Chapter 5: The Real Plan

Jack stood up from his desk, his face grim as he walked down the hallway to where the Beldam was being held prisoner. It had been almost a month since Coraline had been kidnapped and sent somewhere by the abomination and she hadn't revealed where she had sent the girl.

The townspeople searched all over everywhere so many times, but found nothing. "Jack," Hilda said one day. "While that abomination did kidnap Coraline and sent her through that portal, perhaps she is telling the truth that she doesn't know where the girl is exactly."

"From what we understand, Wybie made her smash the controls and change the coordinates," Dr. Finklestein said. "It's possible she doesn't know where the coordinates lead."

Jack had been thinking about their words and nodded to himself. It was quite possible that the Beldam didn't know where Coraline was exactly since the coordinates had not been to the Other World, but that didn't mean the Pumpkin King was going to let the abomination go that easily. She had hurt Coraline and no one hurt his daughter and got away with it.

He entered the room to see the fire was still going and the creature looked at him before smirking. "Still haven't found the brat yet, have you?" She taunted.

He called up his scarecrow form, making her wince and move back in her cage. "Now that you've face my fire, how about telling me your plans for Coraline?" Jack said. "We know you used a spell to get into her room, but what was your ultimate plan?"

She smirked. "You can't figure it out?" She asked.

"Oh, I have," he said. "I just want to hear it from you what your 'brilliant' plan was to the purpose of you kidnapping my daughter."

The Beldam frowned at him, but then smirked. "How long has she been missing, Your Highness?" She asked. "Almost a month now, yes?"

The skeleton narrowed his eyes. "Yes," he said, though he hated to admit it.

"Then it will soon be time," the wicked woman said. "That potion I tossed at Coraline that night was one to make her belong to me." She smirked again. "Just one more day before it takes full effect and Coraline will be mine and believe me, that girl is going to learn how to be a good daughter."

A snarl left Jack and he called up his pumpkin fire, making it burn hotter than he usually let it burn. It mixed with the flames that had been burning on the logs and the Beldam screamed as the flames began to burn her. "You have gone too far this time, Beldam," the Pumpkin King said. "It's time you face the ultimate punishment."

With that, his fire burned hotter, reducing the Beldam to a figure of scrap metal with her face fixed in a scream of horror as the metal fused and made it impossible for her to move ever again. "Beldam, for your crimes against the Pumpkin family, especially my daughter Coraline, I hereby banish you from Halloween Town. You will spend the rest of your existence in the Forgotten Realms, never to return and never to torment my family again." He raised his hands high. "So I have decreed, now it shall be done!"

Another scream left the Beldam as a portal opened up and she fell into it, landing on the ground of a desolate landscape with dust and Jack snapped his fingers, the portal closing before he waved a hand, dispersing the fire before falling to his knees. "Coraline, my child, where are you?" He asked softly, tears falling from his eyes. "I wish I knew where you were."

He did not see something pink appear in the very cage where the Beldam had been, nor did he see it fly away, but Black Cat did and, curious and hoping it would lead to Coraline, followed it closely, running to keep up with the shiny crystal that he noticed was in the shape of a heart.

Meanwhile, at the theater, Coraline was asleep, but tossed as she saw the Beldam coming at her and letting out a screech that hurt the child's ears. The blue-haired girl let out a scream as her eyes shot open and her whole body jumped off the bed. She landed on the side of it and tumbled down to the floor, the blankets tangling her up in the process.

"Ow," she groaned out as she lay still for a minute, the shock of falling out of bed making her side hurt a little since she had landed rather hard. Tears filled her eyes and began falling down her face as she took a deep breath before managing to sit up, still hearing the scary woman's screech in her ears.

The door to her room suddenly burst open and she jumped with a startled yell, scooting backwards a bit. "Coraline?" A familiar voice called out and the child peeked over the bed from where she was sitting on the floor to see Balan was standing there. When he spotted her, he went around the bed, soon seeing the child was not only tangled up in the blankets, but had tears running down her face and she was holding her right side as if in pain. The ringmaster at once kneeled down beside the girl. "Coraline, what happened, little one?" He asked, gently brushing a hand over her head and cupping the left side of her face in his palm.

The blue-haired girl felt more tears sting her eyes and she reached out to him. "U-Uncle B-Balan," she choked out as her tears started to flow down her face faster.

"Oh, little one," he cooed sympathetically, picking her up and sitting on the bed, setting the child in his lap. Lance came in right then and his eyes widened as he felt the negative emotions coming off of Coraline.

"Coraline, what happened?" The tendriled being asked, noticing how she was tangled up in the blankets.

The child was clinging to Balan, sobbing too hard to answer Lance, but the negative Maestro came closer. "Do you have a good hold on her, Balan?" He asked.

"Yes," his counterpart said.

Lance worked on getting the child untangled from the blankets, soon succeeding and seeing Coraline watching him as her head leaned against Balan's shoulder. The tendriled being reached up, giving the child's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Coraline, did you again see that monster you described to Balan and I?" He asked.

She nodded. "She...She was coming at me and let out a screech, one that hurt my ears," she said. "I screamed and I guess I woke up, but I fell out of bed."

"Oh, sweet one," Balan said soothingly, rubbing her back. "Does anything hurt?"

"My side," she admitted, indicating to her right side.

Lance gently lifted up the child's pajama shirt to the bottom of her rib cage and looked worried at seeing some bruises there. "I think she might have bruised herself falling out of bed," he told the positive Maestro, who nodded and gently placed a hand on the child's side, his hand glowing gold and healing the bruises, making Coraline sigh in relief before she bit her lip hard.

"What if...What if that monster comes here?" She asked.

"We won't let it, Coraline," Balan promised.

"No monsters will get you with us here, sweet one," Lance said soothingly.

"P-Promise?" She asked, tears still falling from her eyes.

"We promise," the green-haired maestro said as he rubbed the child's back while the tendriled maestro gently wiped away their niece's tears.

Balan noticed how Coraline was clinging to him and he had a feeling she would have a hard time falling back asleep. "Would you like anything, little one? Some warm milk? Or perhaps a lullaby?" He asked.

She looked up at him before looking a bit shy. "Um...well, can...can you two stay with me, please?" She asked. "I...I'm afraid to go back to sleep."

Lance nodded in understanding. "We'll stay with you, sweet one," he promised. "Nothing's going to come through that door or your windows tonight."

The child nodded, feeling a bit safer before she began to feel tired again. Balan gently guided Coraline's head to his chest so that her ear was pressed against right over where his heart was. She snuggled more into his hug, the soothing sound of her uncle's heartbeat making her sleepier, along with Lance gently stroking her head. The combined comfort soothed her back to sleep and Balan looked at his counterpart.

"I wish there was a way to make those flashbacks of that monster stop," he said. "Though Coraline still hasn't regained her memory, I can hear the terror in her voice when she explains those flashbacks."

"She's had a few good flashbacks," Lance pointed out. "But I do agree."

Balan stood up, cradling his niece in his arms while the tendriled being fixed the blankets on the bed. Coraline was then gently set down and the two maestros lay down on either side of her, forming a protective barrier around the child as they covered her with another blanket before they both fell asleep themselves.

So the Beldam is now destroyed, but will the pink heart lead Black Cat to Coraline? Will Jack and the others see Coraline again? Find out in the next chapter. :)

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