"How are the repairs going?"

Bucky looked over at Deadeye as he tried to fix up Blinky on the fly. The android was sprawled out on a workbench as the duck tinkered carefully with his parts, gritting his teeth every so often.

"Well, I think I found the main problem…his battery's all busted up…I think with a quick patch job and a recharge, our little buddy should be good to go in a few hours."

Bucky sighed, half relieved, half regretful. "Good…losing one comrade is enough for one day."

"I hear ya, Bucko…" Deadeye responded with real sympathy in his grizzled voice, nodding slowly as he worked. He waited until Bucky left the room, and took a moment to pull out a hidden flask, unscrewing the top as a strong alcoholic liquid resided within.

"Here's to ya, Jen…" He spoke quietly as he raised the flask for a moment, and then brought it down to take a good swig of the liquid. He winced, but in a somewhat pleasurable manner, as he felt it go down his throat…he then put the flask back in his pocket, and got back to work.

Bucky sauntered into the bridge of his ship slowly, looking at all the empty chairs, as the controls were on autopilot for the moment. He looked over to the chair where Jenny had always sat, now seeing princess Felicia occupying it at the moment. She sighed gently as she ran a finger along one of the consoles in front of her, a sad look on her face.

"I can't believe she's not here anymore…" She spoke as she heard Bucky's footsteps behind her. Her depressed tone of voice conveyed exactly how crushed she was by what had happened to Jenny on Skaro.

"She was a hell of a first mate…" Bucky responded as he turned the chair next to Felicia, and sat very close to her. "She was a terrific friend too…whenever you needed someone, she was right there for you. It's like she had a sixth sense about that kind of thing."

Felicia smiled, but tried not to smile too much, realizing that Bucky didn't know just how right he was about Jenny having a sixth sense.

"She was a great teacher…" She spoke, adding to the moment of fond remembrance. "Everything I learned from her went on to have a special significance in my life."

"Oh yeah…" Bucky scratched his chin a little, remembering all the times they visited Aldeberan for that purpose. "I always meant to ask…what was Jenny teaching you, anyway?"

Felicia hesitated for a moment, before thinking of a way to tiptoe around the truth. "She…basically taught me all the important things that come with being an Aldeberan cat. Our ways, our culture, and how we interact with creatures from outside our world. It's especially important that princess like myself have a mentor to teach her these things."

Bucky almost sensed some kind of deception going on at this moment, but he was too saddened by Jenny's loss to be at all agitated with it at the moment. Instead, he just shook his head and laughed a little as Felicia blushed.

"You Aldeberans are such mysterious people." He grinned just a little as he brushed his ears back and reclined in his chair.

Felicia giggled in response. "Well, that makes us all the more interesting…don't you think?" She smiled to him warmly.

"True…very true." Bucky smiled as he idly browsed all the screens and consoles in front of him. His mind was still fixated on Felicia, though, as she went through fond memories of her mentor in her own head.

She was so much like Jenny now, he thought to himself…maybe one of these days he could convince her to get off that throne and…no…no that would never happen, he continued to think. Royalty often doesn't lend itself well to the soldiery life. But still…there was something about her…something unique, that he noticed in Jenny before her.

He didn't get a lot of time to consider this, however, as Felicia looked curiously at a blip that suddenly showed up one of the screens near her.

"What's this?" She asked curiously, pointing the blip out to the Captain.

Bucky furrowed his brow as he leaned over in his chair and looked at it. He typed a few commands into the console below, in an effort to identify the bogey.

"The computer can't identify it…" he sighed a little. "It must not be listed in the database."

Felicia watched him as he took a deep breath, and quickly got up, walking out of the bridge. She followed him as quickly as she could.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go tell deadeye to hurry up on Blinky's patch job." Bucky spoke as he walked ahead of her, turning just a little. "Then I'm gonna tell him to get all our weapons systems ready as soon as possible."

"Why?" Felicia tried to keep up as he walked quickly. "Do you think those creatures are chasing us now?"

"That's what my gut's telling me." Bucky stopped for a moment, before completely turning to face the princess. "Which is why you should stop following me, and go rejoin the High Artificer in her quarters."

"I can help you!" Felicia protested.

"No." Bucky spoke firmly as he shook his head. "We're in a dangerous situation, and you're too important to the mission. Now go!"

Felicia sighed as Bucky walked away, and left her standing in the hallway. She wanted so badly to tell him about what she could do, and what Jenny had been capable of…but she respected Jenny's lesson to never reveal her powers to anyone from the outside, so she went no further in what she had last said to him.

"Some way…somehow…" she said to herself, as she relented for now, and walked back to her quarters…

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The Doctor latched onto a nearby tree on the Sakro landscape with his new claws. All the initial shock he had felt from this latest, and bizarre regeneration, was now replaced with all the natural enthusiasm and curiosity that had always been his trademark. Indeed it was quite fitting, out of all the animals he could have become in this place, he ended up as a curious cat of sorts.

Jenny followed this strange person from behind, forgetting her previous concerns with the attacking creatures for the moment as she watched him get a feel for the tree, and then quickly scurry up its rough surface.

"Extraordinary!" The doctor exclaimed as he stood up on a thick branch now, looking down at Jenny as his cheetah tail swished. "You know, climbing had never been a particular physical strongpoint of mine before…but I just feel so natural about it now!"

Jenny then gasped a little as she saw him suddenly leap from the tall tree, and make a flawless landing on the ground, bending his knees for a moment, before straightening out. His cheetah form was still dressed in the professorial clothes of his previous form, as he quickly turned and grinned to the Aldeberan cat.

"I knew that cats always landed on their feet." He spoke as he walked closer to her. "I guess the same could be said for us half breeds as well."

"Half breeds?" Jenny cocked her head to the side a little, confused. She then shook her head and waved her hands a bit as she backed away from the advancing male. "Look, who are you? Where did you come from?"

The doctor then suddenly remembered what had happened before the regeneration, having been too caught up in his new form to think back. His eyes lit up immediately, as memory returned.

"The hole! Right!" He put up his finger for a moment as he looked back towards the TARDIS. "This must be another kind of alternate universe."

"Universe?" Jenny's mouth opened as she heard that word, which she only recalled Willy using before. "No no, you're in the Aniverse…"

"Aniverse?" The Doctor's interested tone of voice took a higher pitch for a second as he slowly turned to face Jenny, a surprised smile present on his face now. His regeneration was starting to make more sense to him now.

"Do you mean that everyone in this reality is some sort of anthropomorphic animal?"

Jenny just nodded slowly, still not quite sure what to make of this person. "Yes…"

The Doctor just laughed happily as he turned to survey his new surroundings. "Unbelievable!" He looked over his paws for a moment once more, then sat down on the grass, running his fingers through the earth in this strange new world.

"Just when I think I've seen everything that life as a Time Lord has to offer, fate always seems to throw something completely new at me."

"Time Lord?" Jenny furrowed her brow as she spoke those two words softly.

The Doctor then turned and focused his full attention on her finally, getting back onto his pawed feet. "Pardon my sudden burst of self-centeredness." He chuckled as he walked up to the other cat once again. "What's your name, miss?"

"Jenny…" She responded, hesitating at first.

"Ah, Jenny." He nodded quickly with a small smile. "I'm the Doctor."

"Doctor?" Jenny gave him a strange look. "Doctor who?…"

"Ohh, just the Doctor!" he chuckled as he waved his hand at her dismissively. "Really, it's the only name I've gone under for the past 200 or so years, so it's the one I'm most comfortable with hearing."

"200 years?" Jenny's mouth nearly dropped to the ground. "Are you really that old?"

"Oh no…" He shook his head slowly. "No…more like 750 something."

Jenny scoffed at the idea, and just walked around him once, examining his form. "Look, what are you? First you appear to me as a human…and now suddenly you're an animal like me…"

"Oh that…" The Doctor remembered what had happened, before explaining it as well and concisely as he could. "See, I'm a time lord…and what you just saw was a regeneration…it's what we do when our previous bodies are fatally wounded, or just become way too old."

Jenny blinked a little bit in confusion, before she sighed and sat on a nearby rock, rubbing her head. "This is all too much…"

The Doctor laughed a little as he took a moment to examine some of the plant life around him. "You've no idea how often I hear that from my companions". He hummed a bit as he took a leaf and stood up straight, looking at Jenny once more.

"You know, I never asked you…what is this planet called anyway?"

Jenny, who was just trying to take a moment to let all this new information sink into her mind, idly brushed her hair away from her face as she responded in a matter-of-fact sort of way. "The planet Skaro."

"Skaro?" His eyes shot wide open at the sound of the planet's name. He stepped away from the plants as he then quickly hopped up on a low-hanging branch. He used his new cat-like agility to balance on this branch, as he slowly crouched and observed the buildings in the distance.

Jenny quickly ran up to where he was, startled at his surprised reaction. "What? Have you heard of this place before, all of a sudden?"

"Yes I have…" The Doctor turned back to face her, still crouched on the branch. "See, the planet Skaro existed in my reality too…but now it's gone."

"Gone?" Jenny gave him a puzzled look as she tilted her head and crossed her arms.

"Gone! Destroyed! No more!" He exclaimed, waving his free arm around to exaggerate his point. He then sighed and slowly shook his head.

"Just like my home…" he said to himself, softly.

"What was that?" Jenny cocked an ear, trying to hear him better.

The Doctor ignored her for the moment, lost in his own thoughts as he ran his fingers through his furry chin.

"This is where it all began…" he muttered to himself as he watched. "In my universe anyway…" He shuddered a little as he remembered the Skaro of his reality, the birthplace of his greatest foe. "I just hope on the souls of all the Time Lords, that it's not starting on this Skaro as well…"

Jenny let him have his moment of private thought, as she idly wandered around the clearing. She wondered how Bucky and the others were faring, as she found a few flowers in a bed not far from where the TARDIS sat.

She reached down and gently plucked a few of them from the earth. It had indeed been a while since she was last able to relax like this…it proved to be her last time in what would seem to be forever, as she then looked up to see a glowing blue eye staring right at her.

"TARGET RE-ACQUIRED!" The creature yelled as it rolled into the clearing from behind the bushes. Jenny gasped, and ran back over to the tree, as the Doctor froze, hearing the familiar voice.

He narrowed his eyes as he slowly turned and dropped down from the branch. "I spoke too soon…"

"NEW TARGET LOCATED!" The creature rolled to the middle of the clearing, eyeing the Doctor.

He took a deep breath as a sour look crossed his face. "You have a bad habit of showing up over and over again, no matter how many times I seem to wipe you out!"

Jenny's gaze immediately shot over to the Doctor. "Have you fought these things before?"

"IDENTIFY TARGET…" The creature spoke as it scanned him, clearly interested in The Doctor's last comment.

The Doctor nodded quickly as he looked long and hard at the creature, then back at Jenny. "Many, many times…miniscule creatures placed in a mobile, metal body…all emotions removed except hatred."

"What are these things?" Jenny asked him again, anxiously.

"Daleks!" He responded, with almost a snarl in his voice.

The lone Dalek continued to scan him, as Jenny stood with her blaster at the ready, pondering what to do. "Do they know who you are, then?"

He shook his head again. "Not likely…this is a completely different reality that I've never been in before."

Just as he said that, however, the Dalek immediately spoke up, its head turning from side to side, as if it suddenly had come upon a true shock.

"IT IS THE DOCTOR!" it exclaimed. "EXTERMINATE THE DOCTOR!"

The Doctor jumped out of the way, his newfound feline strength helping him immensely as the Dalek fired on him, and missed.

Jenny immediately sprung into action, firing her blaster at the Dalek's domed head. It immediately turned its attention to her as it fired once more. Jenny narrowly avoided the blast, as The Doctor ran to her side quickly.

"Jenny! Aim for it's-"

"It's eye! I know!" She cut him off as she fired again, trying to hit its eye numerous times, and failing.

The Dalek yelled "EXTERMINATE!" once more, as it fired another shot from its arm. The Doctor saw it heading right for her chest, as he quickly pushed her out of harms way. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, preparing for a fatal blow, and possibly another regeneration.

He heard the blast hit something…but felt no pain.

He opened his eyes, and saw that something was blocking him…some kind of shield, made of psionic energy. He then looked over and saw that it was Jenny who was creating it, her right arm outstretched.

She then moved her arm back to her left shoulder, the middle of her head glowing with this same energy. Before the Dalek could fire on her again, she then shot her hand back out towards the creature, firing a psionic blast from her fingertips…the blast hit the Dalek right in the eye.

The Doctor watched, absolutely astonished, as the Dalek howled out in pain. Its stalk began to squirt the same bluish, gloopy liquid, before its domed head suddenly sparked, and exploded into many little pieces.

"My word…" The Doctor laughed as he walked back up to Jenny. "You know…I think I'll keep you around for while."

"Wise choice…" Jenny smiled a bit as she holstered her weapon…she knew it was against the principles of her people to do what she just did…but there was something about this Doctor…something special…something that made it worth sharing her secret with him. She was also beginning to warm up to him as an ally, seeing just how friendly and trustworthy he truly was.

The Doctor then hopped back onto the branch once more, and scouted the area beyond the clearing. He then leapt back down and took her by the hand.

"We'd better get out of here…" He said as he led her into the nearby forest. "I think spotted some more Daleks heading this way, and they're gonna want to find out what happened to their friend here…" he motioned to the destroyed Dalek in front of them, still smoking.

"Can't we leave in your…vehicle?" She looked over to the standing TARDIS as she resisted his pull a little.

The doctor shook his head. "I'm afraid that interdimensional travel has a habit of frying all of its circuits…it'll re-energize, but it's going to need a lot of time…"

"But what about the Daleks?" She resisted again as he tried to pull her along. "Aren't you afraid that they'll break into it, and take control somehow."

The Doctor grinned slyly. "Well, they're not going to get very far without the key…" He reached into his pocket, and pulled out the key to the TARDIS. He then put it away and gripped Jenny's hand once more. "Now are you going to seek shelter with me, or are you going to try taking on the whole Dalek armada without my guidance?"

"All right, all right, you win…" She giggled just a little, finally relenting, as she let the Doctor lead her away from the scene. Part of her still wondered whether she should trust him or not, but at the same time, she knew she had little choice at the moment, as the two of them disappeared into the forest…