I've published TWO chapters in a row this time. So there is one chapter before this one as a fresh update. Read chapter 20 before this. (I tend to miss these sorts of things all too often)

One Fairy Tale Too Many

crystal-mist

Finale

Amidst the bitterness of chaos,

During the prologue of destruction,

Upon the earth that so quivers-

Giving voice to the world's final moan.

With unwavering hearts and an eternal longing,

Let us just wait for the conclusion.

And hope for the best.

The end is upon us.

As they waited for everything to fall apart, as they anticipated destruction, something happened. A portal opened up so abruptly-. a portal that had a vortex of bright blue at the centre. A massively strong force began pulling them inside.

"What's happening?"

Julie stared at Billy in horror as he held onto a tree, pushing her into the vortex.

"What the? Billy? What are you trying to do?" she yelled, lunging forwards and hanging desperately onto his arm. The others had already been pulled into it.

"If destruction reigns in the story world of yours, then something as blue as the bright blue skymaycome to your aid..." muttered Billy, repeating Yuko Ichihara's words. "This portal will probably save you. So go."

"And you?"

"One of us has to stay behind in this collapsing place, remember? That is the price we have to pay."

"So you're staying? Why is it you and not me?"

"I killed Joe. It's my fault this place is collapsing in the first place. So, it's punishment."

"I refuse." declared Julie, tightening her grip on Billy. "If you stay behind, so will I."

"Stop being idiotic...The portal is closing." he yelled, trying to push her away again.

"You wish to part from me that much?"

"I wish for you to be safe."

"If I'm safe while you die, then that'll only break my heart. Is that what you want?"

The portal started decreasing in size.

"Julie...Go...Please...Go..."

"NO!" she shrieked, hanging onto Billy's hand for dear life until the portal came to a close.

"Idiot!" exclaimed Billy.

"I don't care." whispered Julie. "I just followed my heart. So there's no need to get angry."

"Now there's no turning back."

"That's right." Julie took hold of him and pulled him into a kiss as the world disintegrated rapidly and unfailingly faded into nothing.

The two of them had changed the fate of six people. And although they themselves disappeared in the process of saving them, they were with the one they loved more than anything else.

They were content with what they had done.

After all, being together...was enough.

*~~X~~*

In his original world, Joe had died. A lot of important people attended the funeral of this great literary genius who'd never written stories with unhappy endings- the literary genius whose works symbolized nothing but the purity of heart, incapable of writing tragedies in all its entirety.

*~~X~~*

The sky was blue, the birds were chirping and the season was heavenly.

Sitting on the stone steps that led to a river was a girl, the same girl who'd accompanied Joe in the hospital. There wasn't anything that made her particularly stand out. She had brown hair reaching a bit past her shoulders; brownish black eyes and was clad in a sky-blue dress like always. In her hand, she held a little pebble.

Quite abruptly she threw the pebble onto the riverbank.

Clonk, the pebble hit someone on the head. And that 'someone' jumped up in alarm. His brown eyes widened as he examined the surroundings while his chocolate hair whipped in the wind... "How...how is this possible? W...where are we?"

He hurriedly started waking up his companions who were still asleep on the river-bank. It was all so strange- could story characters really die and go to heaven? Was that at all possible?

Shun, Alice, Ace, Mira, Runo and Dan couldn't believe their eyes. What was this? And where were Julie and Billy?

This world...it wasn't theirs. Somehow, the surroundings seemed a lot more authentic...

"But I thought we- Ow!" Dan rubbed his forehead where another pebble struck him.

It was only then that they noticed the black-haired girl who was now right beside them.

"Hey, who do you think you are, throwing stones at strangers?" fumed up Dan.

She only laughed playfully as she scanned the crowd of people. "Welcome to reality." she said spreading her arms out wide. She closed her eyes as a cool breeze blew by, whipping her hair to one side. "Now... you don't worry about anything..."

They stared at the teenage girl in awe. "What do you-"

"You're free." saying this she turned on her heel and ran away."You are...REAL people now."

The stunned six stared after her.

After a little while, they finally realized what had happened. They'd somehow got transported to the real world! It was strange, but true.

For some reason Shun picked that moment to walk up to Mira and ask her something that'd been eating at him for a long while now.

"Hey, you said that on the day of my birthday I would find my one true love...And I only danced with ONE girl that day and I still don't know who she is...And I love Alice. Doesn't that mean your prophecy was nothing but baloney? Who was she anyway?"

Mira stared at Shun in surprise. She was about to answer when Alice and Ace suddenly burst into helpless laughter.

"Yeah, that girl was a total sweet-heart alright." commented Ace amidst his fit of laughter.

Ace yelped as Dan punched him in the gut.

"What?" asked Shun to Alice, who was still laughing.

"Well...You see." She started.

"Don't you dare!" warned Dan through gritted teeth.

Alice giggled. "That girl...wasn't really a girl. It was Dan in disguise."

"What?" exclaimed Runo. "That means Shun's true 'destined one' is... Dan!"

"Eeeewwwww!" bellowed both Shun and Dan in unison.

Shun pointed at Mira. "You...you...What's wrong with YOU!"

Mira smiled, appearing totally unperturbed. "I said, on the day of your birthday something would happen that would lead to the introduction of your one true love. I did not say that you'd necessarily meet her on that day. From day one, I've known that Shun and Alice were destined for one another."

Shun and Dan both heaved a sigh of relief.

Soon all the happiness drained from Alice's face. "Julie and Billy...Does this mean they didn't make it? They saved us...and now, where are they?"

The atmosphere immediately went from glad to grim.

"Don't worry." shouted the girl clad in blue as she reappeared from behind a tree. "They'll fine. They're together, so they're happy."

"Isn't it about time for you to scram!" called out Dan, secretly thankful to her for saying that Julie and Billy were happy. Something about the way she said it made him want to believe it completely.

"I'm leaving, I'm leaving." she said, her childishness completely dissipating for a few moments. "The characters acquired a will of their own, they're quite perfect. Joe was a great author regardless of what anyone says..." she muttered to herself, walking away leisurely.

Back in Joe's hospital room, the nurse was cleaning out Joe's belongings.

She stared in surprise at the single piece of paper that lay on his desk... 'The writer's heart ached for the safety of his creations. He wished them to be set free, to live in a world where they could all be happy. As he lay on his death bed, he started writing the appropriate ending for his characters. They deserved to live on. And so he wrote; just as everything was about to end, a new ray of hope lit up their fu-'

The writing paused abruptly.

Below there was this paragraph written in slightly different handwriting and in sky blue ink.

'Just as everything was about to end, a new ray of hope lit up their future. With pure hearts that transcended across what was logical, the six of them had accepted their fate. If indeed they were to disappear from existence; then how better a way to die than in the arms of your most beloved? Despite being told they had no feelings, they laughed, cried and endured extreme hardship together... Despite being creations, they had loved.'

'Their love became their strength... Their yearning created a reaction from some unknown celestial force, the six of them got pulled into a sky-blue vortex...And somehow, they ended up in the real world, as real people, with real hearts and real bodies...'

'A new vast world had opened up before them. And they would strive towards greatness -as they now lived in the world of their creator... '

'After all, it's true when they say: when it comes to legendary art, the creations shall outlive the creator...'

And below this sky-blue paragraph was a caption - 'final paragraph courtesy of crystal-mist'.

Which brings us to the final question- who exactly was that teenage girl with black hair in the sky-blue dress anyway? Care to take a guess?

One Fairy Tale Too Many

Fin~~

Wow, done at last! Took me long enough, huh? Sorry for the wait everyone.

I know you all wanted Julie and Billy to be saved as well. But then again, the law of equivalent exchange can't be tampered with, I'm sorry. But they were happy in the end and they had done the right thing to save the others, right? Ooh they are so righteous!

This is my longest story ever, what with 21 chapters and all! Wow, 21!

Please REVIEW, this is the end, so you won't get more chances. :)

Thanks for reading EVERYONE.

See you all again. (if you 'want' to read my other stories, that is )

Bye for now~~