"We live as flames,
die in ashes,
but we only sleep,
in darkness."

Precious is the Night Star by Yesho, circa 274984, Shezute Dynasty.

It was cold aboard the dark and deserted research facility. Well, deserted except for one occupant, sitting in a corner with her knees under her chin, shivering. But it wasn't the cold that was making her shiver.

It was the memories. The ones she really remembered and the ones she wasn't quite sure about anymore. The ones stirred by recent events, the ones she thought had long been buried, through her own choice. The ones she had dreaded being brought out into the light. Ever.

So much was she wrapped up in her own misery that when a wheezing, groaning sound broke the stillness she didn't look up, even though she was expecting to hear it at some point.

It was only when the blue Police Box that had appeared from thin air to accompany the sound had fully materialised that she raised her head, mildly curious as to who exactly would come out through the doors.

Now those doors creaked open and a tall, thin man with closely cropped dark hair and large ears stepped out, looking around his surroundings with interest. He wasn't any of the ones she was expecting, but his kind, mobile face showed that he might just be able to help.

His eyes fixed on her slumped figure, half hidden in the darkness. Leaving the door of the Police Box open a crack, he moved towards her, making his way around smashed equipment and overturned chairs. Reaching the shadowed woman, he squat down before her, his face crumpled with concern.

"Hello Benny," he said quietly. "What's wrong?"

As soon as he had spoken to her, even though the face and voice were both unfamiliar, she had thrown her arms around his neck and started sobbing. She had no idea how long they had remained like that, but when she finally brought the tears under control, the shoulder of his battered brown leather coat was damp.

With an effort, she composed herself, extricated herself from the embrace and faced this old friend with a different face.

"I needed to see you Doctor," she managed to say, her voice hoarse. "I need your help."

He nodded, smiling kindly at his former companion. Then he looked around them at the darkened hulk of metal and plastic, at once familiar and yet different.

"I got your message, obviously. But why here, of all places? I would've thought this was one of the last places you'd ever return to, voluntarily at least."

Benny swallowed down a lump of fear forming in her throat. "I had to get away from the Collection, find somewhere to think, somewhere to meet you. While this isn't ideal, it did seem like the obvious choice."

Dark shadows flitted behind his eyes. "Why, what's happened?"

Instead of answering with words, Benny reached up and gripped the front of her shoulder length dark hair. To the Doctor's surprise, it came away in her hand, leaving her skull bald with just the hint of stubble showing through.

Now he also noticed what her false fringe had previously hidden, a large band-aid stuck onto her forehead. He reached forward hesitantly, then withdrew his hand again, frowning.

"Who did this to you?" he asked, ice and steel mixing in his voice in a way that made Benny feel that, given the chance, he would make her tormentors pay dearly for their transgression.

"A Draconian noble," she told him, seeing that she had managed to shock him once more. She actually managed to smile slightly. "Now don't go getting all heroic on me and rushing off to topple their empire, they did it for reasons that, while I can't exactly sympathise with, I can at least understand."

The Doctor sighed. "Then help me to understand. Take your time, tell me everything."

Taking a deep breath, Benny told him. About the request from the Draconians for a human archaeologist, namely her, to go to their homeworld and examine a recently unearthed artefact. About Lord Vasar, who she had initially liked, and Lord Paranesh, who she definitely didn't. About Paranesh and his drill, Emperor Shenn and his plan, and more especially about Vilus Krull and the links to the Dark Flame Cult.

The Doctor listened patiently, taking in every detail without interruption. His face changed a little when she mentioned the Dark Flame and Krull, shifting from concerned to dismayed, but he quickly covered his reaction.

When she had finished her tale, Benny felt tears once more prickling the corners of her eyes. Without having to say any more, the Doctor drew her into another embrace, stroking the back of her skull as if she still had a full head of hair.

"I left Draconia sure in my own mind that any lingering traces of Krull were well and truly gone," she whispered into his ear. "But what if I wasn't in my own mind when I decided that? How can I be sure of anything any more?"

"Shh," the Doctor replied soothingly. "I can help. There are tests I can conduct, aboard the TARDIS, that will determine once and for all if there's any lasting contamination from that terrible man."

Benny nodded, pulling herself together and stepping back. She regarded her old friend with a slight smile. "I knew I could rely on you."

"What are friends for," he said lightly, matching her smile. "Now, if Madam would care to step this way, watching out of course that she doesn't catch herself on any broken glass or twisted metal bars."

Benny started forward, pausing on the threshold of the Police Box. "First time I stepped in here, I had no idea what was going to happen. But I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

"You could say it was the trip of a lifetime," the Doctor replied.

They both grinned, more from relief of the recent tensions than anything actually funny. The Doctor offered his arm and Benny took it. Together they stepped across the threshold as the baleful light of the planet Maran Alpha shone through the grimy windows upon them.

***

Benny took in the at once familiar and different interior of the time ship. Like the owner, things had changed since their paths had last crossed. Gone was the gothic look enjoyed by the handsome, wild haired version of the Doctor who had needed her help against the Ice Warriors, before delivering her to the new life awaiting on Dellah. And what an adventure that had ended up being!

"You've been redecorating again," she commented, as the Doctor fussed over the green lit panels of the console with their mis-matched and quite bizarre looking controls.

The Doctor looked up with a smile. "Well, the gothic look is so passé these days."

The TARDIS doors closed and the time rotor at the centre of the console began a rhythmic rise and fall as the craft entered the space/time vortex.

"Where are we going?" Benny inquired.

"Not far," the Doctor replied. "Parking orbit around Maran Alpha, actually."

Benny frowned. "Is that in case you need to shove me out of the doors?"

The Doctor shook his head vigorously. "Not at all! It's in case we need to go back down to the planet, to find a remedy for you."

She shrugged. "You might be better dumping me out into space."

"Never an option," he responded seriously. "Now, are you going to come through to the medical bay, or just stand there all day feeling sorry for yourself?"

For a moment Benny paused, as if thinking over the choice. "Medical bay it is."

Crossing to the inner door, the Doctor held it open for his former companion. "Ladies first."

"Oh, you mean me!" Benny replied, after looking around in mock confusion.

The Doctor grinned as she slipped through the door. "And you doubt that you're yourself," he murmured, just loud enough for her to hear.

Benny didn't reply, though she was pleased with the confidence her old friend still had in her, despite what she thought about her own state of mind.

***

The TARDIS medical bay had the same brand of mixed technology as the rest of the ship seemed to have these days. Though thankfully there were no blunt saws or jars of leeches in evidence.

Benny realised that she was busily trying to distract herself from the ordeal ahead. The part she hadn't been looking forward to since she had first detected that familiar grating roar of time and space being ripped apart.

The Doctor was busy too. He was tinkering with a complex bank of machinery, humming a tune under his breath. Benny found she recognised it.

"Waterloo," she commented, catching the Time Lord's attention. "You think I might be facing mine?"

His face crumpled with concern. "Of course not! It was just a random tune buzzing around my head. It had no other meaning."

"I know," she replied wearily. "Put it down to my overworked and underpaid paranoia."

The Doctor smiled across at her. "I think we're ready to fix that now. If you want to come over and settle in the chair..."

Benny did just that, eyeing the chair suspiciously before sitting down. "I assume somewhere there is a poor dentist who has nowhere comfortable to torture his patients."

"Actually, I picked that up very reasonably on one of the moons of Altair Prime."

Benny grinned. "The Altairians have no teeth!"

"Exactly," the Doctor replied. He began attaching electrodes to his friend's forehead.

"Are you travelling with anybody at the moment?" Benny inquired. "I don't want to wake up some poor girl with my screaming. That can be sooo embarrassing."

"I'm between companions right now," the Doctor admitted, smoothing down the last electrode. "It's been a while since anybody has been on board." For a moment, a look of deep sadness crossed his face. Then it was gone. "And by the way, this process shouldn't cause you to scream."

"Can I have that in writing please?"

"No," he said mock sternly. "Now, I'm going to stimulate the REM sleep centre of your brain. You'll shortly drift off into a dreaming sleep."

Benny faked a yawn. "Don't forget to wake me when we reach my stop."

By the time she had finished speaking though, she could feel real fatigue dragging her down. With a slight sigh, Benny slid into the arms of Morpheus.

"Sweet dreams, Benny," the Doctor said softly, moving over to his monitoring equipment.

***

Benny was standing in a sandy desert, under the heat of twin suns. About a mile away she could make out ruined walls, none of them above waist height. Searching her memory there was only one planet she could recall that had a similar combination of elements.

"Castis Minor," she breathed, feeling the dust in the air scratch her throat.

"Very good, Professor," commented a voice from behind Benny.

She turned slowly, taking in the figure standing there in the blazing heat. It was unexpectedly clothed in a dark, heavy cloak with a hood pulled over the head. The cloak reached almost to the floor, with only two sandal-covered feet poking out from the bottom.

"Vilus Krull I presume," she said, trying to stare into the eyes of the man before her, but finding she couldn't see them in the shadows of the cloak's hood.

"Hmm. Doesn't quite have the same ring to it as Doctor Livingstone, but I suppose it will have to do."

"What the hell do you know about Doctor Livingstone?" Benny spat, for some reason annoyed by this little detail. "He was born and died centuries of time away from you and light years of space!"

The cloaked figure spread its arms. "I know what you know, Professor Summerfield. I am after all a construct of your own psyche."

"So you're saying I'm dreaming you, is that it?"

"Well, yes and no," Krull admitted. "There is a tiny fraction of my consciousness lodged in your brain, which is fuelling this image you see. But basically my form here, and this entire realm, are taken from your own imagination."

"So something did survive," Benny whispered, but not low enough for Krull to miss.

"Indeed Professor. A very small fragment, not enough to influence your actions or impede your day to day life. At least not yet."

"What do you mean by that?" Benny demanded, her hands clenching unconsciously into fists.

Krull shrugged inside his heavy cloak, though he didn't look the least bit uncomfortable under the twin suns. "I grow stronger with each day that passes. Eventually, I will have gained enough ground within your consciousness that I can begin to exert a measure of control."

"How soon?" Benny breathed, almost afraid of the answer.

"Days, weeks, months, who knows? But what I can tell you is that your little encounter with the Draconians has accelerated the process. Without that, I may have remained submerged within your mind until the day you died."

"I would rather that day came sooner if it is the only way to keep myself safe from your invasive presence," Benny retorted hotly. "You were aptly named, Vilus. You are a vile creature, sponsor of a vile cult!"

"You're too kind," Krull replied, executing a slight bow. "Now, to business. Are you going to help me?"

"What? You want my help? To do what?"

"Why, to take over your mind of course," Krull responded smoothly. "If you would just let go your tight hold on what you think of as your consciousness, I can come to the fore now and we won't have any unpleasantness further down the line. I do so much prefer a willing subject that one who struggles. It's so much, cleaner."

She could sense he was smiling under the hooded cloak. "No way, buster. You take control over my dead body!"

"Oh dear," said Krull, drawing a long sword from the sleeve of his cloak. "I can see this is going to be very messy."

***

Back in the TARDIS medical bay, the Doctor frowned at the readings on his monitor. Bernice's heart rate and adrenaline levels were rising rapidly, and he was detecting increased brain activity. Alongside all that, some mysterious viral strain had suddenly popped into being, deep within the brain stem.

"Oh Benny, what's happening in there?" he asked quietly, glancing across at the patient on the diagnostic table.

Perspiration was breaking out on his old friend's forehead, her eyes were moving swiftly behind her closed lids and her limbs were twitching. It was as though she was fighting some strange internal battle.

Crossing to her side, the Doctor took one clammy hand in both his. "Come on Benny, stay with me. You can fight this, you can win. Believe in yourself."

He wasn't sure if she could hear or understand him, but the words made him feel somewhat better. He stood there a moment longer, then replaced her hand and went back to monitoring Benny's condition.

***

Benny watched as Krull twirled the sword like an expert fencer, swapping the blade from one hand to the other as it if were no more dangerous than a French loaf.

"Oh please!" she exclaimed. "Now you're just showing off Krull. But you know what? I've just figured something out. This is all going on inside my head, so I think it's time I took back a little control, don't you?"

So saying she plucked her own sword from thin air, a wickedly curved Arabian model sharpened to perfection.

"Impressive," Krull admitted, stopping his own tricks to watch. "But you need the skill to be able to wield such a weapon."

Benny shrugged. "I don't know, I've always favoured the brunt force and ignorance approach."

Almost before she had finished speaking she charged at Krull, swinging the sword into a vicious arc towards his head. Her adversary managed to get his own sword up in time to deflect the blow, but nothing more. The force knocked him backwards a few steps and Benny lunged again.

This time he managed to block better and kept his footing, launching a counter attack. But Benny was ready for him, jumping backwards as his blade swept harmlessly past then darting in with another blow.

She was more successful with this, catching Krull across the right shoulder. The razor sharp edge sliced through cloth and skin, maybe even nicking the bone as it passed through. First blood to Benny.

Letting out a howl of pain, Krull advanced, the fire of his wound lending him extra strength. Gone was the finesse of his earlier strokes, replaced by blunt and savage swings. Benny was forced backwards across the hot sands, maintaining her footing more by luck than anything else.

But forcing Krull to fight on her terms did pay dividends. Blinded by his rage, he didn't see Benny's unexpected counter until it was too late. He could only watch as her sword stabbed hard and deep into his already damaged right arm.

Sometimes though the worse kind of enemy is a wounded one. Recovering as quickly as he could, Krull switched his sword to his uninjured left hand. As he stood straight, biting back the urge to vent his pain vocally, Benny finally saw his eyes glaring at her from under the hood. They burned with a fierce red light and Benny knew, in that moment, that Krull would be harder now to dispatch than ever.

***

The Doctor had been watching as Benny's bodily defences rallied to fight the invading virus that had appeared in her system. He smiled as they began to win their battle and her readings settled into a more normal level.

But then there was another change. The virus had managed to mutate, to change and escape the anti-bodies sent to destroy it. He ran a hand over his close cropped hair and watched helplessly as the war for control of Benny's mind and body took another turn.

***

Things were not going well for Benny. Under the merciless heat of Castis Minor's twin suns, she was very much on the back foot in her battle with Krull. His renewed determination was wearing down her defences and she was bleeding from three minor cuts, two to her left arm and one on her cheek. It seemed only a matter of time now before he struck the killing blow.

Blocking another thrust with more luck than skill, Benny wondered what consequences dying here, inside her imagination, would have. The implication of course was that her mind would die and Krull would sweep in and take her body for his own. She wasn't about to put the theory to the test though.

But there seemed little she could do to stop him now. He had discovered reserves of previous untapped energy, while she was using all her limited skills just to stay alive for another few moments.

It was then, as she barely avoided a Krull lunge, that a thought occurred. She was fighting inside her own mind, but she was still doing so on his terms. It was time she changed the rules to suit herself.

Unbidden, a scene from a 20th Century movie she had seen many times played out before her mind's eye. Another archaeologist, another hot and dusty environment, another opponent with seemingly superior sword skills. Benny knew she had her advantage.

Concentrating as she danced away from Krull's latest attack, she summoned the object she needed from the ether, grasping it with her free hand like her very life depended upon it. Which it very probably did.

Cocking and aiming with one fluid motion, she fired the pistol straight at Krull's heart, if such an organ really existed.

It must have done, within her mind at least, for the bullet caught him square in the chest. As she watched he dropped his sword, a red stain spreading slowly across the dark material of the cloak. Looking down in what she suspected was disbelief, Krull sank to his knees.

"That's cheating, Professor Summerfield," he managed to say, his voice dry and scratchy.

"I prefer to think of it as winning," she replied coolly, keeping the gun trained on him, just in case.

"And you must always win, whatever the cost," he taunted, obviously weakening by the moment.

Benny considered this for a second, before shaking her head. "Winning isn't everything. But beating evil like you, yes I would say that I would do whatever it cost to secure that. Every time."

"Congratulations, Professor. You've beaten me. But who knows, one day we may have a rematch."

"I doubt it," Benny responded, watching as he collapsed into the sand and started to fade away. "And even if we do, I've beaten you once. I can do so again."

As Krull vanished from sight, so the world around her started to turn grey. Closing her eyes, Benny made a wish.

***

"Welcome back to the land of the living."

The voice was warm and strong with a distinct Northern accent. And it was vaguely familiar.

Benny tried opening her eyes to see if the speaker was who she thought it was, to be met by a harsh white glare.

"Ouch! Can you turn the sun down a bit?"

The Doctor chuckled. "It's not the sun Bernice. You're still in the TARDIS medical bay. You'll get used to the light, after a few moments."

Squinting against the brilliance, she slowly prised her eyes open. After blinking away the blur, she managed to focus on the owner of that voice.

"Doctor, how am I?"

He grinned at her question. "You tell me. I'm assuming you're feeling better than you have for quite some time."

"Actually, I feel like I've been dragged through a black hole, backwards," she responded, trying to sit up and finding her head didn't like being up so high. She slumped back onto the bed with a groan.

The Doctor looked down at her. "Stay here, get some sleep. Proper sleep this time. When you're ready, you know where the console room is."

She was going to nod, then thought better of it. "OK," she replied, closing her eyes again.

She was snoring in her sleep before the Doctor had managed to cross the bay and leave the room.

***

According to her watch, Benny had slept more than twelve hours. Or maybe twenty four, given that it was an analogue version. Of course, it could easily have been thirty six or even forty eight!

Her head was still a little fuzzy, but she was able to walk in a relatively straight line and navigate her way to the console room. Well, without too many wrong turnings.

Stepping through the door, she saw the Doctor in his usual place, standing over the console. She had sometimes wondered if there were a couple of shoe prints in the floor from where he stood, but she had never found any.

He looked up, smiling slightly at his former companion as she entered the room. "Feeling better?"

"Much," she told him, and meant it. It was like a cloud had lifted from her personal sky.

His fingers darted over the console. "KS 159, I assume?"

She nodded, confirming that he should return her to the site of the Braxiatel Collection. "I'm sure Brax will be pleased to see you."

His face changed, as if a thundercloud had passed across the sun. "I don't think I'll have time to visit," he said quickly. Finishing his programming with a flourish, he crossed the room and looked deep into Benny's eyes. "Did you manage to purge your personal demon?"

Benny smiled for the first time since waking up in the medical bay. "I believe so. We certainly had quite a battle in here." She tapped the side of her head.

"Well, you worried me there for a while. There were times when I thought the anti-bodies were going to be overwhelmed by the virus invading your brain."

"The Vilus," she corrected. "But I managed to put him out of my misery."

The Doctor looked serious. "How did you manage to destroy the fragment that survived our previous encounter?"

Benny shrugged. "I used a little trick I picked up from an old archaeologist I've always looked up to."

"Oh, and who is that?" the Doctor wanted to know.

"Indiana Jones!"

For a moment he looked confused, then his face broke into a wide grin. "Fantastic!"

***

The peace and quiet of the gardens belonging to the exact copy of the Palace of Versailles was broken by the groaning rumble of the TARDIS materialising.

The doors creaked open and Bernice stepped out, her wig back in place.

"Home sweet home?" the Doctor inquired, leaning against the frame of the doors with his arms folded.

"Well, its where the people I love are," she replied. "Most of them anyway."

The Doctor looked down at his boots for a moment. "You could join up again," he said quietly.

For a second or two she seemed to consider it, then shook her head.

"I have family here now, a son. And Jason. I can't leave them. And you don't want a family aboard the TARDIS."

He sighed. "You're right about that."

"But you do need company," she told him. "Find somebody to take on a trip around the universe. Someone who will appreciate the sights, sounds and smells of alien cities, the spectacle of suns colliding and the wonder of Marston's Planetoid during Mardi Gras."

The Doctor nodded, slowly at first, then with more enthusiasm. "You're right, Benny. You're absolutely right."

She stepped forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek. He looked surprised, but pleased.

"Take care," she said.

"You too," he responded with a grin. Then with a cheery wave he stepped back inside and the TARDIS vanished from the lawn.

Smiling sadly, Benny turned and walked towards the big house, looking forward to seeing Peter. And maybe even Jason.