Apocalypse Rising (Book Six)

A Christmas Carol

*pokes head in* What more do I need to say than . . . she's baaaaack! :D

Also, I forgot how sad this Christmas special was until I rewatched it to write this. Yikes.

Anyway, enjoy this long awaited return to our deal Caly!

***

Rose imagined they really looked like they were in a cartoon: the Apocalypse tumbling out of the fireplace first and shaking her head like a dog, then Rose squealing when she landed on top of her, and Jenny landing last, cheering like she was at an amusement park, though Rose yelped when Jenny plopped on top of her. "Ooo," Jenny blanched, peering down. "Sorry, Aunt Rose!"

"I'll be fine, just please get off!" Rose groaned.

"Right!" Jenny did a very unnecessary flip to get off her aunt, who grimaced as she climbed off the Time Lady sprawled out on the rug. "But that was fun!"

"I know!" the Apocalypse popped up like nothing was wrong, a grin splitting her face. "Christmas Eve on a rooftop, right? And there was a chimney! My whole brain just went, 'what the hell!'"

"A summary of our lives, in other words," Rose rubbed the top of her head, smiling apologetically at the group staring at them incredulously. "Hello!"

"Oh, don't worry," the Apocalypse walked over to the family, smiling at the kids. "Don't worry, fat fellow will be doing the rounds later. We're just scoping out the general . . . chimney-ness! Jen, what's the conclusion?"

"Er," Jenny poked her head back in. "Nice size, good traction – " She yelped and backed out, making Rose step close worryingly. Jenny just grimaced and flicked something off her shoulder. "And a big tick."

"Ooo," the Apocalypse wrinkled her nose. "That's a deduction."

"Fat fellow?" the father in the family asked in confusion.

"Father Christmas," the Apocalypse nodded. "Santa Claus, or, as I've always known him, Jeff."

"There's no such person as Father Christmas!" the young boy protested.

"Oh, yeah?" the Apocalypse raised an eyebrow, whipping out a picture and displaying it proudly. "Me, Rose, and Jen with Father Christmas at Frank Sinatra's hunting lodge, 1952. See him at the back with the blond? Albert Einstein. The three of us together?" She shuddered dramatically. "Watch out, OK?" The boy grinned and nodded. "Keep the faith, stay off the naughty list," the Apocalypse winked, pointing at him before turning around. "Ooo! Now, what's this, then?" She jumped up, examining what Rose thought looked like a pipe organ of some sort. "I love this! A big flashy lighty thing. That's what brought us here! Big flashy lighty things have got me written all over them. Not actually, but give me time, and Jen, I'll need your crayons."

"Get your own!" the brunette huffed.

The Apocalypse pouted before pointing at the old man in better clothes. "Now, this big flashy lighty thing is connected to the spire in your dome, yeah? And it controls the sky. Well, technically it controls the clouds, which technically aren't clouds at all. Well, they're clouds of tiny particles of ice. Ice clouds, love that. Who's she?"

Rose had been wondering, that, too, as she looked at the beautiful woman who appeared to be trapped inside a freezer. "Nobody important," the old man huffed.

"Nobody important?" the Apocalypse repeated, whistling lowly as she peered through the porthole to look at the woman. "Blimey, that's amazing. Do you know, in nine hundred years of time and space, I've never met anyone who wasn't important before."

"Even Mickey?" Jenny asked.

"Mickey the Idiot," the Apocalypse wrinkled her nose. "He was important for the sole reason he managed to help you get your aunt back to where she belongs." Rose smiled brilliantly. "Now, back to the main topic!" the Apocalypse rushed back to the console. "This console is the key to saving that ship, or I'll eat my hat." She paused, even as she looked over at the console in confusion. "If I had a hat. I'll eat someone's hat. Not someone who's using their hat."