Disclaimer; For the last time… neither CANDY or KnutCase own Coraline. However, we hope you have enjoyed what we've been able to do with the characters, and would like to thank you for reading Unstitchers.

Fourteen; 'If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story'
~ Orson Welles

xXx

Wybie was rocking back and forth on his feet, leaning on his packed suitcase so he didn't fall over. After the ordeal of last night, he was positively exhausted. They'd both woken up, snug in their beds, even though Coraline hadn't really said anything to him. She must have been embarrassed about kissing him. The idea of it brought a slight blush to his cheeks.

"Are we ready to go? Come on, Coraline, we've got a plane to catch!" Charlie muttered, checking the rooms last minute for anything they might have left behind. Coraline pulled her suitcase behind her, stifling a yawn. Her eyes briefly met Wybie's before she went fishing around in her backpack for something… her iPod. So she was going to ignore him the whole way home. Wybie decided then and there that he didn't understand girls. Not one bit.

They rode the elevator down to the ground floor, and stepped out. The lobby was full of excited, chattering kids saying goodbyes, and parents fretting over taxis, and an assortment of different suitcases. In different colours and shapes – Wybie could have curled up in a few of them quite comfortably, they were so big. The other Unstitchers were nowhere to be seen.

"Wybie! Coraline!" They turned to see Jeff, with a J not a G. He grinned. "You going home now too?"

"Yeah. Although our plane doesn't really leave for ages" Wybie replied. Coraline stayed quiet, leaving one headphone out, and the other in.

"Awesome. Hey listen, we should keep in touch. Do you have an email address?"

"Sure. It's … um… Lovat_Or_Hate_It-"

"Lovat or hate it?" Jeff asked, raising an eyebrow, and Wybie just looked at Coraline, who was smirking while looking down at the screen of her iPod, face half hidden by her hair.

"…Yeah. Jonesy made it for me" He mumbled, and Jeff laughed.

"Okay then… mine is…" Charlie grew very impatient with them, and Wybie could tell. When Jeff gave him the little slip of paper, he said his goodbyes quickly, and they were rushed out the door, and into the taxi.

xXx

The airport was crowded and busy, and Charlie was freaking out. Wybie and Coraline were sitting at a table sharing a bowl of chips while he paced around the food court trying to calm himself down.

"Nearly time, kids, nearly time…" he muttered.

"…Jonesy" Wybie said quietly, and she hesitated before looking up shyly.

"Yes?"

"…Are you gonna tell me what the hell happened last night? With the beldam?" he asked quietly, and she looked away.

"What do you mean? You were there" She said, dipping her chips in sauce. She wasn't going to bother correcting him on the name.

"How did she know you? Why did you send them down there?" he hissed, and she seemed to flinch a little.

"Okay, look… they were gonna kill you, so I had to-"

"What? No they weren't! They were gonna kill her" He said, and she shook her head, eyes filling.

"Wybie- please be quiet-"

"Jonesy, how could you do all this without telling me?" he asked, and she just looked at him, her lip trembling, just a little bit.

"I don't-… I don't know…who was right…Wybie, I don't know who to trust anymore…" she whispered. Wybie gave her a look, his face softening a little, and he gently took her hand.

"…You can trust me" He said quietly, sincerely. "Always"

Coraline met his gaze, feeling a few tears spill over onto her cheeks, a little smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She could trust him. He was the one thing she was sure of.

"…thankyou" She said, leaning across the table and gently pressing her lips to his cheek. Wybie felt his face grow warm, and held her hand tighter.

"I'd do…anything for you, Jonesy" he said, and she smiled sadly.

"I know. But sewing buttons into your eyes was a bit extreme"

"How did you know about that? And how did you know about the Queen?" He sat up a little straighter. Coraline sighed.

"It's a long story"

"We've got a whole plane ride…"

xXx

"You kids alright there?" Charlie asked, leaning forward so he could talk to the two of them in the seats in front of him.

"We're fine, Dad" Coraline replied, a little annoyed. Wybie was impatient beside her, itching to hear the story.

"Well… if you need anything, just say so, okay?"

Their conversation was cut off by the plane starting up, and they were told by a flight attendant to please sit back while the crew went through safety procedures. Coraline tuned out, thinking over the past few days. She'd had quite the adventure, met the Queen of the Beld- Godmothers. She felt the weight of the thick black key around her neck, the cold metal against her skin.

Her stomach dropped uncomfortably as the plane lifted off the ground. Within ten minutes, Charlie had slipped into a fitful sleep, muttering to himself, and Wybie was looking at Coraline with wide, expectant eyes.

"Okay. Spill" He said, and she rolled her eyes.

"You know that day…after the tests, we went into town?" Coraline began. She felt that it was appropriate to begin here, because it was when things started acting up.

"Yeah? What about it?"

"And there was the snake show?"

"Yeah. There's photos and stuff of all the snakes" Wybie said with a little frown. He didn't understand what this had to do with anything.

"Well, you know that one snake… green, with the yellow eyes? It was one of her, um, sons. That's when the weirdness really started."

"The Queen Beldam has sons?"

"Yeah, two. You didn't meet Cain and Abel?" Coraline asked.

"No, and you did?"

"Yeah. They were rather nice, too, at first."

"At first? You know, Jonesy, you suck at explaining things" Wybie told her, and she felt a little smile tug at the corner of her lips.

"Okay, so…the night the Unstitchers told you that…they were gonna need your eyes…Claire took me down to see the Queen-"

"Claire? But she was a spy"

"She was one of Eve's dolls. Almost like a daughter. You should have heard her the night Claire died…" Coraline's voice had dropped to a whisper. She looked down at her arms – they were covered in goosebumps.

Wybie looked at Coraline for a moment, before hesitantly threading his fingers through hers. She smiled, squeezing his hand.

"What happened when you were down there? The first time?" He asked, and she sighed.

"Well, Eve introduced herself, and told me stuff. A lot of stuff. About how she wasn't a beldam, that none of them are. They're Godmothers…they give you what you want, but only in dreams"

Wybie had a blank little look on his face.

"…what? Godmothers? Like, a Fairy Godmother?" He frowned. "I don't believe that"

"I didn't either, in the beginning. But then she showed me everything… how she goes about doing things in the hotel…"

"That doesn't explain-" Coraline shot him a look, and he fell silent.

"We're not gonna get anywhere if you keep interrupting" she told him, adjusting herself in the seat. He smiled apologetically, and she continued.

"Anyway. She showed me what she did – granting the wishes of children in the hotel. We got to this big hall, and in it was a dragon-"

"A what?" He frowned, sitting around. Coraline's eyes were bright as she nodded.

"A dragon. See, that was Cain. He was big and green, with a sword sticking out of his tummy. When Eve pulled it out, there was sawdust coming out of the wound, instead of blood. He told me that he was her son, and that he played the villain in all the dreams. One of the kids had slayed him, and saved the damsel…that was Claire, I think" Coraline was chattering to herself now.

"Okay. And the other son?"

"His name is Abel. He's a lot clumsier, and him and Cain are always fighting. But yes…they help Eve with the dreams. So, we sat down at her big table, and she explained what she does, and that, um… the Unstitchers were going to kill you"

"They weren't, though" Wybie protested. "They just told me that I had to give up one of my eyes…"

"Okay, first, once you gave up your eye, it would have killed you. She was going to kill you. Each Bel…Godmother has a certain amount of black buttons, and she uses them to make the dolls come to life. Now… if you sew one of those buttons into a humans eye, that part of the Godmother dies…along with the kid. So even if you did die….Eve would still have buttons left."

Wybie looked at her, slightly horrified.

"…and, uh…second?"

"Second," Coraline said, her attitude coming through. "Why in God's name would you let them sew a button in your bloody eye to begin with!"

"Well, it was either they sew a button in my eyes… or they sewed them in yours. And I didn't want them sewing buttons in yours" He said firmly, holding her gaze until she looked down with a soft blush.

"You didn't have to do that for me" she mumbled. He shook his head with a small smile.

"Yes I did" He told her. "Like I was gonna let them do it to you"

"…Wybie…" She said, not knowing exactly what to say. He just flashed her a cheesy smile.

"Anyway. They were sewing buttons in my eyes?"

"Yes. Right" She gave a short nod, trying to remember what she'd been saying. "Um..oh. So the Unstitchers got it right, about how to kill Eve, and she didn't want that. And I didn't want you to die, so we kinda…teamed up. She told me I needed to get everyone down there the night they were gonna do it…and I woke up in my bed the next morning."

She paused for a moment, remembering the next part of the story.

"Right…um. The night Claire was murdered, I took her glass eye – it was a glass eye, see – anyway, I took it down the dumbwaiter, and gave it to Eve. She…she flipped out. The whole hotel was filled with this angry buzzing, and I could hear it as I went to sleep. I kinda felt sorry for her, but…I was scared of her at the same time"

"Did she hurt you or anything?" Wybie asked, and she shook her head.

"Nope. She never hurt me" Coraline smiled gently. "Unless you count that she locked me up in the dungeon when I came down to get you"

"What?"

"Yeah, Cain and Abel attacked me. If it wasn't for Cat, I probably wouldn't be here" Wybie was looking confused again.

"…Cat? Our Cat?"

"Yeah. I don't know how he got there, but you know. He's a cat. They can walk through dreams or something" Coraline shrugged. "Nothing he does surprises me anymore"

"Fair enough"

"So yeah, you know the events of last night… and…that brings us to now" Coraline finished up, and Wybie chewed over what she'd said.

"So wait. If Beldams don't lure and eat children, then what happened with yours?" He asked, and she pulled the key out of her shirt.

"She…uh…" Coraline wasn't sure how to put this. "She gave me what I needed, instead of what I wanted"

"…Huh?" She gritted her teeth.

"I was a little…brat…Wybie, and she did all of that as a wake-up call" She mumbled. Wybie gave her a gentle look.

"You're not a brat…" She laughed softly, but coldly.

"Are you kidding? I was a right brat back then. I wasn't ever happy with…anything, really. I hated the new house, and I hated my parents…kinda… they never really paid any attention to me, coz they were always working…" She said, and he played with the zipper on his jacket.

"Well…you were a bit…mean" He said quietly, and she looked out the window so she wouldn't have to look him in the eyes.

"You called me a jerkwad…and a psycho nerd. And Why-Were-You-Born. And you punched me a lot, too…"

"Okay…"

"And the first time I was in your house you chased me out, throwing your shoes at me"

"Yes, Wybie, I get it." She said through gritted teeth.

"Hey, if we're still friends after that, you can't be that bad, can you?" He offered, and she looked at him again. She couldn't help but crack a wide smile at the apologetic puppy dog face.

"Gee, thanks" She grinned playfully.

"You're welcome!" He grinned back.

xXx

The taxi pulled into the long driveway that led to the Pink Palace apartments. Coraline had never been happier to see that awful, ugly building, and neither had Wybie. Waiting on the steps, holding a big black umbrella was Mel, smiling as the car got closer, and beside her was old Mrs. Lovat. The car stopped, and the door flew open. Coraline gave her mum a big hug around the waist, and Wybie hugged his grandmother, a little gentler.

"How'd you go?" Mel asked, and Coraline started gushing about how amazing Chicago had been, and how it was so very big, and how the hotel beds were huge. She chattered away as Charlie brought in the suitcases before kissing his wife on the cheek.

"Um…Jonesy, I'll see you later, kay?" Wybie said, taking his suitcase. She nodded, and hugged him tightly around the neck.

"See you later" She replied, and he grinned, hugging her around the waist. Then he walked home with his grandmother, both talking quietly.

"How did you go on the tests?" Mel asked, fixing up something for her daughter and husband to eat.

"Oh…yeah. Good" She said, having forgotten about them.

"That's good. It's been so quiet around here for the last week. Just me, and that cat of yours. He kept me company every now and again" Mel smiled.

Coraline turned to see Cat sitting on the window sill. He yowled at her, and she just sighed a little sigh.

I give up trying to work you out, it said. He just blinked his big blue eyes at her.

It's probably wise. She patted his head while he purred with amusement.

xXx

~Two weeks later~

Coraline was stretched out on her bed working on an English essay, while Wybie sat at her desk, fixing up her iTunes. Cat was beside Coraline, belly up and purring.

"How do you manage to have three of the same song?" Wybie asked, and she shrugged, which was awkward considering she was on her stomach.

"It just happens. I get a lot of music from a lot of people. Sometimes I get doubles" She said, and he sighed.

"It's a mess, Jonesy. Some of them don't even have names"

"Well, I'm sorry, but-"

"Coraline!" They both looked to the door. The girl rolled off the bed and went to the door.

"Be back in a moment"

Coraline ran down the stairs to see her mum and dad sitting at the kitchen table, an open envelope between them.

"Yeah?"

"…your results for the tests just arrived"

She felt her stomach drop, and looked a little sheepish.

"…Really? Great…"

Charlie picked up the papers and read one of the questions out loud. Then he looked at her.

"You answered with... 'home-made pie'…"

"It was a difficult question" Coraline said, and Mel pursed her lips, and took the papers from her husband.

"You were in the bottom 25%. You got sent all the way to Chicago because of your maths abilities, and you mess it up?"

"I hate maths. It's my worst subject, and I don't know why they sent me to that stupid thing" Coraline whined, crossing her arms.

"Yes, but really, Coraline? Pie?" Charlie sighed, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

A tiny little smile tugged at Coraline's lips.

xXx

A/N;
So, wow. This is the last chapter of Unstitchers. Well, official chapter.

My goodness, I'm getting all teary-eyed… are you?
Now, don't get all sappy on me…
;n;

We would like to personally thank everyone who reviewed, favorited, story alerted, drew fanart and just generally enjoyed the Unstitchers. I mean, the both of us have enjoyed it immensely, and we hope that you did too.

FUNFACT; It's taken us exactly 9 months and 10 days to write this fanfic. In that 9 months, both of us have had a birthday, we cracked 100 reviews (On Knut's birthday, thankyou very much for that), we got our very first piece of fanart, and then some more. During that time, we both got tumblr accounts (You can find the URLs on our profile), made a new group of friends, have both dyed our hair, Knut began her final year of school, and CANDY started her first year of university. We finished watching Castle, and Supernatural, and both got brand new iPods. Let's just say this has been a big year.

We honestly never thought that we'd write such a popular, amazing story. It was just an idea that popped into CANDY's head one day at the bus stop, and Knut wanted in. And here we are, 9 months and 10 days since the first chapter popped up on Fanfiction . net.

We look forward to seeing you for the next KnutCANDY fanfic.

Much love.
Please, stay shiny forever and always.
KnutCase and CANDYisEpic

xx