The Master walked down the stairs, groggy from a late night and an uncomfortable sleep. He was working hard last night in the TARDIS, trying to make more progress in finding a way to get to his Doctor. He was on his way to the control room to try a few things that he thought might work from his research, when he stopped dead in his tracks halfway down the stairs. In front of him, he saw a tall, skinny man with hair quite like his Doctor's.
His back was turned to the Master, looking around, as if he was trying to understand the interior of the ship, much like he imagined the Doctor's silly human companions doing as he first seduced them into travelling with him.
He knew this was a long shot, but he had that glimmer of hope. "…Doctor?" the Master questioned. The skinny man turned around and stared at him. The Master's eyes widened. The man in front of him sure looked liked the Doctor, especially now, staring into his eyes, into his soul. "Master." John whimpered. The Master approached the figure tentatively, with great caution as he still couldn't believe his eyes. There was the Doctor, standing right in front of him. There was no doubt that he still looked the same as when he last saw him, the same ridiculous hair and delicious sideburns, yet a bit dressed down. But something wasn't right. He had the looks, and he obviously knew who he was, but the Master couldn't sense his Doctor in the room. He got closer, just a few steps away, and let his emotions get the better of him. He lengthened his arms out, trying not to frighten the man in front of him, and gave a full-fledged hug. He still couldn't smell him, and when the initial shock wore out, he realized that this man only had one heart.
John couldn't believe his eyes. That was definitely the Master. His voice, his look, his smell...his TARDIS. What was going on? He watched carefully as the Master approached him from his position on the stairs. He was fully prepared to defend himself as the Master drew nearer, but what came next shocked him even more. A hug. The Master was hugging him, gentle and sweet. He had the Master's smell, and he had the characteristic four beat sound coming from his hearts. John began to relax and melt into the embrace when the Master's warmth left him in a sudden movement. "Who are you?" The Master interrogated. "You look like him, you know who I am, you responded to 'Doctor', but you've only got one heart. Did you turn yourself human, were you trying to escape something? And why are you in my TARDIS?" Speechless, John said the only thing that was on his mind. "Why aren't you dead?" He didn't mean for the words to sound so harsh, but the look on the Master's face gave him even more guilt. "I just went into the Time Lock...but I escaped. Resilient, I always was. But you still didn't answer my question. Or, questions. What is going on here?" The Master replied. "But you were dead, you refused to regenerate even after I begged you and then I burned your body." John's voice was rising. "Or, well, the Doctor did." "Now we're getting somewhere. But, that was ages ago. Did you lose your memory or are you saying you're not the Doctor?" the Master awaited a response. "I need to sit down." John sighed. The Master followed and sat on the stairs with him. "Look, you obviously know about the Doctor and me, and there must be some connection, somehow, so just let me know what's happening." the Master's voice softened, as did his touch. John was about to speak when they heard a voice outside the TARDIS door. "Doctor? Why has the TARDIS moved? And why won't my key work? Let me in, mum said you went out, and this is the only place that you'd go. Doctor?" Rose shouted from the other side of the door.