third floor, absorbing the destruction before him in the hallway. It looked as if an enormous axe had been swung through the walls of the training rooms as each wooden panel was split in half horizontally. Spotting a fellow sorcerer under part of the debris in the corridor, he rushed over to assist them, helping them up before sending them to the healing room. For a moment, he watched them stumble away before faint chatter drew his attention. Through the gap in the left wall, he could make out two men crouched on the floor in front of someone and couple of others crowding in the room too. He jogged around to the room's entrance.

"What's happened here? Let me through!" He instructed the small group of sorcerers and sorceresses who promptly parted from each other to make a path.

As he got closer to the front, he heard the sobbing – purely agonised by whatever was tormenting them. Then he saw the situation: Master Kent and Master Emeka trying, seemingly, to reassure the poor sorceress who was doubled over, her forehead on the floor and her hands gripping her hair to the point of which her knuckles were turning white.

"Please, please, please..." The woman kept sobbing.

"Tessa, tell us what you need." Master Kent said.

"Please, make it – make it stop – "

Stephen piped up again, "What's happened here?"

Marcus glared up at the protector of the Sanctum Sanctorum, distrust darkening his eyes whereas Elijah looked at the sorcerer hopefully.

"She's – unwell, very unwell." Elijah spoke quickly, "Can you help her?"

"Of course, he can't help her. We're far more experienced than him." Marcus scoffed.

Elijah shook his head at the Master. Maybe they were more experienced than the new protector but really? If they were so much more experienced, then how come they hadn't solved this problem already? The Ancient One was experienced too and the only solution she could find – that Marcus agreed with – was to repress the Entity inside her, burying it in the deepest depths of her mind. What Elijah believed they needed was a fresh pair of eyes on the situation and perhaps Stephen Strange could be that for them.

"And yet I'm protector of the sanctum." Stephen remarked, glaring back at him.

"Shut! Up!" Tessa barked at them all through tears, still not raising her head off the ground, "Please, just make it stop!"

"Let me see her."

Marcus's eyes narrowed at Stephen, "She's fine. She'll get over it in a minute, she always does."

"Uncle!"

Marcus gazed down at Tessa again, his scowl softening as he processed her state again. He looked up at Eli who had an incredulous look upon his face at the fact that Marcus had been so quick to deny help that wasn't even for him but for the benefit of Tessa who was clearly suffering terribly. With a sharp exhale, Master Kent shook his head and moved away from his niece, allowing Stephen access to her.

The doctor moved to kneel in front of her, speaking softly, "Tessa," he looked to Eli just to confirm that that was her name which the Master did with a nod, "Tessa, can you sit up for me? Can you look at me?"

She slowly moved one hand from out of her auburn hair and placed it shakily on the wooden floor, then she did the same with her other hand and slowly started to push herself up. Stephen helped, offering his own arms for support which she took until both were looking at each other. Unintentionally, her grip on his arms was horrifically tight due to the pain she was processing but Stephen took it - pain was an old friend after all. Her face was beet red, eyes red, tears freely streaming from her green tortured eyes.

"It – it hurts." She spoke shakily.

"Your head?"

She nodded, her breaths shaky.

"Scale of one to t – "

"Fifty," She looked at him in all seriousness, "Now, please, just make it stop, enough of the questions, just – plea – "

Tessa tore her arms from his as another overwhelmingly agonising spasm shot its way through what felt like all the neurons in her brain, and she desperately grasped at her head again, shrieking in anguish. She put her hands over her eyes, her palms pushing them into her skull as if another kind of pain might distract her from the current domineering one.

Elijah watched in pure horror, Marcus in distress and Stephen wide-eyed and full of dread as he found himself questioning what he should actually do – should he restrain her? Should he call a doctor? What was he saying, he was a doctor! Was this issue more mystical in origin? Was she having a psychotic break? A fit from an aneurysm? Suffering from some rare neurological condition?

Again, she threw her arms out to her sides, releasing another shockwave of shadowy energy from her finger tips which sent the three men and group of people behind her flying backwards into the walls.

Why can't I leave?

She didn't know the answer to whoever it was and the only response she could give was a heart-breaking howl as she tugged at her hair.

"Please, please, please, someone – someone make it stop!"

Stephen was still recovering from being thrown against the wall but when he saw Elijah and Marcus also down for the count and the other sorcerers looking about ready to fight, he knew he had to do something else to diffuse the situation. Think. Out of all the books you read, there had to something that could help here. He blinked hard before he pushed himself up, hurrying back over to Tessa, this time swiftly sitting behind her. He hoped this would work as he placed his scarred hands on her head, his fingers lightly touching her temples, and shut his own eyes.

"Sleep."

For the split second that he felt her lose consciousness, he felt...something else...like there wasn't just Tessa but another presence too. Her arms went limp and she fell back into the sorcerer, all the pain that was manifesting in her expressions gone and replaced by another that looked significantly more at peace. Perturbed, he looked over at Elijah and Marcus who were beginning to stir and then back down at Tessa in his arms as he took a breath to process all that had gone on.

Marcus sat up, then saw Tessa limp in the sorcerer's arms like a dead weight. Enraged, he scrambled to stand up and began to approach him.

"What did – what did you do to her?"

"She's fine, for now." Stephen reassured Master Kent, "I just put her to sleep."

Marcus took a breath, aware that these feelings of anger had led him to actions he had regretted before, "How?"

"Book of Hypnos. Greek God. Talks about hypnokinesis and how to induce sleep, visions and manipulate dreams. She'll be okay, just hope she doesn't wake up with the pain again."

Master Emeka stumbled his way back over to them, rubbing the back of his head as he glowered at Marcus.

"Tell. Him."

"Eli." Master Kent warned.

Stephen found a sardonic smile creep onto his lips as he shook his head before looking up at them, "Okay, listen. We don't need to do this now. Right now, our focus is Tessa. Do you disagree?"

The two masters had their staring competition, but Elijah gave in, already heading to the door.

"I'll head to the healing room and get a bed ready for her. Marcus can help you with Tessa."

"Thank you, Eli. Marcus?"

"What?" He growled as he looked down at the sorcerer.

"Tessa." Stephen shifted to sit her up so it would be easier for Marcus to pick her up, "Having induced her sleep, she won't wake up again until I draw her out of it. Take her down to the med bay – "

Marcus corrected him, "We call it the healing room here."

"Take her down to the healing room." Stephen tried his best to remain as calm as possible regardless of how much Marcus was pissing him off, "I need to talk to Wong."

With a hard stare, Marcus reached down to pick Tessa up in his arms as Stephen slid himself away from her to stand up. Stephen allowed Master Kent to leave first, looking at the small group of sorcerers and sorceresses with a sympathetic gaze.

"Training room's closed for today. Meditate in your rooms. Or, I guess if you don't mind the mess, you could...still train here too."

Stephen shrugged, nodded, then walked away from the mess. Looked like a job for the Eye of Agamotto really but he knew that he couldn't because of all the rules surrounding natural law. He was still getting used to being the protector of the sanctum. He took his own duties well but organising the people under him felt somewhat different to giving out instructions in an operating room – the decisions he made still meant life or death, but it still felt...different. There were no better words for it. Eight months into the job he was still getting used to it.

But enough of that.

Doctor Stephen Strange now had a proper job to do (rather than teaching): work out what was wrong with Tessa, why this had happened and how to prevent it from happening again.