"I'm losing him!" she cried in desperation. "Puck, you have to fight it!"
Without warning, the hole quadrupled in size, threatening to swallow the entire building. From inside it something unexpected appeared--an enormous house sitting on top of two grotesque chicken legs. The house pushed the children back through the hole and blocked most of the suction pulling everything toward the time tear. But it wasn't Baba Yaga inside. Sabrina could see her older self hovering in the window. When the house cleared the horizon of the hole, it planted itself on top of the radio station's roof. The door flew open and the older Sabrina, Daphne, and Puck ran out. The older Granny Relda wheeled herself out behind them.
"Dear me," Granny said as she studied the strange visitors.
"You've got to close this hole!" the older Daphne shouted as she raced to her younger self. Sabrina studied her; there was something different. She still wore Uncle Jake's coat, but the scar that had once marred her beautiful face was gone. "How?" Daphne asked.
"Destroy the machine!" the older Granny Relda shouted over the raging storm.
Sabrina raced over to Malcolm, Alexander, and Bradford. They had lost control of the wand, which was floating on its own and still showering the vial of water and the clock with its power. Sabrina tried to grab it, but there was a shock and her hand felt like it was on fire.
"Don't touch it, child!" Tom shouted. "If you destroy it, you'll reverse the process."
Daphne reached for the vial of water with similar results. She cried out, which caused Cindy to look back at the girls. When she saw the pain in Daphne's face, it seemed to open her eyes to the rest of the chaos. Without a word, she picked up the Wonder Clock, lifted it over her head, and brought it down hard on the ground. It splintered into thousands of pieces. The wand suddenly stopped firing and the wind disappeared. Tom fell from the surface of the hole as it began to shrink.
"Cindy! Why? " he cried, though his voice sounded weak and tired.
"I don't need you to be young," she said as she stepped over to him and caressed his face. Sabrina could see he was returning to his normal age. His strong arms and legs had returned to feebleness and his back stooped. "I did this so we could be together."
Cinderella looked into his eyes. "Then so be it," she whispered, and her body began to age as well. Her long blond hair turned white, wrinkles weaved across her perfect face, and her delicate hands became gnarled.
"Cindy, no!" Tom cried. "You can't go back. If you age you won't ever be young again."
"What would life be without you, my prince?" Cindy said, her voice rough and crackling. "When we say our good-byes I want to be by your side."
Sabrina's attention turned to the future Puck, who stepped up to the younger one. "Hello, Trickster King," he said.
Puck gaped at his older self.
"Try to be nicer to Sabrina," the grown-up Puck said with a chuckle. "She's going to be important to you in the future, and trust me, she'll never forgive you for gluing her head to that basketball."
Puck grinned. "I never glued her head to a basketball."
"You're giving him ideas!" the older Sabrina said reproachfully. Mr. Canis and Granny Relda stepped forward. Granny seemed stunned by her older self, but Canis walked up to her and took her hand.
"It's good to see you, old friend," the older Granny said. "I know what happens, I just don't know when," he said. "You don't have a lot of time left," the old woman said before breaking into a coughing fit. "How do I stop it?"
"You can't," the future Granny Relda said. "I'm sorry."
"All right, folks, the hole is getting pretty small," the older Puck said. "If we are going home, we better get going."
"Those with me, get back in the house," the future Daphne said. "The rest, get down." Everyone did as they were told. Then the older Daphne fired a wand into the air. It got the attention of the dragon, who made a beeline for the house. The older Daphne turned to little Daphne and smiled.
"There's big things ahead, girl. You're going to have to grow up a little," she said.
"I'll try!" Daphne called back.
Her future self darted into the house with her companions, and the house lumbered back into the black hole. The dragon roared, launched another ball of fire at it, and then disappeared into the abyss as well. A second later, the storm was gone and the hole in time closed in on itself.
*
Sabrina's twelfth birthday was embarrassing. Granny Relda made a big deal out of it, forcing her to wear a funny hat that read birthday girl!
Daphne gave Sabrina her princess tiara. Uncle Jake gave her a new pair of sneakers. Mr. Canis, who was now wearing a bandage on his wounded eye, bought her a little portable radio for her room, and Granny showered her with clothes and a new bicycle. Puck left a box on the kitchen table with her name on it. Inside, she found a basketball and a tube of industrial-strength glue with a note that read it's coming when you least expect it.