A/N: This is a very short chapter. I apologize, but if I went farther it would have bled into the next chapter.
Wybie woke up on a stone floor. He sat up, doing a quick self-examination. There was dried blood at the back of his head, but otherwise, he couldn't feel any other wounds.
"Wybie! Wybie!"
The boy jumped up immediately, struggling to see through the darkness. "Coraline!"
There was the grinding sound of stone against stone. A gust of ice-cold wind rushed past him, and a deathly cold hand grasped his shoulder.
Wybie let out a shout of surprise and fear, but the hand pulled him upwards…
And he was suddenly sitting in the Jones's parlor. He couldn't help but muse inwardly how utterly anticlimactic that was.
That was before he noticed the company he was with.
Wybie shrank, huddling into his seat and making himself as small as possible, staring with wide eyes at everyone around him. Coraline removed her cold hand from his shoulder, frowning at the others in the room and patting his arm. Neither were sure who she was trying to reassure.
The Other Mother was sitting on the couch, her back arched, her face cracked porcelain, her body metallic and spider-like, her mouth in a nasty smile. A man—something like an old-style knight—was sitting in the doorway, kneeling with his sword driven into the ground. His helmet, armor, sword… it was all made of stone.
Lastly, a small, slight woman was sitting on a chair across from them. Her skin was pale, her eyes sad yet fiery, and flowers adorned her golden hair. She only wore a simple modest white dress, falling to her ankles, and there was a weird sense that she was the most powerful in the room by far.
She raised hands with shackles hanging from her wrists, bowing her head. "Greetings."
Coraline sat up, and Wybie saw that his Other Self was sitting next to her. Other Wybie was trembling in obvious fear, looking up at Coraline and begging with his button eyes for something.
"Who are you?"
Coraline wrapped her cold arms around both Wybie's protectively. The boys immediately snuggled close to her, calming visibly. Strength that Wybie had been afraid of disappearing was strong and steady within his friend, rippling out and shielding the boys.
The blonde woman looked up, eyes flickering with a snubbed inner light. "All Belle Dames… their names are written on water, as was mine. Call me what you will. I am the first. That is all one needs to know."
"The first?"
The Other Mother looked up, smirking. "I just call her Faery, dear. It's less of a mouthful than most of her names."
Coraline's eyes widened. "You're the one in the ballad!"
Faery cocked her head, looking at the fire. "Yes. I am."
The Other Mother stood slowly, her legs tapping against the ground ominously. "You don't understand what is happening, Coraline. That is the point. We're playing another game." A nasty smirk started unfolding on her face. Coraline immediately tensed, her protective grip around the boys tightening. "It would be a… strategy game. You must find and defeat the Faery and the Knight. Otherwise, your friends and you are mine, buttons and all."
"Wait, how am I supposed to—" but no one answered. Coraline, Wybie, and Other Wybie were all suddenly in a wall-less shack. There were shelves against the only wall holding the roof up, a door set in it speaking of another room. There was a furnace, glowing orange with heat, a stool near it, and… all the tools needed for glassblowing.
"What?!"
Coraline scrambled to the door, glancing in. "Just a bunch of ice and tools." She slammed the door, growling in frustration. "What are we supposed to do?!"
"Use your wits."
All three kids jumped in surprise. The cat jumped on the stool, his black tail swishing and his eyes sharp. "She left you with the basics. Now you need to figure them out before She finds a way to stop you."
The Other Wybie jumped up suddenly, gesturing frantically at his button eyes.
"Wybie?"
"You need to cut his eyes out."
Both Wybie and Coraline paled, staring at the cat. Other Wybie nodded emphatically, reaching into his pocket and shoving a thread scissors into Coraline's hand. She promptly shrieked and dropped them. "NO! I'm not cutting out your eyes!"
"Seriously!" Wybie said, slowly sitting on the ground and looking mildly sick.
Other Wybie frowned, looking at Coraline beseechingly and picking up the scissors again.
"She can use him as long as he has her mark. For observation or forceful intervention. She increased the power of her control when you began your apprenticeship. You can override her spell yourself if you take away his eyes."
"NO!"
Other Wybie's mouth set in a determined line, his hand tightening on the scissors.
"If you do it, you will be able to alter the spell." The cat started delicately licking his paw. "If you don't, he will try to do it himself."
Wybie's mouth fell open and he stared openly up at his Other Self. Coraline looked like she would be sick. "You're not serious."
Other Wybie nodded purposefully.
"You'll just mess yourself up!" Coraline snatched the scissors from him. "I'll do it. Do you have a needle and thread and paintbrush? I'm assuming you stole this from the Other Mother's workshop. That must have taken guts."
The boy with the button eyes's mouth went in a small 'O' of surprise before smiling, abashed, and the rough cloth that made his cheeks went slightly pinker.
Wybie gagged at the mental image of Coraline cutting out his Other's eyes and buried his face in his knees. "Don't do it if I'm watching!"
"Just… cover your eyes. I need to be out in the light."
Coraline bit her lip, putting the scissors on the table and rushing inside. Other Wybie dug his hands in his pockets, pulling out a needle and a spool of thread. His hands were shaking slightly.
The girl came out again with a paintbrush and a small tray of ice. "There was no paint…."
Wybie closed his eyes and covered his ears. Other Wybie nervously hugged himself. Coraline was pale, but she set her mouth in a grim line and picked up the scissors. "I'm sorry, Wybie."
The Other Wybie looked up, smiling reassuringly. He touched her shoulder gently before impulsively kissing her forehead softly. He was ready.
---
"I don't think you will try to save yourself."
Coraline was barely listening to Dr. Windsor.
"Why do you keep trying, then?"
"For the same reason I think that I have hope you will heal. We both are similar in this way. We won't help ourselves for our sake, but for the sake of those we care about."
Coraline looked up briefly.
"You won't help yourself. You will help your friends, and to do that you need to help yourself first."