The Doctor had spent all his time over the last few days trying to think of how he'd get out of this. But his usual methods weren't exactly helpful at the moment.

He'd been stripped of anything useful in his pockets, of course.

When he undid his bonds, the guards only stunned him and tied them tighter.

When he talked, they didn't talk back.

Nor did they get annoyed with the amount of noise he made, with Benny gone from the banter.

Draconians had negatives in keeping watch compared to the Cybermen that were apparently here, but they didn't have the exploitable paradoxes over logic that some really good words could do.

He didn't even have a way to be blatantly disrespectful enough to get his life threatened by someone higher up the totem pole.

It was boring.

Which wasn't a good combination when he was worried over the life of one of his best friends.

He thought back to how he popped out of the TARDIS without a care in the world, being so sure it would be easy while promising Charley that it wasn't really worth her time and she should go get picnic supplies from an interstellar marketplace, then dropping her off. This was no place for her, but if he brought her along today, she'd still probably have saved him by now.

The Doctor let out a resigned sigh.

There he was, always factoring his friends into plans for deadly scrapes- well, the closest thing to resembling plans he ever made. And he liked to think he was a lot nicer than that nowadays. It was something he never really noticed until they weren't around.

Benny would get out of there. He knew that much. That woman knew how to walk through hell from long before they met, she could handle this. But if she couldn't- he might've been a bit young to regenerate now, but if he had to in order to save her and these people, he would.

So there he sat, just counting the seconds that passed by- until...

Blaster fire.

The stench of ozone and burnt flesh wafted through the room, flashes of green light matched by a feeling of heated static and the sound of concentrated energy discharge. Draconian weapons.

"Doctor!"

It was Bernice.

But despite his gratefulness that she was here, he couldn't be relieved when she called out to him. Because something was ever-so-slightly wrong. Her tone had lost some of its timbre, a quiet buzz clouding her breath- faint white noise with a tiny melodic hum. Too quiet for the human ear, but for someone he knew so well, it stuck out immediately.

The Doctor turned his head reluctantly to meet her eyes.

They seemed absent from much of the care they usually carried, just dark and cold and solemn. Then he noticed the reddened, swelling sutures on her neck, and the wires into the suit, and- oh no.

He shook his head, praying it wasn't true. "Bernice- I'm so sorry."

She only brushed him off. This wasn't the time. "Yeah, yeah. Don't get weepy. I'm not gone yet, so stop now. Action first, apologies later. When we have time, or my amygdala gets shut down, whichever comes first."

"The latter won't happen, I promise. But your cynical wit strikes again, there's hope for you yet- now would you please untie me?"

She obliged, the triple-knotted ropes coming undone easily. Far more easily than they should've for most older humans.

Her hands seemed stronger now. Bernice's stern confidence had begun to grow again, and the pain lessened somewhat by the pressure on her wounds, so they didn't shake anymore- nor did they fail to get an unbreakable grip on anything at all so far.

Maybe she was beating the nanites into submission- maybe she'd brute-forced some of them to make the other Doctor's reprogramming kick in again- Benny didn't know. All she knew was that the others were getting out of here, and she didn't currently care what Cybermen or Draconian collaborators she'd have to kill to do so. Evidently, one part of hers she'd already stopped fighting to keep in all of this had been her mercy.

"You're doing an awful lot of shooting. That's not to my taste, Bernice," he commented.

She placed a hand to her chest, feeling the wires and life support tubes underneath the plastic of her suit. "Be still my bleeding heart." If only it would keep beating by itself. She didn't show that fear.

He tsked, not sure how to react to her being like this either. It was all just hard to process. But he didn't hold much of it against her. How could he? This was in part his fault, wasn't it? He couldn't have failed her much more badly than he just had. But he supposed she was going to pretend everything was okay, so the Doctor reluctantly went along with it.

Getting back to the man guarding their backs, she gave Jason the rundown so he could tell Irving exactly what was going on. "Long story short, this is a rogue Draconian faction led by Kothar to take over the empire in a coup and eradicate the Mim with a Cyberman army. Both Kothar and the Cybermen want the Collection and the Seal of Time, so they're baiting Brax to push the first domino, and why they- uh... did this to me. Got it?"

"Got it," he responded with a look of concern, flicking on the watch at his first opportunity. He didn't really get it, not with how it went last time, but he tried not to show it.

It was an agonizing wait for Braxiatel to answer, and when he did, Jason was forced to duck for cover under the first of the Cybermen's weapons. Being fresh from the factory, not many were fully armed yet, but the ones that had been were finally getting into the thick of it now.

As soon as Irving's face appeared, he shouted, "Cybermen!" but before he could say anything else, a stray laser blast struck his hand, frying the circuits and leaving Jason with a severe burn and a paralyzed forearm. He yelped, trying to get it working to no avail. "Ah- cruk. It's buggered. That's all I got out!"

Bernice skidded to a stop, grunting slightly mechanically. She glared at him briefly, before her eyes fell to the next troops up and she aimed her weapon at them. Again, she growled, getting her teeth hard. "Great. With our luck, Brax will take that as read, walk straight into their trap, and start an intergalactic war!" she exclaimed.

"It literally got burnt up, what the fuck am I supposed to do about it?! And who's to say he doesn't already know and this isn't bait? Eh? It's a lot like last time, isn't it? According to him, you're special, after all."

Between them, silence.

Benny's posture fell into a more neutral position- the closest to one she could, anyway, and said, quietly, earnestly, "Just look at me, then tell me he would." Her expression was still stern, and cold. But that wasn't really true. He was horrified at what she'd become, wasn't he? He had every right to be, experiencing it firsthand himself. She was too. "Tell me, Jason. Would he really do this... to me?"

"...Would you shoot me if I said maybe?"

Suffice it to say, she was unamused.

"Set to stun... probably."

"...No comment."

Benny rolled her eyes and furrowed her brows as she aimed another shot. "For once, Jason, I'll call you smart."

"...Thanks."

"It's difficult to believe you two were ever married, sometimes," the Doctor remarked offhandedly, as he opened up one of the wall control panels behind their cover. He might be able to make something useful come of this.

"I think our little rows make it rather obvious, actually. Jason, did you see anything when you came in that could lower security or... anything?"

Jason tried to point with his bad arm. "There's a mass-conversion room the way I came in. We might be able to find the controls and shut everything down."

"And you knew exactly how to operate the machine I was in... somehow," she added, a look of mild suspicion evident in her features.

He shot another with the hand that wasn't burned, some steadiness against the recoil lost. Trying to think of how he knew, a stab of pain went through his head and clouded his vision in red, fading as soon as it arrived, along with an answer. "Something left from Cantus, probably. I don't wanna think about it. Compatibility is the name of the game for them, right?"

Benny stuttered, in such a way that she almost seemed to glitch. She conceded, "...Y-yes. You're right. You might've caught me earlier in the process if it wasn't."

"Is this one of those 'lot of things' that have gotten into you that I missed?" he asked, just trying to get back on her level.

"Yep."

"Are you going to tell me anything else about it?"

"Nope."

And that was all.

" Thought so," he muttered under his breath.

The Doctor chimed in, "Are you going to tell me anything later, Benny?"

She scoffed, "Possibly, depends how alive I am later."

"I should hope to hear it then. Over tea?" The Doctor seemed a little too excited for that given the situation. She almost missed being around the grumpy ones at a time like this.

"Fine."

The onslaught just kept coming as more and more Cybermen and Draconians were being sent their way, so they all took shelter behind a large group of crates, guarding where the Doctor had been working.

And then the humans started coming in, as they advanced towards the factory floor. Poor, hypnotized people being driven to kill. They were numb and servile now, but they were still living, breathing people.

Seeing them, lost but still with hope left- that was the first thing to make Benny's finger hesitate on the trigger, to make her pull back, think about what she was doing and what she'd already done.

The Draconians here- what they were doing was horrific. But she was taking so many lives over this. The real Bernice Summerfield only did what she really had to, and this was excessive, a product of unjust contempt for a whole species. They should find justice some other way. The emperor would probably execute them for treason anyway, but they should at least get a chance at something less, if they realized exactly what the consequences were.

What came back into her mind wasn't quite mercy, though. It was pity for the scum, and regret at what was already done. She wasn't granting anyone anything when she set her gun back on stun, only denying herself the power to choose who lives and dies just for the sake of revenge.

That wasn't anyone's place to decide, let alone someone who couldn't think straight. So she gave an order. "Jason, you only fire at Cybermen, I'll get Draconians and drones on stun 3."

"Okay, what about the Doctor? Change of plan for him too?"

Bernice shook her head.

The Doctor was obliged to offer an explanation, "Still using this open panel to find access to the mainframe. It's a bit harder without my sonic screwdriver, but I'm making progress with the wiring."

"By the way, Doctor- where's the TARDIS?" Benny finally asked.

"Somewhere in here. I doubt the old girl is happy about it."

That gave Jason an idea, and he said it, "The planet's got some weird communications barrier- if we find it, we can call Brax?"

"Probably the best option- unless we find Joseph first," she added.

"He's still waiting at the same spot you left him."

" Great, that's the other way from where we're going."

The Doctor offered a solution. "Or, as I'm already starting to get into the mainframe, I could hijack their own signals easily enough. You've seen some Cyber technology, you've seen it all. Just with differing levels of sophistication, and this isn't the most advanced."

"That's great, but there must be a better spot to do this?"

"The best place would be the main conversion controls, Benny," he said grimly.

She thought back to how many more people that would involve fighting off, and how much closer that would mean to being with the machinery. "Yeah, no. This is fine."

It very obviously wasn't, but nobody else said anything. She seemed to be trying hard to concentrate on something, and it was fairly easy to guess what that was, so they stopped interrupting her. Benny wasn't entirely herself, but the piece that was there had to stay.

'At least,' she thought to herself, 'At least I can run.'

Her bad knee was the source of all of this. Everything hurt, but if she pushed herself, she could do things she never could before. Maybe they could get to the main controls if she really gave it her best shot. Likely her only shot.

Bernice gulped.

She was still terrified.

And fear would be the last thing to go.

Irving sat there, a smiling facade plastered over his face, while rage simmered underneath. He politely greeted the ambassador's hologram. Kothar held a neutral expression like usual.

A silence fell across his study, save for the slow ticking of the clock, second by agonizing second.

Finally, Braxiatel interrupted it.

He feigned clearing his throat, and began, "Ambassador Kothar, I'm just calling for a little check-up. Nothing serious, I'm doing the same for the Mim ambassador. Is all well? I hear there's been some unrest in one of your shared human colonies."

"Where did you hear that? We have no such cases on that colony," he protested.

"I have my sources, and you seem to know which one. Vulcana Beta-6.E2f-Gamma, if we're on the same page?" He didn't hesitate to wait for an answer, "Good. Anyway, let's get down to business."

"What do you wish to know, Braxiatel?" he hissed.

Irving straightened his cuffs, then looked Ambassador Kothar right in the eye. "Mainly whether you're aware that said colony has a Cyberman problem."

The ambassador seemed to hesitate. Irving took in every detail and analyzed them carefully. Even that of a species elegant in their way of keeping emotions hidden from view didn't stand a chance against someone equally skilled in that regard. Not when he was scanning for even the slightest bit of a tell.

Kothar finally spoke, "If so, that will be inspected and taken care of."

"I know a great deal about Cybermen, Kothar. It truly never is that simple, I'm afraid I need more than that. May I assist?" he suggested.

The reaction that provoked confirmed it to him. Kothar at least knew. And he knew that Braxiatel knew. Something else he seemed to know was that Irving was bluffing when he suggested he didn't have any agents on the planet yet. Interesting.

Brax cracked his knuckles and rested folded hands back on his desk. "I am sending my people to ensure everything is in order and the rumours are untrue. And if not... Well, I'd hate to violate our treaty by getting involved in local politics. But Cybermen cannot be allowed to propagate anywhere, and of course I have a vested interest in keeping my collection protected and my people to survive... at any costs," he implied.

The threat was so thinly veiled it might as well have been standing right out in the open with a giant red arrow pointing at it But an official declaration of war wasn't quite on the table. While the creature heightened any lust for blood he held, Brax would still prefer to get this taken care of as quietly as possible and not be forced to commit a genocide.

But he knew that time was slipping through his fingers. There was only so much before he had to step in and do things himself.

That was still being optimistic.

Two days. Two days Bernice had been gone, and the last thing he heard was neither from her or about her. Only that he'd unknowingly thrown her into the viper pit. ...And Jason. Him too.

The silence as his mind worked dragged on, drifting off from the conversation in front of him.

Kothar cleared his throat pointedly, bringing Brax out of his trance. "I am a busy man, Braxiatel. I'm afraid that is all the time I may offer you. Your warning will be heeded, though I assure you that it's all idle gossip. Regardless, it will be checked up on. Farewell."

And the image of him disappeared.

Grasping at his head, the pupils of his stormy eyes constricted, turning crazed. In a rush of fury, he stood up and carelessly brushed an arm across his desk, paper flying into the air and precious, delicate antique pieces from China teacups, to paperweights, to his favourite lamp were thrown to the floor, shattering into tiny pieces on the carpet.

Irving glanced over the mess he'd made.

Stray soil littered the floor too, surrounded by the remains of Veronica's plant pot. He realized what he did. And that tiny, insignificant sprout he'd tended to and maintained the promise of keeping safe for over twenty years, laid bare to die because of one fit of anger.

He couldn't even care for that.

So how could he care for Bernice?

She deserved better.

Brax shook his head to escape that stupor. Now wasn't the time to be self-loathing. He needed to act. And he needed to act quickly.

Picking up the luckily undamaged holocorder that was on the floor, he placed it back on his desk and called up the Mim ambassador.

It was a brief conversation, with a warning of the Cyberman threat, but not a single mention of Draconian involvement... yet. He also requested a large barricade of armed ships around the Collection- with the promise of a handsome payment from one of the richest men in the universe in exchange. Of course, the Mim ambassador couldn't say no.

That one went better.

Then, he turned to the mirror. His reflection was warped. And he spoke to it again. To her.

'You want to see me now? How interesting.'

That tiny mark of lipstick Bernice left on his hand days prior was still there, still a mental bandage over his wounds. He specifically took care to keep it, not terribly unlike a crazed fan trying to avoid washing somewhere their favourite celebrity had touched. Unlike them, however, this had an actual effect. The creature could still speak, but never had she influenced him in that time, never had his movements not been his own- that loss of control was his fault and his alone.

"It isn't as if you're the one who's in control. I just need you to make me feel a little less guilty about this."

'Would you feel guilt for saving your love at any cost?'

"Nevermind, I don't think I need you after all," he taunted back.

'Wait-'

He smirked.

He'd pry exactly what he required from her. It would be so easy.

Then he blinked. His mind cleared and he realized what she was doing to him again. He thought about his next move, holding his wrist to anchor himself back and chain the monster up again.

Irving rolled back his sleeves.

Time to get his hands dirty.

"Near the Seal of Time, oh dear. Old girl, you aren't going to like this trip."