I climbed up to the clock tower. I managed to find my way inside the clock face. The Witch was waiting for me, a still-frozen Yvette beside her. She turned around and smiled at me. 

"Hello, Princess." She said. She had the apple in her hand. It still had a bite out of it. She was rolling it around in her fingers, while avoiding the bite. She looked up from the apple. "You have a choice. You can save Princess Charming, or save yourself. But really, you won't die. You'll be asleep. Just... forever."

She started to come closer. "And besides, isn't that what you wanted? To be the forever sleeping princess?" She placed the apple in my hands and stepped aside. "It was brave of you to even try this. Doing something so big to achieve your dreams." 

I stepped in front of the inner clock face. Everything was tied to this clock. It gave me an idea. I turned around and threw the apple at her head. I was always good at throwing things at Alison, and this was no different. The apple hit against her head, sending her arm flying out. It knocked over Yvette, and when her head came crashing down on the ground, the glass around her shattered. 

Her eyes opened and she took a deep breath, gasping for air. Her arms lowered from her face. "Carson!"

"Yvette!"

The Witch screamed. Recklessly, she shot a blast of a red, mist-like substance. It landed just above Yvette's head. She ducked just in time, but smashed her head against the wall. I couldn't tell if she was unconscious or not, but it didn't matter.  I suddenly had an idea. My hand hovered over one of the gears. I was going to stop the clock. 

"No!" The Witch screamed. A small dagger appeared in her hand. I thought she was going to throw it at me, but instead, she held it up to her own neck. "Stop that clock, and Alison dies. I can always come back, she can't!" 

"Okay, wait!" I removed my hand from the gear. She lowered the dagger. 

"Good." She said. She held out her hand, and the apple teleported into her hand. She held it out for me to take. I started to step forward. Prick of Roses was starting to kick in again. It was much, much weaker, but it still existed. Thoughts ran through my head. 

She's right. This is what I wanted. It was brave of me to do this to myself. Or... was it really? Was it bravery, or an act of dumb recklessness? There's a fine line between the two, and I've crossed it. I put everyone at risk. But maybe... I can take one real act of bravery. If all her plans rest on me falling asleep due to her curse, then there's a simple loophole. 

Ignoring the apple, I grabbed the dagger and held it out towards her. She laughed. "Go ahead! Kill your friend!" I shook my head. I took a deep breath and clenched my teeth together. Raising the dagger, I stabbed myself in the stomach. 

The Witch, her voice still intertwined with Alison's, screamed. But this time, Alison's voice was more distinct. Bleeding out, I looked up at her eyes. The red that covered her irises gave the illusion of shattering, each "shard" fading out somewhere in the whites of her eyes. The red disapeared and revealed the usual brown underneath. 

She ran up to me, helping me to sit back up. I was on my knees at this rate, doing everything I could to stay conscious. She knelt next to me, giving her hand for me to hold... or more, break, considering how tightly I was squeezing it. I wanted to apologize so badly at that moment, but the only thing that came out was, "Wow, stabbing sure hurts." 

She looked at me with a very confused look. "Never mind." I grunted out. At that moment, Jamie came up the stairs. She saw us all practically dying. Alison looked at her, then Yvette, then me, then back at Jamie. "CALL AN AMBULANCE!" She screamed. Jamie wordlessly nodded and pulled out her cell phone to make the call.

While Jamie made the call, Alison pressed her hand against my wound. "Ugh, if I just had my cauldron..."

"Uh-"

"Never mind." She said. "I'll let modern medicine handle this one."

I would have laughed, if I wasn't afraid I would blow up my internal organs. A few minutes later, the paramedics arrived, along with the police.