Chapter Text
"Relax Mikayla," Tulip said over the phone, "I'm only gonna be gone for 7 weeks, ok?"
"You do realize how long 7 weeks is, right?" Mikayla asked.
"Hey, I've been gone for WAY longer, if you remember... you know."
"Yeah! And after that, the idea of you being somewhere else for longer than a week is... ugh! It gives me chills!"
"You uh... must really like being around me huh?" Tulip said with a bit of shyness in her voice, trying to hide the blatant crush she had.
"Of course I do!"
"Mikayla, I promise you this, I'll be back before you know it. Ok?"
"Ok... bye Tulip."
"I lo- I mean... bye!" Tulip hung up her phone, and luckily enough they had already arrived.
Tulip stepped out of the car and took a look at the place. It was a pretty modest size for an apartment complex. She looked at the sign, which read "PINK PALACE APARTMENTS" in large letters, and laughed to herself about how ridiculous the name was. She saw a woman come from the front door of the building who Tulip recognized as that "Mrs. Jones" character her dad talked so much about.
"Hey Mel! We actually made it!" Tulip's dad told her. Mel walked up to Tulip's dad and hugged him. She then turned her attention to Tulip.
"So, you must be Tulip."
"The one and only!" Tulip said as she grabbed her suitcase from the trunk. "I heard from dad that I have a step sister now... or something."
"Oh, Coraline? She's out with her friend Wybie. Here, I'll help with your luggage."
"Don't forget to unpack, Tulip!" She heard her dad call out.
"I know! I'm just gonna take a walk. Explore the 'stomping grounds' if you know what I mean." She stepped out the door and saw a trail to walk on. She went at a steady pace, admiring the atmosphere of the place. It almost had a gloomy feel to it, and while she did prefer the not as creepy vibes of Minnesota, this was somewhere she was willing to get used to. Her peaceful walk was interrupted when she heard the sound of a loud motor.
When she heard it, she couldn't even tell where it was coming from. It took a few seconds for her to realize it was coming from behind her. It wasn't until she turned around that she saw a dirt bike zooming towards her.
She jumped out of the way as it bolted past her. She only had a few seconds to make out the outfit of the person on the bike, but from what she could discern, it looked like some ridiculous outfit you'd see in Mad Max or something.
"Jeez, what's his problem?" Tulip was annoyed by how whoever that was didn't seem to care that there may be people walking on the incredibly narrow path. Surprisingly, she stopped on her trail when she saw that same biker talking to a girl not too much further on the trail.
"Ok, THAT was the best one yet. This'll absolutely work!" The girl said. Tulip was too angry to notice the striking resemblance the girl had to Mrs. Jones, suggesting that she was the "Coraline" she mentioned.
"Hey! Trenchcoat! You nearly ran me over!" Tulip shouted at him.
"Trenchcoat? Is that really the best you could do?" He jokingly responded with.
"So you admit it!" The girl exclaimed, completely ignoring Tulip. "You admit you like being called Why-were-you-born!"
"That's not what I'm saying, I'm saying that Trenchcoat is somehow worse!"
"What were you even doing that was worth riding a dirtbike on an INCREDIBLY narrow path and..." Tulip looked down and noticed one of her gloves had ripped, "Ruining a perfect pair of gloves?"
"How did I... I don't think I did that." The boy told her.
"I don't know, maybe it was..." Tulip wasn't actually sure what it was that ripped her glove open. There certainly wasn't anything on the bike that could've done it
"Wanna see what we were doing?" The girl handed Tulip her phone which had a video pulled up on it. She pressed play and it began with an empty shot, only for the boy to appear on his dirtbike, pull out what seemed to be a rolled up poster, and unroll it. The poster read
CORALINE JONE
S FOR CLASS
PRESIDANT
Do they not know how to spell President? Wait...
"You're Coraline?"
"Oh! You uh... must be Tulip."
"And you..." Tulip turned to the boy, "...must be Wybie."
"Sorry about this VERY chaotic introduction," Coraline apologized. "We were actually just about to head back to the palace."
"Well, I do need to finish unpacking." Tulip remembered.
"Y-you can walk back with us... if you'd like." Wybie told her.
"Hm, may as well." Tulip had calmed down a bit after the brief shake up, and began walking. Coraline and Wybie did get a bit of a head start after Tulip felt something hit her in the head. She turned around and saw something strange, it appeared to be an old-fashioned key. The end of the key seemed to resemble a button. She looked at the old well that she was standing next to, shrugged, and put the key in her pocket.
She caught up to the duo and began to talk with them. "So, when did you move here."
"I was 11, and my parents were still together. After their divorce my dad went back to Michigan but my mom stayed here."
"M-my grandma actually owns the place." Wybie butted in with, "That's how I know Coraline."
"Really?"
"Yeah, she used to be SUPER paranoid about the place but after some... circumstances, she eased up a little bit."
"Paranoid in what way?" Tulip asked.
"Well, she used to refuse to let kids live there, she even told me not to go in there."
"Who else is living here?" Tulip asked.
"Well, on the bottom floor we have April Spink and Miriam Forcible, they're a REALLY old couple who used to be actresses. On the top floor we used to have this eccentric Russian guy named Mr. Bobinsky."
"What happened to him?"
"He passed away last year..."
"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that"
"It's fine, I didn't really know him too well. You know who's living there now, right Wybie?"
"Yeah, it's some woman named Grace. Apparently she wanted to get away from her parents and now she's l-living with her cousin on the top floor... apparently her parents are some pretentious rich people so I fully understand."
The three of them continued to chat as they made their way back to the palace.
"Jeez Caroline, is this really what your dad looks like?" Tulip asked, she was supposed to be unpacking (which Coraline was helping her with) but she kept getting distracted by random things. "He looks like that one dude from the old Spider-Man movies that the newspaper guy yells at."
“You’re lucky Wybie isn’t here, he’d kill you for getting my name wrong.” Coraline went over to Tulip and saw the photo she was holding. “You think that’s bad? Check this out.”
Coraline pulled up a picture on her phone and showed it to Tulip. “This is when they were in college.” The photo showed Coraline’s parents at a concert of some sort. Her mom looked like your typical college aged girl but Coraline’s dad had the most ridiculous slicked back hair Tulip had ever seen.
”Geez, he looks like the type of guy to order a steak and dump water on it.”
”That’s… an interesting comparison.”
”I was referencing this one Tv show I watched.”
”Oh, I don’t watch that much tv actually.”
Tulip was then able to make out the two musicians on stage. One was on guitar and was wearing all red, and the other was on a synth and wearing all blue. “Oh my god… is he at a Chicken Choice Judy concert? Your dad seems like the lamest dude ever!”
“He can definitely seem that way sometimes, but he’s still my dad, and at some point you get used to how lame your parents may seem…” Tulip saw Coraline pause for a second, as if she was remembering something, before Coraline grabbed one of her bags.
”Hey be careful! That’s my PC!” Tulip rushed over and stopped her from picking it up. “Let me carry this, I spent a LOT of money building this and…” Tulip stopped herself, realizing how pretentious she sounded. “Never mind, just… be careful.”
Coraline nodded and carried it upstairs, Tulip did some more looking around and noticed something peculiar. Near the bottom of the wall there appeared to be something behind the wallpaper. It almost seemed like some kind of trap door. When Coraline came back down, Tulip decided to ask her about it.
”Hey, what’s that?”
Coraline had a look on her face that made her look like she was gonna faint. Tulip didn’t expect such a simple question to shake her up that much. “Uh… that was there when I moved here. I checked what was behind there and it’s just filled with bricks… the only people who know what was behind there are the people who built it.” Tulip could tell that she was hiding something, the fact that she looked like she just saw a ghost but gave the most nonchalant answer possible was a clear giveaway of something. “So… you built your own PC huh?”
Tulip could tell she was trying to change the subject, but didn’t mind going along. “Yeah, I did actually. I play a lot of video games so I wanted something optimal to do that. What about you?”
”Oh, I don’t really play video games… they don’t really interest me.”
she doesn’t play video games OR watch tv? What does she do for fun?
Tulip decided to finally help her bring stuff up to her room and later that day she decided to meet the upstairs neighbors
Knock knock knock
Tulip didn't expect anything weird to happen when meeting her upstairs neighbors. After all, based on how Wybie described her, Grace was probably pretty young so she wouldn't be dealing with a neighbor she wouldn't like.
The door opened, and Grace was exactly as Tulip expected. She seemed to be close to 20 and didn't seem too strange. "Are you one of the new neighbors?"
"Yep! The name's Tulip!"
Grace seemed to be incredibly hesitant. Maybe she was just shy, or she was really tired. "Uh... have we met before?"
Tulip was taken aback by the question. She definitely never met Grace before in her life. "...no?"
"Hm, you seem familiar."
"Can I come in?"
"Oh of course! It's a bit of a mess but hey, what can you do?" The moment Tulip entered the room, before she had a chance to process her surroundings, she saw someone who looked like the grim reaper fall out of an... interesting looking bed. "That's Greg... my cousin." The annoyed tone of Grace's voice showed Tulip that this is how he usually acts.
Greg sprung up from where he fell, and somehow seemed like an even bigger weirdo than Wybie was. "Ahhh, a new visitor?"
"Does everyone around here wear large black jackets?"
Greg jumped up on a small table and crouched like he was trying to pick something up. "You must be referring to the 'Wyborn Jones' specimen, am I correct?"
"Please don't call people specimens." Tulip begged.
"Get used to it, Tulip." Grace told her.
"Please, we're all specimens in this great big world, and as a specimen myself, I have dedicated my life to two things. The first... my collection."
"Is that what all the stuffed animals behind you are?"
Greg seemed absolutely insulted at what Tulip said. "STUFFED ANIMALS? Have you no CLASS? They are PLUSHIES! And they are RARE!" He hopped over to his pile. "Such as, this RARE elephant, this RARE tiger, or this RARE Super Mario!"
"Is that thing covered in mold?" Tulip asked, noticing that the "rare" Mario was completely featureless.
"No, it was a crayola collab! You have to color it in yourself!"
"...That's definitely mold."
"It doesn't matter what YOU think Tulpa!"
"My name is Tulip!"
"These are the RAREST you'll ever find! Nothing quite like them!"
"Greg, you found most of those at a goodwill!" Grace reminded him.
"The market dictates the value, Gracie."
"You CLEARLY don't know what that means."
"So... what's the other thing you're into?" Tulip asked, unsure of if she even wanted to know.
"Conspiracy theories." Grace answered for him before he had the chance to say anything.
"Ok then! I think I should head back downstairs, it's getting late." Tulip knew it wasn't even that late, she just knew that if Greg started talking about his favorite conspiracy theories that she would be there all day.
"WAIT! One more thing before you go, Tuscon." Greg stopped Tulip. "Unlike you two, Mrs. Lovat actually RESPECTS my hobby, and gave me her childhood toy collection!"
"Greg, she didn't know what else to do with it." Grace corrected him.
"My point is... look what I found." Greg rummaged through his pile and pulled out a doll. This wasn't just any doll, it was a doll that resembled Tulip. Glasses, redhead, a green jacket, and with two button eyes. "Look familiar, Tapestry?"
"That... is that me?"
"Yes Tumbleweed, it is you, you know what this means right?" Greg started moving closer to Tulip. "It means... that you were destined to come here, just like how JFK was destined to stand up in that car-"
"Ok Greg! We could let her leave now!" Grace interrupted him before it could get any weirder. Greg seemed to be offering the doll to Tulip so Tulip took it from him and returned to her apartment as fast as she could.
Tulip could tell that her room was old. She looked around at what used to be the guest bedroom and took note of how all her computer and video game stuff clashed with the archaic look of her room. The bed looked like it was made in the 1800's which clashed with her custom built PC setup with a light up mechanical keyboard. Sat right next to it was the arcade stick controller she bought after she started to get into fighting games. Tulip looked down at what she was holding. A torn up glove, an old looking key, and a doll that resembled her almost perfectly. She put her glove with the matching, still intact glove, put the old key in her bedside drawer, and threw the Tulip doll against her wall.
Tulip's silent observations were interrupted by Coraline coming in. "You settled in well?"
"Yeah! So... got any plans tomorrow? Maybe you could give me a tour of the town." Tulip didn't get an answer, and that's because Coraline had that same terrified look on her face as when Tulip asked her about the door. "Hello? Earth to Coraline?"
"Oh! Uh... sure! You can come with me and Wybie, there's..." Coraline paused for a second, still seeming shaken up. "...there's this arcade nearby which you may like. I haven't really been in there that often but maybe you'd enjoy it?"
"Sounds like a plan!"
"Well... uh... goodnight Tulip." Coraline closed the door almost immediately.
"Goodnight to you too, Coraline." Tulip said to herself. Tulip then noticed that the Tulip doll was in the exact spot that Coraline kept looking at every time she zoned out. Was Coraline afraid of the doll? Tulip picked up the doll and started jokingly talking to it.
"What are you plotting?" Every time Tulip asked the doll something, she would move it around as if it was talking while also making random gibberish noises. "Oh! You want to get me a better sister?" "Oh! One who isn't boring? One that I can actually talk to about the stuff I'm interested in?" "That would be GREAT mini Tulip! Also, if you could get me neighbors who don't wear ridiculous jackets that would be great too!" "Signing off to you too, mini tulip!"
Tulip put the doll on the bedside table and turned off the light. As she went to sleep, she had no idea about what would happen later that night.
Chapter 2: 1T: First encounter
Summary:
Tulip figures out what's really behind that door, even after being warned by Coraline.
Chapter Text
"Nghh, turn off the lights." Tulip was still half asleep but felt a small amount of light coming from the hallway outside her room. She assumed it was Coraline, her dad, or Ms. Jones- actually, she KNEW it was Coraline. Who else could it be? Tulip was fully awake now, and was getting fed up with the obnoxious light outside her room. "Listen Coraline, if you don't-"
Much to her surprise, she saw a tiny little mouse had opened up her door just a little bit. "Great, of course this place has mice..." The mouse just sat there and looked at Tulip, almost as if it was trying to get her attention. "What do you want?" The little mouse actually seemed to gesture towards Tulip, almost trying to get her attention. Before she could say anything else, it hopped out of her room. "Hm, jumping mice." Tulip then put two and two together,
what if the mouse came from behind that door?
Tulip grabbed her gloves and the key, she had no idea if it would unlock the door but hey, it's worth trying.
Tulip was in the living room and saw a bright blue light coming from behind the small door. She knew that Coraline was lying about nothing being behind it, and was ready to see what she was hiding. She got down on her knees and used the key to cut open the wallpaper. Right before she could put the key into the keyhole, she was pulled back from the door by Coraline.
"What the hell are you doing?" Coraline angrily said through gritted teeth.
"What's really behind the door?"
"Believe me when I tell you that you do NOT want to know."
"Actually... I do."
"No, you absolutely do NOT want to know." Coraline was clearly getting annoyed with how much of a smartass Tulip was being. "Give me the key."
"What key?"
"Don't play dumb with me Tulip."
"I don't know what key you're talking about. If you're trying to scare me then you're doing a terrible job at it."
"I'm not trying to scare you, I'm trying to stop you from doing something really stupid! Now give me the key!"
"What key?"
"The key that opens that door!"
"...I didn't even know it was locked." Tulip was impressed she came up with that lie on the spot.
"Ok, well if that's the case... I'm getting rid of this." Coraline held up the doll that Greg gave to Tulip.
"I get it now, you ARE afraid of dolls!" She could see in Coraline's expression that she was getting fed up with Tulip's BS. "Listen, Coraline, whatever's behind that door... lets just say I've been through WAY worse."
"Tulip... I'm done, just... don't go through that door." Tulip expected her to go back to her room, but weirdly enough she actually went out the front door.
"Hm, scared of dolls AND doors!" Tulip got back to what she was doing before and put the key into the hole. When she opened the door, she was greeted with a tunnel. She put one hand in and the material was like nothing she ever felt before. She made her way through the tunnel, determined to find out what was on the other side."
When she made it to the other side, she was greeted with... the living room?
"How the hell did that happen?" She then heard humming coming from the kitchen. "Mrs. Jones?"
Tulip walked into the kitchen, and saw the last thing she could've possibly expected. It wasn't Mel in the kitchen. In fact, whoever this woman was had blonde hair. The same blond hair as...
"Mom?"
The woman resembling Tulip's mom turned around. She looked almost identical, to an uncanny degree. The only thing that was different was that she had two large buttons covering her eyes. "Tulip! We've been waiting!"
"Uh... what's with the..." Tulip gestured towards her eyes, still not quite sure what was going on.
"Buttons? Do you like them?"
"I uh... what is going on? Where am I? Are you actually my mom?"
"I'm your other mother, silly!"
"What do you mean by other?"
"Oh, you know!" That didn't answer any of Tulip's questions. "Now go tell your other father and other Coraline that dinner is ready."
Tulip knocked on the "other" Coraline's bedroom door. "Coraline? ...dinner is ready!"
Before she knew it, Tulip was knocked over something. She looked down and saw that someone who looked like Coraline was hugging her. Only this Coraline felt... shorter.
"Tulip! You're here!" The other Coraline stood up and Tulip could tell that she was much younger than the real Coraline. She had to be about 11 years old. Just like the other mother she had buttons for eyes. "My big sister is finally here! Papa! Tulip is here!" Coraline excitedly ran down the hallway towards where her dad had set up the office in the real world.
The younger Coraline emerged from that end of the hallway with an exact copy of Tulip's dad. Only difference was that he had, you guessed it, buttons for eyes. "Hey sport, welcome home!"
"Home?"
"Well, your other home."
"Uh... okay then."
"Mmm! Something smells good!"
"Well, mom... I mean, other mom did say that dinner is ready."
"Well then, what are we waiting for?"
Tulip didn't want to admit it, but she was actually starting to like this place. The dinner table had a decorative train set in the middle, and everyone just seemed to have a pleasant vibe to them. Sure, the buttons everywhere were a little bit eerie but at least it wasn't a bunch of turtles.
Tulip took a bite from the turkey leg she was offered and was in awe at the taste. She didn't really like turkey (in fact, it's one of the reasons she hated thanksgiving), but it seemed to her like this specific turkey was made with the purpose of being the best thing she ever tasted. She looked around and everyone else seemed to be enjoying it just as much as she was. "Would you like some gravy?" The other mother asked.
"Oh, absolutely!" Tulip said, she was REALLY starting to enjoy being here.
The other Coraline's face lit up, and she looked like she was about to explode from excitement. "Is it Gravy Train time?"
"It sure is dear! Here it comes!"
Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, the model train set had a train running on it. It was carrying a car that appeared to be boat shaped and splashed a bit of gravy onto Tulip's plate. This whole thing made Tulip feel like she was dreaming.
"Can we have smoothies?" Coraline asked.
"Of course, go ahead!" Tulip looked up and there was a large smoothie dispenser hanging above the table. Tulip watched the younger Coraline fill her glass with some. "Come on Tulip, we even have some Onion smoothie!"
"Onion... smoothie?"
"Go on, have some!"
Tulip obliged and poured some from the dispenser closest to her. She took a sip and it was way better than she expected. She then looked to her left and saw the younger Coraline handing her a basket.
"I went Onion picking today! Here!" Tulip didn't hesitate to grab one and bite into it.
"Wow... thanks!" At this point, Tulip wasn't even trying to hide how much she enjoyed this. "You know, I like you WAY better than the other Coraline. She didn't even want me to come here!"
"That's because the other Coraline is jealous that we're way better!" The other Coraline told her.
"Isn't this what you wanted Tulip?" The other mother asked, "To see your parents happy with eachother?" Tulip had completely forgotten that the whole point of her train journey was accepting her parent's divorce, she was too distracted by how much she liked this version of the palace.
Tulip went into her bedroom and was in awe at what it looked like. It didn't look like something that was built a million years ago, now it looked brand new. It had a shelf that reached across the wall which she was convinced had every video game that ever existed with how much was on it. There was even-
"One One? Atticus?"
Much to her surprise, her companions from the train were in her room. Sure, they had button eyes just like everyone else, but other than that they were indistinguishable.
"Hey! I didn't think I'd see you guys here! Bring it in!" One One and Atticus both came in for a group hug. "Hm, you know Atticus, you look really cute with those button eyes."
"Of course! Your mother told me that black was a formal color for our eyes. You know how I am about formality."
"I chose white buttons!" Glad one exclaimed. "Black buttons would only put me closer to societal conformity..." Sad one told her.
Tulip heard a knock at her door and opened it. Standing there was Coraline.
"Mama saw that one of your gloves got ripped, so..." Coraline held out the pair of gloves that Tulip had left at the dinner table. The one that had a tear in it was now sewn back together.
"Tell mom I said thank you, ok?" Tulip patted her head and the other Coraline nodded before skipping down the hallway.
So far, Tulip was right. She HAD been through way worse than this. What did Coraline know? After all, maybe she WAS jealous of this version of the family. Why wouldn't she be? Tulip actually liked the other Coraline. She thought she liked the buttonless Coraline but this experience made here realize how much of a pain she was.
"Heh, when I get back, I'm gonna tell Coraline how amazing this place is."
"Competition causes more harm than good..." Sad One butted in with.
Tulip ignored Sad one and fell asleep in her new bedroom. Little did Tulip realize, but she wouldn't get a chance to talk to the real Coraline for quite a while.
Chapter 3: 1C: It's happening again
Summary:
The idea of the Beldham returning to go after Tulip leads to Coraline having a meltdown. Little does she know, the exact thing that would make her face her fears would be... a train?
Chapter Text
"Oh, my twitchy witchy little girl..." Coraline said to herself as she made her way to the old well. "I give you bowls of porridge, I give you bowls of ice... cream." There were so many thoughts running through her head that she thought her brain would shut down.
The Beldham is back
What does she mean she's been through worse?
The Beldham is back
Does she already hate me? Is that why she went through the door?
THE BELDHAM IS BACK
Still, she just kept repeating that poem to herself over and over again. "Oh, my twitchy witchy little girl..." She finally made it to the well. "I give... I give you... I give you..."
She looked down at the doll in her hands, and remembered her own doll. She remembered learning that her doll was a spy, and she knew that this one served the same purpose.
"I give... you..."
"You can give her as much as she wants." Coraline whipped around, she had no idea where the voice was coming from. Despite that, the voice being identical to her mother's meant she knew exactly who it was. "Whether it's love, friendship, or a shoulder to cry on... she'll always just see you as a nuisance." Coraline felt a metal claw on her shoulder, and turned around to see the same monster who tried to manipulate her years ago.
"I... I got rid of you... I saw it! The world started collapsing and your... your..."
"Buttons fell off? Of course, I remember EVERY bit of that day. But... let me ask you something, Coraline..." The Beldham got up right next to her ear. "Do you really think I'd stop doing this just because 1 kid got away?"
"Listen... you're gonna leave Tulip alone. You understand that?"
"Oh, my poor poor little doll, Tulip already made her choice. I'll be honest it was a total shot in the dark. I thought that since she was older than the usual doll, it would be harder to get her to fall for my tricks..." The Beldam was now standing right in front of Coraline. "But... if you offer the perfect life to anyone whose dealt with as much trauma as she has... of course they'll say yes."
"What the hell did she go through?"
"Well, you're about to find out VERY soon." The Beldham was now at eye level with Coraline. "However, here's a preview of what she's going to go through once I'm through with her."
The Beldham gestured towards Coraline's hands. She looked down, and seemingly out of nowhere, the limp body of her new step sister was laying in her arms. Tulip's head was turned away from Coraline, but it quickly jerked it's head towards her. She had buttons on her eyes, but the area surrounding them looked like a gnarled mess. It was almost as if they were just put in.
"Help... me..."
Coraline screamed and ducked down, next thing she knew, both the Beldham and Tulip's limp body were gone.
"No no no... there's no way that was all in my head." She looked down at her hands, and she was practically squeezing the Tulip doll in her hand. She tried not to look at it, since looking at it made the sight of Tulip with those buttons flash through her head. The next thing she heard was odd, it was the sound of... a train? As far as she was aware, there weren't that many trains nearby. She was convinced she was still hearing things but thankfully the next thing she heard was real. It was a faint meow, and it came from the black cat who always followed Wybie around. "Hey, hi there! I'm so glad you're here! Listen, my mom's fiance is staying over and his daughter just went through the door, so if you could help her I would REALLY appreciate it."
The cat shook his head.
"No, you don't understand. You helped me last time, why not this time? Just... tell her not to trust the Beldham-" The cat left before Coraline could finish talking to him. "Wait! Where are you going?" As this was going on, the train sounds she was hearing kept getting louder and louder. It all culminated in a literal train appearing right behind her, only for her to black out.
When Coraline awoke, she was still outside. The only difference was that this time it was the daytime. "Holy shit... did I spend the entire night outside?"
"Ey, youse finally awake?" Coraline looked to her right and saw a goat. "I was just about to give youse a mud bed!"
Coraline looked down and saw that she was covered in dirt. "What the hell are you doing? Were you about to bury me alive?"
"No! I was givin' youse a mud bed! An ol' college prank. We cova them in dirt then add the special ingredient to turn it into mud!"
"PLEASE don't tell me that the 'special ingredient' is a bodily fluid..."
"Well, it's not MY bodily fluids..." Coraline didn't know what that meant but she still wanted to throw up at the thought. "I do that to every passenger who wakes up here. If they wake up in time, they escape the mud bed. If they don't, then they get the mud bed! Then they get all freaked out because apparently they've neva seen a talkin' goat before! Then they leave and I'm all alone again..."
"Well lucky for you, I have met a talking animal before, just not a goat."
"Finally, someone who's used to seeing people like me!
"Also, maybe they leave because you cover them in dirt and piss on them!"
"When did I say anythin' about piss?"
"Stop, you're making this whole thing even worse..." Coraline tried not to think about whatever this goat with a VERY heavy Italian New Yorker accent did to new pass- wait.
did he just call me a passenger?
Coraline then remembered the last thing she saw before ending up here. It was a train, and now this very weird talking goat was calling her a passenger.
"What do you mean by passengers?"
"Youse on a train numbnuts! Kids these days can't figure stuff out..."
"Oh, I'm sorry for not realizing that, it's not like we're in an OPEN FIELD OR SOMETHING!"
"Youse never been on a train before? Every car is bigger on the inside."
"I have been on a train before and as far as I'm aware, the inside of the cars weren't large open-" Coraline stopped talking when she looked at her hand. She saw a big, glowing green number on it.
(60)
"Why is there a number on my hand?"
"Geez! You say you've been on a train before but you don't know what the numbah is for?"
"The trains I've been on are NOTHING like this!"
"Ok, fine... the numba is your progress. Get it down to zero, and you get to go home to your kid brotha or your sister mother."
"What's a sister mother?"
"My god this kid doesn't know anything... it's like she's a newborn!" The goat muttered to himself.
"Ok, well, how do I get it down to zero?"
"Simple! You deal with whatever your mental turmoils are!"
"And... how do I know what those mental turmoils are?"
"What do I look like? A therapist or somethin'?"
"You know what, that's fair... do you have to stay here?"
"No! I can go with you... but you don't need me to!"
"Well, that's very true! I'll find the exit and... what does the door look like?"
"Big, red, golden thing in the middle.
"Good to know, see ya!" Coraline made her way towards the door since she saw it right after the goat described it to her.
"Wait!"
"What?"
"Well, uh... there's some guys that are mad at me... they're gonna find me eventually... maybe I should go with you."
"Hm, I wonder why they're mad at you!" Coraline sarcastically told him.
"Come on! I know we got off on the wrong foot, but if I stay here-"
"Couldn't you have left earlier?"
"No! I don't feel safe leaving alone, ok? If they jump me... then there's nobody to stop them."
Coraline thought about what he said. He may have been an asshole so far, but he also seemed scared of whoever these people are. She thought about when she was 11, how moody she would get just because her parents wouldn't pay attention to her. He was the same, he just didn't want to be alone.
"Ok... fine, but if you keep giving me that attitude then..." Coraline realized that whatever she was about to say wouldn't have helped at all. "The name's Coraline."
"Goati, John Goati."
Coraline noticed how on the nose his name was. "You... wouldn't happen to be part of-"
"A mafia? I used to..." Coraline quickly realized that those were the guys who were mad at him.
"Well, I didn't think I'd be protecting someone from the mafia, but there's a first time for everything, right?"
After exiting that car, Coraline saw that John wasn't kidding. She was on a train, and the cars were all bigger than the ones she ever saw in the real world. She looked out into the wasteland surrounding the train, and saw that the train was incredibly long. Almost... infinite.
"See? Told youse we were on a train.
Coraline and John entered the next car and the scenery was completely different. What she saw instead was a massive city, but that city was coming from... a sea?
"Good day to both of you!" The duo saw a sentient body of water wearing a tie. "Would either of you like to buy a Randall Inc. patented Donut Holer?"
TO BE CONTINUED
Penguin_Lord_75 on Chapter 1 Thu 24 Aug 2023 08:55PM UTC
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Penguin_Lord_75 on Chapter 1 Thu 24 Aug 2023 08:56PM UTC
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Penguin_Lord_75 on Chapter 3 Sat 26 Aug 2023 04:33PM UTC
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