Apocalypse Rising (Book One)

Epilogue

Rose groaned silently when she woke up, and she looked around, seeing that she was back in the TARDIS. "What happened?" she asked.

"Don't you remember?" a weak voice from behind her asked.

Rose sat up quickly, looking over to see the Apocalypse, alive, leaning against the console, and she smiled. "It's like there was this singing," she replied, thinking.

"That's right," the Apocalypse giggled. "I sang a song and the Daleks ran away."

Rose chuckled at that, too, before sobering. "I was at home," she began before frowning. "No, I wasn't. I was in the TARDIs, and there was this light . . . " She shook her head. "I can't remember anything else."

She broke off when the Apocalypse raised a hand, and her eyes widened when she saw her veins glowing golden orange. "Rose Tyler," the Apocalypse whispered. "I was going to take you so many places. Barcelona. Not the city, Barcelona. The planet Barcelona. You'd love it. Fantastic place. They've got dogs with no noses." She grinned, but it seemed forced. "Imagine how many times a day you end up telling that joke, and it's still funny."

"Then why can't we go?" Rose asked.

"Maybe you will, and maybe I will. But not like this."

Rose suddenly got it, her mind flashing back to a planet where the waves were frozen in time, and she recalled how the Apocalypse had recounted death after death after death. "No," she whispered. "No, you can't!"

"I have to," the Apocalypse told her. "I'd do anything if it meant - "

She doubled over suddenly, and Rose ran forward. "Caly!"

"Stay back!" the Apocalypse shouted, holding up a hand. "Arkytior, I'm telling you, just stay away!"

Rose stopped at her nickname. "Just tell me what's going on!"

"I absorbed all the energy of the Time Vortex, and no one's meant to do that, not even an Experiment," the Apocalypse wheezed. "Every cell in my body's dying."

"And you're going to change," Rose whimpered. "And it's my fault!"

"Don't you say that," the Apocalypse snapped, straightening up. "Arkytior, don't you dare say it's your fault! I'd do anything if it meant that you stayed safe. But before I go - "

"Don't say that!" Rose pleaded, tears in her eyes.

The Apocalypse shook her head. "Arkytior," she insisted softly. "Before I go, I just want to tell you . . . you were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And you know what?" She smiled. "So was I."

Rose gave her a weak smile before jumping backwards when the Apocalypse threw her head back and her arms out, and golden orange energy streamed from her body. She threw her arm up over her eyes to block her view, but she could still see the Apocalypse becoming slimmer and a bit shorter, her dark hair twisting into curls and lightening, before the energy was gone, and the woman in her place stumbled away.

Rose stared at her in a mixture of shock and awe. The Tenth Apocalypse had long curly blonde hair not so different from hers, halfway down her back. Her eyes were a glittering sapphire color, just like Jack's, and she was around her own height. "Hello!" she told Rose in an American accent before she winced. "Ooh . . . " She ran her tongue around in her mouth, making a face. "OK. New teeth. That's weird. So where was I?" She tilted her head before brightening. "Oh! I know! Barcelona!"

She gave Rose a wide grin, and despite herself, Rose smiled a little bit as well.

The Ninth Apocalypse may have been gone.

But the Tenth Apocalypse was alive.

And that was what mattered to her.

***

Goodbye, Cote de Pablo. :(

And hello, Leven Rambin! ;) Has Rose's blonde hair, Jack's American accent, portrayed Glimmer (evil) and Clarisse (good), has had her hair blonde, brown, and red (as Glimmer, Clarisse, and Rosie from Wizards of Waverly Place), she's 24, co-starred with Isabelle Fuhrman (my OC the First Bad Wolf) in "The Hunger Games," and has starred in "The Hunger Games" and "Percy Jackson: The Sea of Monsters." Congratulations to those who guessed her right!

The prologue is already in the process, and I'll probably get a short description up soon, so stick around and stay tuned! "Apocalypse Rising: Book Two" will be coming soon! ;)