An: In the Brilliant whatever it is called Doctor Who Book 2012 there is a picture of Jenny and Vastra fighting Cybermen in what I take to be Japan, although I can't read the inscription on it. When the Doctor, Rose and Jack end up on Satellite 5 in the Series 1 finale the Doctor mentions having just been in Kyoto in like the 1300s so this happened with a bit of wibbly wobbly timey wimey.

"Jenny!" Rose grinned broadly and ran up to hug her.

"I see you've acquired an addition to your entourage Doctor." Vastra tilted her head enquiringly at the man standing behind them.

"Yep! Jenny, Vastra meet Captain Jack Harkness!"

"Enchanted." He stepped forward, winked at Jenny and bowed at Vastra.

"Plenty of time for flirting later." The Doctor admonished.

"I was saying hello!" he protested.

"Don't you always." Rose nudged him as she walked back to the Doctor's side.

"If I might interrupt?" Vastra said somewhat testily. "You said you needed our assistance Doctor. We've travelled quite a long way."

"You were the one said you wouldn't step foot inside the TARDIS again unless it was to save me life. It's not quite that desperate." The Doctor beckoned them all to follow him. Jenny watched as Rose casually linked arms with him and they walked ahead. Jack offered his arm to Vastra who graciously took it. With a sigh, Jenny picked up their luggage and followed them to a small inn.

"We're staying here for now. Looks like it might take a while." Jack explained. "Your rooms are through here, ladies." He slid back a door and gestured through it.

"We're all together. Jack and the Doctor are next door." Rose grabbed a suitcase and a carpet bag off Jenny and plopped them down inside.

Jenny dumped the second suitcase with them and looked around at a sparsely furnished room with three futons laid out on the floor.

"Right then! Now that you're settled in, we're tracking a strange electrical signal that originates somewhere around here." The Doctor leaned through the doorway.

"Oi! Don't you think they might want to rest first?" Rose pointed out.

"Jenny? Vastra? Rest or exploring?"

The futon was looking very inviting to Jenny but the Doctor's energy was infectious and Vastra was already agreeing to the exploring.

"Come on then." Rose sighed. "Not that we've found anythin' in three days except a lot of trees. The locals are afraid to go into this one part of the woods, people have been disappearin'."

"So naturally, that's where we've been going." Jack added.

The woods weren't as dense as Jenny had been expecting although it wasn't easy walking through them in a skirt and she was beginning to wish she'd worn her jodphurs instead. She had no idea how Vastra was managing. Still, her exercises meant she was fit enough to keep up. The Doctor was bounding ahead, holding some kind of device that was blinking intermittently.

"It's definitely got to be in this area." He stopped, tapping at the device.

"Not to harsh on you Doctor but you said that yesterday." Jack stopped and leaned against a tree while the Doctor wandered around.

With a sigh, Jenny sat down on the path as the Doctor, Jack and Vastra stood together arguing in technical terms.

"Usually it's a bit faster paced than this." Rose sat down beside her.

"I dunno. There was a lot of trudgin' through them tunnels."

"An' 'e got us totally lost."

"What're we even lookin' for?"

"Anythin' out of the ordinary. Sometimes though, the Doctor can't see the wood fer the trees. This one time in London…" Rose laughed. "He was lookin' for this great big transmitter thing an' it was right in front of 'im. Looked at me three times before 'e saw what I was pointin' at."

"Would that count as out of the ordinary?" Jenny pointed to a collection of small stone squares that looked like houses a little ways from them.

"They're shrines accordin' to the Doctor." Rose shrugged.

"There's somethin' glowin' in one of 'em."

Rose went very still and watched. She saw the flash of silver and red as Jenny said "See?"

"Doctor." she called softly, not taking her eyes off the shrine. "Doctor!"

The softness of Rose's voice caught the Doctor's attention and he crouched by them.

Jenny pointed surreptitiously.

"Well done, Jenny Flint." The Doctor whispered, moving slowly forward in his crouched position. The silver thing wriggled again and he shot out a hand and caught it, dropping it almost immediately in surprise. "Nobody touch it!" he warned as it wriggled swiftly towards the path.

Jenny and Rose scrambled up as it came towards them.

"What is it?" Rose yelled as it homed in on her.

"It's a…" The Doctor stopped as with a swift stomp, Jenny crushed it. "It was," he corrected himself. "A cybermite. Which gives us some clue as to what we're dealing with. Cybermen!"

They gathered round the squashed insect-like thing to peer at it.

"Shame you killed it. We could've used it to track down the main nest." The Doctor brought out a silver stick that buzzed and shone blue when he pressed a button, scanning the remains.

"Well an' I am sorry fer that." Jenny huffed.

"Don't listen to 'im." Rose shook her head as the Doctor took out a great spotted handkerchief and carefully picked the squashed creature. "I'm glad you killed it seein' as it was comin' for me."

"Well, we should still be able to get some information." The Doctor set off back down the path, muttering to himself.

"What was that stick thing 'e was usin'?"

"A sonic screwdriver." It was the first time Vastra had spoken to Jenny since they'd arrived.

"I used to have a sonic blaster." Jack sighed. "But the Doctor blew up the factory and the batteries died."

"Do I wanna ask?" Jenny turned to Rose.

"No." she laughed, taking Jenny's arm and following the Doctor. "'e should be thankin' you, y'know. That's the first headway we've made."

"Mm. Well spotted Jenny." Jack bounded alongside them.

Vastra smiled quietly to herself as she made her way delicately behind them. It was the first time she'd seen Jenny talk like that, as if entirely comfortable. Even among the urchins, she was more a matriarch but it looked as if Jenny had found some friends.

It was getting on towards night by the time they got back to the inn, the Doctor and Jack immediately disappearing off somewhere to do analyses of the creature. Rose took Jenny to get some food, showing her how to use chopsticks.

"We must look a right sight." Jenny wondered aloud as she gave in on chasing the last remaining noodles around the bowl. Rose drained the last of the broth from her bowl.

"Never mind. They have these gorgeous baths here. C'mon! I'll show you."

A public bath house was a new concept for Jenny but she followed the rules of etiquette Rose told her and, after washing, found herself sitting rather self-consciously in a long tub with three other women who were chatting together quietly. They looked a little suspiciously at Rose and Jenny but otherwise left them alone.

"It's gorgeous ain't it. So relaxin'." Rose sank even further into the water until only her head was showing.

"S'bleedin' hot is what it is." Jenny slowly uncurled and let her muscles relax. "Vastra'd love it."

"I dunno what the manager would say about a lizard woman. I thought I was gonna get in trouble cos I have a tattoo!" Rose laughed.

Jenny's heart fell slightly as she realised even if they had brought Vastra with them, there was no way the Silurian could bathe in such a public place without causing uproar. Sometimes she got so used to Vastra, she forgot. She hugged her knees to her chest, thinking about whether Vastra used baths like this in her past. She could well imagine Silurians loving it. Vastra had a strange awkward pride in her body, Jenny had noticed. When they were training together, there was a playful quality to the way Vastra moved; far more naturally and freely than she did when walking along a street, which was usually done quite stiffly as if the posture wasn't entirely comfortable.

"D'you reckon you could build somethin' like this in a regular house?" Jenny wondered out loud.

"For Vastra?" Rose grinned.

"It'd be good fer after trainin' as well." Even in the heat, Jenny could still feel her cheeks warm up.

"I imagine so." Rose shrugged, deciding not to tease Jenny further. "Bit of Victorian ingenuity an' steam an' all that."

Jenny felt as if she was still steaming as they walked back to the inn, the bath had been that hot. They could hear the Doctor and Jack arguing and Rose sighed and went to find out what was going on, leaving Jenny to go into their room alone.

Vastra was curled up already in one of the futons. Jenny changed into her nightgown and then stopped. It didn't feel right sliding into the empty futon but at the same time, she didn't want to wake Vastra. Or face Rose's teasing the next morning.

"Ma'am?" she whispered, to see if Vastra really was asleep. There was no answer and she reluctantly curled up in the spare futon.

She was about to drop off to sleep when she heard the rustle of someone getting up. She grinned to herself as she counted in her head and sure enough her cover was lifted up and a mildly disgruntled Silurian curled up alongside her. She heard a faint mutter of surprise; she was still very warm from the bath, but it turned into a grunt of satisfaction and she fell asleep to the muted sounds of arguing and the more gentle sound of Vastra breathing next to her ear.

10th February 1888

The next morning the Doctor hustled them all out the inn as soon as they'd finished breakfast.

"I think I've managed to get a signal on it." He walked down the street with a device bleeping in his hand.

"Have you bin tinkerin' all night?" Rose tutted.

"Can't waste time." The Doctor shrugged.

They ended up back in the woods again but both Jenny and Vastra had dressed in their fighting outfits so it was easier to make their way through it.

Jenny had walked the streets of London many times in the dark but the darkness of the woods, even during the day, was creepy.

"I don't like it either." Rose whispered when she voiced this opinion. "I lived in London all me life too, I'm not used to nature." She stepped on a twig and the crack made her jump and grab at Jenny's arm. "See what I mean?"

"Either of you ladies need assistance?" Jack hung back to check on them.

"We're fine Jack." Rose grinned.

"Aha!" the Doctor shouted and ran ahead. "Found it!" he called and they ran to see what he was on about it.

There was a small hut built among the trees. It was simple, one room and in a state of disrepair.

"Hello? Hmph. Clearly no-one livin' here." The Doctor kicked at the leaves on the floor.

"An' this is where the signal comes from?" Jenny remembered the Kraal. An alien signal coming from a dilapidated hut was not what she'd expected.

"S'what it says." The Doctor tapped it again.

Jenny wandered back out; the hut was not quite big enough for five people to stay in comfortably. She wished she had some kind of weapon; a sonic blaster like Captain Jack had talked about. The hairs on the back of her neck were standing up. Something more than just a hut was out here. She made her way round the back of it and nearly screamed. The Kraal had not prepared her for the small pile of bodies, metal sprouting from their bodies. She staggered behind a tree and threw up.

"Jenny?" Jack had come to find her. "Oh hells." He winced away at the sight of the pile.

"What is it?" Vastra followed, crouching down to study the bodies dispassionately. "Hm. Cybernetics implants. Gone very, very wrong."

"Hey!" Rose noticed that Jenny was shaking uncontrollably. "Hey, it's alright. C'mere."

"Get some sugar in her." The Doctor tossed Rose a bar of chocolate. "She'll be fine. 'ard as 'em ey Jenny Flint?" he smiled in an attempt to reassure her.

"Yeah." She said weakly, taking the unwrapped chocolate from Rose. "What 'appened to 'em?"

"Attempted upgrades by the looks. But there's no equipment round here. Nothing at all." The Doctor scratched his head.

Jack wrinkled his nose. "These are just the failures. This is their garbage dump."

"So the main station is somewhere else?" Vastra had picked up a sword that was by one of the bodies. "Whoever these people were, they fought at least. This blade has scratches on it."

"Not sure a samurai sword could get through the metal of a Cyberman." The Doctor took it off her. "Hm. That's interesting."

"What is?"

"This isn't right. This isn't from this era." He ran a finger over the hilt. "This is from about 500 years ago. Not now. What on earth is going on?"

"Well, we are in need of weapons." Vastra picked up the rest.

"Didn't do these guys much use." Jack pointed out.

"Still, I was thinking of acquiring some swords. Jenny!" Vastra made her way over to where Jenny was standing. "What do you think? They are not unlike traditional Silurian blades. I could teach you to use one."

"It must be a one way circuit…" The Doctor walked around them muttering. "S'no use. I'll need the TARDIS. Right! Everyone back to the inn. Don't worry Vastra." The Doctor waved at her. "I won't make you get in it."

"Just as well." She snorted.

"TARDIS?"

"No time to explain. Go off and practice sword fighting for the afternoon. Rose? Jack? May need your assistance." He ran off back through the woods towards the town.

"Sorry." Rose apologised and ran after him.

"Have fun ladies!" Jack saluted before darting off.

"What!" Jenny threw down the sword Vastra had handed her. "Brings us 'arf way across the world and then just…"

Vastra sighed. "The man is infuriating sometimes. Still, we have not been able to train for a while. And we are already dressed for it. Shall we?" she grinned at Jenny, holding her sword in a ready position.

Cautiously Jenny picked up her sword and mimicked Vastra's stance. She didn't feel fully recovered from the sight of those bodies and wasn't sure how long she'd last in a training session but she wasn't about to let Vastra know that. Vastra, however, was gentle, teaching her stances, moves. The blade quickly became a weight in her hands and she felt her muscles strain against the slow precision of their training.

"Not bad, not bad." Vastra mused an hour later. "How about speeding it up?"

Jenny glowered at her. She was dripping in sweat, her hair was sticking to her face and her arms felt like they were about to drop off. "How about stickin' it up yer…"

She was interrupted by a low whine somewhere behind them.

"That sounds like a…" Vastra rushed back to where the hut was.

"Bleedin' 'ell." Jenny groaned, dropping her sword and trying to stretch out the stiffness that was settling into her arms.

"JENNY!" the sound of her name being screamed made her freeze.

"Vastra?" she whispered, grabbing up her sword again and forcing her tired legs into a sprint.

The Silurian was fighting against two metal men armed with long spears, her sword doing nothing against them as the Doctor had predicted.

"HEY!" Jenny yelled, running towards the fray and raising her sword. It wasn't the most inspirational battle cry but it got the attention of one of the Cybermen who shot at her. She dodged the blast and brought her sword up to try and cut off its hand but her blade skittered across the metal in a shower of sparks. She looked into what she assumed were its eyes and shivered in fear.

"Del-ete. Del-ete. Your blade and battle skills are inferior. You are too weak to be upgraded. Del-ete." It brandished a spear at her.

"You what?" Jenny spat, whacking it in the face with the hilt of her sword. It stumbled backwards and Vastra, who had now armed herself with two swords, cut through its spear with one of them as she brandished the other at the second Cyberman.

Jenny swung downwards with her sword, slicing at the back of the Cyberman, where there was exposed circuitry. It jerked mechanically, groaning its strange grating voice and then dropped to the ground. Vastra took note and kicked the second Cyberman to the ground, dealing with it in a similar fashion.

Waiting only to confirm the Cyberman was dealt with Vastra walked swiftly over to Jenny, divesting herself of her swords as she went.

"Jenny! Are you alright?" Vastra swiftly checked her young human over.

"I'm alright." Jenny panted. "What are those things?" she gestured towards the fallen Cybermen with her sword.

"Cybermen, the Doctor said. Although what they are doing here in this era is anybody's guess. Trying to upgrade samurai by the looks." Vastra sighed and went to collect her swords. "I wonder whether the Doctor has found their main base?"

"Won't he need our help? That was only two of 'em and they were tough enough."

"He's fought against them enough times, I'm sure he knows what he's up against. We should return to the inn and wait for him."

There was a rustle behind them and they both turned, falling into defensive stances. A man came towards them, talking rapidly and bowing. He pointed at the hut and then at his paintbrushes which had fallen out of their box as he'd bowed.

"The owner of the hut, I take it." Vastra quirked an eye ridge but bowed in reply. The man's eyes went wide as he realised that Vastra wasn't human herself and he ran off. "Apes." Vastra shrugged in an attempt to be nonchalant. "They are never grateful."

"I'm grateful you saved me life." Jenny reminded her, stomping down the path back to the inn. Vastra smiled slowly.

"I can tell."

Jenny snorted.

"You did well today, little ape. I would not have been able to defeat two of them alone. Your swordsmanship needs to improve of course but considering you'd only just started training…"

"How about you shut up an' I'll ignore that last sentence hm?" There was no real anger in Jenny's voice, more resigned amusement. "An' yer welcome."

There was no sign of the Doctor or Rose or Jack when they got back to the inn. Jenny ate a hasty dinner and then left to have another bath, which pleased Vastra when she returned.

"I like these baths here; they make you so very warm." The Silurian nuzzled Jenny's back, sliding her arms around Jenny's waist, hissing in annoyance as Jenny turned over to lie on her back.

"Where d'yer reckon the Doctor is?"

"No doubt getting into trouble." Vastra hmphed as she once again tried to get comfortable, curled up against Jenny's side.

"Ain't you worried?" Jenny sat up. "E's yer friend."

"And without a form of time travel, currently inaccessible to me." Vastra tugged at her nightgown in an attempt to get Jenny to lie back down again. "Sleep, little ape."

Exhausted by the strenuous physical exercise of fighting Cybermen, Jenny forced herself to relax, hoping she wouldn't have nightmares about the "failed upgrades" they'd seen dumped behind the hut.

An: my apologies to any Japanese people reading for what is probably the largest amount of inaccuracies in one chapter in this fic so far. If I were a full time writer I'd do full time research but alas. _