Apocalypse Rising (Book Two)

Rise of the Cybermen

"And that weird munchkin lady with the big eyes?" the Apocalypse was saying to Rose as they sat in the captain's chair, Mickey by the console. "Do you remember? The way she looked at you! And then she opens her mouth and fire comes out!"

"I thought I was going to get frazzled!" Rose laughed.

"Yeah, one minute she's standing there, and the next minute - " They both imitated the roar, then doubled over laughing.

Mickey nodded to himself, a tense look on his face. "Yeah . . . where was that, then? What happened?"

"Oh, it was on this, er . . . this planet thing. Asteroid." The Apocalypse waved a hand. "It's a long story, you had to be there . . . " She trailed off. "Er . . . what're you doing that for?"

Mickey looked down at the button he was holding down. "Because you told me to."

The Apocalypse blinked. "Erm . . . when was that?"

"About half an hour ago."

The Apocalypse had the grace to look a bit embarrassed. "Um . . . you can let go now."

Mickey narrowed his eyes. "Well, how long's it been since I could've stopped?"

"Ten minutes?" the Apocalypse guessed, a sheepish look on her face. "Twenty? . . . twenty nine?"

"You just forgot me!" Mickey shouted angrily.

"No, no, no!" the Apocalypse said hurriedly. "I was just . . . I was, I was calibrating! I was just . . . no, I know exactly what I'm doing."

Rose yelped when the rotor suddenly exploded. "What's happened?" she shouted as the TARDIS jerked and shuddered.

"The Time Vortex is gone!" the Apocalypse answered, checking a screen. "That's impossible! It's just gone!" She looked around. "Brace yourself!" she ordered. "We're going to crash!"

Rose held on tightly to the console when the TARDIS suddenly jerked, the lights and all power cut. "Everyone all right?" the Apocalypse asked. "Rose? Mickey?"

"I'm fine," Mickey nodded, sitting up from where he'd fallen. "I'm OK. Sorry. Yeah."

"She's dead," the Apocalypse breathed, running a hand over the console and looking at the TARDIS. "The TARDIS is dead."

"You can fix it?" Rose asked hopefully.

The Apocalypse shook her head bitterly. "There's nothing to fix. She's perished. The last TARDIS in the universe, extinct."

"We can get help, yeah?"

"Where from?"

"Well . . . we've landed. We've got to be somewhere."

"We fell out of the Vortex, through the Void, into nothingness. We're in some sort of no place. The silent realm. The lost dimension."

Mickey poked his head out the door. "Otherwise known as London!" he called. The Apocalypse blinked, looking shocked, before she grabbed her cardigan and ran after Mickey, wrapping her scarf around her neck. "London, England, Earth," Mickey said with a smirk as Rose looked around, seeing London normally. "Hold on." He picked up a fallen newspaper. "First of February, this year. Not exactly far flung, is it?"

The Apocalypse looked up and around, and she nodded slowly. "Right. So, this is London."

"Yep," Mickey nodded.

"It's your city."

"That's the one."

"Just as we left it."