Mathilda Deadheart
This
is a story based on the old cartoon called Doctor Snuggles. For anyone who
never watched the cartoon, Doctor Snuggles was an optimistic and kind inventor
who always tried to help people and make the world a better place with his inventions.
I have also tried to explain whom everyone is when he or she first appears in
the story. Also "Mathilda" is pronounced the same way as "Matilda" is. They
just spelt it differently in the cartoons. With that said here goes...
In a darkish room containing way too magical
equipment stands a tall and thin man wearing a grey suit and a black cloak and
top hat. He has white hair and is leaning over something on the table in front
of him. He taps it with a wand a few times and then switches a switch on it.
It, or rather she, sits up. She is a robot, her feet are made from sardine
tins, her legs and arms from soup cans, her skirt is an upturned metal bowl,
her body and head are made from old biscuit tins, her hair is made from cotton
reels, her nose is an old whistle and her eyes are made from flashlights.
"Shame to use such basic materials" Says the man, who
is called Professor Emerald. "But you have to look like the real one, even if
she is a mess! Now what shall I call you, the name Mathilda is not bad but I
certainly don't want your surname to be Junkbottom!"
The robot Mathilda produces a card from her mouth.
It has a picture of a bleeding heart. It is bleeding because it has a knife
through it.
"A dead heart." Says Professor Emerald "Deadheart!
That will be your surname. Mathilda Deadheart. I like it! Now your name is
sorted out let me explain your purpose. Working for that idiotic Doctor
Snuggles is a robot just like you, except that she is a clumsy idiot, I want
you to bring her here and then pretend to be her so you can attack the people
and animals that live in Snuggle Wood and one by one bring them here as well.
Matilda Deadheart smiles and her eyes glow with a
green light.
It was nighttime in Snuggle Wood, and everyone was
asleep. Everyone except for Mathilda Junkbottom. She was a robot made by the
kindly Doctor Snuggles and was helping Ms Nettles, the lady for whom she had
been created to help, by sweeping the floor of the Doctor's house.
Just as she had finished and was about to turn
herself off, she heard a knock on the door. Curious, as there weren't many
people who visited the house at one o'clock in the morning she opened it.
She couldn't believe her eyes. She thought at first
that there was a mirror at the door, but then she realised that the robot
standing there was standing in a different position to her. She was just about
to produce a card with a question mark on it when the other robot kicked her on
the leg, causing her to fall forwards, and hit the ON/OFF switch on her back.
Ms. Nettles, Doctor Snuggles cleaner, woke up with a
start; she was sure that there had been a loud crashing sound from downstairs.
"It could be a burglar!" she thought. Being careful she crept down the stairs.
Once she got to the bottom she could she Mathilda at the door putting something
into a bag, and making a lot of noise as she did so.
"Mathilda! I thought you were a burglar! What are
you doing up at this time of night?" Asked Ms. Nettles.
Mathilda picked up the broom she had next to her and
held it in front of her.
"Well it's nice of you to do the sweeping for me,
but could you please do it a bit more quietly? I'm trying to get to sleep."
Said Ms Nettles.
Mathilda nodded and produced a card. Ms Nettles
looked at it. It had a heart, with a dagger going through it, printed on it.
"Mathilda that's not very nice..." Ms Nettles
started just as Mathilda brought the broom crashing down on her head.
Nobby mouse peered out from his mouse hole at what
was going on. He lived in the kitchen and had seen what had just happened. Now
he was watching Matilda as she put Ms. Nettles into a large sack. He didn't
know what to think. It wasn't like Mathilda to be violent and that certainly
hadn't been one of her clumsy accidents. He saw the card on the floor and
quickly ran across the room to get it. He looked at it. "Oh dear, this is bad!
I'd best let Doctor Snuggles know about this straight away." He thought.
Ms. Nettles opened her eyes, her head hurt. She
tried to move but realised that she was tied up and gagged. So she looked
around the room. Sitting in one corner was Mathilda, who was also tied up. Only
she was chained to the wall as well. It suddenly struck Ms. Nettles that they
were in some sort of cell.
She tried to say "What have you done you mechanical
maniac!" But the gag muffled her words, not that that stopped her. "When I get
out of these ropes I'm taking you to the junkyard where you belong!"
Puzzled, Mathilda produced a card with a question
mark on it.
"You know what I mean you piece of junk!" Ms.
Nettles tried to shout. But Mathilda didn't understand her, so she went to undo
the gag in Ms. Nettle's mouth. Only the ropes around her wrists stopped her,
she looked at the ropes for a brief second and then pulled her hand apart hard,
snapping the ropes in the process. Mathilda's strength was one of her good
points.
She then undid Ms. Nettles gag and untied her. She
produced another question mark card. This time with a look of concern in her
eyes.
"I'm fine." Said Ms. Nettles, "But why did you hit
me on the head?"
"She didn't" Said a voice from above them. It was Professor
Emerald, and he was standing at the top of a flight of stairs leading to a
door. Next to him was Mathilda Deadheart. "This is the lady who hit you. Not
that pathetic pile of junk!"
At this Mathilda Junkbottom jumped up angrily and
tried to pull the chains out of the wall. She had absolutely no affect on the
chains, much to the amusement of Mathilda Deadheart. "Oh don't start that
again!" Said Professor Emerald. "You're not strong enough to snap iron even if
we have had to replace you ropes 3 times already."
"So what's going on?" Asked Ms. Nettles confused.
"I'll explain this again for you." Said Professor
Emerald. "This is Mathilda Deadheart." He pointed to her. "I created her using
my magic. She is perfectly identical to the rubbish tip sat next to you. I
created her to cause trouble for you and that stupid "Doctor" Snuggles without
being noticed. Unfortunately, due to the fact that my version of Mathilda seems
to share her stupidity, this plan has failed as she let one of your friends see
her attack you." Mathilda Deadheart looked ashamed of herself as he said this.
"But I have you two and kind old Doctor Snuggles will want to get you back, so
he will come here and I will capture him when he does. So I will forgive her
mistake. And now I will leave, don't get any ideas about trying to escape
you're probably to stupid to be able to."
Back in Snuggle Wood a frantic Nobby mouse was
hurriedly explaining what had happened to Doctor Snuggles and Dennis the
Badger, who often helped Doctor Snuggles with his inventions and adventures.
"Is this another one of your tricks Nobby?" Dennis
asked, as Nobby had a reputation of being a trickster.
"No! I'm telling the truth! Mathilda even made
this." Nobby answered holding up the card with the stabbed heart on it. "I
don't know why she did it, one minute she was sweeping the next she attacked
Ms. Nettles!"
"Maybe Ms. Nettles upset her, but it's not like
Mathilda to be violent and she and Ms. Nettles get on very well, at least I
thought they do." Said Doctor Snuggles, "But now we need to know where they
are."
"We could use the multi-where-abouts machine" Said
Dennis. The Multi-where-abouts machine was able to let its user see where
people were and what they were doing and saying.
"Good idea Dennis" said Doctor Snuggles. So they
tuned in Mathilda and Ms. Nettles into the machine. They saw them sat in a
cell. Mathilda was trying to rip off the chains that were attaching her to the
wall and Ms. Nettles was asleep.
"Well they're in a cell, but where?" Said Nobby
"We could ask the cosmic cat. He always knows
everything." Said the doctor. The cosmic cat was from outer space and so had
some problems with the Earth's gravity but he always seemed to know how to
solve their problems, sometimes even before they'd told him what was wrong.
In five minutes they were at Granny Toots hospital
for sick cats, which was where the Cosmic cat lived.
" You want to know where Ms. Nettles and Mathilda
are?" Said the Cosmic cat, before they'd said a word.
"Yes. If you don't mind, of course."
"They are in a prison cell, in Professor Emerald's
castle."
"And where's that?" Nobby piped up.
"A long, long way from here, past the salt and the
pepper mountains, and over the Rainbow."
(Author's Note: I just made that up, I don't even
know what type of home Professor Emerald lived in!)
"Then we must set off immediately!" Shouted Doctor
Snuggles.
Back in their cell, Mathilda was still trying to
pull her chains out of the wall. "Don't bother. Professor Emerald was right. It
isn't going to work. We might as well wait for the doctor to help us. He'll
know what to do." Ms. Nettles told her. But it was no use. Mathilda was too
annoyed to listen. She hadn't liked Professor Emerald calling her stupid, and
the thought of that dumb, idiotic Clone laughing at her was enough to make
her...
She pulled extra hard on the chains and there was a
loud crash as the bricks attaching the chains to the wall fell on the floor.
Ms. Nettles looked shocked, while Mathilda looked quite smug.
"Well Mathilda" Ms. Nettles said when she had
finally got over the shock. "I'm sorry I said you couldn't do it. Now could you
get us out of here?"
Mathilda walked up to the door and looked through
the small window at the guard and waved at him, smiling.
"You! How'd you get out of those chains?" He asked
"Well it doesn't matter 'cos you're going straight back in 'em!" He finished
and, not thinking, he unlocked the door and launched himself at Mathilda.
Mathilda quickly jumped aside and the guard fell onto the steps. Knocking
himself out.
Mathilda knelt down and took the guards keys. Ms
Nettles walked up the stairs. "Well that was lucky! Now lets get out of here."
She said. Mathilda looked at the guard on the floor, silently she picked him up
and laid him on the bed. Then they left.
Doctor Snuggles and the others arrived at the
castle. "Right everyone we're here. Now we have to keep quite or we might get
caught." Said Doctor Snuggles. So they started to creep round the castle. Soon
they saw Professor Emerald and Mathilda Deadheart talking.
"Now Mathilda, that idiot Snuggles will be here soon
so I want you to guard the cells so that when he comes you'll be there to stop
him. Got that?" Professor Emerald said. Mathilda Deadheart nodded and went to
walk off. "Oh Mathilda. No more mistakes. Or else." Mathilda shook her head.
"She's working for Professor Emerald!" Dennis
muttered under his breath.
"Quick lets follow her." Said Nobby "She'll take us
to Ms. Nettles!"
Mathilda Deadheart walked quickly towards the cells.
She didn't want to make any more mistakes. Not because she was afraid of
Professor Emerald, of course. It was just that... well, he had made her and
she'd like to... repay the favour. Anyway, it wasn't as if he was horrible to
her, he was quite nice actually.
She stopped. She couldn't believe what she'd just
thought. "I'm not supposed to think things like that, it's soft." She thought.
She walked on a bit more. "Still it is true." She thought again. "Why am I
thinking like this? I'm supposed to be an evil robot, not a pansy! I'll just
have to get this sorted out later, now I've got to go the cells."
When she got to the cells she panicked. They'd got
out somehow. She ran straight to Professor Emerald. It was a shame for her that
she ran so fast she didn't realise that she had just gone straight past Doctor
Snuggles.
Mathilda and Ms. Nettles were silently walking
through the castle. Soon they heard Professor Emerald shouting.
"WHAT! What do you mean they escaped!!!" He roared,
Mathilda Junkbottom could see, from looking round the corner, that he was
shouting at Mathilda Deadheart, who was looking very ashamed. "How could you
let them escape! You must have taken too long to get to the cells!" He snapped.
Mathilda Deadheart nervously produced a card. Professor Emerald snatched it from
her. "Well that's your problem isn't it? You're soft. I don't need you for
anything else and I doubt you'll be able to do anything without making a mess
of it. So you can get out of my castle and never come back!" He shouted. He
threw the card on the floor and stormed off. Mathilda Deadheart walked away
from them, sadly.
Mathilda Junkbottom picked up the card and looked at
it. It was a heart.
Doctor Snuggles, Dennis and Nobby had followed
Mathilda Deadheart back, mostly because there was nothing better to do. They
had seen the argument, seen Mathilda Deadheart walk off, and then they saw
Mathilda Junkbottom walk around a different corner.
"How on Earth?!" The Doctor started to say. But then
Ms. Nettles saw them.
"The other Mathilda, the one who brought me here,
was a fake." She told them. "Professor Emerald made it so it could confuse us
into thinking Mathilda had turned evil."
"Well I'm glad that's sorted out." Said Dennis, "Now
lets get out of here."
"Good idea." Said Ms. Nettles. So they headed
towards the exit, unfortunately they caught up with Mathilda Deadheart, and
this time she saw them.
Mathilda Deadheart spun round. She couldn't believe
her luck. She suddenly ran towards Doctor Snuggles ready to hit him. But
Mathilda Junkbottom jumped in the way and stopped her. So Mathilda Deadheart
grabbed her and tried to push her out of the way, but Mathilda Junkbottom was
too strong for her. They had got themselves into a stalemate, each trying to
get one over the other but neither getting anywhere. Until Mathilda Deadheart
slumped down to the floor. Nobby had managed to climb up here back unnoticed
and had pushed her ON/OFF button.
"Well done Nobby! Now lets go home."
Doctor Snuggles said. They all went to leave, all of them except Mathilda
Junkbottom. She was just stood looking at Mathilda Deadheart. Silently she
unscrewed the back of Mathilda Deadheart's body. The place where the clock that
substituted as her heart was. There was a clock in there. But it wasn't ticking
as it had wound down along time ago. So Mathilda Junkbottom wound it up, put it
back. Then she switched Mathilda Deadheart back on.
"What are you doing you metal maniac!"
Snapped Ms. Nettles. But rather than attacking them, as everyone had expected
her to, Mathilda Deadheart shot out a lot of cards, they all had hearts on
them. Doctor Snuggles smiled. "Would you like to come with us back to Snuggle
Wood?" He asked. Mathilda Deadheart nodded.
Back in Snuggle Wood a couple of days
later Doctor Snuggles watched as Mathilda Junkbottom and Mathilda Deadheart
(Who, for simplicities sake, they had decided to call Maria.) helped each other
with the housework. "Mathilda could I speak to you in private?" He asked.
Mathilda nodded. "How did you know about Maria's heart being wound down?"
Mathilda produced a largish card.
"She cared for Professor Emerald." It read, "That
meant she must have had a heart. I just thought it must have been confused."
"But what will happen when it winds down again?"
Asked the doctor. Another card was produced.
"Someone will be there to wind it back up. She has
friends now. Remember what you told me. "You can depend on a friend to always
help you out. That's what a friend is all about.""
