The Doctor had ten of the finest peanut butter and jelly sandwiches ever created piled high on a blue plate. TARDIS blue, or close to it. It was bound to amuse his companion, she always got that charmed look on her face when she found something in that particular hue.

"It's a wink!" she declared with delight, picking up a seashell that washed up on the beach at her feet.

"A wink?"

"A good omen, a sign from the universe that we are on the right track," she brushed grains of sand from her treasure and slipped it into her pocket. "You never find shells that color and it just landed at my feet!"

The Doctor couldn't help but smile. Humans had such a unique perspective on life, they delighted in the perfectly ordinary and saw the wonder he sometimes forgot. "That's a turanna shell. Its exposure to the native kelp gives it that color, quite common on this planet."

"I only see the one."

"It's high tide! Come back at low tide and there will be loads of them."

"We are not here at low tide; we are here now." She tucked her arm through the crook of his elbow and grinned, "A 21st century human and the last of the Time Lords stroll along a beach on a planet that only has a breathable atmosphere once every 250 years and find a single shell the exact color of the TARDIS. Its lucky."

"It's unlikely."

"It's magic!"

Alyssandra had maintained that same sense of wonder since day one. Every day was filled with magic as far as she was concerned. If she didn't find it, then she made her own.

She simply had a way about her, a light, a glow. Everything she touched seemed to sparkle. People responded to it. Everywhere they went, no matter the planet or the species. The way she was able to connect with a perfect stranger was astounding. A thing of beauty and just one of the qualities that made her so very special.

He had never told her about the scan he took after their trip to the Calamarane shine. The mind was a delicate thing and abilities of this nature must be allowed to surface on their own. And now that they had, it was best to tread carefully. The physical symptoms were likely only temporary. Once Alyssandra was able to access her abilities consciously, things would balance out.

It was strange though, the way she tapped into Teagan. Truth be told, it had unnerved him and had him wondering what else she had seen. Ghosts, she had said. Well, there were plenty of those rattling around him.

The Doctor considered his options as he stirred chocolate syrup into a tall pitcher of milk. It had been eons since he last worked with someone on a psychic level. Not since his Time Lord Academy days. Entering someone's mind in his usual maner was one-sided really and as much hypnosis as anything else, this would be far more complex. Teaching a novice and a human to boot… tricky.

Suddenly he was pulled from his musings when Lyssa's dog ran into the galley. An over-sized black Labrador named Denver who was equal parts slobbery affection and eager clumsiness. The Doctor didn't often have canines as part of his crew, but Lyssa had been insistent.

"This is a time machine, you know," the Doctor said, already scratching Denver behind her ears. "We will be gone and back without her even knowing the difference."

"I know, but I'll know the difference. I just…" Lyssa's cheeks colored bright pink. "I just need her with me."

"You sure? Traveling can be dangerous."

"I can't sleep without her," she finally admitted. "We're a matched set."

"Ah," the Doctor nodded his understanding. "Well, lucky for you, I happen to be a dog person."

Lyssa's face lit up in a mega watt smile and her dog bounded off through the opened doors of the TARDIS and disappeared inside.

The distant sound of something crashing had the Time Lord asking, "Is she actually house trained?"

"Oh yes! Well, mostly." She chewed on her lower lip and shrugged. "Just mind your shoes, she likes to collect them, but only the left foot."

The Doctor knelt down and took the sock out of the dog's mouth, "Hey there, Denver girl. Looking to play, are you?"

Truth be told, he loved dogs. They held a special place in his hearts ever since K9. And as such, he was able to communicate with them telepathically. Well, sort of.

Her thoughts simple but worried. *Come now. Sick. Hurt. Problem. Help. Help. *

*Good girl. Show me. * The Doctor abandoned his sandwiches and followed Denver who was already running down the hall.

The long-legged Time Lord had to put in an effort to keep up with the dog who was running at a full gallop. He passed other articles of clothing scattered through the corridors. Shoes, the other sock, a pair of well-worn jeans and a violet sweater. All things Alyssandra had been wearing when he left her in the Med Bay.

When he caught up with Denver, she was sitting obediently next to an open door. She looked up and whined as he approached. He patted her head and instructed her to stay while he passed and entered the room.

The Doctor knew it at a glance. The white circles and uncluttered design of the control room favored by his earlier regenerations brought a wave of nostalgia along with confusion.

She was there, of course. Stripped down to a plain pair of black underwear and white tank top, Alyssandra moved around the console with remarkable efficiency.

"It's about time you showed up," she said, as she flipped switches.

"Sorry I'm late," he replied, studying her as he slowly approached. She was flushed from head to toe and sweat ran down her neck and back. What little clothes she had on were soaked through and plastered to her skin.

She looked up at him with eyes dilated to the point of being nearly black. The voice she answered with was not her own, accented English instead of American. She grinned wickedly, "Forgiven."

The Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver from his pocket, "What are you doing?"

"Adjusting the temperature for a start. Its hotter than the surface of the second sun in here!" She wiped river of sweat from her brow with the back of her hand. She cocked an eyebrow at his scanning, "Always with the sonic, don't you ever tire of predictability?"

The Doctor frowned at the readings. Her heart was racing at nearly double the normal rate, as if she were running from a legion of Cybermen. And her temperature was nearing 40 degrees. No wonder she was so hot, she was burning! If he didn't get that temperature down soon, she'd be in real trouble. "Alyssandra, I need you to come back to the Medbay with me."

She continued as if she didn't hear him, "Why did you ever change the desktop to that dreadful coral? This is far more functional. Classic is classic for a reason, you know." She drummed her fingers absently against her thigh while typing commands into the dash.

The Doctor wasn't concerned with her messing about with the controls, this was only a copy of the actual control room. As such, she wouldn't be doing any real damage. But possible damage to herself was a real danger. "Lyssa."

"Doctor," she returned, mimicking his serious tone.

"You're ill. You need to come with me so I can treat you. Let me help."

She laughed then and looked up at him with such distain that he was taken aback. "Doctor. The man who makes people better. How sanctimonious is that?"

The Doctor's stomach flipped over unpleasantly as the words hit their mark. This was no hallucination or unintended telepathy; this was something altogether different. "Who are you?"

Lyssa's eyes lit with humor and her grin turned manic. "Ha! Now you're asking the right questions! Although, I have to admit, it does sting a bit that you don't recognize me."

She came around to the Doctor's side of the control panel and lifted herself to perch delicately on the edge. She crossed her bare legs casually at the knee and drummed her fingers on the cool metal. "Must be this pretty package that makes it so hard to see what lurks underneath. I shouldn't be surprised; you always did have a type."

Her fingers tapped out that staccato four beat pattern that was sickeningly familiar. He looked into Lyssa's nearly black eyes and he whispered the name he never thought he'd utter again. "Master."

"I like it when you use my name."

The Doctor's mind raced, "You're dead."

"Yes, I am. Thanks to you." Lyssa spat as she swung her legs like a child over the edge of the console. "I know, I know. Technically, it's not your fault, you didn't pull the trigger. You just have so much guilt already, I figure I may as well add to it. I mean, honestly… how do you carry around all that baggage?"

"How are you here?" The Doctor ground out between clenched teeth.

"Well, I'm not. Obviously. I'm more of a reflection," she leaned over to whisper seductively in the Doctor's ear. "An echo."

"What do you want?"

She shrugged, "Have a bit of fun, as always."

Lyssa slid off the console and strolled around the room with movements sleek as a cat. She rolled her hips as she ran her fingers along the raised panels of the wall. "What do you want, Doctor?"

"I want you to come to the Medbay with me, we can get this sorted."

"Ugh! You never used to be this boring! This is what comes from surrounding yourself with lesser life forms… Come on, Doctor!" Lyssa braced both hands on the console and leaned forward to challenge the Time Lord. "She doesn't know, does she? Little Lyssa."

"Know what?"

"The true extent of your obsession. Hard for her to see it, I suppose. But you are so very obvious." She spared him a pitying look, "She thinks you don't see her, not really. That you delight in her company only when she's running. If only she knew just how much you really see. How you notice every detail of her. The silky texture of her skin, the way her breath catches when she witnesses something amazing."

Lyssa rounded the console again, keeping eye contact with the Doctor as she approached, leering at him. "How perfectly her body fits against yours when you embrace and her head tucks just so under your chin. How the color of her eyes matches those shallow crystal lakes on Mount Perdition and remind you of home to the point your hearts ache!"

"Stop it!"

"Does she know how you study her when she isn't looking? That you've memorized the exact angle she tilts her head at when she reads. Or that tune she hums when deep in thought. How she takes her tea and how her every thought is betrayed by the expression on her face."

The Doctor watched her carefully as she circled him, taunted him. Maybe it was it a possession or some version of the Master that had hidden away in her mind. Whatever caused it, he had to find a way to stop it. The strain of this encounter was not without consequence.

"Oh, how she looks at you! As if you hung the moon and stars just for her. She sees you as the hero you always wanted to be." Lyssa's voice caught and dropped with a touch of melancholy. "It's one thing to act a hero, Doctor. It's quite another to actually be one."

"I never wanted to be a hero," the Doctor replied at last.

She held him with her gaze, so like the Master's in its madness and anger. Threat laced every movement. "You forget who you're talking to."

In another flash the boiling hatred for him was gone, replace by manic glee. "I have to commend you on your choice of companion, Doctor." Lyssa ran her hands down her torso to her hips and back again, pulling at her shirt to expose several inches of narrow waistline. "This latest model is truly lovely. Have you told her that you could bring her to the edge of oblivion with a single touch?"

"Lyssa," the Doctor tried again, refusing to be baited by the Master's salacious implications. "Lyssa, listen to me, you've got to stop this."

She was directly in front of him now, just a breath away. Her hands slid up the Doctor's chest, her palms resting over each of his hearts. "She could be yours; you know. With a word, you could have this human in every way imaginable. Possess her entirely."

The Doctor grasped her around each wrist, feeling the pulse hammering just under the skin. He was losing patience with the game and growled, "Stop this now."

"She is still here, of course. Screaming. But I'm the one calling the shots. I am in full control of all those important things like lung function and blood pressure. The human body can take only so much abuse." The Doctor felt Lyssa's heart speed up as she spoke, racing dangerously. Her fever surged and radiated heat through her skin.

Her wide, dilated eyes bored into his and her breathing became ragged. "How long do you suppose her single human heart keep up with your two Time Lord ones before it explodes in her chest? It would be a pity if she stopped breathing or had an aneurysm. Or bit off her own tongue."

He released her then, his hands fell to his sides in submission. "Please."

"The mighty Time Lord undone by a human girl. Pathetic." She reached around the Doctor and flipped a large toggle switch. The TARDIS groaned in response and the floor shook as the time machine set off.

The Doctor looked at the control console in disbelief, "What?! But that's impossible! You can't actually pilot the TARDIS from here! This is only a copy!"

Lyssa danced around the room punching buttons in her wake, "A perfect copy, actually! And while I can't set a new course, I can access the previous ones. Think of it as a return to sender button!"

"How?" demanded the Doctor. "Tell me how you are doing this!"

"Oh dear. You really have underestimated this human of yours."

"Tell me!" he bellowed as the ship dipped dangerously and the cloister bell sounded ominously through the corridors.

Lyssa gripped the control panel and grinned like a mad woman, "You really should keep a better eye on your pets. There is no telling what sort of trouble they can get into on a ship like this!"

The TARDIS abruptly stopped rocking, obviously having reached her destination. Alyssandra typed in a few deft commands and the view screen flickered to life, displaying an all too familiar image.

The Doctor froze. It had been centuries since he was last here. It was forbidden, after all. How in the hell had she managed it? "Kasterborous."

All the gleeful hatred and taunting was gone now, replaced by hollowness. Haunted by the demons that always managed to catch up. "It's as close as we can get, for obvious reasons. I haven't been back here since… well. You?"

Unable to look away from the distant view of home, the Doctor's replied, "No."

"The Time Lords sat on top of the universe and gazed down on time itself, now look at us. Locked away in a meaningless battle with the Daleks for all eternity. So much for the shining world of the Seven Systems."

Distracted by the image of the long-lost world of Gallifrey, Lyssa didn't notice her dog had appeared at her side. It wasn't until Denver's wide, pink tongue licked her hand that she looked down and blinked in surprise.

The Doctor watched the interaction carefully and hoped he was right. The Labrador had stayed obediently outside the door until he sent a mental command. With the Master distracted, there might be a chance to reach Lyssa herself and break her free of his control. The bond Denver had with her mistress was strong and reached back farther than his own. There was every chance that the dog could reach her in ways the Doctor could not. Animals could be incredibly healing, maybe they would get lucky.

Alyssandra stared down at the black dog who looked back with absolute adoration. Denver thumped her tail and nudged Lyssa's hand for a pet. "Oh, now that's just cheating."

Something broke then. A crack formed within her mind and a sliver of silver light cut through the darkness. The immediate sense of relief was staggering but lasted only a moment. The pain in her head returned with a vengeance and knocked the wind out of her.

Lyssa fell to the floor with a groan, landing hard on her hands and knees. Her dog licked her face and whined, obviously anxious at the state she was in.

The Doctor knelt in front of her. He grasped her desperately by the shoulders and held her upright, "Lyssa, talk to me!"

When at last she raised her eyes to meet his, they had returned to their normal shining green although a bit unfocused as she tried to catch her breath.

Somewhere in her scattered mind, Lyssa realized that the Doctor was looking for a response from her. A sign that she was herself again. But she was all slipping away, and the pain in her head was building again making any thought difficult to hold. She could feel her heart hammering against her ribcage and the only sentence she could form came out barely a whisper as darkness closed in. "Who is the Master?"