Disclaimers: All canon material does not belong to me. They belong to their respected owners.

*.*.*

This idea came from being between wakefulness and asleep. The locations are the same, as they usually are in a lot of my stories, but what makes this interesting is how the storylines will play themselves up. So what we have is the shell of the original storylines, but with other canon characters entering the tale, there could be some new plots heading our way. Hopefully that makes sense.

So, our story begins with Cinderella about to enter the Beast's world. Cinderella's story, in this version, comes from various sources and my own rendition. The Beast's story is a mixture of Disney's version and my own spin on the tale.

*.*.*

"No ball!" Cinderella's stepmother declared in anguish. She had greying hair, but it was her persona that gave away how cruel she was to her stepdaughter. But this… this was atrocious. "How could there not be a ball? Cinderella!"

Cinderella, whose fair appearance and brown dress, gave away how simple a life she had been living. The cinders from the fireplace didn't help how her stepmother and two stepsisters kept calling her Cinderella. That was the name she knew. It was the name she could remember. Her task in life was providing her stepmother and stepsisters with all the luxuries they could ever ask for. If only she knew what became of her parents. Then that would certainly help her case.

"Cinderella," her stepmother declared, "go to the market and fetch us some bread."

"Yes stepmother," Cinderella said, grabbing her woven basket and heading outside.

The market certainly was busy today. Lots of activities. But all anyone could say was that she was an odd sort. She didn't know why she was odd. She was just so innocent. So young and vibrant. Then again, she had to ask the one question that was on her mind.

"Sir," Cinderella asked the baker. "Where is the nearest castle?"

"The castle!" the baker snooted. "You don't want to go there. There's a beast that lives there. You might be surprised what you'll find. But I warn you, it is dangerous."

"Well, well, well," said a muscular, black haired hunter. "If it isn't Cinderella. I'm Gaston and you might as well consider yourself my bride."

"Goodbye," Cinderella said, making her way out of the village.

Gaston reached for her arm. "Now, now, now. We mustn't go that way. They say that castle is haunted and ol' Gaston does not like creepy castles."

"Oh. Well, good luck," Cinderella said, not liking this situation at all.

"Say, will you marry me?" Gaston said, showing off his winning smile.

"No," Cinderella said, flat out. "Goodbye." She was glad to be away from him.

o-o-o

Well, after much walking and getting away from wolves, Cinderella at last found herself in front of a gothic castle with many turrets. The whole setting was alarming. She had never seen so many terrifying endeavors before.

"Oh my. Maybe I shouldn't go in." She nearly backed away, but the thought of heading inside was almost too much to bear. "Or maybe I should go in. See what I'll find there." Slowly, but cautiously, she opened the tall wooden doors, entering the deserted castle. It certainly seemed lived in, but… "Oh. Animate objects. How… quaint, I guess. But then I'm a friend to all creatures, great and small."

"Just as I suspected!" said the wound-up clock.

"Look here!" said the very French candlestick. "Bonjour and welcome to the home of our master!"

"Who is your master?" Cinderella asked, quite confused.

ROAR!

She jumped. "What was that? Who was that? Oh." She froze. There, before her was a monstrous brown beast. He was very aggressive. She… there was a blinding flash of light. She was falling… falling… right into the Beast's arms… she couldn't do anything… she was frozen in time and space…

"Where am I?" Cinderella called out to anyone who could hear her.

"You are in the chasm of memories," said an elderly woman wearing blue robes.

"Who are you?" Cinderella asked, confused.

"I am your fairy godmother." Her fairy godmother said. "But here, I am here to help you restore your memories, so you may face this beast you have found and this Gaston fellow."

"How do you know I've lost my memories? All I can remember…"

"Oh, come now, child. This is why you've come here. Here. I'll show you a memory bubble." Her fairy godmother brought her over to the white space. There were so many bubbles floating in the air, some revealing other places, even one showing the Goblin King dancing with a young girl with black hair and wearing a ballgown… before the image shifted to show a woman with brunette hair wearing a yellow ballgown.

"Oh, that's right," her fairy godmother admitted, tapping her index finger against her chin. "She's in the wrong story. As are you. The further we delve into this mess, oh."

"The more messed up the timelines become." Cinderella was confused. "How do I know this?"

"More questions. That's not the point. But for now, we must restore the timeline." Her fairy godmother said. "I'll coordinate to fix the timelines. You must return to the story. Your memories are restored, but the storylines are screwed up. Now, you go back and talk with the Beast. Go on."

Cinderella awoke. She was lying on a comfortable bed with blue covers. She remembered now her past. Her mother died, giving birth to her. Her father passed away shortly after marrying her stepmother. That part was accurate to her story. Story?

"How are you feeling?" the Beast asked, gruffly.

"I feel fine. Better now," Cinderella said, feeling dazed.

"Well," the Beast relaxed somewhat. "I'll let you sleep."

"Ha ha!" Gaston paraded into the room. "Now, to fix this timeline and give myself a brand new story."

"Stop!" Cinderella's fairy godmother entered the scene, wand on hand. "Oh, I hate to do this. Bibbity-boppity-boo!" Just like that, everything was reversed. She could see it now. There was the original timeline, but… no. Something had definitely shifted. She wondered what started this mess. Her hand twitched just seeing the images. "Stop!" Her wrist flicked as the scene returned to the same moment. There was Gaston, readying a knife. She could stop this now, but… "Oh, let it play out." She vanished in an instant…

Cinderella woke up. No. There was a stabbing sound. She moved off the bed, right as Gaston fled the room. The Beast… no. He couldn't.

"Cinderella, I'm sorry. I…" the Beast drew his last breath. Cinderella cried, hoping in some way for the Beast to still be alive.

"Beast, don't do this. I care about all creatures and you, you saved me from a terrible fall. I… I need you, now more than ever," Cinderella said, sobbing uncontrollably.

For several seconds, there was silence. Then… Zip! Zip! Zap! Cinderella opened her eyes. No way. The Beast. He was transforming into a man with ginger hair and blue eyes. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. He was totally different. How did she do it? She stood up, right as he approached her.

"Cinderella," the man said in a lighter voice. "It's me. I was the Beast, but now I'm a man. A prince."

"A prince?" Cinderella lit up, excited.

"Thank you for saving me," The Prince said.

Cinderella grinned happily. "You're welcome, your highness. You're welcome."

"Oh look!" The Prince moved over to the bedside table, producing a glass slipper. "Glass? How is this here?"

"Oh." Cinderella stared at the slipper. "It must have come from my fairy godmother."

"Hm," the Prince said. "I wonder what it's doing here." He spun around, excited to see his servants were human again, too. Cinderella smiled. She hadn't been so happy to see them in all her life. And yet, she was. This was indeed a happy day. The happiest she felt in years. She felt sure she would enjoy this happy ending a lot.

…

In the folds of space and time, the fairy godmother observed the bubble. Indeed, something was terribly off. But at least the Beast's story played out. But Cinderella's story, that would continue. And yet, and yet she needed to fix these storylines. But how? A thought came to her.

"I shall observe and see if the stories start fixing themselves. Yes, that sounds like a fascinating idea to me," the fairy godmother said, anticipating the next story would be just as interesting to watch.

*.*.*

Thanks for reading. :)