It's all AU.

It was an extraordinarily gorgeous day even for fake New New York. The Master and Doctor had taken over a corner of Central Park to try to gather together cricket teams, from visitors or natives, whoever knew or was willing to learn the basic rules and play. Captaining opposing teams, of course. The easy banter back and forth indicated high, good spirits.

He approached the first blue telephone box he spotted and rapped sharply. When the door open he said, extremely precisely: "I have lost my TARDIS. And I do not mean that she didn't come with me."

He wandered down a sidewalk with a spring in his step and in his (rolled up) shirt-sleeves. He was repeatedly tossing a cricket ball into the air and catching it. His hair was mused, his jacket and hat were no where in sight. He looked both extremely chipper and extremely well fucked. Both were accurate. "Did you know that there's still a blonde Master around? Crazy as a loon but the best lay I've had since I got here."

He was just plain cranky, after his conversation with Romana. He thought about doing what she had, and just seeking out someone to gripe at. Then he decided that it was a waste of time when he could do something constructive with his irritation. Well, something fun, anyway. Constructive was a matter of opinion.

He waited until he saw the Master, grabbed him by the lapels and dragged him into the TARDIS. As soon as the door closed he pushed the Master into a wall and kissed him breathless.

Romana, frankly, stormed around the city for a while, and spotted beige.

"Answer me truthfully - can you cope with me quite angry at the universe and future versions of your yourself at the moment? I don't care to be alone."

continued from here

The TARDIS that the man led them to - and it took seeing the TARDIS for Jack to actually connect he was another version of the Doctor, which given that he'd already seen the sonic screwdriver and heard him mention the TARDIS, was a pretty big indicator of how preoccupied he was with Brant's condition - wasn't the same one Jack knew, but similar enough that he didn't pay much attention to the differences. He just carried Brant in to the console room, mentally reached out to greet the TARDIS with a mildly obscene caress, and looked back at the Doctor. "Which way?"

He actually had to look for the Master. Fortunately, he didn't have to look very hard. He saw The Master's Jack leaving the room, remembered what he'd heard about them staying togehter and knocked on the door.

"Hello," he said pleasantly. "Care for an ice cream?" He handed her one of two cones he was holding. "Don't worry, that one's a perfectly normal flavor -- mint, I think. Mine's tea. Did you know there's tea ice cream? I should've but didn't. Now, if we can get someone to make a celery flavor, I'll be all set."

He came tearing out of an ally in 'New York'.

He didn't slow down when he spotted someone so much as leap into their arms. "There's a rat in there that's at least the size of Nessa's hair. Maybe even bigger."

He wasn't a rat person.

The Master was embracing his inner...something today. From the gloves, to the more form fitting jacket and pants (although not velvet thank you very much) to the fact that his hair was lightly gelled enough to not fall into his face at all, he was stepping away from his usual look.

It was the eyeliner that maybe pushed it over from maybe simple nostalgia into um. Queen. Or Goth. It bordered.

Boredom was taking its toll.

Cold was slowly creeping over the town. Snow falling and beginning to accumulate. The Master hadn't mentioned directly *what* he was doing or why, but Romana had caught on, and the implicit invitation to play. She appreciated it, and walked with him to the park nearest the hotel, the both of them in coat, hat, and gloves.

She stepped into the pristine snow, listened to the crunch, watched her shoes make an indentation, and grinned up the Master. He grinned conspiratorially back. Some parts of their friendship were...still new and almost fragile. They were working on it.

He squawked when someone fell into his lap in the hotel's lounge. "Watch where you're going, would you- Oh, it's you. Nevermind, then." He smirked.

The Master spotted the cricket uniform, slowed down, and hopped off his bike. He walked his bike up to the table where the Doctor was taking tea, and leaned it against the next table over, before flopping the chair across from the Doctor without asking for leave.

"Bored yet?" he asked. Curious and interested in the Doctor's reaction, but pretty damn mellow. A compete 180 from the last time he'd seen this Doctor.

He spotted the familiar figure in black, walking down the street, headed roughly in his direction.

When he did he switched off the external monitors and slipped out of the TARDIS and leaned against the corner of his time machine and waited. When the Master was within reach he reached out, grabbed a handful of cloak and hauled him inside, with a surprising amount of strength and determination.

"Hello," he said, geninally, while he shoved the Master into a wall and yanked the doors closed behind them.

The Master flopped in a chair in the hotel lobby with tea, and took off his gloves. Stared at the healing gash in his hand, and then flexed his hand into a fist, looking thoughtful, before slowly relaxing it.

He had his coat on, but it didn't quite cover the purpled bite mark.

Rose went to get some lunch at a cafe, stopped at peered at the young looking man in a beige cricket outfit, and celery on his lapel sit out front. Walked up to him asking, "Excuse me, but would you be the Doctor?"

Had to be. The celery.

The Doctor walked into the wrong TARDIS. He realized it was wrong as soon as he was through the door, and not just because of the person standing there.

"Oh. Hello."

He was sitting outside, on the ground with his back against a tree. His coat and hate were beside him, his sleeves were rolled up and he was eating a piece of celery and reading a book. As he read, a white rabbit raced by in front of him. The rabbit was wearing a tiny little waist-coat. When he heard footsteps moments later he said, "If you're wearing a blue frock, he went that way."

He pointed, closed the book and looked up.

The Doctor was merrily - downright joyously - working in finally requiring the TARDIS. Installing the brand new dematerialization circuit that the Time Lord had gifted him with, in thanks for dealing with Omega. Given him back the parts of his knowledge necessary to fly her. His exile on Earth - save for those few jaunts through various means - was at an end.

He thought he heard Jo come into the lab, and he stepped outside the TARDIS to greet. But he wasn't in the lab at all. He was on a street corner. He whirled around - the TARDIS was still behind him.

Couldn't his people leave him in his peace and freedom for five minutes?! He'd just saved them all.

Or maybe this was some new game of the Master's?

He looked around for some sign of where he was. So far the town looked quite ordinary, on the surface. But something was. Off.

He had settled in. Slept at the hotel. Noted that day and night were distinctly odd here. Decided to stay in uniform, since he didn't want to be potentially dropped back home out of uniform and on duty, and was surprised to find duplicates in his closet. He mentally shrugged, cleaned up and changed, and went down to the dining room for breakfast.