Merlin lobbed his fireball at the approaching army, and the effect was instantaneous. The entire front line of the Editor's army broke apart into chaos, being entirely comprised of the bones of the dead. Rachel extended her Morpheus abilities to the humans of the army, expending much of her energy to put them to sleep. That decreased the army by at least half, but it still left them with hundreds to contend with.

Alan gripped his tiny knife in his hand. "Can't you grant me a little bit of your magic?" he complained. "I feel horribly inadequate!"

Rachel was doubled over, coughing. She had never attempted such a powerful spell with her Morpheus magic until that point, and that inexperience had cost her almost all of her energy. "Yeah?" she gasped. "So do I. Merlin, summon a blasted Story door and get us the heck out of here!"

Merlin closed his eyes, concentrating. He let out an exasperated breath and cursed. "Someone's blocking me!" he exclaimed in frustration. "I can't open a door!"

Red hefted her club. "C'est la fin," she whispered, partly to herself. "Well, it's been a good run for us, mes amies."

"Cinderella," Rachel said in a commanding voice, trying to maintain what little sense of calm she had left, "get behind me. We fight to the bitter end, all of you. Who knows? A miracle might turn up. Merlin, keep trying on that door; it's our only hope."

"Listen!" Guinevere exclaimed suddenly. They all listened, and Gwen's face broke into a smile. "Someone's attacking them!"

"Prince Charming," Cinderella told them. "He's come to save me! My knight in shining armor." She closed her eyes and sighed in utter happiness.

Rachel eyed her balefully. "Your knight hasn't gotten us out of the frying pan yet," she warned them. "And he won't if we don't help him!"

An arrow hissed between Guinevere and Rachel, barely missing them both. Cinderella yelped and crouched down on the ground as it shot above her hair, narrowly dodging a nasty haircut. "Merlin, the door!" Rachel yelled in a panic. They had to help Prince Charming, but they didn't have nearly enough weapons to do so.

"Nothing!" Merlin shouted back.

Alan ran forward. "Alan!" Rachel exclaimed, stunned. "Where are you going?!"

"Idiot!" Red spat, and ran after him.

"Stay here," Rachel told Gwen and Merlin. "Protect Cinderella."

"Are you insane?" Gwen yelped, but Rachel had no time to dispute her mental health. She hiked up her skirts and ran after her two friends.

Somehow Alan had snatched up a sword from one of the sleeping soldiers and was currently fighting for his life with Red protecting his back. Rachel grabbed another sword and jabbed it into a man who had lunged at Alan's side. "Watch it!" she warned him.

"Thanks!" he answered, ducking beneath a blow and coming up below his opponent's guard.

"What are these things?" Red demanded as a particularly ugly grey creature attacked her. She clubbed at it several times before it fell away.

"Goblins," Rachel answered, cutting down one such creature. "Sorcerers, knights protected from magic by the Editor..."

"Rachel!" Merlin's urgent shout caught her attention. She turned and swore.

"And flying monkeys," she finished, for an ugly simian was screeching and clawing at Merlin's arm, held up in a desperate attempt to ward off a blow. "Hold them here! I'll be right back."

"Right," Alan said sarcastically. "Hold an entire army here with two people. Hurry it up!"

Rachel ran towards Merlin, and felt rather than saw an arrow shoot past her. "NO!" she screamed, seeing its intended target. There was nothing she could do.

The monkey kept Merlin from moving. The arrow shot towards the sorcerer and plucked at his robes as it flew past him...and buried itself in Cinderella's chest. The girl fell backwards onto the ground, clutching at the arrow as if it were her lifeline as opposed to it stealing her life.

"NO!" Prince Charming charged through the crowd on his horse, leaping from it to land on the ground beside the girl. He held her head in one hand, the other cradling the glass slipper. "Hold on, Ella! Don't die...please!"

"Rachel!" Red yelled; she hadn't noticed Cinderella get shot. Rachel swung around to see both her friends surrounded by the army. Back to back, only Red's club and Alan's sword held them at bay, but it wouldn't last long.

Rachel was horrified. She met Merlin's eyes as he shoved a fireball at the flying monkey, roasting it. They both knew what would happen if Cinderella died. "Help her," Rachel begged. "At least delay it!"

"My...prince," Cinderella breathed, and breathed her last.

Merlin cursed. "We've got seconds—a minute at the most," he said. "I can't get the door open, it's Final Death for all of us. Ideas?"

"Make that door!" Rachel cried desperately. "We've got to get out of here!"

Already she could see Cinderella's Story beginning to fade. It was her worst nightmare, literally. She could clearly remember the nightmare the Editor had sent her, when she had made Nottingham disappear. Rachel couldn't afford to panic. If she did...all her friends would die.

"Alan! Red! Get over here, now!" Rachel yelled at them.

"Bit busy!" was Alan's response. He didn't realize how much more serious the situation was.

"We need that door," Guinevere said. She too had noticed the colors at the edge of the woods beginning to disappear. Her hand was clutching Merlin's arm, terrified.

"I'm not strong enough to break the barrier the Editor's put up," Merlin answered, his face pale. "Rachel, we're going to die."

"I'm not ready to join my brother yet," Rachel insisted. She grabbed Merlin's hand and closed her eyes.

"What are you doing?" Merlin demanded, his voice rising in pitch.

"Take my magic. Make the stupid door!" Rachel gasped, pulling away and hitting the ground. Merlin quickly went down on his knees beside her.

"Don't...die," he exclaimed, horrified.

"I'm not!" she cried back at him. "Just make the door!" She hauled herself to her feet and moved towards Alan and Red.

Rachel attacked the Editor's army like a woman possessed. She could see this Story fading into nothing, could see the white void that lay beyond. She didn't want any of her friends left behind in it. She drove the army away from Alan and Red, yelling at them, "Go through the door! Go through NOW!"

Red ran towards the door, which Merlin had thankfully managed to summon. Rachel grabbed Alan's shoulder. "Go," she told him.

He dragged her with him, Rachel barely able to stand from exhaustion. He pushed her through the door and as she fell through, she heard him yelling.

Landing on the hardwood floor in the next Story, Rachel crawled to her knees to look through the door. She saw Merlin getting dragged back towards the fading Story, saw Alan run after him. Red was above Rachel, and she tried to run back through. Gwen, the first to go through the door, grabbed her and held her back. "Stay here!" she cried.

Rachel couldn't see them...and then Merlin appeared. He was gasping for breath and...it couldn't be. He was...crying. "Merlin?" Rachel said, her voice tiny. The door slammed shut behind him, trembling and shattering into a thousand pieces. And they were still missing one of their group. "Merlin...Alan, he can't..."

Merlin stared at Rachel, barely seeing her. "He sacrificed himself to save me," he said in a voice choked with tears. "He didn't make it out. He's...undergone Final Death."

Alan-a-Dale was dead. Merlin's words reverberated in Rachel's skull, and she heard them even as she lost consciousness.