ParaNorman - Ghostly Universes - Chapter 3

“This is bad… This can’t be happening…”
Ombre paced back and forth, biting his lip nervously, Demar and Courtney watching him with unimpressed expressions from the couch. Sheera was pacing as well, though Neil seemed to be handling the situation a little better. His panic and worry was clear as day on his face, but he had simply gone into a shocked silence, sitting next to Courtney and staring at the floor as he took in their newfound information the best he could. “You think it’s bad? Try living through it for three hundred years.” Demar groaned in response to Ombre’s rambling, his head lifting up slightly from where it had been resting on his clawed hand. “I can’t believe this… I-it’s just… Not like the Norman we know!!” Sheera exclaimed, rubbing the bridge of her nose in an attempt to calm the oncoming headache she was getting. “It’s not like the Norman we knew either. But I guess we were all wrong.” Courtney stated, crossing her arms and sliding down slightly. Though she seemed as if she were trying to seem mad at her brother for what he had done to the town, her sad eyes told a different story on the matter. “I don’t get it though… Why doesn’t anyone try to stop him?” Neil suddenly asked. “Oh, trust me, we’ve been trying…” Demar assured, looking over at the boy as his arms dropped down, resting limply on his legs. “In fact, Coraline just went back to his castle to see if she can snap him out of it, or at least get a bit of info on whether or not he’s planning something for the town…” he explained. “C-Coraline?! Coraline’s here?!” Neil exclaimed. Ombre and Sheera stopped their pacing, looking over at the others with raised eyebrows. They had never actually met Coraline themselves; though they had heard plenty about her from Norman. “Yeah, Norm pretty much kidnapped her and brought her to Blithe Hollow before he performed the spell so that he could trap her here.” Courtney stated, straightening up again. “I guess he figured that she’d eventually give in and ‘rule with him’ or something…” “Classic villainy…” Sheera moaned in annoyance, now rubbing her temples instead. This was way too much to take in. Demar as a good guy? Norman as an evil mastermind? Even Courtney was different here. Apparently, after Norman turned… Well, bad… The thought of how many ghosts were roaming around the town actually started to bug her. It wasn’t like Norman hadn’t gotten any blood on his hands over the past 300 years; oh no, the ghost population practically surpassed that of the living by a landslide. As a conclusion, Courtney had decided to try and help them out, if she could. It took a long, long time, but eventually she found a way to communicate with them, with Demar’s help. She helped them pass on through having ‘sessions’ with them, though she couldn’t see them very well most of the time, and getting used to the side effects of each session was kinda hard. More often then not, it was just the room temperature changing, though sometimes there were others things as well. It was more often then not different for every ghost. The main downside about it was how tiring it was…
“I’m surprised Coraline isn’t back yet, actually… Unless she got ‘captured’ again…” Demar stated, using air quotations for a short moment before going back to his previous positioning. “Again?” Neil repeated, worry coating his voice. “Yeah, it happens all the time. She usually breaks out pretty quick, though. Once she does, she comes back here and tells us what’s going on. There isn’t usually anything new, though.” Demar explained, Courtney nodding in agreement. “I thought she’d be back by now… Unless she went back right after she got out…” she mumbled to herself, deep in thought. It wouldn’t surprise her, really. Worry her? Of course. But not surprise her. Coraline had said before that she’d do it, after all. All Courtney could assume was that she had finally actually done it. “Or, maybe she just decided not to inform us on anything. It’s not like Norm’s been up to anything lately, anyways…” Demar interrupted her thoughts, bringing her attention back to the group. She nodded again, and then there was silence for a long moment. After what seemed like forever, Demar perked up again. “So… Do you guys need someplace to stay while you’re here?” he asked. Ombre and Sheera thought for a moment before giving a slight flinch. Staying in the same residence as Demar once more seemed… Unsettling to them, to say the least. Even if this Demar seemed like he was here to help rather than to taunt. “Well… Do you think there’s any way for us to get back to our universe, actually…? I mean, it’s kind of you and everything, and we’d like to help, but…” Ombre trailed off, trying to think. He wasn’t comfortable with staying away from their own universe for too long. He felt like something terrible could happen while they were gone, if they stayed for too long. “It’d probably be best if we get back as soon as we can. Knowing our Norman, he’s probably already got himself into trouble without us around…” Sheera finished for him, giving a small chuckle afterwards. Courtney gave a look of worry. “The only way to get you back would be with a spell for, like, a portal or something… But Norman’s the only one who has the books for those spells.” she explained sadly. Ombre, Sheera and Neil all groaned. After a moment, Ombre’s expression went from worried to determined. “You know what? Screw it.” he stated firmly. “I think it’s about time we taught your Norman a thing or two.” Sheera blinked in slight shock for a moment before smirking, then looking over at Courtney and Demar. “Yeah. Since we’re here, we might as well help you stand up to the kid.” she agreed. Neil gave a toothy smile as he straightened up in his seat. “Maybe we could get him back to how he used to be!!” he exclaimed excitedly. Courtney seemed to straighten up a bit as well, a hint of hope in her eyes. “You think so?” “Well, we’ll never get to find out if we never try!” the boy replied cheerily. Demar gave a small smile as well, turning back to Ombre and Sheera. “You sure you’re ok with this?” he wondered. He didn’t want to be forcing them into something like this, after all. Both of them nodded. “Well, yeah! Besides, once we get Norm to come to his senses, we can use that portal spell of his that Courtney mentioned to get back home.” Sheera decided. Demar nodded. “Of course, of course…” he glanced over at the window, giving a small sigh. “Though maybe we should start on that tomorrow, instead… It’s getting late.” he stated, noting that stars were beginning to show themselves in the dark sky. Neil nodded in agreement, a small yawn escaping him. Courtney chuckled, letting out a yawn herself as well. “Right… Well, we should get a room ready for you guys, then…” she smiled as she got up, stretching. “Ombre and Sheera, you guys can go in my parents’ old bedroom, if you don’t mind sharing a bed…” she suggested, chuckling when the pair’s cheeks turned a bright shade of red. “U-uh… S-sure, if that’s ok with you…?” Ombre smiled sheepishly, looking over at Sheera with a slight shrug. She held the same expression, a shy smile tugging at her lips. “I-I don’t mind…” she assured, glancing down at the floor. Courtney rolled her eyes with a smile. “Neil, you can take my room if you’d like. I’ll be up late working anyways.” Demar suggested. Neil nodded in thanks. “Oh, and if you guys don’t mind waiting a minute or two, I could whip up some pyjamas for each of you…? Might be more comfortable than sleeping in your current attire…” Demar added as he got up from his seat. “Oh, um… Sure. Thanks.” Ombre blinked. He wasn’t sure if he could get used to getting any type of kind gesture from Demar… “No problem.” the Demonwirk assured, using his magic to lift up some of the cloth materials from his work space as he headed over. “I still can’t believe that’s what you do as a job!” Sheera snorted in laughter. Demar rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well at least I actually have a job, unlike some people…” he defended, a small smirk on his face. “Whatever… Just call whenever you’re done with your knitting!” Sheera sang teasingly as Courtney led her, Ombre and Neil up the stairs, the blonde snickering to herself as well. Sheera could’ve sworn she caught a hint of blush on Demar’s cheeks when he heard the other girl laugh. He quickly shook his head and turned to his work. “Y-yeah, yeah, whatever…” he spat out quickly as he began working.

Coraline broke out of her cell once she was positive that everyone would be asleep. Prying the door open was child’s play at this point for her; though being quiet about it was still a bit of a challenge. She managed the best she could, flinching each time the door seemed to creak. She shut it quickly and ran upstairs on quiet feet, slowing down was she was up. Per the norm, she began to look in every room that she could find, stealing a bit of food from the kitchen when she could feel her stomach begin to growl at her. She hesitated upon passing Norman’s room, stopping and giving a small sigh as she turned back to it. She hesitated again, then opened the door and peeked inside. It wasn’t much different than what his room was like before; the walls were still crammed with zombie posters, and his collectibles were scattered around the place; mainly on shelves, though some had fallen down in the past. His dresser came with a mirror now, though other than that, it was a near replica. Norman himself was curled up in bed, hugging a familiar green teddy bear close to his chest as he slept. His cape was hung at the end of his bed, but his amulet remained strapped around his neck. Coraline sighed. “Typical…” she mumbled quietly to herself. She wasn’t sure why she had even dared to hope that he had taken it off before going to bed.
She was tempted to just turn and leave, incase the boy woke up and caught her snooping about. But she thought better of it, groaning slightly as her curiosity got the best of her and she began to look around as quietly as she possibly could. She searched drawers and shelves, moved around various objects, searched everywhere as fast as she could in hopes of finding something informative. Something that would tell her if he was planning something… Upon pushing a few figurines to the side, she double took, noting a small paper. She carefully tugged it out of its place, examining it curiously. It seemed to be plans for something, with small notes etched on in both English and Latin, accompanied with designs and sketches of various sizes. Her eyes squinted in the dimly lit room in an attempt to see the page clearer. “… He’s looking for something…” she mumbled to herself, eyes widening slightly upon getting a clear image of what it was. “… His amulet…? Why would he be-!!”
She flinched when he heard him stir, whipping around in panic. She quickly stuffed the paper into her pocket, though as she did she realized that he wasn’t actually waking up. She groaned. Give me a freaking heart attack, will you… she thought in annoyance. She went to leave, though before she did, she hesitated again and glanced back at him when she heard him moan, his expression twisting into one of pain. Coraline bit her lip, giving a silent sigh as she came over and kneeled down, giving him a small kiss on the cheek. His expression calmed. Coraline gave a small, sad smile, shaking her head a little. With that she stood up and left, shutting the door quietly behind her.

Norman bit his lip in worry, pacing back and forth with his cell phone to his ear. “… Come on, Neil… Pick up…!” he begged quietly. He wasn’t answering any of his texts, and so far, he hadn’t been picking up his cell either. Norman had been searching all day for the boy since the second he managed to get away from Courtney and her darned designing. Neil was nowhere to be found, and it was beginning to scare him. He sighed in disappointment when an answer never came from the other line. He lowered his cell phone and shut it off, tossing it onto his bedside table and flopping down onto his bed in worry. This wasn’t like Neil. It wasn’t like him at all. He didn’t just disappear out of nowhere. If he went anywhere, he’d always tell someone beforehand. He even sent Norman a text before he headed out so that the medium would know that he wasn’t home. But Norman hadn’t seen his chubby friend ever since noon that day.
Norman looked up in worry when Courtney entered the room, phone to her ear. She lowered it, covering it with her hand so whoever she was talking to wouldn’t hear them. “Norman, Mitch is wondering if you’ve seen Neil anywhere…” she stated, worry in her tone as well. Norman shook his head, and the teen gave a sad sigh, returning the phone to its previous positioning next to her ear. “We haven’t seen him. We’ll let you know if we find anything out, though…” she assured. She said her goodbye’s and hung up, coming over to Norman afterwards and sitting next to him on his bed. “Hey… You alright…?” she asked. Norman sighed. “I-I dunno… I’m worried, I’m… Confused…” he explained, rolling onto his side and looking up at his sister. “It’s not like him.” he finished. Courtney sighed. “I know.” she stated sympathetically. Norman gave a long sigh, shutting his eyes. “… Hey. I’m sure he’s fine.” Courtney smiled. “… I know, I know… But still.” Norman replied quietly. After a moment he sat up, staring down at the floor. “… Maybe I’ll go ask Ombre and Sheera tomorrow if they saw him… I mean, he might’ve gone to see them, like I asked, but… That doesn’t explain why he wouldn’t be back by now…” he trailed off. There was a moment of silence before Courtney sighed again. “Well, try to get some sleep for now… We can look around for Neil again in the morning.” she assured as she got up, giving Norman a small kiss on the forehead for reassurance. “… ’Night.” he called to her quietly as she turned off the light. “’Night.” she replied, shutting the door and heading down the hall. Norman waited a moment before getting under the covers and shutting his eyes, giving a quiet sigh as he did. “Neil, where did you go…?”