Technically, Maestro didn't even live in Normal Valley. Actually, he didn't even live in any town. But, unfortunately for Mayor Wilson, Normal Valley was the closest town. And that meant Norm actually had to care about Maestro and his opinions, and he did not like that.

Normally.

Norm knew something was wrong the minute Maestro stepped through his office the day before. He wasn't… himself as far as Norm could tell. The Maestro he had seen that night just over a month ago was eccentric and much more… energetic. No matter how angry or hurt he had looked, Norm could see a spark of mischief in Maestro's eyes. As hard as he tried, Norm couldn't find that yesterday. Maestro's eyes had become a dull gray. Whatever happened, Norm knew it must have been bad. Really bad.

He slowed down as he approached the front gate to the Someplace Else mansion. He half expected them to open by themselves, as they had the last time he was there. After a minute, Norm pried the old, rusty gates open and walked the short path to the front door.

He looked around. Everything looked exactly how it did over a month ago. And yet, it looked like a completely different house. The whole place seemed to have lost its magic. It just looked like an old abandoned house.

"Maybe it is," Norm thought out loud. "I'll just go, then."

Just as he turned around, the old, wooden door opened with a loud creak. Norm sighed.

"Should've known," He muttered as he stepped in.

Norm was surprised to find what he assumed was half of Maestro's ghost "family" occupying the main hall. They all turned to him simultaneously. Every one of them wore the same expression on their faces; eyes of fear, worry, and sorrow were now locked on Norm. He felt like they knew what he had done. The feeling of guilt came back to him.

Suddenly, one of the ghosts stepped forward. She looked like she came from a time before the French Revolution, big wig and all.

"We cannot reach him," She said softly. Norm could hear the slightest trace of a European accent in her voice as she spoke. "Whatever it is, it will not let us through."

"And you know exactly why that is, Leona," another ghost cut in, stepping forward. Unlike the first one, Leona, he appeared to be from the late 20's in both appearance and demeanor.

"He's come back. He's got complete control of the boy, he does. Let's just hope he'll come out of this alive. Lord, help us if ends up like Charlotte-"

"Hush, Harrence," Leona snapped before turning back to Norm. "From within these walls, I have heard enough about you to know how much you loathe our Maestro. But please. We are not the only ones who will be affected, should he succumb to…" She paused. "Him. You know this. You are the only one that can help him."

Any other day, Norm would have pointed out that if Maestro did die, it probably wouldn't make that much of a difference to them. But this was serious. And who was he to ignore the wishes of a dead person?

Slowly, he made his way through the seemingly never-ending crowd of phantoms. Eventually, he found his way to the stairs. Norm looked back.

They were all gone.

"They planned this," He muttered.

Norm stopped in front of the door at the top of the staircase. The whole house was hauntingly silent as he turned the knob. Two things hit him as the door opened.

It was as if a brick was flung forward with the opening of the door. A brick aimed directly at Norm. He felt as if the whole room was surrounded by an impenetrable wall as he stepped forward. Startled, he stepped back.

Norm also felt that he was being watched. Not by Maestro, who he assumed was in the room, but by… someone-or something. It was as if they were expecting him. He tried to dismiss the idea as just silly thoughts, but the feeling would not leave him.

What am I doing? He thought. I'm not scared of anything. Just walk in the door and everything will be fine.

He couldn't leave now. And even if he did, he would be haunted for the rest of his life-figuratively and most likely literally as well. Puffing out his chest, Norm charged forward. It was almost as if the whole house sprang back to life, in turn destroying the imaginary wall. He found himself flying into the middle of the room. He looked around, trying to find Maestro.

It would seem that Maestro had been startled by Norm's rather dramatic entrance. He was sitting in the far left corner of the room, curled in a small ball. He was staring right at Norm, his eyes widened and bewildered. Upon further investigation, Norm jumped back in shock.

Maestro's eyes were no longer gray, but a sickly, glowing orange. Just the sight of it gave Norm an uneasy feeling.

No turning back now.

Maestro blinked as if he had just come out of a trance. His expression changed from tired to panicked as his eyes settled on the mayor.

"W-What are you doing here?" He asked quietly.

Norm didn't answer; he didn't know what to say. This was the last thing he had imagined would happen. Maestro stood up shakily.

"How did you get up here?" He went on, looking down. "They were… I told them… and… and he…"

He looked up.

"You can't be here," He finished in a voice Norm didn't believe was his. The mayor sighed.

"Well, I couldn't agree more," He said. "I'll just be going now, then."

As he turned to leave, Maestro grabbed his arm. Norm turned back around to face him. Maestro's eyes had returned to their normal dark color for the most part. Norm could still see a trace of orange in the dark iris.

"Help me."