First Name = Hero (Male)
Last Name = Sidekick (Female)

It's another boring day at your new job, working as assistant librarian at the local library. You'd only been there for a week and a half, but you've already learned that you have very few visitors. Books just don't have the appeal they used to. So basically you just wander around all day or, when the boss is away, take naps in the fiction section.

You are currently asleep in the corner of the library, a copy of Don Quixote draping over your eyes to block out the sun. You were beginning to have wonderful dreams about a pretty girl you had seen earlier today at the coffee shop. They involved handcuffs, the library stacks, and a major lack of clothing. However, your dreams are interrupted by a loud crash. You sit up abruptly, flinging the novel from your face.

<What in the hell was that?> You wonder as you look around. It sounded like it came from below you. The basement is off limits to all employees, and you're pretty sure you're the only person working today. Slightly distressed, you get up and head for the entrance to the basement. As you approach it, you can see the door is open. You are really starting to question if your $8 an hour job is worth facing off against an intruder when you hear some coarse swearing coming from the basement. You raise one eyebrow. While vulgar, the voice is definetly female.

Slowly, you make your way down the stairs. You maintain silence as you creep through a dark and dusty archive of books before finding a room with the lights on. As you peer into the room, you see a dozen books discarded on the floor in a messy array. In the center of the room, you see a young woman with her hands in her long, jet black hair, muttering to herself. A bag of supplies lie at her feet.

As you move closer, you can hear her. "Oh God...oh God, I'm dead. I'm so dead..." She repeats over and over.

"What are you doing in here?" You ask, believing she isn't a threat. She jumpes into the air and flips around hastily. She is wearing thin oval glasses and she had a very pretty face. A nice body too, you notice after scanning her up and down. She was wearing a purple turtleneck and a long dress, but the hugged her form tight enough that you could see her curves. In fact, her body looks kinda familiar...

"Who are you?" She shrieks in fright, balling her fists.

"Whoa! I work here!" You say quickly, raising your hands. "Who are YOU?"

"You...you're John, aren't you?" She asks, calming down slightly. "The new guy?"

"Yeah..." You say slowly. She did seem to know you, but then again, you are wearing a nametag.

"I'm Doe...I work here too." She says. Now that she mentions it, you do remember her talking to the boss once. In all fairness, it was only for a few moments and you spent most of the time checking out her ass.

"I think I remember seeing you." You tell her. "I didn't think anyone else was working today. Why don't you have a nametag?"

"I work down in the archives." Doe responds. "I rarely come out other than to leave for the night. It's my duty to watch the...the..." her face blanches as she rememebers her dilemma and she turns back to the books. "Oh no..."

"What's wrong?" You ask her.

"These books have been torn apart!" She wails. "Someone's ripped the ending right out of them!"

"So?" You ask. Sure, it was a bummer, but not worth the fit she was throwing.

"SO?!" She exclaims as if you had just casually brushed aside mass murder.

"Are the worth a lot of money?" You ask. You look over at some of the covers. Little Mermaid, Snow White, Cinderella..."Oh, they're just a bunch of fairy tales."

"How can you say that?" She cries out, the takes a deep breath and tries to steady her voice. "That's right...you wouldn't know, would you?"

"That depends." You shrug. "I don't know if I wouldn't know."

She ignors your smartass repsonse and explains the situation. "These are not normal books, John. These are portals."

"Portals." You say, trying to keep your voice deadpan.

"Yes. Each one of these tales represents a real world. A fantasy realm of pure good and true evil. A world with real people and real lives. These books are the gateways to the worlds."

"Yeah. Okay." You shake your head. "Methinks you've been down here too long."

"I know it sounds implausable, but it's true!" She cries out. You don't know why, but something about the way she's selling this makes you think she's not joking. You decide to play along for now.

"So what's the issue then?"

"Someone's torn out the ending to these books! There's no 'Happily Ever After' anymore!"

"And that's...bad, right?"

"It's horrible!" She sobs. "Without an ending, these worlds are pulled into a state of eternal chaos. If the story doesn't have a happy ending, no one in the world is allowed a happy ending."

"Ooookay." You say, trying to stay on focus. "So why not just write a new ending? It's just a fairy tale. I used to read them as a kid. I know how a lot of them end."

"So do I, but it's not that simple. These are portals to real words, remember? You can't write in these books. The book writes itself as the plot progresses. Someone has to go to these worlds and bring about a happy ending."

"So why don't you just go in and conduct a little 'Happily Ever After' yourself?"

"I'm not allowed to." She moans in dispair. "I'm the guardian of the books. I can enter each realm, but I'm not allowed to interfere with the story directly, like influencing the main characters. On top of that, I'm given a new body so I become a part of the story, rather than a visitor." She sighs. "I need someone who can go in with me and bring about a change. Someone who the books don't recognize..." She slowly turns to look at you. Alarms go off in your head.

"What? No way!" You back up. "You nuttier than a fruitcake! Even if I did believe all this, I don't want to be sucked into some stupid fairy tale!"

"Please!" Doe pleaded. "You have to help me! If the boss comes back and finds out what happens, he will have my head! That's not a joke, either!" Her eyes danced with fear. "This is serious business!"

"Okay, okay." You say. "Hold up." You don't want anything bad to happen to this woman, she's as nice a person as she is on the eyes, but you're talking about crossing the threshold of insanity here. Entering fairy tales through a portal in a book? Seriously?

"Please, John!" She looks scared. "Help me and I will be in your debt forever." You arch an eyebrow. Well, now. This is interesting.

"In my debt?" You ask.

"Yes!" She pleads. "I'll do anything you want!"

"Anything?" You smile crookedly and eye up her body. Doe looks shocked for a second at your implications, but buries it immediatly.

"Anything." She states plainly. "If it's me you want, I'll give myself to you. I promise. Just help me restore these stories!"

"You'll let me do anything I want?" You ask, making sure the deal is airtight.

"Yes!" She says, at her wits end. "Anything, anywhere, anytime! I don't care! Just please do this for me!"

"Okay, then." You smile. "You have yourself a deal."

"Great!" Doe looks relieved. She doesn't seem too happy about having promised her entire body to you, but it's just a small speck in a sea of hope. "Okay, all we need to do is enter one of these books and bring about a 'Happily Ever After' ending."

"How do we do that?" You ask.

"It's different for each story." She says. "I've read them a thousand times, so I know each story and I'll try and help you out."

"Okay then." You rub your hands together. "Let's get to work. Which story should we start with?"