Ryan Murphy — known as the Fairy Godfather in the Land of Stories, where he had chosen to remain — swished his wand through the air.  Mother Goose stood next to him, waving her flask.  A swirling vortex of rainbow light appeared before them. 

“As soon as the third person passes through this portal, the gateway between the worlds will be permanently sealed,” Ryan said.

Zach waved as he stepped into the vortex and disappeared.  Darren went next, saying a quick round of goodbyes to all of his fairytale friends before following Zach.  Chris hesitated for a moment, looking around at all of the familiar faces.   

“I hate to see you go,” Mother Goose slurred, taking a swig from her flask.  “Just thought you ought to know.”

She reached out and pinched the Fairy Godfather's ass.  Startled, Ryan jumped reflexively — directly into the vortex.  The moment he disappeared through the portal, it snapped shut with a POP. 

“Wait!” Chris cried, lunging forward.  

But it was too late.  

The gateway between the worlds had closed forever, leaving him trapped in the Land of Stories.

…

Back in the ordinary world, Darren was surprised to see Ryan come leaping through the portal behind him. 

“What are you doing here?  I thought you decided to stay in the fairytale world.”

“That bitch goosed me!”

“Mother Goose?”

“I should have known it was a mistake writing April Rhodes as such a booze hound.  Give that woman a couple of drinks and she can not keep her hands to herself!”  

Darren chuckled.  But his amusement was replaced by a slowly dawning horror as he realized that the portal had closed.

“Wait,” he demanded. “Where's Chris?”

“He's stuck in the Land of Stories, and there's nothing I can do about it.”

“What do you mean, there's nothing you can do?!?” Darren asked, voice rising.  “You're the fucking Fairy Godfather, aren't you?  Work your magic!”

“Darren, calm down.  I'm sorry, but I dropped my wand when Mother Goose grabbed my ass.  Without it, I can't do magic.  And even if I had my wand, the spell I cast is unbreakable.  The gateway between the worlds is sealed forever.  There's no way that I — or anyone else — could open it.”

Seeing the devastated expression on Darren's face, Ryan repeated, “I'm sorry.”

Zach stepped forward and wrapped an arm around Darren's shoulders.  “Here,” he said, handing him a small, oval mirror.  “Remember how Ryan gave this to me so that I could communicate with him?  Well, the other one is still in the Land of Stories, right?  So you should be able to use it to contact Chris.”

Darren looked to Ryan for confirmation.  

“Yeah, I left my mirror behind.  You can use that one to talk to whoever has mine.  Just tap it, and if someone taps the other one, you'll be able to see and hear each other.”

Darren quickly tapped his finger against the mirror.  The surface of the glass began to shimmer.  He peered into it expectantly, but Chris didn't appear.  Instead, the shimmering gradually faded, leaving him staring at his own distraught face.

Darren touched the mirror again, with the same results.  “Why isn't it working?”

“It is,” Ryan said.  “When you tap this mirror, it causes both mirrors to shimmer.  But in order for the connection to be activated, someone has to tap the other mirror in response.  I guess no one's found my mirror yet.  But don't worry, I'm sure someone will spot it soon.”

Darren resumed tapping the mirror, groaning in frustration each time the shimmering faded.  He was determined not to give up until he reached Chris.

…

Chris stood utterly still, frozen in shock, feet rooted to the ground, where, moments before, the portal had been.  His brain seemed to be unable to accept what had happened.  He couldn't be stuck here in the fairytale world.  Could he?

Gradually, Chris became aware of the babble of voices around him.  Questions, speculations, and accusations were flying.  Someone was remonstrating with Mother Goose.  Quinderella's baby daughter, Beth, began to cry.

Kurt and Blaine stepped forward and took Chris by the hands.  They gently guided him away from the commotion, over to a secluded sofa.  Chris collapsed down between them.  He felt dizzy and strange, as if he wasn't quite in his body.

“Courage,” Blaine said.  “You're going to be alright.”  

Chris shook his head in disbelief.  “How exactly am I going to be alright?  I'm trapped in a place I don't belong, with no way of ever getting home.”

“Of course you belong here,” Kurt said.  “The Fairy Godfather called you the co-creator.  Who could belong here more than you?”

“No,” Chris insisted.  “I need to get back to my own world.  I need to get back to Darren.”

Kurt and Blaine exchanged sympathetic looks.

“I'm really sorry,” Blaine said.  “You know that if there was any way we could help you, we would.  But you heard what the Fairy Godfather said.  The gateway between our worlds is sealed forever.”

“There has to be some way to reopen it.  I simply refuse to believe that I'll never see Darren again.”

“Oh!” Kurt cried, suddenly remembering.  “The magic mirrors!  The Fairy Godfather set his down before he opened the portal.  I'll bet it's still here!”

Chris sprang up from the sofa and rushed back to the crowd of people still milling about in noisy confusion.  He cast his gaze around frantically until it fell on the object he was seeking.  

With trembling fingers, Chris snatched up the magic mirror.  The glass began to shimmer in front of his eyes.  Chris gave the surface a quick tap, and suddenly Darren's face appeared.

“Oh, thank god!” they said in unison.