Chapter 6: A Heart Restored

The next morning, both maestros awoke before Coraline and decided to let the child sleep more as they headed out, a few Tims hopping into the room and cuddling with the child in hopes of helping her be more at ease. Gently closing the door so not to wake their niece, both tall beings walked down the hallway before Balan turned to Lance.

"Lance, something has been bothering me lately," he said.

"What is it, Balan?" The negative maestro asked.

"I...I wasn't too sure before, but I've been keeping an eye on Coraline and I have noticed something very strange and now, I'm certain of it," the positive maestro said. "Her heart of balance is missing."

"Missing?" Lance asked, looking at his counterpart in surprise. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," Balan said. "When we were comforting her last night before she fell asleep, I checked to see how her heart was doing and I couldn't sense it."

The tendriled being looked at him. "How often have you checked her heart?" He asked.

"Ever since she first came here," the green-haired maestro said. "I thought at first it was because of her amnesia that I couldn't sense her heart, but it's been almost a month now. And those flashbacks she's been having are worrying me. What if that monster she described to use is responsible for her heart of balance being missing?"

"I honestly have never heard of that before," Lance admitted. "But you may be onto something. If the monster Coraline is afraid of is indeed responsible for stealing her heart of balance, my question is why?"

"Well, when the others have lost their hearts, they fell into depression and...well," Balan trailed off.

"You can say it, Balan," the tendriled being said with a nod, though his face showed regret. "It made it easier for me to control them and negatize them."

"Sorry, Lance," the positive maestro said as he didn't like bringing that up since his counterpart had been rescued by Emma and Leo a while back and had proved Lance was needed and could accept being the negative maestro without causing hurt. It was thanks to them that Lance turned over a new leaf and had been working to regain the trust of those he had hurt. It was slow going, but he had come a long way since then.

"It's alright, Balan," Lance said gently. "It is a part of my past and though I would like to forget it happened, I can't. But I can learn from it and become better, as you, Emma, and Leo have proven to me."

Just then, they heard something and turned to see a black cat, one that looked out of breath. It looked up at them in surprise before something else appeared: a pink crystal heart.

Balan's eyes widened as the heart floated towards him and he caught it gently in his hands, looking at it in shock. "Lance, I...I think this might be Coraline's heart," he said.

"I think you're right," Lance said.

"Coraline?" The cat asked, making them look at him again. "She's here? Is she safe?"

Both looked at him in surprise and he realized why. "Forgive me, my name is Black Cat. I'm a friend of Coraline's and her family, who have been worried sick about her," he introduced himself.

Balan looked at Lance. "He's telling the truth," he said before both kneeled down, the former holding out a hand to the cat, who came closer and rubbed up against the offered hand, allowing himself to be pet.

"You said Coraline's family is worried about her?" Lance asked.

"Yes," Black Cat said. "A horrible creature called the Beldam broke into their house and tried to kidnap Coraline, but her brother Wybie jumped in to rescue her. Unfortunately, the Beldam opened a portal, but thanks to the boy's bravery, the original coordinates the monster entered got changed before she threw Coraline into the portal."

Balan's eyes widened again. "That portal must have been the one that opened up here," he said before looking at Black Cat. "Lance witnessed the portal opening and saw Coraline tumbling out. She had hit her head and was unconscious, but also had a large gash in her side, one that we cleaned and stitched up."

"She's fully recovered?" The cat asked.

"Save for her memory," Lance said. "She got amnesia from the blow to her head, but she does get flashbacks, mostly of a monster with a pale, cracked face and black button eyes."

"That's the Beldam," Black Cat said. "Coraline's father took care of her and banished her to where she will never harm their family again."

"They no doubt have been searching all over for her," Balan said sympathetically. "But couldn't they use the portal the Beldam used to find Coraline here?"

"Unfortunately, the machine that monster used was destroyed in their attempts to save Coraline," the cat replied. "But I have my ways of traveling through worlds. I can bring Coraline's family here."

"Please do," Lance said. "In the meantime, we'll make sure her heart of balance is reconnected with her."

"Is that what that pink heart is?"

"Yes," Balan said.

The cat looked intrigued. "That same heart flew out of the Beldam when Coraline's father destroyed her," he said. "I wonder how she stole it from the girl?"

"Maybe Coraline can tell us," Lance said. "A heart of balance does hold the good memories of a person."

The cat nodded. "Good luck," he said. "I'll bring her family here soon."

With that, he vanished and the two maestros headed back to their niece's room, seeing she was awake and rubbing her eyes. She looked up at them. "Good morning, Uncle Balan. Good morning, Uncle Lance," she said, her voice still sounding a bit sleepy.

"Good morning, little one," Balan said.

"We have something for you," Lance said.

Coraline woke up more to see a pink heart in Balan's hands as he sat down beside her and Lance sat on the other side of the girl. "It's beautiful," she said in awe. "I've never seen anything like it."

"It's your heart of balance, my dear," Balan told her. "It holds a person's good memories."

"My heart of balance?"

"Everyone has one deep inside themselves," Lance explained. "We just met up with a friend of yours who said that monster you saw had this heart with her and when your father destroyed her, the heart flew out of her and he followed it in hopes of finding you."

Coraline looked surprised. "The monster's truly gone?" She asked.

"From the sounds of it," Balan said with a smile. "Now, what do you say we get this heart back where it belongs?"

As the child watched, the green-haired maestro let go of the heart and it gently floated over to Coraline, vanishing inside of her and a moment later, she gasped, her eyes wide as her memories returned. She blinked and took a deep breath. "Coraline?" Lance asked. "What do you remember?"

"I...I remember everything," she said. "That night, the Beldam, or the Other Mother as she liked to be called, broke into my room to try and kidnap me, but my brother tried to stop her and I flew into a portal before I hit my head and woke up to find you guys tending to my injuries."

"Have you had a run-in with this Beldam before?" Balan asked.

Coraline nodded. "I was a foster kid before I was adopted," she said. "I wasn't happy in my foster home and she knew it, luring me in with the promise of a good home, but then I saw her real intentions and refused to let her sew buttons in my eyes and basically imprison me. I ran away and came to a tunnel that I ran down, finding a weird door at the end. It was in the shape of a pumpkin and when I opened it, two scarecrows popped up and breathed fire at the Beldam, making her scream and I escaped. I kept running until I was caught and at first I was afraid, but the person that caught me didn't hurt me. He instead comforted me, telling me I was safe. He later became my dad."

"Do you remember him clearly?" Lance asked.

She nodded again. "My dad's name is Jack and my mom's name is Sally. My brother is called Wybie," she said. "Oh, and...my dad's the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, where we live."

Both maestros blinked. "So that means you're a princess," Balan said with a smile.

Coraline looked a bit shy at that. "Yes, but I don't want you guys to treat me any differently," she said. "It's just a title and my family isn't too formal. We're actually quite humble."

"We can see that," Lance said. "Well, Black Cat mentioned he'd be bringing your family here."

"Black Cat?" She asked in surprise. "Oh, I know him. He's the one that helped us figure a way to beat the Beldam the first time." She then registered what her uncle said. "My family's coming here?"

"Yes," Balan said with a smile. "They should be here soon and I must admit, I am looking forward to meeting them."

"As am I," Lance said.

Coraline hugged them both, happy tears falling down her face.

The Beldam was gone, she had her memories back, and she'd soon be reunited with her family.

Coraline's memory is back. :)

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