ParaNorman - More Than Double Trouble - Chapter 2

“You’re gonna do what?”
Wolf smiled at Courtney’s question, even though everyone else in the room seemed stricken by his idea as they stared at him, blinking with eyes that were slightly wider than they had been just a moment ago. “Go find the pack so they can help! I mean, this obviously isn’t your average sickness, and Lumarelle has spoken to spirits before! She might know something about medium illnesses!” Wolf explained again. “Uh, yeah… And how, exactly, are you gonna find this little ‘pack’ of yours?” Psycho asked, obviously unimpressed by the plan. “The gathering! It’s every night, and since I know where it is, then it shouldn’t take too long…” Wolf answered. “And how’re you gonna explain the situation to them? They’ll never believe you.” Psycho continued. Wolf rolled his eyes a little. “They’re werewolves, Psycho. And incase you forgot, this is kinda Blithe Hollow. You know, the town that has had plenty of mystical crap happen to it, even when it was first discovered? I’m thinking this wouldn’t be the weirdest thing they’ve ever heard, or seen.” he stated. “Wolf has a point, Psycho. I’m sure it’ll be fine.” Greedbug agreed, looking over at Courtney and Norman. “What if someone else finds you, though?” Courtney wondered in worry. “Um… I’m not sure about that one.” Wolf admitted sheepishly. “And if we need to contact you somehow?” she added. Greedbug thought for a moment before snapping his fingers with a bright smile on his face. “I think I can handle that one!” he exclaimed before rushing over to the door. “I’ll be right back!!” he called back to them, leaving the room before anyone could actually stop him. As he had promised, Greedbug was back within a few instants, now carrying a crapload of electronic devices. He set it all down, bolted again, then came back with more, this time with Perry’s tool kit as well.
“What are you doing…?” Psycho groaned out, crossing his arms and giving him an unimpressed glare as Greedbug began to tinker with the devices, haphazardly tossing various parts of the electronics to the side after taking them apart and keeping what he needed next to him. Once he had everything he needed, he began tinkering more, and after awhile, he had made to identical devices. They were circular, somewhat-flat, and looked bright with the new silver metal covering them, darker grey lines going around them. There was a glowing circle on the top of them, the glow emitting from it having a blue shade. “Here we are!” Greedbug smiled, coming over to the others after kicking aside the parts that he didn’t use. “Great!” Wolf exclaimed excitedly, his tail wagging for a short moment before he slumped down again, raising an eyebrow as the wagging came to a stop. “… What are they?” he wondered in confusion. “Yeah… And how in heck’s name did you manage to make those things?” Courtney added. “I guess greedbugs are just naturals at tinkering.” Greedbug shrugged before clicking the small button that was indented in each the devices, causing a bright hologram to come up above the two of them. The others gasped, blinking in shock. “And they’re communicators. For incase we need to contact each other.” Greedbug explained with a smile as he passed one of his devices to Courtney. “Wow… Smart.” she remarked, an impressed look on her face. “Thank you. Now then… When should we head out, Wolf?” he wondered, turning to the furry version of Norman as he placed his own communicator in his pocket. “Well… Now would probably be best. It’s getting late anyhow, and we shouldn’t wait too long, just incase…” Wolf explained. “Alright. C’mon, Psycho…” Greedbug and Wolf headed for the door, both of them stopping and turning to Psycho when they heard him speak up. “Woah, woah, woah! Why am I going?!” Psycho argued. “Because. We actually know how to handle you and make sure you don’t kill anyone.” Greedbug explained in annoyance, marching over and taking Psycho’s hand, dragging him over to the door afterwards.
“Augh… Fine! But only if I can bring my knife!”
“You aren’t allowed to use it…”
“It’s just a reassurance thing, okay?!”
“Fine then. Bring your knife. But if we catch you trying anything, then it’s gonna get snapped in half. Understood?”
“Yes.” Psycho squirmed away from Greedbug’s hold and fetched his knife from where Wolf had kicked it away, then shoved it into his pocket and marched back over to the pair in annoyance. “We’ll get back as soon as we can. You take care of Norm, alright Courtney?” Greedbug smiled. Courtney nodded, smiling back. “Hurry back, alright?” “Of course!” Greedbug shut the door behind them, Wolf leading the way as they snuck down the stairs and out the door.

“Alright… Which way do we go, then?” Psycho wondered, sounding not at all enthusiastic as he did. Wolf rolled his eyes, smiling a little. “Well, it’d be quicker to go down the street, then cross to the forest, ‘cause then we can just head straight for a bit instead of going through so many zigzags and risking getting lost…” he explained, leading them down the sidewalk. “We’ll just have to stick close to the shadows. Not like anyone will be out walking anyways at this hour, but just to be safe.” “Right… Fun.” This time, Psycho was the one to roll his eyes.
Wolf was right about barely anyone being outside at this time at night. The only people outside were zooming by in their cars, which seemed to make Psycho a little disappointed (Greedbug knew he brought his knife for a bigger reason then he had said…), but Greedbug tried to ignore his whining and Wolf was too busy making sure they didn’t pass their stop to say anything to him. After awhile, Wolf finally stopped, his smile returning to him. “Ok, guys, we cross here!” he announced to the pair. Psycho raised an eyebrow, then headed forward. “Alright, let’s go-” “PSYCHO!!” Both Greedbug and Wolf screamed out in panic as they grabbed Psycho and yanked him backwards, all three of them now with wide eyes as they watched the cars rapidly rushing by them. After a little bit Greedbug finally released his breath, glaring at Psycho. “I’d ask if you were out of your mind, but I already know the answer to that one….” he groaned at him. Psycho sighed, pulling his arms free from the pairs grip so he could cross them again. “Well, it’s not my fault that hallucinations come at bad times… And a lot of the time when I’m crossing the street…” he stated upon realization that this was actually where it happened last time, too. Talk about déjà vu. “Well, anyways, it doesn’t look like these cars are gonna let up anytime soon… We’ll have to go over them instead.” Greedbug explained. “Yeah? And how do we do that, smart guy? Not all of us have wings.” Psycho growled out. Greedbug smirked, and in a flash he snatched up Psycho – hearing a satisfying yelp of surprise from him – and shot up over the cars, then flung him over to the other side of the street, having him land with a yelp just in front of the forest. Greedbug put his hands over his mouth to hold back laughter as Psycho got up and dusted himself off, glaring at him. After a moment Greedbug looked down at Wolf, still smiling. “You want a lift too, or…?” “Nah, I can handle it.” Wolf assured. Greedbug raised an eyebrow at him, but before he could ask Wolf backed up on all fours, then charged forward and leapt up onto the cars, racing across them even as they zoomed by. He launched himself off the last one and skidded to a stop just in front of Psycho, then got on two feet again, dusting himself off with his tail. Greedbug chuckled and came over to them, lowering himself closer to their level but still keeping himself hovering above the ground. “Alright, lead the way, Wolf.” he smiled. Wolf nodded, and he headed forward again. Psycho stayed put for a moment as Greedbug followed, but eventually he followed as well, grumbling under his breath.
He caught up quickly, seeing as heading straight forward doesn’t take very long, especially when there aren’t really any bushes or twigs in your way. “So, you do know that a little warning would’ve been nice, right?” he wondered when he got next to Greedbug. He chuckled, looking down at Psycho with his arms crossed as well. “Well, you deserved it.” he countered. Psycho would’ve argued with him about it, but something told him that this was a losing battle. Also, Wolf had kinda just suddenly stopped moving, and that probably wasn’t good. “Uh… Wolf? You alright?” he wondered, walking up next to him. Wolf blinked, tilting his head a little as he looked his way. “Huh? Of course, it’s just… We’re almost there, and… I may not be allowed to show you guys the rest of the way, so… You guys… May have to wait here…? Eh heh…” Wolf explained with a nervous smile. “What?! Then why did we even bother coming?!” Psycho shouted in anger. Greedbug rolled his eyes at him. “Psycho, cool it. We might be needed later to prove that Wolf’s telling them the truth, incase they don’t believe him. We didn’t come for no reason.” he explained, finally landing himself on the ground. He looked over at Wolf and nodded with a small smile. “You go ahead, Wolf. We’ll be waiting right here.” he assured. Wolf nodded back gratefully before rushing off, and Greedbug decided to block out Psycho as he started grumbling again.

Wolf skidded to a stop at the hideout’s entrance, hesitating slightly as he took a nervous breath. He was scared of how they’d all react, to be honest… What would happen if they didn’t know what to do? What if they didn’t believe him and kicked him out? What if he had to pass some kind of test to prove that it was him?! He shook his head, groaning. “Ok, now I know I’m overreacting…” he mumbled to himself. He took another deep breath, then hastily crawled in before he could try and change his mind. Once he was in he got up, looking around nervously and holding his tail, so no one would step on it. After a moment his nervousness disappeared, memories flowing to him as he sighed, a soft smile on his face. He quickly shook his head, rushing forward and watching his step as he went. He had to find Lumarelle; he didn’t have time to stand there and fantasize. He stumbled through the crowd as carefully as he could, so as not to run into people or step on their tails, therefore hopefully avoiding drawing any attention to himself. It was working well, until someone noticed him.
“Wait a minute… Norman?” Wolf’s ear twitched upon hearing a familiar voice say his former name and he bit his lip, turning to face them with a nervous smile. “Um… Yes?” he wondered. He gasped upon seeing Ramuun, who gasped as well. “Norman!!” the wolf exclaimed, a bright smile on his face. “I knew I recognized that shock of hair… What’re you doing here, I thought the spirits-” “Well, they did! But… I-it’s complicated, and I don’t really have much time to explain everything…” Wolf admitted sheepishly. “B-but, I do actually need to find Lumarelle… Is she around right now, or…?” “Lumarelle? Oh, of course! Follow me.” Ramuun smiled as he led Wolf forward. They found Lumarelle speaking with a few of the guards in the back room, not too far behind the pedestal that she used during meetings, the room having a soft red curtain as a ‘doorway’. Lumarelle looked up at them upon hearing their entrance, blinking in slight shock. “Oh, my… We’ll have to re-schedule this meeting, sirs. I must speak with these two.” she told the guards. They all nodded, then left the room as Lumarelle got up and turned to Wolf and Ramuun.
“Norman Babcock… I did not think I’d be seeing you around here again any time soon… And you’re back in your wolf form?” she wondered in shock. After a moment she scoffed to herself, shaking her head. “Oh, where are my matters… Come in, take a seat…” she offered, gesturing her paw to two soft, cushion-like pieces of moss just across from her own. Both werewolves nodded respectively and took their seats across from her, and Lumarelle continued. “Now, then… What are you doing here?” she wondered politely. “Norman told me he was looking for you, Lumarelle…” Ramuun explained. Lumarelle tilted her head slightly, looking over at Norman. “Is it about how you’re a werewolf once more?” she asked curiously. “No, not really… Well… I guess you could say it kinda is…?” Wolf tried to start off, but it didn’t end too well. He sighed, shaking his head a little. How do I explain this… he wondered silently. “Ok, I… I need you to hear me out here, because it gets kinda confusing…” he began. Upon seeing both of them nod, he continued. “Alright, then… So, after I was ‘cured’, a ton of other stuff happened to Blithe Hollow, as you guys probably know… But I’m gonna focus on two things. There was some crazy psycho-disease thing, and then a long time after that, these things called greedbugs attacked the town. I- er… Norman was involved in both of these things. He ended up becoming a psychopath – which he got cured from, don’t worry… And he was turned into a greedbug, which he was also cured from, so you don’t have to worry about that, either. So… After he was cured from each thing… Including me… That certain ‘persona’ of him got trapped in his head… So in other words, I’m not technically the real Norman. I’m just his werewolf half.” he explained. “Interesting… So, why are you here, if you were trapped in his head?” Ramuun wondered. “That’s actually why I came to get you, Lumarelle. You see, Norman caught some kind of sickness… And it doesn’t seem natural. It caused me, his psycho half and his greedbug half to all be released from his head…! So, I was thinking… Do you maybe know what it could be, or how to get a cure for it?” Wolf asked in worry. Lumarelle thought for a moment, eyes on the ground. After a little bit, she turned her gaze up to Norman. “I think I know what is happening. And I know who can help you, but… She is far.” she explained darkly. “Would you be willing to go the lengths to find her…?” “Well… Yes. If it means helping Norman.” Wolf answered. Lumarelle gave a nod, then got up and headed out. “Ramuun, tell the others that there is an emergency meeting.” “Yes, Lumarelle.” Ramuun got up and ran off to do as he was told, and Wolf simply followed Lumarelle up onto the pedestal.
It didn’t take too long for everyone to gather, though a lot of them seemed confused as to why they were there. “Everyone, settle down!” Lumarelle shouted out, and though it took a moment, everyone went silent for her. “Thank you… Now then, I must inform you that our friend Norman is in danger. His wolf half has come to us for help, and help is exactly what we must do!” she exclaimed. There were a few shouts of agreement, and Lumarelle got them quiet once more with a simple nod. “Yes, now then… I will need volunteers to come with me to lead him on the right path to Oraga!” she explained. Instantly, people began to volunteer. “W-wait, who’s Oraga?” Wolf wondered. “She has the cure for Norman…” Lumarelle stated simply to him before turning back to the crowd. She surveyed them for a moment, nodding a few different times before straightening up again. “Nyla, come forward!” she announced. A wolf with dirty-blonde fur that had a few chocolate colored streaks throughout it, along with similar chocolate colored eyes, jumped forward excitedly, stopping and bowing respectively in front of the pedestal before turning to face the crowd again, standing tall. After that, Lumarelle called three more wolves up – a strong looking, brown furred wolf with green eyes that was named Hamish, then a female who was only half-wolf, had very, very light brown fur and a few blue streaks in her actual hair, which was pulled back into a pony tail and had a few stray bangs in front of one of her pink-looking eyes, who went by the name of Trixie. She looked about Courtney’s age, but slightly older. Finally, another full wolf was called up. He had black fur, a single streak of white being part of the mess of hair on his head, slightly covering his light blue eyes. His name was Drake, and judging from his voice, he was the same age as Trixie. “These four werewolves shall travel with me and…” “Wolf.” Wolf stated his name. He wanted to make sure they didn’t start calling him Norman. “Yes… These four werewolves shall travel with me and Wolf, along with his accomplices, so we may lead them on the correct path to Oraga.” Lumarelle finished her announcement and jumped down off of the pedestal, the crowd cheering for them as she turned to the four werewolves that she picked. “If there is anything you wish to do before we head off, do it now.” she advised before heading into the crowd in search of Ramuun. “Ramuun, you are in charge while I am gone.” she informed him once she found him. He nodded and thanked her, and with that, Lumarelle headed to the entrance to find Wolf and the other four waiting for her. “Alright… Let us head out.”