Apocalypse Rising (Book Six)

Love and Loss

*cautiously peeks in* Everyone still awake? . . . and alive?

Massive apologies for the huge hiatus, but with the huge elephant in the room that is my life . . . well, let's just say it would have been worse if I focused everything on these books. I love them so much (though right now, I think I'm on a Capalry high), but I've got one semester of high school left, and I don't want that spiraling down the drain.

So, without further ado, back to Caly! She gets to tell Rory about her wonderful family history . . . *cough* Well, wonderful might be a stretch.

Oh, and also . . . can the racing to comment and say "FIRST" on each update stop? I want people to read and comment about the story - I don't want a bunch claiming first to read. I'm glad to know people are coming so quickly - I just don't want to see comments like that.

Anyway, enjoy!

***

For a moment, Amy was afraid she'd broken the Apocalypse, she went so still. Even Rose looked concerned - though Rose supposed she had more experience on this particular topic. "Caly?" she asked quietly. "Do you - "

"Go," the Apocalypse cleared her throat, slowly sinking to sit in the captain's chair. "They deserve to know."

Rose gave a worried look, then nodded and left the console room. After a moment, Jenny followed. "Apocalypse?" Rory looked at her, then at Amy, who looked like she had just realized how big this topic was. "You don't have to - "

"You deserve to know," the Apocalypse repeated as calmly as she could, gesturing towards the other seats by the railing. "Go on, sit down. This . . . this could be a while."

"I feel like I'm about to be given the talk," Rory muttered to Amy, even as they sat.

One side of the Apocalypse's mouth quirked up in a smirk. "I've given it before."

They both stared at her. "Jenny," Amy finally nodded.

"No, actually," the Apocalypse admitted, leaning back in the captain's chair. "I've had other children, Amy. My very first companion was my granddaughter, Susan."

They both kept staring at her. "Stop it," Rory finally said.

The Apocalypse shook her head with a chuckle. "I'm telling the truth, Rory." She paused, then wound one curl around her finger. "That was the only normal part of my life back on Gallifrey." She clasped her hands together and leaned back. "On Gallifrey, I had a brother. An older one, always looking out for me. He was called the Master. I used to count down the days until I could join him at the Academy." She shook her head, chuckling darkly. "That day, I felt pain like you wouldn't believe."

"What happened?" Amy asked quietly.

"When you're initiated, you're taken to look at raw time itself," the Apocalypse answered truthfully. "Some would run. Some would go mad. Some would become inspired. Rumors had it that my brother went mad. Some said because of this . . . " She held out her fingers, the Vortex winking into existence. "I became inspired."

She hung onto silence, waiting for one of them to ask. Rory finally did. "Who ran?"

"The one who found me after I was pulled away," the Apocalypse smiled. "That was when I met the Doctor. I didn't know who he was at the time, but he was my brother's best friend."

Amy couldn't help but giggle a bit. "Your brother's best friend was the one for you?"

"Well, we were idiots about it," the Apocalypse shrugged. "It was the three of us, the entire time. The Doctor, the Master, and the Apocalypse. Psychiatrist's field day." She absently twirled her hair around her finger again. "The Doctor and the Master went on through the Academy. I was pulled into more . . . advanced education."