"You're not my mother," Coraline said freaked out, "My mother doesn't have b-b-b-b-b-"
"B-b-b-buttons for eyes," Courage finished freaked out. It was so startling and creepy that he could barely get the words out.
"B-b-b-buttons?" the woman smiled and set her bowl on the table, and tapped the buttons. "Do you like them? I'm your OTHER Mother, silly," she moved back over to the stove and opened the door. There was a steaming, delicious-looking golden chicken inside, "Now go tell your Other Father that supper's ready."
The kids and puppies didn't say a word. They stood there in scared, awkward expressions. Shaggy, Scooby and Courage were all suspicious about this. They'd only been there for a few minutes, and the three something didn't feel right. The house was completely opposite of what the regular house was. Mel was cheery and just...not Mel.
"Well go on," the Other Mother said, putting on an oven mitt shaped like a chicken's head. "He's in his study."
Courage had so many questions and fears starting to come to mind as he looked at her carefully, unsure how else to proceed, he tugged at Coraline's pajama pants, "I don't like this."
Coraline shook him off, still looking at her, the kids and puppies walked through the kitchen and off toward the room her dad worked in. As they walked down the hall she heard a piano playing.
Coraline pushed the door open. Charlie Jones was sitting at a red piano, playing random notes with one finger on each hand.
"Hello?" Coraline said.
Charlie spun on the stool to face her, crossing his left leg over his right, and propped his chin on one hand. He propped his arm on his left knee. "Hellooooo, Coraline."
Shaggy, Scooby and Courage looked at him a little skeptically. He also had button eyes.
"Wanna hear my new song?" he asked.
"Uh-" Shaggy protested wanting to say 'we were actually gonna head home', but Coraline interrupted.
"MY father can't play piano," Coraline said.
The Other Father uncrossed his legs and put both his hands on his knees. "No need to," he leaned forward. The piano top opened and two white gloves leaped out at the kids and puppies over his shoulders.
Shaggy, Scooby and Courage jumped back in fear before they realized that the gloves were attached to the piano by a series of many complicated joints and rods.
The gloves pulled back again and fit snugly onto the Other Father's hands. "THIS piano plays ME." The gloves flexed his fingers and spun him around. "Whoa!"
The Other Father—or the hands—began to play a very upbeat tune. Then he began to sing as the rug began to spin like a very big lazy susan.
He then played a really fun song that nobody would expect Coraline's father, Charlie Jones to play...especially since he can't play piano in the first place.
Making up a song about Coraline
she's a peach she's a doll
she's a pal of mine
she's as cute as a button
in the eyes of everyone
whoever laid their eyes on Coraline
Scooby bobbed his head in tune to the music. Courage glared at him, the puppy Great Dane wilted as Courage shook his head in disapproval.
Shaggy found himself suspicious, but almost dancing to the fun tune of the Other Father's song.
when she comes around exploring
mom and I will never ever make it boring
our eyes will be on Coraline
The Other Father stopped playing and Shaggy smiled a little. He was obviously more fun than the real Charlie. Deep down, Shaggy, Scooby and Courage had a feeling this was a trap. They'd seen enough movies, read enough books and he knows that something so...perfect...can't be real or truly good. The three looked at Coraline who seemed oblivious to these facts.
"I'm sorry, but she said to tell you the food's ready," Coraline said.
The Other Father grinned and rubbed his hands together. "Mmm, who's starving? Raise your hand." He put his right hand in the air, and the glove on his left hand pulled that hand up too. "Whoa!"
Coraline giggled before scratching her rash.
Shaggy, Scooby and Courage all felt their stomach growl and realized they hungry themselves because they'd didn't eat dinner before.
Sitting at the short end of their long rectangular table, Shaggy, Scooby and Courage watched with interest as the Other Mother carefully placed the roasted chicken in front of the kids and puppies. Then she sat down in the middle of the long side to Scooby's right. The Other Father sat across from his wife. He cleared his throat, and the two Others folded their hands and bowed their heads.
It was a whole buffet of food: chicken, corn on the cob, sweet peas, potatoes and gravy, dinner rolls and so much more. Courage became even more suspicious of this place.
"We give our thanks and ask to bless," the Other Father intoned, "our mother's golden—chicken breast!"
The Other Mother flapped her hand at him with a smile as he laughed. She then picked up a bell that stood above and to the left of her plate and rang it. All three, expect for the cowardly trio put their napkins on their laps. The two lazy susans on the table began to turn slowly and the Other Father served himself a heaping helping of peas.
But Courage didn't quite trust the food. He poked it a bit and looked it over. Shaggy and Scooby found themselves overwhelmed by a sudden urge to eat the food. For all they know, it could be poison.
But their hunger including Courage's got the better of them, and the three ate the chicken. It was delicious, even better than Muriel's fried chicken.
"Mmm...this chicken is good!" Coraline exclaimed with happy surprise.
"Yeah, I guess it is," Courage said.
Shaggy and Scooby both nodded and continued to dig in. Coraline ate, and she had a full mouth as she asked, "Do you have any gravy?"
"Well, here comes the gravy train!" the Other Mother said laughingly. She pulled an imaginary train whistle. "Choo-oo choo!"
A small blue old-fashioned train engine emerged from the large pineapple-shaped decoration in the middle of the table. It pulled a flatbed car with a gravy boat on top. Snorting steam, it chugged along the figure eight track, around both lazy susans and stopped in front of the kids and puppies. They watched with interest as the gravy boat rose and rotated on a spring and poured gravy on their mashed potatoes.
"Huh," Coraline spoke.
"Another roll?" the Other Mother asked. "Sweet peas? Corn on the cob?" the lazy susan in front of the kids and puppies rotated so that each successive dish was in front of them.
"I'm really thirsty," Coraline said.
"Of course. Any requests?" the Other Mother said, smiling and gesturing upward at the chandelier. It smoothly lowered, revealing that instead of candles or lights, it had small old-fashioned drink dispensers on each branch.
"Mango milkshake?" Coraline asked hopefully as the chandelier came to rest.
Shaggy, Scooby and Courage wanted to request Scooby Snacks flavored milkshake, but they knew there weren't any. However, as if the chandelier read their minds, it spin and right in front of him was the lever for a Scooby Snacks milkshake! The three couldn't believe it.
Courage continued eating, occasionally looking at everyone every now and then. He glanced over to the Other Mother's plate, it was empty and spotless, as if she didn't eat anything at all.
While The kids and puppies were finished with their meals, the Other Mother took their plates and placed a tall circular cake in front of her. Pink frosting swirled down the sides. When the kids and puppies put their glasses down and looked at the cake, ten small yellow buds appeared in a circle.
They quickly opened flat into flowers and a lit candle sprang up in the center of each flower. Red piped frosting wrote itself in cursive across the cake, forming the words 'Welcome home!'
The blood inside of Shaggy, Scooby and Courage seemed to grow cold as they'd thought on these words. The trio felt the same feeling of dread and hopelessness at these words as they did when they had first seen the doll Wybie gave Coraline.
Coraline looked over at the Other Mother quizzically, "Home?"
The Other Father walked over behind his wife, putting one hand on the back of her chair and taking her hand, and smiled.
"We've been waiting for you Coraline. And for Shaggy, Scooby and Courage of course," the Other Mother said.
Scooby frowned in confusion, "Ror us?"
"Yep, wasn't the same without you here kiddos," Other Father said.
Shaggy, Scooby and Courage didn't drop their suspicions. Even if they seemed nice so far, some things were seeming a little too… strange. Realistically so.
Coraline crossed her arms, "I didn't know I HAD another mother."
"Of course you do," the Other Mother said, "Everyone does."
The Other Father nodded in agreement.
"Like, even me?" Shaggy asked.
"Uh-huh," the Other Mother let go of the Other Father's hand, "And as soon as you're through eating, I thought we'd play a game!" her button eyes flashed excitedly and she quietly drummed the fingers of one hand on the table.
Shaggy, Scooby and Courage heard the excitement in her voice, but it threw them off a bit. It sounded a little TOOexcited, but not in a forced way. She had said they had been waiting a long time for them, so maybe that was it? But… They also heard as well as saw as her fingers drummed almost impatiently on the table: a small rhythmic pattern that could come off as upset, but seemed rather anxious and waiting.
It scared them a bit, Shaggy, Scooby and Courage knew something was up. They're gonna keep a close eye on this 'Other Mother' of Coraline's.
"You mean like, hide and seek?" Courage suggest, skeptical. Why did he say that?! That was the LASTgame one should play when terrified and in a scary environment.
"Perfect!" the Other Mother exclaimed, putting her hands together happily. "Hide-and-seek—in the RAIN."
"Rhat rain?" Scooby asked simultaneously.
As if on cue, lighting and thunder struck and it started pouring.
Shaggy, Scooby and Courage had yelped in surprise, accidentally turning his back to the pair as they looked at the window in shock.
Shaggy, Scooby and Courage were all astounded, it was as if this world was MADE for them and Coraline...Coraline more than them, but there were things that appealed to them too. As amazing as this place was, they didn't trust it. Anything this perfect had to be a trap.
"Umm like, m-maybe not tonight, actually? I mean- it'll get r-really muddy, you know?" Shaggy said, trying his best to hide his anxiety over the unfolding situation.
"We LOVE mud here!" the Other Father proclaimed, making a ta-da motion with both hands.
The Other Mother got up and started walking over, "Mud facials, mud baths, mud pies..." she listed. "It's great for poison oak."
"How did you know I-" Coraline begin to ask.
Scooby tugged on Coraline's pajamas, "Re should get outta here," he whispered urgently.
Coraline nodded to Scooby, "Uh, we'd love to play, but we better be getting home to my other mother-"
"But I'M your other mother," the Other Mother said with a big smile, leaning forward slightly and gesturing to herself.
Oookay. Shaggy thought. Like, that wasn't at all creepy.
"I—I mean my OTHER, other mother. Mom number one?" Coraline said, holding up one finger.
Backing up slightly, Coraline bumped into the Other Father and turned. He smiled and waved.
"I think I should get to bed," Coraline said.
"Yeah, us too," Courage agreed.
"Of course," the Other Mother said, "It's all made up for you four. And the spare room is very comfortable here for you three."
"But-" Coraline said before the Other Father stepped in.
"Come along, sleepyhead," the Other Father said, giving her them gentle pushes as the six began heading toward the stairs. As they left the room, he flipped the lights off.
As Shaggy, Scooby and Courage got settled into bed, they knew there was no way they could go to sleep with their suspicions raising up sky high. It was eventually decided that they'd stay up all night in order to avoid anything bad happening to them.
But just after they made that decision, they're suddenly overcame with drowsiness as if a sandman came in and sprinkle invisible sand onto them without knowing about it.
"Like, we gotta stay awake all night," Shaggy yawned in between his words, "Just in case…"
They leaned over against each other. Before they even knew what they're doing their eyes had begun to droop.
"No problem," Courage mumbled, he couldn't fight his exhaustion any longer.
Their minds began to drift again, especially on how comfortable the bed felt. Their eyes slowly pulled to close, and before they knew it, Shaggy, Scooby and Courage fell asleep.
Well that's all for now, this is Vakarns signing off.