Fables #50

Bigby and Mowgli meet Prince Charming, Beast, and Rose Red on a side road just on the outskirts of the Farm. Bigby doesn't want to waste any time, he wants to begin the briefing on the mission as soon as possible. They take a van out onto a rough road that goes into the most restricted section of the Farm, where a magic beanstalk has grown. Beast had been working on it secretly for the past two years. Rose worries that it stands out too much, but Beast assures it can't be seen by any Mundies unless they are right up close to it. The structure of the beanstalk is trans-dimensional, meaning that while its roots are firmly planted in this world, at some point it passes into the world of the Cloud Kingdoms. That was the destination. Bigby is going to have to climb the beanstalk. A contact will be waiting for him at the top, and they'll explain the rest of the mission to him then. As he starts his ascent, he tells Rose not to say anything to Snow White. Anything he has to say, he'll either make it back to tell her himself, or she'll never have to know he was here at all.
It'll take Bigby days to climb up to the clouds. He spends the night sleeping in large leaves, and the day climbing ever higher.

Mowgli goes to Bagheera's cage to tell him the great news; he's free! Prince Charming gave him a full pardon in exchange for Mowgli's service. The panther is so happy he pounces on the man-cub with joy, then runs off to stretch his legs.

After three days, Bigby makes it up through the top of the clouds, where Cinderella is waiting for him. After she reassures him that it was safe to step down, they head over to her campsite to wait for the one who'll give them a ride, since the land of Giants was too massive to make it anywhere on foot. A young Giant named Humberjon carries them to wizard Ulmore's castle, their staging area for the mission. The old wizard Ulmore tells them that the Cloud Kingdoms are connected to every other world below, from the Mundane world, to any realm in the Homelands, it's just a matter of finding the right place to jump from.
After a few more days, the spot above the Imperial Homeworld was found, and Humberjon dug a hole. With a heavy pack full of equipment, he dives through, opens his parachute, and finds a secluded wilderness landing spot that was close to his target. He buries the parachute, and plants a magic bean in a remote location to serve as his escape route. Bigby avoids all of the goblin patrols pretty easily, and he makes it to Geppetto's Cottage, his target, within a day. waiting for nightfall before taking care of the guards. He kills them all silently, with a little help from his son Ghost, the invisible zephyr his mother, Snow, had sent away. Then, after setting charges up all around the Magic Grove, he enters the cottage.

Pinocchio walks back home from the city, a little drunk from a romp in the local pub. He quietly enters, lighting a single candle so as not to wake his father, to find the door to the Blue Fairy's cupboard prison open wide, and Bigby standing there attempting to destroy her to no avail. Pinocchio tells him the protective enchantments placed on her are too complex, almost as strong as the ones around his dad. Speaking of whom, Geppetto comes down to see who was whispering so loud. Upon seeing Bigby, he tells Pinocchio to send for the guards, but Bigby stops him. They're all already dead. He came here to deliver a message from Fabletown. More of a statement, really. Every time the Adversary decides to attack Fabletown like it did with Baba Yaga and the wooden army, they'll retaliate by hitting even harder. Bigby demonstrates by pressing a button on a radio transmitter, blowing up the entire magic grove around them. Geppetto and Pinocchio are carried outside, Bigby lets the old woodcarver know that if he's willing to play nice, they could be willing to return a few of the heads of the invasion force that still live, in trade for a few things Fabletown may want.

Bigby, in wolf form, carries his pack in his mouth as he runs back to the extraction point, the magic beans he planted have grown into a giant beanstalk. He sets the remaining bombs at the base, hidden from view, then begins the climb. This time, he's chased up the beanstalk by a contingent of Goblin Horde troopers. Just before he passes through the clouds, Bigby grabs onto a rope hanging from above and presses the detonation button before climbing up to safety. The beanstalk collapses from the explosion at its roots, and the Horde falls to their doom.

Back in Fabletown, Bigby receives a warm homecoming from the business office, a happy hug from Flycatcher, and an official retirement package from Prince Charming.

A few days later, Rose drives Snow out to the remote outskirts of the Farm. When they get out, Rose tells Snow to start walking over the hills. Confused, and a little wary, Snow does as asked. After about a mile or two, she sees Bigby standing under a tree, waiting. She rushes over to hug him, overjoyed to see him again! She quickly remembers something and asks him if their son found him. A small gust of wind sweeps around her in response, as Ghost gives his mom a kiss. The area nearby was once the valley of the sleeping giants, but with the brothers now enjoying the life of three little pigs, it was just a large, untouched valley of forests, rivers and a lake. Prince Charming had the whole area annexed from the Farm so Bigby could live there, and Bigby hoped Snow would join him to raise their kids together. As husband and wife. Snow White finally caves, how can she say no to that?

The day soon comes when Bigby is introduced to his children, who are suddenly very shy. Wedding plans are being made, housing construction begins, and King Cole even returns from the Homelands version of Baghdad for the big day. The guests all gather, human and animal, to attend. With King Cole ministering over them, Snow and Bigby Wolf are finally married.

As he carries her over the threshold of their newly built home, Snow asks Bigby if Happily Ever After is possible after all? Bigby only replies "we'll see".