Pills and Needles: A Fran Bow and Coraline Crosover

Chapter 4: An Interlude

Though you and I would much rather know what has become of little Fran Bow or Coraline's next course of action, or even what has become of the cat, we must stop and acknowledge Itward's presence in this story.

Itward, as we know, belongs to the fourth reality. Therefore, his wreck of a ship could not be seen by the naked eye, or unaltered mind. 

He rose from his seat, stumbling out of his ship into the snow. The skeleton felt negative energies to the south of the crash. Itward didn't bother trying to shout for Fran or seek her. He knew she wouldn't be able to find him. For now, anyways.

Nonetheless, he at least wanted to make sure she was safe. So with a quick tip of his hat, and click of his bones, he trudged through the snow.

The area was much less pleasing in the fourth reality. Crawling rat skins could be seen wandering around, moving away from the direction Itward was going towards. The trees were frail, bare, and appeared shaky when looked at. Getting closer to the houses, he caught sight of an old canon, dirty and something rotting inside. It was too small to be a real one, but ants were clambering around it, trying to get to the rotting pink substance in and around it. 

Having arrived to some sort of civilization, he looked around at his surroundings. There was a house a bit farther away where he felt the luring aura of a child. Toward the other home, he was met with the malevolent aura of a darker essence, but no child. He could make out spines sticking out of surrounding trees, threads spread out upon them and decorated with..buttons?

"It would be best if I see Fran first and keep her away from that place," the skeleton said to no one in particular. He got familiar vibes, reminding him of his old friends, the twins. 

With the thought of them lingering in the back of his mind, Itward continued to trudge toward the house farther away, assuming the child was Fran. Then again, any family could have a kid and live near a supernatural hotspot. 

He snapped out of his thoughts upon tripping and nearly falling over. A black metal beam was sticking out of the ground. Itward walked to it to observe it, brushing some snow off. A spotlight was attached to it. It was in no condition to function; the skeleton let it be and continued on his way.

At last, he reached the household. 

We as the audience also know that Itward is not one for ordinary appearances. He walked around the perimeter of the house before finding a window. Using his bony fingers, he was able to loosen the window and open it up. The window was creaky and dented, this taking place in the fourth reality.

The household was barren, save for the photos of two little girls on the walls in various frames. They has braids and could be seen holding hands, eating treats together and playing together. This again gave Itward memories of the Buhalmets. On one photo in particular surrounded by a golden frame, one of the sisters had pins and needles sticking into her side of the picture. Candles were laid about the perimeter, the wax pasted to the wooden floor boards. 

The skeleton made his way up some stairs where he knew a child was located. It wasn't as overpowering as the children's auras as in the hospital since there were so many, but he could at least feel this one going up the stairs.

Finally, he reached the door. It was already partially open. Opening it a bit further, Itward looked in. His golden eyes caught sight of a black jacket with white stripes hung on the wall and a mask on a nightstand. There was someone sleeping in the bed. What caught him by surprise was the fact that there was a boy hovering over the body in the bed, looking down at it. 

Itward came closer to further examine it. He didn't know if the boy had seen him. If he had, he didn't much care for the skeleton's presence. The boy had curly brown hair. And wearing a similar black jacket that was hung up. Though his complexion was a bit dark, he didn't seem to have skin, at least not with its normal texture or appearance. It looked...softer. 

When Itward finally caught sight of the individual's identity in the bed, he saw it to be a near exact replica of the ominous dummy staring back at him now with black button eyes.