It's all AU.

Another day.

Or not-day.

Or however time passed in that place.

Martha sat on a bench in the park, watching the sun sink over what passed for a horizon, and tucked her knees up. "If time doesn't pass," she wondered aloud, "then what does it mean that my watch is still going?"

The Master had finally given in and investigated the sewers. He'd poked a bit, decided perhaps a little too quickly that there were no vampires down there, and emerged gratefully into the sunlight, removing his handkerchief from over his nose and gazing down mournfully at his previously spotless, and now ruined, shoes.

The Master was vampire-hunting. Night-time, screwdriver ready to inflict pain, stake ready to kill if need be, and creeping through the empty warehouses and office blocks at the edge of town.

He had an inkling that he probably ought to check out the sewers, but he was leaving them for a last resort. Sewers were just so… eurgh.

He was flat on his back under a tree, looking up at the sky through the leaves. He was also chewing gum and blowing bubbles. The bigger, the better.

The vampire issue still hadn't been resolved. Which reminded the Doctor of other issues still unresolved. He extracted a promise from the Master that he stay in the TARDIS until the Doctor got back, borrowed the Master's screwdriver and went looking for. The Master. The one he had run from.

A lot had happened since he'd last talked to that one. To him at least. Who knew about the Master, but he guessed the Master had at least been sort through a lot internally. The Doctor felt ready for what could be a rocky conversation. He went up to the penthouse on the hotel, and knocked on the door. And waited.

The Master was sitting in the park with his back against a tree, whittling a small branch into a stake.

The Master was in a deserted cafe running his laser screwdriver all over the server android.

...It wasn't as kinky as it sounded.

The Master was walking randomly a way from the town, following footpaths and crossing open patches of grass, lost in thought about alternative universes and possibilities and what to do when he eventually went home. If he ever did.

( Cut for length )

Jack sighed, pulling on a t-shirt and trousers he'd picked up while waiting for his jacket to be tailored before the party, and headed for the door. He'd find coffee downstairs, before the Master decided that he really would insist on Jack staying in the room all day.

As he stepped out of the lift into the lobby, he sighed, spotting another of the Master near the dining room. Well, at least he knew it wasn't his Master - the suit rather gave it away. Though with no rose, he doubted it was the sane one he'd first run into, either.

"Master," he greeted cautiously as he got closer, giving him a small smile.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was some sort of temporal anomaly. The TARDIS was malfunctioning, there were more than a few Time Lords rattling about, and his time sense felt scrambled and muffled.

Something was going on out there.

The Doctor wanted to know what, and why.

He wouldn't mind figuring out how, either.

He made sure the TARDIS was secure - not just locked but dead-lock sealed - and walked away. Twenty first century architecture, the strangest sky he'd ever seen and not a single constellation that he recognized in it.

It took ten minutes of walking for him to reach the hotel. He walked through the front doors and into a lobby. When he saw someone else there he met their eyes, unflinching and steady. "Hello. I'm the Doctor. Who are you?"

No matter if the face they were wearing was familiar or not - the answer would tell him something. About when and where, if not how and why. Those things could come in time. Maybe.

The Master slept for a long time, deeply and dreamlessly. When he woke, alone and drumless, he only panicked for a moment before the memories came back to him. The Doctor and Jack and a lot of difficult decisions to be made.

He washed and dressed and headed downstairs to find some tea and some breakfast. He ate alone, staring into space, brain busy busy thinking.

When he'd finished, he headed outside and started searching every alley he could find for a blue police box.

At last, he found it. He bit his lip, screwed up his courage and knocked on the door.

The Master was walking. He'd started walking out to the lake for some peace, because the drums might be gone but the thoughts hammering at the inside of his skull were more than making up for them. And once he'd started walking, he just hadn't stopped. He didn't know how long it had been. He was pretty sure there'd been a night. And then the sky had turned red and the trees had turned silver, which had completely freaked him out. He'd got soaked by the rain that followed but just kept on walking.

Eventually, he found himself nearing the town again and, finally, he stopped. He didn't want to face people again yet. He looked a wreck and he felt a wreck and he didn't know what was what anymore.

He was just realising how exhausted he was. He sat down on a fallen log at the edge of a little copse amidst the endless seas of grass, rested his chin on his hands and stared off blankly into space. He'd figure out what to do next in a minute.

Or a day or two.

He had no idea how long he slept. At first, he kept surfacing every so often, as if to make sure that the Doctor was still there, still holding him, keeping him safe from the silence.

Eventually, he drifted into a deeper, healing sleep, from which he awoke gradually. The silence still scared him, as he became progressively more aware of it, but it wasn’t such a shock this time. And this time the Doctor was here too.

The Master woke up screaming.

He'd slept long and sound, untroubled even by dreams, utterly exhausted. But he woke in an unfamiliar room to deafening silence inside his own head and in the instant before he could make sense of it, he screamed.

And then he couldn't stop screaming. He sat there on the bed, staring wild-eyed at the opposite wall, hands clutching at the bedclothes, screaming.

Continued from here.

"You said you wanted help," the Doctor said, once they were away from the party. "I'm helping. Pick a room, any room." He flashed a grin that was bright but didn't get anywhere near his eyes.

The Master was sitting at one of the tables savoring a shot of whiskey as he waited for people to show up. He'd traded out of his usual politician's suit, for a longer, more closely tailored knee length jacket, and had actually lost the tie. The white rose remained pinned, of course.

Everything was set up. Tables, large enough for 4 or 5 people to sit comfortably, around the outside of the room. Food and open bar at the far wall from the doors. And still a fairly large space in the middle for dancing. It was going to be interesting to see how many people showed up, because frankly he wasn't sure what the population of the town was. He couldn't help but wonder, given the malleable and mind bending nature of the this place - if more people showed up then could really fit, would the room mysteriously seem bigger? It wasn't a completely absurd idea, here.

As predicted, there were no Doctors with red roses and black converses in sight, yet.

Finally, the Master was ready to post his notice for the party. He pinned it to a large bulletin board easily viewable in the hotel lobby. In careful flowing calligraphy it read,

"All are cordially invited

To an evening of conversation, food, drinking, music, and dancing

In the company of fellow visitors and semi-residents

Located at the hotel ballroom beginning at dusk tomorrow

Dress up is highly encouraged

Less than civilized behavior while in attendance not tolerated

With warm regards,

Koschei (who will be dressed in style) & Theta Sigma (who will probably be late)"

He was trying really hard not to laugh, as he stood back and looked at it. Ok, he laughed. And then wandered off, with a stupidly happy grin on his face.

The Master stalked about the town, drums pounding in his head, savagely bored and looking for someone to take it out on.

The Master wandered along a wide path through a small forest just outside the town. It wasn't as calming as the lake, but he was wary of going down there again since every visit seemed to result in confrontation and pain. The soothing rustle of the trees would have to do.

The Master wandered along the main street, idly contemplating plans for the party he and the other Master had talked about throwing for the residents of the town. It was something to keep his mind occupied until he could find the Doctor and get rid of the drums.

What he really needed was a party shop, with decorations and balloons and party poppers and things.

Like... that one up ahead, maybe. He walked up and gazed into the window.