Alex tears her gaze away and dashes into the palace, disappearing into its golden walls.
She bursts into her grandmother's room, and collapses beside her. Tears dribble down her face, and she balls the sheets tightly in her hands.
"Please wake up, Grandma," she pleads, blubbering. "There's a dragon outside, and I-I don't know what to do! I can't do this! Please, wake up!"
And then does she bow her head and weep, all of the events that had built up to this moment catching up with her and taking their toll.
The sound of the dragon's heavy footsteps and the chaos outside circle her head. She feels sick to her stomach.
"I know you think I'm ready to be the Fair Godmother, but I'm not! I don't know how to defeat a dragon! It's one of many things you still need to teach me! If there really is still a little magic left inside of you, please, wake up. Wake up, wake up, wake up. . ."
Alex waits. She waits for something other than the sound of destruction from outside to fill her ears.
There is nothing.
She wipes her face on the mattress and raises her head, sniffling-
Her grandmother is nowhere to be found.
Neither is her wand.
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The geyser of flames ceases just as suddenly as they'd started, reducing the once majestic creatures to piles of ash.
"What do we do now?" Jack asks the men and women gathered around in the gardens. His voice quivers slightly.
Conner gazes up at the dragon, heart pounding in his chest. His hands feel all clammy with sweat, and his face is pale. "Pray," he says, voice just barely above a whisper.
Mother Goose takes a deep breath and a large swig from her flask. She begins to descend the stairs, towards the dragon. "I'm gonna distract it-The rest of you run for the forest!"
"You can't! You'll be crushed!" Conner protests, whipping around to face her.
She gazes at him, her eyes full of sorrow and sadness. "It's alright, C-Dog," she tells him. Her voice is thick with emotion. "It's my fault this even happened in the first place-It's about time I took a little responsibility."
"No." They turn to face Portal Xanthous. He does not meet their eyes. "I'm not-I can't let you all die." He pauses. "I'll stay behind. I promised to save you all, and I intend to keep it."
There is no time for any objections to be made as the ground suddenly quakes as the dragon's bellowing roar pierces the air. People scramble to keep upright, and those who did inevitably fall down attempt to raise themselves up again.
They hurriedly begin to help each other up when a familiar voice drifts into their ears.
"Step aside," says a woman's voice, soft and sweet and dripping with kindness. "Slaying dragons was never either one of your cups of tea."
Conner whirls around to stare. "Grandma?"
And she stands there, smiling sweetly down at them all, wearing nothing but her nightgown. "I do hope you'll forgive my appearance; I've only just woken up a few moments ago and didn't have the time to dress for the occasion."
She strides down the steps regally, the smile not once wavering. Her wand is low by her side, clenched tight in her hand. They gawk at her.
The dragon rears at the sight of her, as if it sensed something different about her that the others didn't possess. But the Masked Man throws a hand out, and it inhales a breath, preparing to strike.
The Fairy Godmother waves her wand, seeming unconcerned, nearly. A line of shimmering silver spills out of its tip, rippling like a flag.
"The trick to defeating a dragon," she calls out, swishing her wand as if she were a conductor, "is to remember that you're much more intelligent than him. He's simply an overgrown lizard with horrid breath."
They all watch on as the silver line dances closer and closer to the reptile. It backs up, and, as the line tangles itself around its front leg, shoots up into the air like a rocket, its powerful wings flapping madly. The line follows it, and continues to wind itself around the dragon's body. It's only when it's beginning to wrap around its snout does the beast let out a deafening shriek, and a bright burst of light fills the sky. The people below shield their eyes.
When silence floats about the air again, they crack open their eyes, only to see that no trace of the dragon remains.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The Armée quails under the Masked Man's furious stare, anger dancing behind his eyes. He carries a kind of threatening aura that General Marquís could only dream of possessing.
"Don't just stand there gawking at me, you idiots!" he barks at them. "We need to get out of this kingdom immediately!" and they scuttle into the forest.
The Fairy Godmother's knees buckle as the last of them vanish between the trees, and she falls to the ground, landing on her back with a soft thud. The twins rush to her side.
Portal Xanthous stares, horrified. His face drains of any remaining color it had, and the weapon he bears clatters to the ground.
"I knew there was a reason I was still here," the Fairy Godmother says softly. The smile remains on her face. Her voice gradually softens as she tells them about how much she loves them, how she's not truly dying, she's simply returning to magic, and that she'll always be with them whenever they wave a wand or cast a spell.
"We love you so much, Grandma," Alex says wetly, tears running down her face. She sniffles. "I don't know what our lives would have been like without you."
"Boring, that's for sure," Conner jokes half-heartedly. His face is damp with his own tears. "You were the most magical grandmother a couple kids could ask for-literally! I think you pretty much have that title in the bag."
And the Fairy Godmother's smile morphs into the one the twins knew so well. The one that crinkles her kind eyes, the one that seems to wrap them in a warm blanket; the one she'd passed down to their father.
With her last remaining strength, she cranes her head towards the man from the portal.
"It's not your fault." Her voice is just barely audible, and Alex can't help but wonder if he can hear her. "Believe me; this is the best ending you could have given me. I'm glad you'd come to change the future."
He wipes away sparking embers, which leak out of his eyes. "It doesn't mean it doesn't hurt any less."
"I don't expect it to." She sucks in a breath. "Thank you."
And she exhales for the last time, and closes her eyes. Her body becomes light as a feather in the twins' arms, and fades away, until it becomes hundreds of glimmering lights. They float away into the sky, like bubbles, until they become indistinguishable from the starry background.
Portal Xanthous lets out a shaky breath. His body relaxes as new memories begin to flood his mind-as his present erases from the timeline.
Alex and Conner clutch each other tightly, and weep into each other's shoulders as the sun begins to peek over the horizon.
The Fairy Godmother is gone-But the Fairytale world lives to see another day.
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Aljajsnjm I had to have a difference between the two Xanthous' bc it would get confusing otherwise and I couldn't think of anything besides adding Portal to the one from the future's name
Anyways that's a wrap for this arc! Maybe
