Chapter Text
A loud ringing is the first thing that greets Coraline; the second is a pounding headache. Or maybe it's just the whole body ache... It's hard to say, really, when it feels like the world is spinning even when their eyes are closed, and everything hurts like exercising to failure.
For a long time, they just lay there, the world slowly coming back into focus enough to feel the cool, slightly wet grass underneath them. The dew soaking into their shirt and causing them to shiver slightly when a chill wind picked up. It doesn't last long, just a short gust, but it's enough for their brain to register the nip in the air, a chill that tells Coraline that they are probably not in their home state anymore.
Eventually, the feeling of needing to hurl that always came with headaches like this subsided enough for Coraline to sit up without wanting to die. Slowly, because anything else causes the nausea to come back, Coraline looked around the extremely generic-looking park. Its trees showed the passage of time with orange and yellow leaves scattered as far as the eye could see.
For a few brief moments, Coraline let themself believe that it had just been a wild night and the park around them was one that they just hadn't visited before. It was a hard sell, as the area they lived didn't have many trees that changed with the seasons; most of the flora around their home some flavor of evergreen.
Still slow as hell, but not as much as before, Coraline stood up and dusted their pants off, resolving to wander around until something stuck enough to give them some idea of where they were. Hopefully, wherever "here" was happened to be close to home.
The park was mostly empty, the sky not at all helping with exact timing, but the colour being helpful enough to discern either early morning or early night. City lights created a glowing haze in the not so distant skyline as Coraline walked along the cobblestone path; on each side of them, stagered every few feet, were lamps that hummed softly. It was almost comforting, the calm that surrounded Coraline like a blanket. But the low-grade anxiety that gripped them was impossible to ignore; it was lessened by the phone in their hand, even if its dead battery would be of no help should anything happen.
Coraline saw the occasional runner or drunk passed out on benches and the grass exactly like they had been, something that made the idea that it was somewhere around early morning more and more likely.
"Danny! Get back here!" a feminine voice called from Coraline's left, a voice that they had heard many times and were very familiar with. Their head snapped towards the sound, spotting the familiar figure of Sam Manson from one of their favorite shows, and standing next to her was the main character of the show himself. Danny Fenton.
The world around Coraline flickered at the edges as they sat heavily on the ground, watching as Tucker Foley joined the group, his mouth moving, but the ringing in Coraline's ears made listening impossible. 'How the fuck,' they thought, looking at the living, breathing versions of characters from a show. 'This has to be a dream,' Coraline hoped, the spark burning just long enough for them to slam their fist against the meat of their thigh before it was doused with a mixture of horror and joy.
The group of three friends continued on their way, paying no mind to the adult just a bit away who was having a breakdown, and Coraline was thankful for it. They didn't want anyone to ask questions that they weren't prepared to answer.
The sun had moved quite a bit higher in the sky by the time Coraline was able to compose themself enough to stand and continue on their way. The idea that they had woken up in the world of a television show is still incredibly absurd, but now the seed had been planted, and the hope that came with it was something that was hard to kill. If it was true, then that meant they had a chance; if they could figure out a way to get into the Fenton house, to have one of their childhood dreams come true.
By the time they made it to the edge of the park, Coraline had a plan that they were ready to put into action; it was bare-bones and not very good, but it was better than nothing at all. They would find Fenton Works, figure out a way to get to the portal, and then kill themself. They paused, laughing softly to themself as they thought, 'That's actually a pretty fucked up thing to want.' Then they shrugged, hoping that the portal is actually finished and that they don't have to wait around for it to be completed.
Even if it wasn't... well, they could cross that bridge when they got to it. After all, they're not a scientist, so unless they learn a bunch of things really fast, then there's nothing they can really do to speed the building up.
---
Finding Fenton Works had been surprisingly easy for being in such a large city, though getting here had been a fucking nightmare due to Americas' lack of walkable cities. And that had turned out to be a helpful piece of information in finding the correct building, since it was unlikely that parents, even if they were up at the ass crack of dawn, would be up just to take their kids to the park.
Plus, there was the massive glowing sign and giant spaceship looking ops center on top of the building to help pick out the otherwise identical brick building that was Fenton Works from those around it. It was really hard to miss.
Coraline took a deep breath, not yet having gathered the courage to walk up to the front door and knock. They still weren't sure what they would say to get inside, and by some miracle if they did get inside, how would they get enough time alone to kill themself with the portal? Breaking in was an option, but they would have to deal with the security system, something that Coraline remembers being a thing but doesn't actually remember the specifics of how or what would set it off.
There was also the chance that the portal still wasn't finished yet...
They shook their head and took another deep breath before looking up at the front door; they could do this!