ParaNorman - Shadows Of The Mind - Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTE: PLEASE KNOW THAT THIS IS THE THIRD AND FINAL INSTALLMENT TO MY SERIES "Going With A Fight", SO IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE FIRST (Going With A Fight) OR SECOND (A Witch's Curse) PART(S), GO BACK AND READ THEM NOW!

Norman didn't get very far into the forest before hearing a familiar voice call out to him. "Norman, wait up!" Neil's voice rang out and Norman smiled, turning to face his friend. "Hey, Neil." He greeted. "Where're you going?" Neil asked curiously. "Oh, I'm heading over to Ombre and Sheera's so they can help me train for awhile." Norman answered simply before continuing on his way, Neil by his side. "Really? Cool! Could I come?" Neil asked eagerly. Norman thought about it for a moment. "… Alright. I'm sure they won't mind if you come along. I'll get to introduce you to them." He decided. "Awesome!" Neil cheered eagerly. "I can't wait! I haven't seen you use your powers since you stopped that ghost girl that took over your body!" he exclaimed, practically jumping from excitement. "Her name's Aggie." Norman told him. "Remember? I told you about her before." "Oh, yeah… Wait, wasn't she the so-called 'witch'?" Neil wondered. Norman nodded a little in response. "She's not a witch though. She's just a little girl that was mistreated." He explained. "I know, that's why I said 'so-called'." Neil smiled, proud to point it out. Norman rolled his eyes with a smile. He had a point, really. "Alright, alright, I'll give you that one." He decided.
They continued on for awhile, Neil constantly asking Norman to show him some cool tricks with his magic. Norman always refused, trying to explain that he didn't want to use it outside of training unless it was completely necessary. "Aw, but why not?" Neil whined. "Because one, it could be dangerous, and two, I've been having these weird dreams lately… Like the ones I got when the 300th anniversary of the curse came around." Norman explained. "Wait, you mean like… Omens?" "That's what I think they are, but I'm hoping that they're just-" Norman was cut off when he heard a familiar laugh behind them. His eyes widened and he froze, whipping around and gasping, his eyes gong even wider. "N-nightmares…" he finished, shrinking back. Neil raised an eyebrow, turning to see what his friend was so scared of. "Why, Norman! It's good to see you…" an evil voice hissed out, stepping out of the shadows. Norman quickly continued to back up, freezing up when he hit a tree and couldn't go any further. "D-Demar…" he stammered out. Demar laughed as he came closer, his hands beginning glow. "Oh, so you do remember me? How sweet…" his smirk was barely visible under his cloak, a completely red eye flashing evilly from underneath. "I… I thought you died along with Shrall!" Norman snapped out, slowly regaining courage. Neil had backed up next to him, unsure of what to do and not entirely sure who this person was or what he wanted.
When Demar suddenly shot a blast of magic at them Norman immediately pushed Neil out of the way, the blast hitting the tree instead of them. He quickly got up, glaring at Demar with a growl. This time when Demar shot a blast of magic at him, he countered it with his own green blast of magic. Sparks flew everywhere and the kids covered their heads quickly, Demar just smirking at them as he snapped his fingers. "Uh… Norman… What he doing…?" Neil asked in worry. Norman lifted his head up, raising an eyebrow. "I dunno, but it won't be good." He answered. "Indeed it won't." Demar hissed.
Suddenly pitch-black, clawed hands burst from the ground, making both Neil and Norman scream in shock. More started coming out and dragging the rest of their shadow-like bodies out as if they were zombies, revealing their dagger like teeth and glowing red eyes. They were small, sharp claws on their hands and their feet, and they were all completely draped in shadow. Norman gulped, looking around as they surrounded them. With a look of determination he began to shoot them away, but they quickly came back with more. "W-what do we do, what do we do?!" Neil asked frantically. "I don't- AH!" Norman yelped out as the creatures suddenly grabbed his legs and pulled him down to the ground. "NORMAN!" Neil shrieked, going to grab his friend's hand as he began to get pulled away. He clawed at the ground, looking up at Neil in panic. He tensed up when he felt a dark, shadowy vine tie itself around his body, forcing his arms to the side so he couldn't crawl out of its grasp. He looked back at Demar and the creatures, then back to Neil as he began to get tugged away faster. "Neil, go! Get help! Get- MMPH!" the vine went around his mouth, muffling his words. Neil gasped, backing up even more as Demar grabbed Norman's hood and lifted him off the ground, laughing evilly when Norman's eyes widened in panic. "You're mine now, boy…" Demar smiled, laughing even more. The creatures laughed as well as smoke came up from the ground, and in an instant there was a bright flash of light. Neil quickly covered his eyes with his arm, but when he looked back they were all gone. And they took Norman with them.

Norman shut his eyes tightly as he was tossed forward onto the ground. He heard laughter erupt around him and his eyes snapped open to see where it was coming from. There were billions of the shadow-creatures that had attacked and captured him, all of the laughing evilly. Norman looked around to see that he was in some kind of shrine, but he didn't really pay attention to any of the small details. All he needed to see was that it was ancient, and it was most definitely evil. He gulped when he saw a large shadow come over him and he quickly rolled onto hi back, gasping when he saw Demar. Demar himself laughed as well, snapping his fingers and making the vine around Norman's mouth disappear, though he was still wrapped up tightly by the rest of it. He coughed and sputtered for a moment before glaring at Demar, sitting up. "What do you want with me?!" he demanded. "Nah, ah, ah! Shhh…" Demar placed a finger on Norman's lips, keeping him quiet. Norman looked up at him with wide eyes, unsure of whether or not he should've been disturbed. "You know exactly why you're here…" Demar smirked, though it was hard to tell. He laughed, lifting Norman's chin up so they'd be looking each other in the eye. Norman growled at him, eyes narrow as he walked away. "If you think that you can get me to join you, then you're wrong!" he snapped. "I'll never let you use my powers." "Oh, my dear boy, I don't think that I can… I know that I can." Demar answered, picking something up from a nearby pedestal. Norman raised an eyebrow, his head tilting slightly. "… What is that…?" he wondered. "Oh, it's a gift… From me to you." Demar took a break to laugh, turning to face Norman again and hiding the object behind his back. "Of course, it's for certain measures. You'll only get it if you decide that you don't want to co-operate." He stated. Norman rolled his eyes. Co-operate? With him? The monster that had helped Shrall try and corrupt him? Yeah, because that was gonna happen. "Look, nothing is gonna make me help you. Nothing." Norman stated flatly. "That's what you think…" Demar hissed evilly. He looked over at one of the dark creatures and nodded, making it laugh hysterically. Norman shivered at the sound of it. "D-don't… Don't do that." He ordered it. To his surprise it listened with a shrug, running over to him. It grabbed onto the dark vines that were wrapped around him, confusing him. "Uh… What're you…" Norman trailed off, curiously watching it fiddle with the vines.
He groaned as he waited, freezing in shock when the vines disappeared. He looked up at Demar in shock, and for a moment he just stared, practically unable to breathe. After a few heartbeats he shot to his feet, stumbling over himself as he turned heel and bolted away. He expected something to pull him back, or at least to hear Demar order the things to stop him. But nothing happened. Demar just watched him run, an evil smirk visible under his hood.

Once he decided that he was far enough away from Demar, Norman skidded to a stop. He was panting heavily from running so fast, but he was relieved that he was at least far away now. He knew that Demar wouldn't let him go without a reason. He'd be here soon, and he'd probably be looking for something. Norman searched the room for a moment, noting the ancient pedestals that were scattered around the old tiled floor. His attention went to one in particular when he saw a book seated on top of it. A familiar book.
Slowly he walked over, gasping when he saw what it was. "… This is the same book that Sheera showed me…" he breathed, lifting it up. He blew the dust off, opening it up. He flipped through the pages, replaying Sheera's story of how Shrall was defeated in his head. He continued forward to Aggie's section of the book, soon arriving at his own section. He lightly skimmed through it, stopping when he saw a new illustration that wasn't in the other book. "What the…" he trailed off, examining the picture of him fighting off Agatha the second time. He went back a page to see a picture of her trapping him inside the orb and he raised an eyebrow, continuing forward again. The next illustration was of him speaking to her afterwards, after he had run off in fear of the town's reaction. He flipped to the next page, giving a small smile at what he saw. When he had gotten back to town with his family and Neil, no one shunned him or made fun of him. In fact, they praised him. The bullying and shunning was received a few days later, of course, but it wasn't like he hadn't expected it. He had new powers now, and seeing how Agatha had used her own powers against the town, he couldn't really blame them for being a little freaked out for awhile, if not frightened of what he could do to them.
He sighed, about to close the book when he looked over at the next page and froze. Alright, that hadn't happened before. He blinked a few times, staring at the illustration and unsure of what to do. In the illustration, some kind of choke-chain was coming towards him. He seemed panicked, and his eyes looked… Different. He couldn't place what it was though. His eyebrows furrowed as he continued to the next page, confused. These illustrations weren't in Ombre and Sheera's book… He froze when he saw the new illustration, gasping silently. It was him again, the same choke-chain necklace on him (which was when he noticed that there was a large gem attached to it), but there was a huge demon-like shadow behind him, and it was holding two sets of strings that were attached to Norman's body parts. He looked limp, his eyes still looking strange. It looked as if he were some kind of puppet. "… What is this…" he wondered silently. He yelped as he was suddenly pulled back by an invisible force, causing him to drop the book. Demar's magic was around him and he struggled to break free, but Demar had a strong grip. He laughed at Norman's agony as he continued to try and squirm away. "I see you found the book of fates…" he sneered. "W-why… Why does it have more then the other one?!" Norman demanded. "Because… The one you saw before adds as the events happen. The book of fates, on the other hand… Shows you what will happen." Demar explained. He laughed even more, pulling out the same choke-chain that was in the book. The large purple gem on it gave off a faint eerie glow, making Norman nervous.
The spikes around the top and bottom made him panic even more as it suddenly attached itself to his neck, making him yelp. He was knocked out of Demar's magic grip and landed hard on the floor, attempting to get the choke-chain off of him. The spikes suddenly pressed hard against his skin and he yelled out in pain, his hands on the choke chain as he tried to yank it off, but it was stuck. He wrapped his arms around himself as he went into a coughing fit from it being to tight and cutting off his air. The gem began to glow even more and a large indigo light burst out of it, and in an instant Norman froze, eyes wide. Slowly his pupils faded into a deep blue color, the color fading into his real, lighter eye color. His eyes were tired closed part-way as if he were about to collapse from exhaustion at any given moment.
The spikes loosened, the gem's glow fading away as his whole body seemed to go into a calm, tired state. "Perfect…" Demar hissed, walking over and slowly circling him with his arms crossed behind his back. "Now, then… Down to business." He snapped. "You, Norman, are now a part of my dark army. The most important part, actually. Your powers shall come in handy… You are to obey my every command. Is this understood?" he explained evilly. Norman nodded slowly in response. "Good boy…. Now, you shall lead us into Blithe Hollow, and we shall attack it with all our might, making it ripe for the taking as you unleash your upon your own town!" Demar exclaimed. "Y-yes… Master…" Norman groaned out tiredly. "Master… Oh, how I love the sound of you saying that…" Demar smirked and leaned down in front of Norman, lifting his chin up with his hand. "Such a powerful being…. Capable of so much…. Destroying everything you touch…" he started laughing evilly, slowly lowering his hand. "And now… All that power is mine to control…"