(MIRACLES
DO
HAPPEN.
I just bought Coraline, so I am BACK to FINISH THIS THING. Let's see if I can finish before I move into my dorm!
Other Mother, Coraline © Neil Gaiman
Wybie, Other Wybie © Henry Selick)
Last Chances
Chapter Nineteen: Disappearing
"C'mon, you slacker!"
"Aw jeez, Coraline, give me a break!"
No carefree smile graces her face as she pulls on his arm, trying to drag him to his feet.
"Get up!"
"I am up!"
"No, you're not! You have to get up!"
"'M up..."
Two fingers strongly pinch the back of his arm.
Wybie's eyes sleepily flutter open.
"Wha...?"
"Finally!" the other Wybie exclaims, struggling to keep his footing on the unstable surface. "You're awake again. Come on, you have to get out of here!"
"Out of... what's going on...?"
Groggy and with a pounding headache, Wybie stands up—
"Whoa!"
He becomes very much awake after nearly falling through the gaps in the metal web.
"Come on!" the Other Wybie urges, the panicked expression on his face never leaving. "You have to get out before she loses control completely...!"
The inhuman screech of the Other Mother, followed by the sudden rattling of the web's "threads," quickly remind the green-eyed brunette exactly why he passed out in the first place.
"Right," he nods, stuffing the button-eye into his pocket before starting to scale the web. "Let's go!"
Wasting no more time, the puppet and the teen climb towards the little door, not even pausing as the Beldam's violent thrashings make their task nearly impossible. Nothing will deter them now; not now, when victory is within their grasp...
The Other Wybie freezes as, when his counterpart drags himself into the passageway, everything becomes deathly still.
"Oh no," he whispers.
"What? What is it?" Wybie demands, helping to pull the living doll to safety—
A violent shudder from the room nearly throws the two of them back out.
"Gah!"
"She's transformed," the Other Wybie chokes, staring in horror back into the Other World. "Look. There she is..."
His stomach sinking already, the green-eyed teen somehow manages to follow his puppet-self's gaze.
"Oh god," he croaks, wide-eyed.
The tattered shell that had one been the Other Mother's body lies draped over thin metal wires, hanging limp like discarded clothing; over it stands a black being, darker than night, and with glowing white eyes. Though it bears a crude resemblance to a woman, its many thin, spidery legs swiftly carry it up, onto the webbed walls where it waits.
The inhuman shriek it emits reveals how truly monstrous it is.
"She's not even the Beldam anymore," the Other Wybie shivers, sliding farther away from the doorway. "That's her true form..."
"That's what she really is?!" Wybie gasps, feeling the blood drain from his still-bleeding face. "She really is a monster... Is there anything we can do to kill her?"
"No," the button-eyed brunette shakes his head, nearly paralyzed with fear. "She's so powerful like that, and now—now, she's feeding off the energy this world is radiating. The only way to kill her is to destroy this world, but that's...!"
"There has to be a way! After all she's done... I'm not going to let her live so she can kidnap more children and torture you anymore! Nobody deserves to have their lives ruined like that!"
In response to Wybie's declaration, the monster screeches, its glowing eyes fixated on the teen still looking into the Other World.
"She heard you..."
"Yeah.... Guess I said it loud enough, didn't I?" Wybie shrugs, looking around the room for something—anything—that could help him destroy what had once been the Other Pink Palace, and the Other Mother with it...
His eyes fall upon the fireplace, a short distance away and still holding a small blue fire within its hearth.
It takes him no more than a moment to scramble out of the corridor, climbing across the webbed floor towards the blue flames.
"What are you doing?!"
Shrieking horribly, the black monster scuttles over to him, rapidly gaining ground and ready to pounce—
"Beldam!"
It immediately spins in place, bright white eyes flashing red.
The Other Wybie struggles to hide his fear as he feels the creature's inhuman gaze fixate on him.
"You heard me!" the puppet shouts again, swallowing nervously before putting on as brave a face he can muster. "Beldam! I'm not afraid of you anymore, I'm not! You can't do anything to me anymore—!"
He jerks away as he once-vaguely human monster leaps towards the open door, reaching for him with several long, dark legs, but just barely missing.
Don't be afraid, the Other Wybie tells himself, his hand brushing against Coraline's foot as he forces himself to sit up. Don't be afraid...!
While his copy draws the attention of the Beldam away from him, Wybie reaches the fireplace. Placing his ungloved left hand on the webbed wall for support, he pulls himself up, looking right into the flickering blue fire.
This is going to hurt a lot is the last thought to run through his mind before he thrusts his right hand into the flames.
"Aaaugh!"
The monster turns its pupil-less eyes towards the screaming brunette...
Just in time to watch him slam his burning glove onto the webbed wall.
As the thin white threads are eaten up by blue fire, the black walls beneath them crumble away to dust.
Wybie nearly throws his burning glove off his hand, which is now red and painful. As the flames free his stuck hand from the crumbling wall, he grasps the metal web to keep his balance.
It starts to give away as the flames destroy the spider's web.
Screeching horribly, the monster pulls its front legs out of the tunnel, turning to pounce on the green-eyed teen—
The Other Wybie kicks her, knocking her over, and watches her tumble to the bottom of the sunken floor before turning his one-eyed gaze to his counterpart.
"Hurry! There isn't much time!" he urges, beckoning to the wide-eyed teen. "Come on, before you're trapped here too!"
That's all he needs to hear; Wybie scrambles over as fast as he can, feeling the metal wires sag beneath his feet and hands. More black dust falls from the walls; the open door is just out of reach...
Just as the Other Wybe grabs his unburnt hand, he notices the thin, black, spidery legs wrapping around his shoulders, then feels a heavy weight pulling him down.
"Augh!"
The Beldam's shriek rings in his ear, making him cringe but not breaking his grip on the Other Wybie's arm.
The loud cracking sound from overhead makes him look up.
Nearly all the white webbing is gone; only a small border of it, still being devoured by fire, remains around the edge of the ceiling.
"The ceiling's going to collapse soon," Wybie gasps, seeing the deep cracks leaking a bright light. "That happened a lot faster than I thought it would...!"
"I can't pull you up! Not with her attached," the Other Wybie exclaims, trying to support the weight of both Wybie and the Beldam. "I can't hold you up much longer!"
As large chunks of ceiling fall from the sky, the teen can feel both his puppet-self's grip start to falter and the monster's weight dragging him further away from the tunnel, further away from freedom...
He looks down.
The web is still intact beneath him.
"...then let go of me!"
The Other Wybie stares.
"What?" he gapes, disbelieving what he's just heard.
"Let go of me," Wybie repeats, shuddering as the Beldam shrieks once more. "Do it, it's our only chance!"
"But you'll—"
"Do it!"
For a moment, it looks as though he refuses to let go...
"...f-fine."
The Other Wybie finds himself watching in horror as he releases the green-eyed teen, watching him and the Beldam plummet downward...
As soon as he feels himself falling, Wybie unbuttons his jacket, pulling his arms out of the sleeves before reaching out to grab the crumbling metal web once more.
He feels the web shake, then hears the monster's roar as she rips through the bottom of the web, plummeting down to the bottom of the abyss.
In her grasp, she holds onto the ruined black jacket.
Wybie has no time to watch the Beldam fall; with large pieces of black falling around him, he scales the web, reaching the open passage in a matter of moments...
He feels the Other Wybie pull him back in, then hears the door slam shut behind him.
The world around him rapidly fades from sight, replaced only by darkness...
(End chapter nineteen.
Possibly the most difficult chapter to write, given the hiatus.
You can thank Best Buy for influencing chapter nineteen's arrival!
Hopefully twenty won't take nearly so long to show up.
Please review!)