Coraline Jones, Witch Slayer and the Heir of Morpheus

A Coraline/Nightmare Before Christmas Story with nods to Stardust and the Sandman Saga

Written by: RiverSong1984

Disclaimer: I really own nothing mentioned here. All characters are the intellectual and artistic property of Tim Burton, Neil Gaiman, Henry Sellick and their respective studios.

Suggested Soundtrack: Overture from Edward Scissorhands, Hedwig's Theme

Chapter 1: Half-Forgotten Memories

Inside the white walled classrooms of the junior high classroom, fourteen 11 and 12 year olds were hastily scribbling down notes about the latest chapters in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events as their teacher, Mrs. O'Grady was busily packing her duffel bag. From where she was seated, Coraline Jones was staring out the window half paying attention. She had already read all of the books in the series, but they were part of the curriculum. Doodling some rather Tim Burton style landscapes, her friend Wybie Lovatt nudged her. Gesturing towards the teacher, Coraline quit drawing long enough to hear her teacher address the class.

Turning towards the children, she said to them, "As you all are well aware, I am retiring to Green Bay and I have one final assignment to give you. Don't groan, this will allow you to explore your family's history. From now until end of next month, I want you to research your family's background. No, you may not use any genealogy websites. All right, there's the bell. Good luck."

The bell rang, as everyone crowded onto the busses to get home. As the bus took the long way towards the Pink Palace Apartments, Coraline grinned excitedly to Wybie, "Finally, we get to do something neat in English class. As much as I enjoy reading Lemony Snicket, it was just getting boring. I don't think we're ever going to know every single thing about VFD. Besides, this will give me a chance to look into my family background. How about you, Wybie?"

Hopping of the bus, the two friends wandered down the back of the grounds near the garden and well as Wybie said to her, "Well, I doubt I'll get anything out of Grandma. I mean, she's told me who my parents were, but we don't have any pictures. Sometimes I wonder if she's hiding more than her 'missing' twin sister." A loud meow was heard from the bushes as Cat leapt up and purred contentedly. Giving her friend's problem a thought, Coraline conjectured that it was probably too painful.

Hearing the clanging of the bell, the two friends parted ways, and Coraline made her way through the garden. Normally, the flowers were tied down for the year and Mister Bobinsky's beets were getting ready to be harvested. Glancing down to where he planted them, Coraline noticed something was off. Skidding down the incline, she knelt and gasped. Sure enough, many of the beets had frozen and many more were missing. Looking around, Coraline spotted three pairs of fresh footprints in the icy mud. Making her way up the opposite bank, she followed it into the heather and farther into the deep woods. From where she was standing, Coraline could just make out her house. Something seemed to be tugging her, and standing there she felt a strange bit of déjà vu. Shaking her head, she ran towards home. Underneath the bushes, a pair of dark, blue eyes nodded knowingly. She would be back, they both would.

Reaching the front door, Coraline threw them open and pulled of her boots. "Mom, Dad- I'm home," she called out into the main floor. From their home office, Mel Jones replied, "Hi Coraline, did you have a good day at school? I bought some hot cocoa mix, and I can join for a mug in a few minutes." Coraline accepted the offer, and a few minutes later Mel was sitting with her daughter in the kitchen. After being freed, both parents made sure to spend more time with Coraline and for this she was grateful.

As they sipped at the warm drink, Coraline informed her mother, "Mrs. O'Grady retired today, and she gave us a really neat assignment; we're supposed to research our family backgrounds. Do you know if we have anything from your family from Wall?" At the mention of the English village, Mel frowned as though her daughter had strayed into enemy territory. Pointing upstairs, she told her daughter that she could rummage upstairs in the storage loft. Annoyed, Coraline rolled her eyes and ran upstairs. Staring out the window, Mel gazed towards the distant horizon and let out a deep sigh and murmured, "Oh Coraline, if only you knew how much I want to tell you…"

The space between Bobinsky's flat and the Jones's apartment was used for storage, and this is where Coraline began rummaging through the boxes. Most of it was from her father's side of the family. Groaning to herself, Coraline complained, "It's just not fair! Why won't Mom tell me about her family? It's not like we're related to royalty or anything, so why the secrecy? Besides, it's not like I haven't been away from Mom and Dad before." Pulling herself against the brick wall under a small utility window, Coraline shut her eyes and tried to remember what had been triggered by the assignment…

It was foggy, windy and cold as Coraline gripped her mother's hand. It was late out as shadows danced in between the gaunt, leafless trees and gravestones blanketed in cobwebs. In the obsidian, angular hills a patchwork city came into sight. Letting out a sigh of relief, Mel pulled the grey wool shawl around her and pulled the hood low over her eyes. Scooping up the toddling Coraline, Mother covered her with an old blanket the color of old bones and dust. Coraline fussed at being hidden, but Mel continued her journey until she reached an elaborate estate surrounded by pumpkins and gravestones. They had finally arrived.

Making her way up the walk, she was greeted by a low voice, "Melantha, you made it! Does Yvaine know about this?" "Cat, we've been through this before, I'll be safer in Midgard and Coraline is immortal," the blue-black haired woman hissed. Walking up to the heavy, stone doors she knocked. The doors lurched open, and the visitors were greeted by… a skeleton in a pinstripe suit, flanked with a ghost dog and a life-sized rag doll. …

Coraline bolted upright, how long had she been asleep? Stretching, shebegan to search for anything she could use when she thought she heard something rustle nearby. Was it one of the dancing mice? Getting down on her hands and knees, she looked around for what made the noise, when she noticed a box half opened. "What's that doing here," she asked herself.

Ripping it open, she wasn't surprised to find crumpled up newspapers, but she was surprised by what was on the bottom. Scooping the items in her arms, she made her way into her bedroom and closed the door. Sitting down on the floor by the radiator, she examined the contents. There was an ornate pendant showing a lion fighting a unicorn, with the words, "Offspring of the Star, Melantha of Stormness." Holding it up to the light, Coraline could make out the exquisite detailing in the miniature. Carefully placing it on the bed, she looked at the two remaining items. One was a stack of letters, some going back decades. They were all addressed to her mother from somebody called 'Yvaine' and her mother's name was spelled Melantha, not Melanie. Coraline frowned, she had always been told her grandmother's name was Yvonne and her mother's name was not Melantha.

Ignoring the gift box, Coraline flopped down on the bed. So far, she had just had a strange dream that seemed way too realistic not to be a dream. Secondly, the letters and necklace mentioned Melantha, Yvaine and Stormness. Third, Cat sounded exactly the same as he had when she had been under the spell of the Other Mother. So, why was her mother so hesitant to speak about the matter, and who was the skeleton? Something familiar was gnawing at her subconscious, what was going on?

Realizing that the gift box remained unopened, she gingerly opened it and squealed, "What a cool hat!" Sure enough, it was a hat, and not an ordinary one. It appeared to have been made form an entire bat. Trying it on, Coraline was thrilled that it was a perfect hat. Of course, Mom called up to her that it was time to eat. Hastily placing them in her backpack, Coraline hurried off to eat.

The next day, Coraline's parents had business all day, so she and Wybie were at the bus stop early. Wybie asked excitedly, "So Jonesy, did you learn anything interesting about your folks? Grandma didn't give anything up."

Grinning, Coraline put on the hat and showed Wybie the letters and pendant. "It's weird, Wybie. Before I found these, I was up in the attic digging around and I fell asleep. In my dream, I was really little, like maybe a year old and my mom was taking me to this creepy town that belonged in a Tim Burton movie. Even weirder was that Cat was in it, he sounded exactly the same when I was fighting the Other Mother, and he called her Melantha."

Just then, the bus pulled up and as they got on, Coraline filled him in with what she has put together so far. Wybie had to agree with her, Coraline's mom knew more than she was letting on, and as Coraline had never lied to him about anything before he wondered if her dream wasn't a half-forgotten memory.

Walking into school, Coraline's hat got tons of compliments and when they sat down in the classroom, a loud, gravelly voice addressed them, "Mister Lovatt, Miss Jones, why may I ask are you discussing the Lillim on such a fine day? Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, I am Doctor Finklestein, your new English teacher."

Coraline and Wybie jumped back in surprise, how did he know about the Beldam? Furthermore, he was hunchbacked, in a wheelchair and thick goggles covered his beady eyes. It's a disguise, but why, Wybie thought as Coraline stared at him. He seemed familiar too, what sort of conspiracy had she and Wybie gotten themselves into now?