Author's Notes: I am so sorry! I know it's been... like, four or five months since I've updated. Yeah. Serious writers block. This particular chapter was extremely difficult for me. I've been stuck on it this whole time. when I finally finished my first draft and got to editing, I realized it kind of sucked, and then it took me several weeks to edit. There were a few scenes I needed to do in this chapter, and I'm not sure if I did 'em right. Chances are I took a huge step backwards. Same as always; you decide if I succeeded or not at making it not suck. In the meantime, I'll try to make up for it by making some progress with chapter 7, which I've thankfully already started.
Critique is appreciated. Flames I can do without, thank you. Reviews are better than faves. Remember, I'm trying to improve.
Act I: Reunification
Chapter 6, Sentimental Value
"You know, they're not as scary in person as they are in the movies."
"Maybe it's the button eyes. Not exactly what I'd call intimidating."
"Says you."
Mel sat at the bottom of the steps in the foyer, where just moments ago they'd been unexpectedly engaged in a battle with six replicates of a certain 1980's Hollywood movie monster. Her maroon raincoat lay on the floor beside her feet, and she had the sleeve of her turtleneck rolled up, revealing a pair of shallow cuts just below her shoulder. The six button-eyed Predator look-alikes that had attacked them were scattered across the floor, riddled with feroshot and smoking slightly. Coraline was rifling through her mothers bag, looking for the first aid kit her mom said she brought so she could to treat her wounds.
"Are you okay?" Her daughter asked. Mel had one hand clamped over the gash in her arm, trying to stop the bleeding. Her injuries weren't that serious; one of those alien freaks had taken her by surprise during the fight, just as Mel noticed two of them bearing down on Coraline. She'd managed to take down both of them, but then the third took advantage of her distraction, attacking from behind with its claw-like wrist blades; Mel had managed to duck before the alien took off her head, but he still managed to graze her shoulder with the tips of his steel claws. The cut was pretty shallow, but it still hurt like hell.
"I'm fine, really..." Mel replied none-too-honestly, drawing a sharp breath as the wound stung painfully. "Just get me some bandages so I can wrap this up."
Coraline was already busy rummaging through her moms pack in search of a roll of bandages; her first aid kit had broken open somehow, and so the contents were spilled out in the bottom of the bag. She'd already found a bottle of antiseptic, which sat on the floor by her feet; but finding the roll of bandages her mom asked for was proving to be more frustrating than it should.
"Are you sure you remembered to pack any? I don't see- oh, wait." Coraline rummaged deeper into her mothers pack for a few seconds, and finally pulled out a roll of bandages; that which had been hiding from her in a corner pocket. "Found them!" She announced, handing them to her mother, along with the bottle of antiseptic. Mel proceeded to clean and wrap the wound carefully before securing the bandage. Once she was satisfied, Mel rolled the sleeve back up and put her coat back on, noting the tears in the sleeve with a bit of irritation; the coat was expensive. In retrospect, maybe wearing her best coat on an expedition into a dangerous alternate reality wasn't the best idea. It could've been much worse, though. If Coraline hadn't-
Wait a minute.
Coraline had used Mel's pistol to fend off her surprise attacker. Mel had dropped it in the middle of the fight, and her daughter picked it up when the other two advanced on her. Mel got to them first of course, but then the third came at her from behind. When Coraline saw this, she'd fired a single shot into the beasts torso, knocking it back. Once she'd recovered from the initial shock, Mel had finished the beast off with her shotgun.
But Coraline still had the gun on her. Mel could see it sticking out her pocket.
"Could you please give me my gun back?" Mel asked upon noticing this, holding out her hand expectantly.
Unfortunately, Coraline wasn't nearly as cooperative as her mother would've liked. Though she took the weapon out of her pocket, she didn't immediately hand it over.
"Can't I keep it?" She asked, examining the instrument of destruction in her hands. "I mean... what if we run into more of those things?" Though Coraline was making a reasonable point, Mel's motherly instincts refused to hear it. She cleared her throat loudly, her hand still extended, making her answer very clear. Coraline gave up, and surrendered the gun to her mother without resistance. But Mel wasn't done yet.
"This," she began, holding the gun up to eye level," ...is not a toy, Coraline."
Her daughter stared back at her, dumbfounded. "Are you serious?" She exclaimed. "I just saved your life, and you're giving me a lecture?"
"I'm risking my life to try and save yours," Mel replied, disregarding Coraline's protest. "It's my job as your mother to protect you from anyone who might hurt you. Including yourself."
"Oh, please," Coraline scoffed. "I know how to use a gun. I'm not stupid," she asserted. Mel was hardly convinced.
"Oh really? Then why did you have the safety switched off?" Mel demanded, flicking the guns safety back on as she did so for emphasis. Coraline's expression changed from pride to embarrassment, and her face was beginning to turn beet-red with the realization that she'd been in danger of blasting a hole in her pants.
"Whoops," she responded in a small voice, having been proven wrong. Mel nodded in affirmation. "Yeah, 'oops'. From now on, don't touch any of my weapons," Mel scolded. "It's my job to make sure you don't get hurt. I don't need you to make my job any more difficult."
Coraline didn't reply as Mel placed the handgun back in its holster, collected the scattergun and her bag, and turned to the stairs. But as Mel started up towards the double doors at the top of the staircase, Coraline renewed her argument with an assertion that Mel could not ignore.
"And what happens if you get hurt?" Coraline asked.
"I can take care of myself," Mel responded automatically. Though if she were honest with herself, she wasn't so certain about that. Mel had been runnning on luck for the most part, making things up as she went along. If not for her daughter, that monster would've taken her head off; but she couldn't admit that so easily. She was Coraline's mother, and she was the adult; there for, she had to be right all the time. It was practically a law of nature.
Observing their exchange was the Cat, sitting at the top of the banister with his enormous blue eyes fixed on the perturbed mother.
"You know, she does have a point," it stated. Mel glared at the feline for daring to speak aloud that fact.
"Am I seriously going to receive parental advice from a talking cat?" She snapped. If that Cat was offended by the implication of her tone, it made no indication aside from drawing its ears back, and continued to speak.
"No," it replied. "Actually, you're going to receive survival advice from a talking cat," it corrected with a hint of arrogance. The small mammal slid down the railing to the bottom of the steps, putting himself at eye-level with Mel Jones. Somehow, she knew what it was going to say, and she knew that it was right, but Mel's stubborn nature refused to allow her to admit it so easily.
"You have no small task ahead of you," it began. "You've seen what your enemy is capable of," it nodded towards the ashen remains of the Other Predators.
"Those things aren't supposed to be real. But she made them real," it stated.
"So the Other Mother can make our worst nightmares reality," Mel acknowledged reluctantly. That meant they were liable to see much worse than a handful of sci-fi horror movie knock-offs... and perhaps much more than she could handle alone. Unfortunately, there was only one other human being in this entire alternate reality that she could possibly work with, and she'd just saved Mel's life a few minutes ago; before she scolded her and told her she was too young to be handling a gun.
"There's more," Coraline chimed in. "I can't be killed in this place. She won't let me. But... if you get hurt..." Mel turned to see that her daughter had tears in her eyes. She understood the situation perfectly now. The Other Mother obviously wanted Coraline alive, but there was no reason to spare her. If Mel died... Coraline would be left all alone in this twisted mockery of a wonderland, with no hope of escaping. How could an 11-year old hope to face the trials ahead by herself? True, she had escaped once... but the Other Mother would not underestimate her again, and on top of that her power had increased ten-fold since the last time. The odds weren't in their favor as it was. Mel was still amazed that she'd gotten this far, and she would be forever baffled if they actually managed to pull this off and make it home in one piece.
"Your chances would be much better working together. That starts with having the means to protect each other, as well as yourselves," the Cat provided.
Mel couldn't argue with that logic, as much as she would've liked too. She felt conflicted; she wanted to keep Coraline safe, but which was the better way to do that? She could either choose to rely on her own abilities, or she could lend Coraline a gun. Her daughter was liable to get hurt either way... but maybe less so if she had something to defend herself with. She took a moment to turn it over in her mind. Instincts demanded that she keep her daughter as far away as possible from sharp objects and lethal weapons. Logic suggested that the best way to keep Coraline safe was to give her otherwise defenseless child a gun. To do so would normally go against logic... but then, nothing about their current situation was 'normal'. Her mind was made up.
"All right." Mel sighed, unbuckling her pistol belt. "I must be breaking at least a hundred different rules in the parenting books, but..." she turned to her daughter, her hand outstretched, offering Coraline the holstered weapon. "...here."
From the surprised look she gave her, Coraline hadn't actually expected her mother to give the weapon back. She reached for it hesitantly... but Mel withdrew sharply, holding it out of reach.
"Hold on," Mel retracted. "Before I give this to you, I want to make a few things clear." Coraline didn't make any immature objections this time like one would expect, but waited and listened patiently this time; very atypical for an 11-year old girl, especially her. But in this case, she knew it was better to listen for once.
"First," she began. "...this is a tool, not a toy." She paused for a moment to let her words sink in. "Only take it out when you need to, and make sure the safety is on before you put it away." She put extra emphasis on the safety bit after Coraline's earlier bought of carelessness. Her daughter's face turned red once again at the mention of this.
"Two," Mel continued. "...I'm only allowing this because of our present situation. Once we're out of here, I expect you to give this back."
Coraline rolled her eyes at this. "Really? What possible use could I have for a gun in the real world?" Coraline couldn't help but think that something about the past two years without her must have made Mel Jones more than a little paranoid. Of course, having her only daughter abducted by a spider-witch from another dimension was definitely something Mel never would've expected to happen, so that might've had something to do with it.
"I'm not gonna run off and pull a Columbine as soon as we get back, okay?" Coraline insisted. She liked to think she had more common sense than her mother was insinuating.
"Coraline, this is serious!" Mel objected. "Now; do you understand? Do you promise me that you'll be careful?" She demanded.
"Yeah, I get it," Coraline insisted. Mel still withheld the firearm. "Say the words, please." She insisted.
Coraline sighed with exasperation. "I understand. I'll be careful. I promise." She answered truthfully. Still, Mel hesitated. It was clear that she was still uncomfortable by the idea of giving a lethal firearm to her 11-year old daughter, but at the same time she wanted Coraline to be able to protect herself. Quite the conundrum for a mother concerned for her childs safety. But she didn't have much choice.
"Okay... here." Instead of handing the weapon to Coraline, Mel circled around behind her daughter and dropped to one knee. She lifted up Coraline's raincoat and fastened the pistol belt around her daughter's waist, double-checking to make sure it was secured to her lithe frame.
"Please don't make me regret this, okay?" The concerned mother pleaded.
"It'll be fine, mom. Don't worry," her daughter reassured. That would have to be enough for Mel, for now. God knew that she would be glad when this was all over. Physical obstacles she had anticipated... mental obstacles, not as much. She had to wonder which was harder to deal with.
"If you are all prepared," said the Cat, "...we are nearing our goal."
Navigating through the manor was like trying to find their way in a hedge maze. The house didn't look that big on the outside, but it felt much bigger on the inside, with many halls, intersections, stairways, and even a few secret doors and hidden passages. The Cat seemed to know where he was going, though once or tiwce he led them to a dead end; each time hastily apoligizing for his mistakes before leading them off in another direction. Most of the doors that lined the halls were sealed, but a few were left slightly ajar; within, Mel and Coraline could see some dusty old furniture draped in white sheets, and more bodies of the Other Mother's discarded servants. They tried not to linger near these; the macabre display in the foyer had been enough. For Coraline, it especially difficult to look at, for she knew that they these people were more than just puppets. Though artificial, they had been alive; they could think and feel, and yet they were tossed out like garbage once the Other Mother had no further use for them. Coraline could barely understand how someone could be so callous.
Eventually, their guide led them to what they assumed was the top floor. At the top of the stairs, they found themselves in a long hallway lined with more doors. A few were left unlocked here as well, but there no bodies stored on this level; instead, when Mel and Coraline cautiously peered inside, they saw a pile of what looked like metal limbs composed of sewing implements, charred black button eyes, and cracked skeletal frames wrapped in tattered black cloth.
"What are those?" Mel asked no one in particular.
"Those are the usual guards. What's left of them..." answered the Cat. "Spiders. I think she uses them to defend against intruders. We'd best hurry before more of them come back."
With that, the Cat directed his attention towards a set of double doors at the far end of the hall.
"This is it." The Cat stated, facing the doors as the two women came up behind him. Coraline tried to open them first, tugging on the doorknob to no avail. Mel went next, pressing the barrel of her shotgun to the lock and firing once, causing the doors to fly open. The trio stepped through the opening, and found themselves in a large bedroom with a four-poster bed opposite them...
...and there before them, sitting on the bed, was a girl. Not a ghost. A young girl, supposedly still alive and without button eyes, her face hidden in shadow but appearing to be about Coraline's age, as best they could tell. She was clearly startled by their sudden appearance, emerald-green eyes darting from Mel, then to the Cat, and finally focusing on Coraline.
"Who are you?" The unknown girl asked. Mel noticed the girl's light british accent; and remembered the beldam had first surfaced in London, according to their benefactor. Perhaps this was one of her earliest victims? Mel observed the girl as she climbed out of the bed; she didn't seem to be frightened of them as she stepped out of the shadows... and gave Mel a shock.
She looked to be about 11-years old, and eerily familiar to Mel Jones. For the girl who stood before her was almost identical to her only daughter; the same freckled complexion, the same short-cropped bob of hair (except hers was jet-black instead of blue) and she even had a similar barrette in her hair. Unlike Coraline's, which was in the form of a multicolored dragonfly, hers was in the shape of a spider in emerald-green that perfectly matched her eyes. She wore a black dress, and expensive-looking black boots made of fine leather. The mysterious girl regarded the trio before her with confusion; no doubt wondering the purpose of the armed intruders in her room, and yet strangely calm.
"Uh... hello," said Mel to the little girl, who looked so much like her little girl. "My name is Mel Jones. I'm here to rescue you."
"You're... you haven't come to destroy me?" The girl asked, looking all the more confused. Mel raised an eyebrow, now equally befuddled by her reply; why would this girl think someone would come here to kill her?
"What...? No, of course not," she replied. "Why would I want to hurt you?"
"I..." the dark-haired girl seemed to have trouble answering her. "I'm not sure, but..." She trailed off, uncertain as to what she meant to say.
"You still didn't answer my first question."
"I told you," Mel asserted. "...my name is Mel Jones, and I'm-"
"Not you," the little girl interrupted. "I meant her." She pointed at Coraline, who was staring at the girl, dumbstruck. Clearly she'd noticed how similar the english girl was to her in appearance.
"I'm... Coraline," her daughter replied with trepidation. "Who are you supposed to be? And why do you look like me?"
Coraline's ebony-clad duplicate didn't answer her. It seemed she didn't know the answer... but Mel had a feeling she did.
"I... I don't know. I'm not..." She paused to size Coraline up. "What do you mean, why do I look like you? Why do you look like me?"
"I think I get it." Mel interjected. Both girls, and the Cat as well, turned their attention to the mother. "What do you mean? Is this some kind of trick, or...?"
"It's no trick. And it's not an illusion." She replied. She turned to address the enigmatic girl before them. "What do you know about the Other Mother?"
"The Other Mother..." she mimicked. There was recognition in those verdant eyes. She knew what Mel was talking about.
"The one who imprisoned you here. Do you remember who she was before?" Mel asked. The girl took a few moments to reply, no doubt struggling to recall memories from five centuries ago.
"The Other Mother..." she repeated. "I know her... but who she was..."
"Is she your mother? Your real mother?" Mel supplied.
"I think... maybe? She's... a part of me. She brought us here... and locked me away," was all she said.
"But why? Why would she do that to you?" Coraline asked.
"I did something... I can't remember what, but..." she paused, raking her mind in search of the answer. "I think... I did something bad. Really bad."
"What could you have possibly done justify locking you up in here?" Mel asked, in disbelief at what she was hearing.
"I... broke her heart."
Coraline's eyes widened with realization. It all made sense now, why the Other Mother was so obsessed with her. This girl, who'd been incarcerated here for so long, was not just her first victim ever; this was her real daughter, from when she was still human, before she'd been corrupted by the dark arts. The little girl and Coraline looked so much alike, disturbingly so... that had to be the reason. Is that what the Other Mother saw in Coraline? The spitting image of her own child. Was that the real reason behind everything she'd done? Perhaps her true purpose was not to extend her own life; all the children she'd stolen... she was looking for a replacement. Somehow her own daughter was a disappointment to her, and so she had stolen all these kids over the centuries, looking for the ideal son or daughter... While her own flesh and blood was condemned to this prison, prolonging her life as she searched.
"I think I understand," Coraline replied. There was just one thing she didn't get; the girl before her didn't look at all like a ghost. She was coherent. But what really confused her was that she didn't have button eyes... and that didn't make any sense. The Other Mother had to sew buttons into the eyes of her victims to keep their spirits tethered to this place. To these questions, Coraline had no answers. She be fooling herself if she said she understood fully how the beldams powers worked.
"Well, it's over now. We're going to get you out of here." Mel reassured the girl.
"What about the others?" The beldams daughter asked her.
"We'll get them too, in time. But... where is your Eye?" Mel asked in return.
"My Eye?" The girl took a few seconds to remember what she was talking about. "It's... right there."
She had pointed at her dresser by the wall, atop which sat a featureless black orb that glowed faintly with an inner green light. It was small enough to fit in the palm of Mel's hand, light as a feather and cold to the touch as Mel picked it up from its stand. As soon as it was removed from its perch, the girl in ebony vanished into thin air, and the orb briefly flashed green.
I'm still here. Don't worry. Came a small whisper that seemed to emanate from the Eye.
"Do you have a name?" Coraline asked, having also heard the voice coming from within.
I... can't remember.
Coraline had expected that. the other ghost children from before hadn't been able to remember their names either. Only the circumstances that led to their unfortunate fate, and the people they left behind.
"Well. I guess we got what we came for," Mel stated. "Now what?"
Now, that was a good question. One that no one in the room had an answer for. With the Cat's help, they'd gotten something of vital importance to the beldam, but as long as she had the souls of several other children in her possession, it didn't count for much. The world they found themselves in was enormous compared to Coraline's first visit, and the Other Mother would not be giving them any helpful clues this. Where were they even supposed to start?
"Shouldn't we start looking for the other eyes?" Coraline suggested none-too-helpfully.
"I don't even know where to begin," her mother admitted. "I suppose... we should try and find Harland's 'acquaintance'. Whoever they are, they might be able to point us in the right direction." That would be a sound plan, except Mel didn't know where she was, either. Or even who she was. Harland had made it sound like the answer would be obvious, but Mel was completely stumped.
"But where do we find them?" Coraline inquired. This was becoming frustrating.
"I can help you find the old man's ally," the Cat supplied. "She'll be able to direct you to your next goal."
"Seems like you have all the answers." Mel commented, relieved that at least someone here knew what they were doing.
"Not all of them," the talkative feline admitted. "But I've been coming here long enough to have a few." Mel was about to express her gratitude for his aid when a the little girls voice cut her off, coming from the orb still in Mel's hand.
We need to leave, now.
"What do you mean? What's wrong?" The Cat's ears perked up when he realized who she was talking to.
She knows you're here. Her servants are coming.
"We've been found out!" Coraline shouted in alarm.
"Her guards will have come back. We'd best leave before more show up," the Cat urged. Mel nodded, giving the Eye to her daughter, who stuffed it in her bag. The three of them rushed out the door, retracing their steps back to the entrance. They charged back out the front door without seeing any opposition... until they were just a few feet from sur-iron gate.
The gate slammed shut, blocking their path. That's when they appeared behind them.
At first, Mel thought the Other Mother herself had come to challenge them. For when she turned around, there was a creature standing on the cobblestones behind them that looked very similar to their adversary; six feet in height, a skeletal frame with metallic limbs composed of sewing implements, draped in a ragged black cloak. But it had no face, only a pair of glowing, bluish-green button eyes gleaming beneath the hood of its cloak. It also had four arms instead of two, each ending in a claw-like hand with only three digits.
There was also a lot of them. Over a dozen were materializing out of nowhere in the dying garden on either side of the path. They wielded a panoply of ethereal weapons; semi-translucent and green, cleaver-like swords, large two-handed battle axes with crescent-shaped blades, ornate longbows and dual crossbows with their limbs shaped like gnarled tree branches.
"Coraline, get behind me," Mel instructed, readying her shotgun. Coraline obeyed as the horde of arachnite keepers drew closer, brandishing their weapons.
"When I give the word, shoot out the lock on the gate, and run," she directed. Coraline nodded in understanding, drawing the handgun that Mel had so reluctantly entrusted to her, and taking careful aim at the lock.
"NOW!"
Coraline pulled the trigger; the gate swung open. The Cat darted through first as Mel opened fire on the oncoming horde. One of the arachnites shrieked in agony as feroshot tore through its cloak, causing it to fall to the ground, its ethereal blades dispersing. Mel took a few more shots before turning and running off after her daughter and the Cat. A hail of spectral arrows and crossbow bolts trailed after her as the spider gave chase, scuttling over the ground with surprising speed and agility.
Mel wasn't so sure they could outrun these creatures, but out in the woods, they could fight back. There was more cover, and in such close quarters, Mel was at an advantage with the shotgun. That meant that the arachnites would take every advantage they could get as well; they scaled trees and rained arrows on them from above. They stayed low in the underbrush, charging them from cover to try and flank them, engaging the trio in a frenzied melee that left several of their own smoldering on the ground as white flames consumed their forms, courtesy of Mel's feroshot. And also Coraline's borrowed handgun, which she seemed to know how to use well enough.
Mel's trust hadn't been misplaced, it seemed. Coraline hadn't panicked; she was taking careful aim, dropping the arachnites with a single shot each, occasionally ducking into cover to reload. Even that cat was proving an asset in a battle, leaping on top of their adversaries and attacking their faceless skulls with its claws. It managed to tear the button eyes from their faces, causing them to stumble around blindly and making them easy targets for the two woman.
But there was too many of them. It seemed that for every spider they killed, two more took its place. They needed to get out of these woods, now.
Help is coming. Just hold on.
Mel heard the voice of beldams offspring as she blasted an arachnite off its feet at point-blank range; it landed on its back a few feet away, curling up like a spider and disintegrating with a flash of white light. Mel wondered what kind of help could possibly come; weren't they all alone in this alternate dimension? And how did she know whenever something was coming their way?
She didn't have time to ponder it. Another arachnite was coming her way, a battleaxe cradled in its four hands. In scuttled towards her, swing the axe over its head; Mel dodged the attack, and the blade landed in the ground where she'd been standing, leaving a deep gouge in the earth. Mel's shotgun was empty; she needed to get away from this thing so she could reload. Coraline was preoccupied, crouching on the branch of a tree she'd climbed up, firing at a quartet of arachnites below her. The beast took another step forward, drawing its weapon back for another swing-
-and then a shot rang out from the other side of the clearing, and the spider fell face-forward, landing spread-eagled on the ground before her, its body rapidly turning to white embers. It was then that Mel realized that others had joined the fight; several men and woman wielding a variety antique weapons including shotguns like her own, Garand rifles, various pistols, and a few with medieval blades and bows.
But what caught Mel's attention was that they all had buttons for eyes.
"What in the name of God is going on?" She asked no one in particular. The arachnite keepers were beginning to scatter as they realized they were under attack. Several more fell to the barrage of ferous rounds, others were cut down by iron blades as the newcomers charged into the fray. The tables had turned, and now it was the spiders who were outnumbered, and they knew it. The last of them vanished into thin air as they came to realize that the battle was lost. Coraline jumped down from her perch and ran over to join her mother once the coast was clear, looking worried.
"Are you okay?" Coraline asked with concern. Mel nodded. "I fine. Just a little shaken. But, who...?
One of their rescuers was approaching them. It was another life-sized puppet in the image of a man; a grizzled man with short, dark-brown hair in a tan coat, wearing glasses over his black button eyes. He cradled a Browning automatic rifle in his hands, a belt of feroshot coiled around his arm and fed into the receiver. Mel pushed Coraline behind her, taking the pistol from her and leveling it at the stranger. He was not phased by this, and stared at her.
"Are you Mel Jones?" He asked. Mel nodded.
"I am. What's it to you?"
The man tilted his head at the weapon in her hands. "You can put that away. If I were of the Other Mother's creation, I would've simply done away with you and taken the girl back."
Mel couldn't argue with that logic, so she lowered the gun. "Alright. What do you want?"
"You are caught up in a struggle that has lasted hundreds of years. Our mistress believes you hold the key to ending this conflict, once and for all." He informed.
"Who is this 'mistress' of yours? And where did you come from?" Mel interrogated.
"An... 'old acquaintance'," the man answered. "You were told to seek her out. When you chose to go your own way, she asked that we bring you to her instead."
Harland's friend, it seemed.
"But who is she?" Mel asked once more. The puppet-mans answer was brief; and though the name he was to speak was very familiar, it would only serve to raise further questions.
"Natalia."
The Other Mother hated losing.
She'd played this game for five-hundred years. All this time, she'd had an ace up her sleeve... but it seemed she'd finally been caught cheating. Her most valuable possession was in the hands of her enemy. The one thing that allowed her to survive even when she was forced to run, forced to abandon all the others she had taken just to lose her pursuers. Somehow, they'd found it... and it, along with the thieves, had vanished from her sight.
She wasn't even sure what was going on, now... one moment, her servants had Coraline and her 'real' mother cornered... the next, the arachnites (her servants that were created in her own image) were routed by some unknown force. She couldn't sense them, the interlopers; but she had seen them through the eyes of her servants. Puppets. Likes the ones she crafted in her workshop. But not hers. Someone elses.
Feromancers she could deal with. But another beldam? The Other Mother had only ever met one other like her... but she wouldn't steal from her. No... that one was too proud, too idealistic, and too righteous to take part in that which she condoned... or would she? There were so few of their kind left... who or what could have possibly become aware of her presence, especially here, in the states? All of those who remained hid among the impoverished and displaced in what man called the 'Third World', far from civilization... except for-
"I wonder..." said an all too familiar voice behind her. "If you would consider my offer now...?"
The Other Mother turned to see another of her kind ascending the ladder to the attic. The being was like her... thin and angular, with a form that resembled a conjoining of woman and spider, with metal limbs composed of sewing tools. But this creature was taller, with four arms instead of two, each ending in a smaller claw-like hand with only four fingers. She was also draped in hooded black robes with elaborate silver designs. But what distinguished her from the Other Mother was her eyes; for she had no buttons, but instead a pair of sunken amber colored orbs with black pupils sunken into her skull. Not all of their kind had buttons for eyes; only those who were willing to go to more... extreme measures, to insure their survival.
The Other Mother knew this beldam as 'The Caretaker'; that was what she called herself, when she presented herself to her victims. They all took different titles. The Caretaker had mentioned others before, the last few times they had spoken. 'The Watcher', who had perished not long ago, after the village she preyed on was burned to the ground by militia. 'The Saviour', one of the oldest and most powerful, who liked to present herself as a servant of the gods to draw in her victims. 'The Godmother'; a title similar to her own, and willing to go to similar extremes to stay alive. Such methods could not protect her from one of their own, 'The Guardian', a scavenger that liked to steal the captures of others rather than hunt her own prey.
But the Caretaker... who was she?
"...or would you rather risk everything for your own foolish pride?"
The Other Mother had been asked this question by the Caretaker before. Her answer hadn't changed.
"I don't need you." In truth, the Other Mother just didn't trust her. Pride had very little to do with it. This being was the only other beldam she had seen in her entire life. Before the Caretaker first contacted her, she didn't even know there were others. Supposedly, she was one of the oldest of their kind; she resided in a small village in the heart of Africa amid a tribe of primitives that worshipped her as a god, and sacrificed their own children to appease her at every solstice. The Caretaker was also very unusual for a beldam, in that she was something of a political idealist; for centuries, she'd been trying to convince her brethren to work together, to stop stealing from one another and instead combine their strength so they might protect each other from the threat of feromancers.
There were a few that followed her... but beldams were selfish by nature, and sometimes hunted each other as well as the children of man. The Other Mother was not the only one who didn't trust the Caretaker, and not without good reason.
"Oh, I think you need my help more than you would like to admit," said the Caretaker. She didn't appear smug or amused; in fact, she looked a bit frustrated. The Caretaker didn't like that her sisters would consign themselves to death rather than consider the possibility of cooperation. Or so she said.
"No... I don't," the Other Mother retorted.
"Surely you've noticed what is going on?" The Caretaker insinuated. "Another beldam has intruded upon your realm. One you know well, in fact... and one just as powerful as you are."
This caused the Other Mothers brow to furrow. "What are you talking about?"
The Caretaker drew her head back, standing erect and folding two of her arms over her chest. "You don't know...?"
"You say that I know this interloper. But you are the only other I've met," she replied. This time, a hint of amusement shown on the Caretaker's face.
"But you do know her, don't you?" It didn't take long for her to put two and two together, but it only confused her even more.
"From when I was human?" The Caretaker did not respond at first. The Other Mother didn't understand... who did she know from her mortal years that could've followed in her footsteps? Her family was dead, she never had any friends, or enemies, or anyone she had a close personal relationship with in her life as a human. No one she couldn't account for, anyway. So who could...
"No." Said the Caretaker at last. "From after."
Oh. That would make much more sense. She would make plenty of enemies after transcending... the families of those she'd stolen, the feromancers who hunted her, most notably-
Wait.
"The enemy uses our own power against us," the Caretaker said gravely, confirming the Other Mother's suspicion. But it couldn't be her...could it?
"No. Even she wouldn't-"
"Your're right," the Caretaker interrupted. "She wouldn't. But she would find another way, and she has."
"Then you have no business here," said the Other Mother automatically. The Caretaker looked taken aback.
"What?" She replied with surprise. "Didn't you listen to a word I said? I told you-"
"I still don't need your help," the Other Mother snapped. Indeed, she still wasn't sure she could trust another beldam... and right now, she didn't want to take any more risks. But there was more... this was a personal matter. This woman and her descendants had chased her for centuries, stolen from her, and driven her into hiding in the back-end of nowhere. Now... not only was she not dead as the Other Mother would've thought, but she was here... in her domain, using her own powers against her? The Other Mother would not tolerate her adversary any longer. It was time to settle the score, once and for all. Whatever sacrifices her enemy had made to get here would be for nothing. In the end, the Other Mother would have Coraline, and both Mel Jones and her old enemy would pay for their transgressions.
All she had to do was find them. Coraline and her mother were gone from her sight... for now. But they would be back. She still had seven souls in her possession. They would eventually come for those. The Other Mother would insure that they didn't leave.
The Caretaker seemed to have realized that there was no convincing her to accept aid in this matter; for she had already turned back and descended the ladder back into the main house. As she stepped out the front door of the Pink Palace, she turned her amber eyes up to the attic window.
"I wish you the best of luck, sister," she spat with bitterness and frustration. "You will need it." It angered her, that the Other Mother would risk everything... not just for pride, but for petty revenge. In hindsight, perhaps she shouldn't have told her sister exactly who she was dealing with. One feromancer was the same as any other. Couldn't she understand that these intruders were a threat to more than just her? Of course, getting her fellows to overcome their selfish and reclusive nature had never been easy... and it became all the more frustrating as their numbers dwindled. There were only six of their kind who shared the Caretaker's ideals, and they had survived longer than any others by working together. The Other Mother had only been around for half as long as the Caretaker and her sisters, and yet it was a miracle that she survived so long on her own. But now... it seemed that her luck would run out.
There was nothing she could do about it, either. This domain was not hers, and thus she was at a disadvantage; being outside of her own domain meant her power was more limited here... unless the Other Mother accepted her aid. But you could not force a beldam to accept help she didn't ask for. The Caretaker could do nothing against feromancers unless she was at full power. Either her sister would listen to reason... or she would just have to sit back and watch.
Up next: Chapter 7, Family Tradition
Author's Notes: Well, there you go. Not sure if I should have cut it off right there... but I was worried about squeezing too much into one chapter, and I noticed my chapters have been getting longer as I go on. Next chapter is the last one in Act 1. There's more to come; Natalia will be introduced, and you'll learn a bit more about this mysterious girl; the Other Mother's true daughter, and the Other Mother herself, and where she came from. Hopefully I can do the story justice.
Again, if you have any critique offer, GIVE IT. If there's anything I need to improve on, I need to know about it. I'm seeing a few parts of this chapter that I think I could've done a lot better, but I'm not sure how...
Oh, and I think I should make this clear in case I get chewed out by some random arrogant jerk: I do NOT think it is okay to allow your kids access to firearms. People are still going crazy over the tragedy at Sandy Hook, so... just in case somebody takes that scene a little too seriously.