So – here it is! My story!

Thanks to Crazy CM Fan100 for the comments, encouragement, and ideas!

I present to you a tale, formed with characters and settings I do not own, but that are quite dear to me. :) Please review!

Apocalypse Autumn

Prologue

"Fall's my favorite season... so glad it's almost here."

Ferb Fletcher sat under a bare tree in the park, all his skin numb except for his right hand, which was clutched in Vanessa's freezing fingers, and thought of sweet cider, of pumpkins and apple pie and cinnamon and leaves blazing gold before nodding to his girlfriend's statement and giving her hand a squeeze.

"Your favorite season's summer, though, isn't it?" Vanessa looked at him expectantly, but Ferb just smiled. "Ferb, talk to me," she said. "I like it when you talk."

"Yes, summer is my favorite season. But I enjoy autumn, as well. It's beautiful…"

He leaned close, so his lips were shading Vanessa's. "Beautiful like –"

As his mouth moved, it almost brushed hers. His eyes were closed, his face relaxed and peaceful – it was picture-perfect – picture-perfect – almost.

He didn't kiss her.

She moved forward to meet him, but he drew away and shook his head.

"Come on," she moaned. "We've been dating for – ever. Can't you kiss me? Are you scared?"

He shook his head again, a smile flickering on his mouth.

"Why don't you kiss me, then?" Vanessa demanded.

"Stop making me talk," Ferb said, playfully indignant. "It doesn't feel right. I'm only seventeen. I'm not ready yet."

Electricity. Yes, that was it, electricity.

A different kind. Not the sort he felt when he was close to Vanessa. It was more like the sharp, burning shock that had coursed through him that time he was fiddling with an invention and it went wrong.

His hand was sweaty – it was hard to hold the cell phone to his ear. The bedroom around him reeled and spun, the bed beneath him was suddenly unsteady.

He had misheard. He had misheard. He had misheard.

"It's all my fault," said a gravelly voice said on the other end of the phone. "If I –"

"What did you say?"

Ferb clutched the cell phone to his ear, heart in his throat. "What did you say about Vanessa?"

The only sounds in the world were the sobs, the broken, despairing sobs. Ferb waited patiently, trying to regain control over his feelings, using logic to defeat his emotions. He could not have heard right.

The crying went on for so long that Ferb took a deep breath and spoke again.

His voice came out calm and steady, chant-like and clear. The only sign of his suppressed fright was the British accent, which he had toned down over the years to avoid being made fun of in high school. It came welling up into his speech again as he said, "Doctor D, please, I don't think I heard you right. What did you say?"