A/N: This is mostly transition. Considering I usually suck at this kind of chapter, I think I did okay. ^.^

Coraline woke with a start. The cat was in front of her, licking his paw elegantly. Wybie's forehead was lightly brushing her hair and he was breathing evenly.

"Was that real? Are they in trouble?" she whispered softly, trying to keep from waking Wybie. The cat glanced at her quietly, giving a very small nod.

She slipped out of Wybie's lap, standing and starting to pad to the well quietly. There was a soft grunting sound, signaling her friend's awakening. "Coraline…?"

She knelt at the well and opened it.

"Coraline! What are you doing?!"

Wybie jumped up quickly, his eyes widening. She reached into the bag on her belt that she always slept with at night. It had all the materials she'd need if the Other Mother came back while she was sleeping. "I'm saving some people who saved me. Hold this for me, would you?"

She handed him the end of an extremely long rope. She had saved up her allowance to buy the best and longest rope in the hardware store, along with the other supplies in her pouch. Coraline probably had a reputation with the store clerks now.

"Coraline, that thing is down there! Why do you think these people need help?"

"I had a dream, and the cat confirmed it. I need to… I need to go back. I need to save them."

She took the rope and threw the edge of it over the side of the well. Wybie reflexively braced himself, watching with wide eyes as she climbed down, depending on him to keep a tight grip on it. "A dream?!"

"Yeah."

He leaned back, tightening his grip on the rope. "And the cat said it was true?"

"He gestured it."

There was a soft splash and the sound of someone going underwater.

Wybie shifted nervously, counting the seconds under his breath. He swore that if she had been under there without signal for thirty seconds, he'd tie the rope around the tree and, safety be damned, he'd jump in after her.

But that wasn't necessary. There was another splash to say she had risen to the surface, and he leaned back again to pull her up. "You're going to get hurt based on a dream and a gesture a cat made."

"Yep."

She crawled on to land, soaking wet and gasping for air softly. Wybie blushed darkly, noting her damp pajamas. He helped her up carefully, averting his eyes from the dreaded button key in her hand.

Coraline whispered quiet thanks, closing the well and starting to walk back to her house. Wybie trotted after her with the cat at his heels. "Please, let's think about this…"

"If I think about it, I'll get too scared. And they need me."

"That thing nearly threw me in a well!"

"The whole thing nearly sewed buttons in my eyes and ate my soul!"

Her fingers twitched for something, anything, that would calm her down. She would take out a cigarette, but she had forgotten to take the packet out before she jumped into the water. Stupid. She wanted a drink, a joint, a pill, anything!

Damn it. She was way too addicted to that crap.

"Coraline…"

She jumped on to her porch, opening the door and ducking inside. Wybie wouldn't follow her in there. She knew that.

"Coraline!"

Oh dear God in heaven, he did.

"Seriously, stop!"

She hesitated at the door to the parlor, instinct screaming at her to stay away and screw her Other Friends. But she couldn't listen to it. She had to do this.

Coraline patted her belt pouches, making sure everything she needed was there. Flashlight, knife, needle, thread, pen, paper, rations, extra rope, another seeing stone Spink and Forcible had given her… And her parents thought she was paranoid for sleeping with this stuff…

"Coraline!" Wybie grabbed her arm, taking her by surprise. He almost never asserted himself physically, especially not with her. She glanced at him in confusion, grabbing the hat that she had left on the parlor table all those months ago just in case and putting it on her head.

"Wybie?"

"Coraline, it was a dream. Just a nightmare. You… you were through a lot."

"I need to find the Other Mother. I need to help my friends." She knelt at the little door slowly, taking a breath and putting on her hat.

Wybie abruptly frowned and furrowed his brow. "You're going behind the bricked-up door?"

"Duh, Wybie. That's where the Other World is." She grit her teeth, taking out the key and slowly inserting it into the lock.

"You mean you were literal about that?"

Coraline looked up sharply, freezing up. "What did you say?"

"I…" Wybie looked at his feet awkwardly, lacing his fingers together. "I thought that it was all a metaphor for something. I thought that… you know… someone took you away and touched you or something. And that metal spider thing… I don't know, maybe it was something that the guy who hurt you made?"

Coraline didn't say anything for a long moment. "You think I'm crazy too, don't you?"

He hugged himself. "Coraline, I really like you. You're my friend. Maybe… your brain was messing with itself to try to save you from what was happening? I've heard of that happening plenty to child trauma victims…"

"Get out, Wybourne." He flinched from her cold use of his full name. "I'll deal with this myself."

"Coraline, please…"

She didn't listen to his pleading tone. She unlocked the door, blocking out the fear that was threatening to overwhelm her, and swung it open.

The tunnel, back in its glowing pink and blue glory, was there. Wybie's eyes widened as he looked at it, his mouth moving but no words coming out.

Coraline crawled in, the cat following her closely. "She is simply setting up another trap."

"Of course. I know."

"Hey, wait up!"

Coraline looked back, watching as Wybie crawled his way up to her. "If this whole thing is true, I want to see the garden and that crazy guy's circus," he said with a grin. Coraline smiled widely, blinking her thanks.

"I suggest you both be quiet. She will not accept a challenge this time—she is going to take what she wants with as little risk as possible to herself. You will have to depend on stealth."

Wybie's eyes widened. "So the cat can talk!"

"Didn't I tell you?" Coraline looked down at the cat. "How will we be able to be stealthy if she knows we're there?"

"Be like me. Be quiet. She will be busy keeping her hostages firmly in her grasp—there was a reason they specifically did not tell you they were in danger. They didn't want you to risk yourself."

"Who are these hostages anyway?" Wybie asked softly.

"They're… um, well, one's my Other Father. The other is you."

Wybie gave her a confused glance. "What?"

"The Other You. The Other Wybie. He and my Other Father… they saved my life…" she took a breath, trying to calm herself down, "they saved my life when they knew they would be tortured and killed. I guess my Other Father had it relatively easy. He was just drowned. But Wybie…" She quickly looked away, the images of his sewn-on smile, his disintegrating hand, and his clothes blowing gently in the breeze flashing through her mind's eye. "I don't want to talk about it."

Wybie nodded, paling slightly. He didn't seem to want to talk about his other too much either.

"To answer your burning question this morning, they sacrificed themselves because they care about you at the very least," the cat said elegantly, holding his head up. "They were made by her to do just that: care about you. I suppose she made them too well, because it evolved into love that overruled her authority and their fear of punishment."

Coraline just sniffled gently, wiping her eyes. "They did their jobs well," she said softly.

"I promise I'll help find them," Wybie said softly, touching her back comfortingly. "After all, I want to see what I'm like all brave." He grinned playfully, and Coraline smiled back.

"Don't forget the button eyes. Everyone there has button eyes. And you're brave here. I doubt anyone else would've come to my rescue if they saw a metal spider-needle hand strangling me with my own key necklace."

"Eh, I'm sure anyone else would've done it. I sort of panicked, you know?" Wybie grinned. "Well, we'll try to make sure that none of this Other Mother's hands try to strangle you or throw me down a well this time, right?"

"Right."

They looked up, noticing that they had come to the door. Coraline took a deep breath and opened it.