ParaNormaline - Chapter 9

- CHAPTER 9 - Unraveling Truths -

--Norman's POV--

Norman's feet were starting to ache more and more with each step he took. He hadn't even bothered to rest after Coraline had attacked him, since he was so determined to find her again. Psycho Norman had appeared once again shortly after, though he didn't have to walk much at all. "Will you just sit down for a minute or something? Jeez, you're gonna kill us both from exhaustion…" he groaned, crossing his arms. "I'm not stopping. There's something wrong with Coraline, and I have to help her." Norman explained. "Help her? Seriously? She attacked us!" Psycho Norman argued. "She wants us dead!" "That wasn't her… She wouldn't do that." Norman said stubbornly, though he was more or less just trying to convince himself that what he was saying was true. "… You're lucky she didn't rip your freaking neck out…" Psycho Norman grumbled. "Will you just shut up already?!" Norman snapped, whipping around to face him. Psycho Norman blinked in shock, then smirked. "Someone's getting grumpy!" he sang. "I AM NOT!" Norman yelled in defence. "You hear that? That's your mind snapping from you being too tired." Psycho Norman joked. "Actually, I believe that would be your mind snapping." Norman replied. After a moment he froze, realizing what he just said. "Congratulations! You actually agreed with me for once!" Psycho Norman started clapping. Norman yelled out in annoyance and turned around, storming away. Psycho Norman laughed as he started to follow. "Admit it! You're exhausted, and now you're cranky because of it!" he laughed. Norman just glared back at him and stayed silent.
"I'd listen to him, if I were you." He heard someone say. He turned back to Psycho Norman, raising an eyebrow. "Was that you?" he asked. "Did it sound like that was me?" Psycho Norman asked, unimpressed. "Well, it's good to know that the only one who actually wants to help her talks to himself so often." The voice exclaimed sarcastically. "H-hey! Show yourself!" Norman demanded. After a moment the black cat came out of the shadows, its tail up high. "You?" Norman raised an eyebrow. "Yes, me." The Cat replied, though he didn't sound very impressed. "Please tell me that the cat's talking to you too." Psycho Norman whined. "Yes, for once you aren't hallucinating." The Cat answered before Norman had a chance. "Woah, woah, woah, wait a minute! You can see him too?!" Norman exclaimed, raising an eyebrow. "There are a lot of things in this world that you can't quite explain." The Cat told him. "The inhabitants have button eyes… The Beldam forms the world in whatever way she pleases… And I can see the side of you that you try so hard to lock away…" he smirked, as if he were amused by how Norman tried to ignore his psycho counterpart. Norman narrowed his eyes at the Cat, clearly ticked. "Look, I need to find Coraline, alright? So I have to go, now." He explained, walking around the Cat. He froze when the Cat suddenly jumped out in front of him again. "What the-?!" he looked back at where the Cat was in confusion, Psycho Norman shrugging as he mouthed 'I don't know' to him. "Finding her in this state would be pointless." The Cat stated. "What do you mean 'this state'?" Norman asked wearily. "Like the other half of you said earlier… You're exhausted. You may not admit it, but you are all the same." The Cat explained. "Yeah, thanks for your concern, but last time an animal told me to sleep, I lost my memory and was nearly eaten." Norman explained and crossed his arms. "Might I remind you that I helped Coraline save you from her." The Cat told him. "Besides… You wouldn't taste good anyways. Too much hair." He laughed. "Oh ha, ha, very funny." Norman groaned in annoyance as he rolled his eyes. "Look, if you're trying to help, then tell me how I can save Coraline." He explained. He and the Cat just stared at each other for a minute in silence. "Sleep." The Cat finally said simply. Norman yelled in anger and started walking forward. "You know what? Nevermind! I'm going to go save Coraline, and you can't stop me!" he snapped. "I'm not stopping you." The Cat lied down, watching him freeze on the spot. "Last time I checked, sleeping is stopping." Norman spat. "Is it?" the Cat asked. Norman was about to reply, then stopped himself. He was wasting time. He had to keep going. So he just kept walking, ignoring the Cat. "Sometimes things aren't what they seem to be. Stopping is no acceptation." The Cat explained, its tail flicking back and forth. "Listen to the cat. It's a talking cat! How can it be wrong?" Psycho Norman exclaimed. "YOU SAID THAT ABOUT THE 'TALKING' BUSHES!" Norman yelled back at him. The Cat gave Psycho Norman a 'Seriously' look, but he just shrugged in response. "I'm crazy. My logic is different then others." He said simply before fading away. The Cat looked back at Norman, shaking his head.

"CORALINE!" Norman called out as loud as he could. He was running through the forest now, ignoring the fact that his legs were actually shaking and that he could barely stand. He stumbled backwards, trying to keep his balance. "Jeez, don't fall over…" he groaned as he continued forward. The Cat's words were echoing in his head, but he just ignored them and eventually even blocked them out as he continued to call out Coraline's name. "Coraline, please answer me!" he yelled. "Even if you're gonna attack me… I just wanna know that you're here!" he explained. He waited a moment before continuing forward. "I just wanna know that you're safe…" he added.
He took another few steps forward before his legs gave way and he fell to the ground. "… A-alright… Maybe just a little… A little rest…" he decided, finally giving in and closing his eyes so he could sleep. It didn't take long for his eyes to open once again. "Wow. You're kidding, right?" he exclaimed, getting up and brushing himself off. After a few seconds he froze, realizing something. He was transparent. "What in the…" he examined himself, groaning. "Please tell me I didn't just die…" he begged. He turned around and looked down to see that his body was in fact still lying on the ground, his eyes still closed. "I did! I'm dead!" he groaned. "You have got to freaking kidding me!" "Take a closer look" he heard the Cat's unmistakable voice. He looked back to see the Cat pad over to Norman's body. "Why?" Norman asked. "Sometimes things aren't what they seem to be. Remember?" the Cat stated. Norman rolled his eyes and took a closer look. His body was still breathing. After a moment Norman clicked in. "… I'm sleeping?" he guessed in slight awe. The Cat nodded, seemingly pleased. "This place is full of many wonders. Some are quite helpful, whereas others can be the complete opposite." He explained. "Please tell me that this one is helpful…" Norman sighed. "It can go either way." The Cat answered. Norman bit his lip nervously, unsure of what to think of that answer. After a moment the Cat started padding away. Norman just watched him leave, raising an eyebrow when he stopped and turned to face him again. "Are you coming?" The Cat asked. "… So, you want me to follow you, huh?" Norman asked. The Cat nodded, waiting patiently. Norman hesitated, then started to follow. "How long is this gonna take?" he asked. "Long enough." The Cat answered simply.

They were walking for a fair amount of time before Norman started getting impatient. "Alright, where are you even taking me?" he finally asked. The Cat stopped and sat down, staying silent. "… Hello? Are you listening to me?" Norman asked in annoyance. The Cat glanced back at him, then got up and walked forward, going behind one of the trees. "Seriously?!" Norman groaned. He went forward and peeked around the tree, gasping when he saw that the Cat wasn't there. "What…?" he turned around, looking for the Cat. "Where'd you go?" he murmured. After a moment he heard a whistle from above him and he backed up to get a good look at where it came from. He saw the Cat sitting on the top branch, staring down at him and flicking his tail. "… What're you doing up there…?" Norman wondered aloud. The Cat stayed silent, still staring. Norman waited a moment, then sighed. "I'm sorry if I upset you." He apologized. The Cat's ear flicked at the word 'Sorry', and he tilted his head a little. Norman just stood there, waiting for some kind of answer. Anything would work for him, really.
After a moment the Cat turned away with his tail high, making Norman groan once again. "Seriously?! What did I do to you?!" he snapped. The Cat looked back at him, then turned to face him again, tapping the tree trunk with his tail. Norman raised an eyebrow, watching the Cat jump down to the next branch, entering a knothole in the tree. Norman shook his head in annoyance, turning around. He jumped back when he saw that the Cat was right in front of him now. "D-didn't you just-?!" he looked back at the tree in confusion, then looked back at the Cat, his eyes wide. The Cat just took a few steps forward, making Norman back up a little. The Cat just stared at him for a second, then suddenly pushed Norman back fiercely. "HEY!" Norman yelped as he fell backwards into the tree. No… Through the tree.
He landed hard on a dirt path, rubbing his head. "Ah, jeez… That hurt…" he groaned, getting up. He shook his head to regain focus, looking around. "… Where am I?" he wondered. He took a few steps forward, turning his attention to the large garden just down the path. He quickly picked up the pace, soon realizing that the bridge in the middle of the garden was broken, as if something had fallen through it. "Guess someone wasn't very careful…" he mumbled, walking around it on the stone path instead. He looked up at the large, bright pink house that was not far away. There was an odd glow to it that he didn't like very much, and after a moment of thinking he realized something. "This must be the Pink Palace…" he decided. He took a moment to examine it, noticing that there seemed to be three different apartments. The one in the basement had a bright sign above the door with different coloured lights around the doorframe, making it seem as if there was some kind of famous show being performed inside. The apartment in the attic had a big flagpole, but there wasn't a flag attached to it. There was a black coat, with gloves and shoes. Norman raised an eyebrow curiously, though he wasn't sure that he wanted to know what it was doing attached to a flagpole. He went up to the door of the main apartment, expecting it to be locked. To his surprise, it opened easily. He cautiously entered the house, looking around. "Maybe Coraline's here…" he murmured.
After a moment an ominous glow caught his eye and he looked over at the source, which seemed to be the living room. The door was opened a crack, and he could hear voices coming from inside. One sounded incredibly familiar, while the other he didn't recognize at all. He took a peek inside, gasping at what he saw. A tall woman with short black hair, pale skin and shiny button eyes was inside, and Norman immediately guessed that she was the Other Mother that Coraline had told him about. After a moment he saw the second person and gasped in shock. "Aggie?!" he exclaimed silently. To his relief, they didn't hear him and just continued on with their conversation. "If we're lucky then not only will I finally get my little doll back, but you'll have your precious revenge, too…" the Other Mother hissed. "Exactly! Maybe if we play our cards right then I can even get him to help me…" Agatha smiled evilly. Norman gulped nervously, deciding that the likeliness of her meaning him was incredibly high. "After all, that shadow of yours did wonders on Coraline!" Agatha finished. Norman couldn't hold back a gasp. Now he fully understood why Coraline was acting the way she was. It was not only the Other Mother's fault, but Agatha's as well. "So much for 'Sleep tight'…" he groaned. He thought that Agatha was done with revenge already. Why wasn't she resting in peace? He just didn't get it. "Perhaps we should wait awhile beforehand." the Other Mother suggested. "After all, I want to see his mind break…" "I think I know how you're gonna manage that one." Agatha stated, smirking. They both laughed evilly for a moment, and Norman was tempted to run in there and demand that they turned Coraline back to normal. But he knew that would be incredibly stupid, so instead he backed up a few steps and turned to the door. "I can snap her out of it myself." He told himself silently. He took a few steps forward, then suddenly froze, unable to move. "What the…" he looked down at himself as he started to fade away, and he started to panic. After a few seconds his eyes closed and he fell down, but to his surprise he didn't feel himself hit the floor.

Norman waited a few seconds before opening his eyes and getting up. He was in his own body now, back where he had fallen asleep. He examined himself for a moment, then sighed as he remembered what had happened beforehand. "I was asleep… Right…" he mumbled. He heard something behind him and turned around to see the Cat coming up to him. "You could've told me what you were doing you know." Norman stated. "And miss the look on your face? Now what fun would that be?" The Cat laughed. Norman smiled and rolled his eyes, but his smile faded as he thought of something. "… Do you know where she is?" he asked. The Cat didn't answer him. He just stared at him, flicking his tail. "… You want me to find her on my own, don't you…" Norman guessed. The Cat waited a moment, then nodded. Norman sighed, turning around. "Alright… I guess I should go as soon as possible then." He decided. He started heading forward, glancing back at the Cat to see if he would follow or not. Instead he just sat there and watched him walk away, still flicking his tail back and forth. "Don't blind yourself…" he warned.