[open x3] I'm not big enough to house this crowd

[fragmentation]

James is having a pretty regular day. They're planetside, on a lovely little world called Hedenex. He's taking an exploratory stroll, dressed in one of his three-pieces suits, walking through the complex cityscape they're visiting, enjoying the unfamiliar sky.

He's spent most of the day running around with Andrew, seeing sights, meeting people, testing the cuisine, and letting the dogs stretch their legs a bit too. But Andrew and the dogs only have so much energy, so James has left them to get some rest. James doesn't really need to worry about those things, so he's been getting some exploring done on his own. It's a very welcoming area.

He's just about to head back to ship, when he stumbles. This in itself is unusual, given how surefooted he normally is. But it only gets weirder from there. His systems go haywire, his vision and most of his senses cut out completely. There's a moment of panic, but he doesn't have long to dwell on it before he wakes up in an entirely different place. That is, places.

--

James, or rather the Ambrose part of him, comes to on a streetcorner on the Upper East Side, near Harlem. He's breathing, which is most unconventional. When did he start breathing? Up until a moment (or however long it's been) ago, he was completely robotic.

It's not the first time he's been put in a flesh body, however, so he manages to adjust fairly quickly, getting slowly to his feet. He doesn't much care for the cold, though. Perhaps this is just another Time Scoop, but it's usually less unpleasant.

But no... Because there's something missing. Great chunks of his mind are gone, and he feels strangely empty. Oh, not his memories. Those are still there. Not as organised and reliable now he's got a biological body, but there. His two imported personalities. The Doctor and the Master. They're gone. Yet somehow he can still sense them. As if they're here, but not part of him anymore. He's not sure what this means.

It doesn't occur to him how strange he must look, standing here in the cold, looking confused and lost.

--

Across town, the Doctor wakes up. He's in a café in the East Village, down on 10th street - though he himself doesn't know much more than that it's a café, and that he's currently slumped against the wall in a booth.

He goes through much the same thought process as Ambrose. They have the same memories of course, more or less the same mental capacities; the only difference is how they react to it. And the Doctor is worried. Deeply worried. If he's split free, that means the Master is probably also wandering around somewhere. He can feel that much. A presence in his mind, but far too distant and vague for him to pinpoint it.

First of all, where is he? His surroundings aren't much help. Back in his old body, he could've smelled it. He's not sure how reliable this new nose is, but he hasn't the memories to recall which place smells like what anymore in any case. It definitely doesn't look much like Hedenex, though.

He prods the shoulder of a random patron. "Pardon me, but could you tell me where I am?"

--

Meanwhile, approximately right between the two others, in the back of a dark McDonalds on 42nd street, right off Times Square, the Master version of James wakes up.

He, unlike the two others, is not quite so worried, once he's realised what's happened. In fact, he's rather delighted. His personality is often kept quite buried, at least compared to the other two. He's not so keen on finding them, though he feels that they're here somewhere, now he's finally got a body of his own.

He grins to himself, and pushes out the backdoor of the restaurant, out onto 41st street. It's not particularly crowded, but there are a few walking around. "You, human, where am I?" he asks one of them.

Comments

[lukesmith]

"New York -- on Earth," ventures Luke, going with his theory. "Did you just get here? I mean, were you somewhere else a few minutes ago?"

[fragmentation]

"Yes..." he answers worriedly. Not so much about the fact he's suddenly elsewhere (which happens all the time with Time Scoops), but that he's split, and that Andrew isn't here with him. And that this doesn't seem like a place to have a party. The areas are usually much more contained.

"I was on Hedenex," he supplies, though he doubts this Earth boy will have heard of it.

[lukesmith]

"I was in London when it happened to me," replies Luke. "Where's Hedenex?"

Because no, he's never heard of it.

[fragmentation]

"It's..." He's unsure whether to actually say. But apparently this boy was stolen away in much the same way, which means he should be at least somewhat familiar with the idea. "A lovely planet, a few galaxies away. They have an amazing cave system with natural saunas," he explains a bit sadly. They hadn't had a chance to explore that part yet, even though it was the most famous attraction of the planet, and now they probably won't get to.

[lukesmith]

"Is that where you're from?" Luke is not so big on the subtle cues, like how the man was just talking about what's probably a tourist attraction, or how he said 'they.' At least he believes him? Although that'd sort of be the reason he's been told not to talk to strangers.

[fragmentation]

"No, we were just visiting," he answers, shaking his head. "We used to live on Earth, in London as well. Just south of the river, right by Tower Bridge." His accent is most definitely English like Luke's, so that should be counting in his favour, at least.

[lukesmith]

"Oh!" Luke smiles. "I live in Ealing. Or...I guess I used to." Until he can help Topher figure out how to send everyone back. It's taking longer than he had hoped, but then, he's had to settle in and deal with the people who think he isn't capable of doing much more than going to school.

[fragmentation]

That, and Topher's been far too busy with the high levels of rift activity to have time to actually explain everything to Luke as he does things.

Ambrose smiles gently. "Have you been here long?"

[lukesmith]

It has not been a good time for Luke in general -- he needs to keep busy to distract himself from how much he misses everyone, but all he really has (sans a pseudo-apprenticeship to Topher) is school and exploring the city.

"Three weeks now," he replies sadly. Then, remembering his manners, he adds, "I'm Luke. What's your name?"

[fragmentation]

It takes him a moment to answer this question. Because while he identifies an awful lot more with 'James' than the other two do, it's still not quite right when he's without them.

"Ambrose," he answers, picking one of the names that him and Andrew had thought of when they were discussing pseudonyms to pass the time on one of their journeys. "Though I also go by James," he adds. "Either works."

[lukesmith]

"Ambrose," repeats Luke with a smile, committing it to memory. Not that that actually takes any particular effort; it'll be a while before Luke discovers that not everyone has an eidetic memory.

"I can take you somewhere you can stay," he offers.

[fragmentation]

"Oh? Where would that be?" he asks. Because he's not exactly sure he needs one - Does he need sleep in this body? He's not sure. - and he's the more cautious of the three, careful not to go running into the first interesting place, especially if it's a place that knows about rifts and might take a keen interest in him.

[lukesmith]

"There's this organization called Romac. They help the people who come through the rift -- they gave me a place to stay and got me into school." And Luke doesn't see a problem with this. They haven't given him any reason not to trust them.

[fragmentation]

Ambrose nods thoughtfully. Doesn't sound like the place he should be running to before getting some information, honestly. Bring himself to slightly more even ground.

"Not sure I need their help, but I'd love for you to tell me more regarding what you know about the situation here," he answers with a smile.

[lukesmith]

Luke furrows his brow at him. He wasn't expecting a refusal!

"Well," he says slowly, "The rift's been here a few years, and people keep coming through -- other things, too, but lots of people. They've sort of decided everyone who comes through has to stay in Manhattan, though." And that's one thing he's not all that happy about, despite the fact that he knows perfectly well that home is not awaiting him in this world's London.

[fragmentation]

"Hmmm. Well, I can see why they'd want that, but I'm not sure it's the best long-term solution," he answers, frowning as well. "And what about the rift, what does it do, besides pull people through? Does it affect things? Change people?"

He kind of already knows, but he'd like to see how common it is.

[lukesmith]

"I've heard it can," nods Luke. "Is that something rifts normally do? I mean, are there normally rifts, in other places? I'd never seen one before." And technically he still hasn't, since he can't see it.

[fragmentation]

"There's one in Cardiff, I know that," he answers with a nod. "Though not necessarily in your universe. I think this one's different, though."

Of course, Ambrose can't feel the rift like the other two of him can. He's just guessing from the little he knows. But he was definitely changed.

[lukesmith]

"I've never been to Cardiff," replies Luke, sounding a little disappointed. If there is a rift there in his home universe, he'll never get to see it. Not that that's the big thing to miss about his home universe.

[fragmentation]

"I've barely been there myself, but it was a special sort of situation, didn't really have time for sight-seeing. Or rift-seeing," he explains, without really explaining all that much.

[lukesmith]

"You can't see it anyway," Luke points out. "Not without equipment."

[fragmentation]

Ambrose nods. Makes sense. He might've been able to pick it up with the equipment that made up his body, but now? Probably not.

"Tell me, what's the transportation like here? I need to get downtown."

[lukesmith]

"There's an underground train system." Luke's pretty keen on underground trains, actually. He's half convinced someone's going to try to kidnap him almost no matter where he goes in the city thanks the the lectures he's gotten from his apartment's supervisor, but he still enjoys exploring these sorts of things. "I could show you," he offers, not wanting to lose track of Ambrose.

[fragmentation]

"That'd be wonderful," he answers, a grin spreading across his face and gesturing for Luke to lead. "Please lead the way."

He's not exactly sure where he's going, but he'll hope he'll feel it and be able to narrow down if he can go through the city at greater speed.

[lukesmith]

Luke grins, feeling suddenly in his element, and turns to do exactly that. "Do you know where you want to go?" he asks, already thinking of which trains one can get from this stop.