Chapter 11: A Visitor from Dream World
Both Morgana and Nodoff had resumed their dinner with Darkwing and Launchpad. The witch assured the two ducks that Nodoff was alright and just really liked the taste of the banana-cream pudding. Nodoff mentioned that the colors of the banana-cream pudding and the round shape of the wafer cookies reminded him of the Moon and the sparkling sand in Dream World, which was what attracted his attention to the pudding to begin with. The two ducks both nodded, their curiosity was satisfied. Of course, Darkwing knew better that Nodoff was just homesick. That bit about the pudding reminding him of sparkling sand and the Moon were too obvious.
The next week, Darkwing had spent some time discussing the Ammonia Pine case with Launchpad. Nodoff was listening intently as he had descended the stairs. Going down the stairs had become a scary thing ever since the ghoul had fallen and injured himself. Sometimes, he was confident enough to go down with the crutches, other times panic would overwhelm him so much that he would situate himself in a sitting position at the top then slowly slid down step by step, like a child, while his left leg was extended out in front. Either way, he was able to make it down the stairs without causing himself any further injuries. But as for the Ammonia Pine case, it all sounded as if Darkwing had everything under control as far as how to outwit his opponent. It saddened Nodoff a little that there was no opportunity for him to offer his services. The ghoul must've greatly underestimated the masked duck's abilities. So Nodoff would use what time he had to see if any chores in the house needed to be taken care of (as in chores where his crutches wouldn't get in the way).
Surprisingly, Nodoff had not seen or heard from Eek or Squeek ever since he had this injury. Trying to hide from the ghoul's sight out of guilt, no doubt. Not that Nodoff would've sought vengeance on them even if he wanted to. Strangely enough, Nodoff was missing their company. As annoying as those two bats were, they tried to help the ghoul, even when he wasn't nice to them. And speaking of the little devils, Nodoff heard squeaking and chirping just above his head. Eek and Squeek had descended from the ceiling and landed onto Nodoff's lap. Archie, Morgana's pet spider, also descended from the same ceiling, hanging from a string of webbing. All three stared at Nodoff with a hint of guilt in their eyes as if to beg for the ghoul's forgiveness. The ghoul's orange eyes narrowed to slits at the sight of all three of them.
"You know I'm not the warm and fuzzy type," Nodoff replied, making a fist with his left hand. Both bats' and the spider's eyes widened in fright upon gazing at the ghoul's fist. They closed their eyes, anticipating some kind of blow to come upon them. But then Nodoff's orange stare softened and his fist loosened until he was resting his cheek against his palm. "But ... it hasn't been the same without you three around to pester me."
Eek, Squeek, and Archie were surprised to hear this. They opened their eyes to see that Nodoff had extended his right arm with an open palm rested on his lap. Clearly he was implying that one of the three volunteer to hop onto his palm. Eek, Squeek, and Archie exchanged hesitant looks. Was Nodoff opening himself up to make friends with them? Or ... was this another one of his old tricks? The ghoul took notice of this and replied, "If coming to me is a problem, then I will come to you." With that said, Nodoff scooped Archie up with his right hand, taking the spider by surprise. Nodoff placed Archie on his right shoulder to rest there. The ghoul gently patted Archie on the back while Eek and Squeek fluttered and rested on his opposite shoulder. Nodoff turned his gaze to Archie first. "I hope you're not still mad at me for breaking your web, are you?"
Archie responded with a few grumbles before he threw his arms/legs (with a spider, who could tell the difference?) around Nodoff's neck. As for the two bats, Eek and Squeek rubbed their cheeks against the ghoul's left cheek to express affection. Nodoff's orange eyes shifted to met their gazes. "As for you two, I never properly thanked you for helping me with the laundry that day." With that said, the ghoul shifted his hand from Archie to gently pat the two bats on the head. All three of them descended back on his lap to look up at him. They noticed that the ghoul's orange eyes looked watery, as if he was going to cry. "I wish ... I wish I could hug all three of you, but I'm afraid I'll crush you with my arms. I don't know how to make up for the way that I treated you." A modest set of teardrops fell down Nodoff's cheeks, he brushed them away with the back of his hand. Eek grabbed a tissue from the tissue box next to the couch and handed it to the ghoul. Nodoff accepted the tissue and blew his nose. Then he let out a breathy chuckle as he rolled his eyes. "God, I really owe Morgana some tissues."
A knock on the door took all four by surprise. Nodoff gave Eek, Squeek, and Archie a confused look. "Was Morgana expecting company?"
The two bats and the spider all shrugged. That was odd. Nodoff knew it was neither Darkwing nor Launchpad. They left to attend to that Ammonia Pine case not too long ago. Curiosity got the better of him as Nodoff rose to his crutches and hobbled to the door. The ghoul attempted to turn the knob until a thought dawned on him. What if whoever was on the other side of the door decided to push him/herself forward, causing the door to swing in his direction? It had been six weeks in counting ever since Nodoff had been in St. Canard, yet he still had a tendency to forget that unlike Dream World, the Real World had limitations. Sometimes the ghoul found it hard to believe that he kept forgetting this simple fact. Not to mention that most people in St. Canard were unfriendly and unwilling to let go as Darkwing once put it. To play it safe, Nodoff stepped to the side of the door so that he wouldn't be in its way when it would open. He did not turn the knob just yet but waited until he heard another knock. There wasn't any. Maybe it was someone trying to sell something? He did recall overhearing a conversation between Darkwing and Morgana that sometimes salesmen would come to doors trying to sell stuff that people don't want or need. However, Nodoff found the idea of a salesman to come to a place like MacCawber Manor quite ludicrous. Most people would've been too scared by the mansion's dark appearance, that was why Morgana never had any remodeling done to it.
"Is this the residence of Morgana MacCawber?" came a woman's voice.
Nodoff blinked from his stupor. There was a lady at the door? What lady would come to a place like MacCawber Manor? But the sound of the woman's voice seemed safe enough, so Nodoff mustered all his courage and turned the knob. He opened the door a crack and peeped through the opened slit. To his surprise, he was greeted by the scent of lavender ... and an image of something he didn't expect to see. A pair of yellow eyes with thick, fringed eyelashes blinked right back at him, which took the ghoul by such surprise that he almost fell backwards. He regained balance with his crutches and caught his breath.
A pink hand with a wrist bangled in six bracelets with hot pink stones pushed the door open further. When Nodoff was able to get a better look at the visitor. Those yellow eyes belonged to a strange, yet lovely female ghoul slightly shorter than Nodoff whose hot pink, 80's style hair fell to her ankles. She was dressed in a black shirt, black pants, and black boots. She wore a black hat on her head which was shaped like a policeman's cap, and even bore a silver badge in the center. Nodoff knew she was not a real police officer, not the way the collar of her black shirt exposed a hint of cleavage. A real police officer here in St. Canard (even a female) wouldn't be caught dead wearing such a thing. The ghoul also wore earrings that matched her bracelets, her ears were just as long as Nodoff's, except they were wider and gremlin-like. Although her yellow eyes looked large and expressive, her whole face was small and round, as well as her nose and mouth.
"I hope I didn't come at a bad time," the female ghoul replied.
Upon looking at the female ghoul's manner of dress, Nodoff would've expected her to have a sassy, edgy, and blunt demeanor. But this creature's voice was like a breeze on a Spring morning: soft, sweet, and soothing. Although Nodoff was generally nervous around strangers, especially the kinds that dress weird, something about this girl's voice urged him to talk to her. "You said you were looking for Morgana," Nodoff replied, "but she's asleep. Be there something I can help you with?"
The female ghoul did not reply but entered the room and gently closed the door behind her. She stood in front of Nodoff and examined him from head to toe before she extended her hand to him. "My name is Yutopia. What is yours?"
Normally, Nodoff would've questioned the stranger further since she technically did not answer his last question and practically invited herself in rather than wait for Nodoff to welcome her in. But the fact that she mentioned the name Morgana and because he was so taken by her voice and demureness that he overlooked all that. "I am Nodoff," the ghoul replied. He wanted to add that he was the ruler of Dream World, but since his mishap with the neighbors when he was made to clean the outside of the mansion, he didn't mention that part.
"I was hired by Morgana to help with housecleaning," Yutopia replied, finally answering Nodoff's previous question. "She said her current servant needed help because he was wounded."
That last part nearly made Nodoff wince. Morgana's current servant? He was not a servant! He was the ruler of Dream World! And he wasn't wounded, he was injured! If Morgana's serious talks with him about not owing Nodoff anything did not echo in the back of his mind, he would've been greatly insulted and protest to no return! But Nodoff knew better than to fight with Morgana in her domain, so he simply kept his mouth shut. He definitely did not want a repeat of her anger, nor did he want to engage in any war with her, not after seeing the damage he had already done to the witch.
"Are you alright?" Yutopia asked, scratching her head curiously.
Nodoff's train of thought was broken when he noticed Yutopia giving him a concerned look. The ghoul's large ears lowered slightly. "I've seen better days," Nodoff sighed, "but, I get by. May I offer you a drink of water?"
"Yes, please," Yutopia replied, removing her police hat and placing it on the table next to the couch. Nodoff closed the door and re-locked it after the female ghoul situated herself on the couch. Nodoff hobbled his way to the refrigerator to grab the pitcher of water. He placed one crutch next to the left side of the refrigerator so he would have a free hand to open the door and grab the water pitcher. He was able to do both tasks with ease and brought the pitcher to the table. He made a second trip to fetch a drinking glass, placed it on the table, then went back to the refrigerator to retrieve the other crutch. It felt weird have to go back and forth three times, but Nodoff didn't know any better way to do it without protecting his injured foot. He was still taking the pain medication Dr. Bellum prescribed him as directed, of course he was not used to having to take medication on a daily basis (or any kind medicine at all) and he would have short bursts of energy only to feel sluggish three seconds later. But the medication seemed to be working and his foot didn't hurt as much as the day he injured it, although pain lingered still. But he learned that as long as he didn't focus on the pain too much, he would have a speedy recovery.
Finally, Nodoff had a chance to sit back down and put his crutches aside, it sometimes was a bit uncomfortable and annoying having to be poked under the arm by some fancy stick. The ghoul poured water into the drinking glass, then passed it to Yutopia. "I confess that these crutches slow me down. Hopefully I didn't bore you too much for beating around the bush."
"Not at all," Yutopia replied before taking a sip of her water. She noticed that Nodoff was looking the other way, avoiding her gaze. She also saw that he toyed with one crutch held in his left hand. Out of boredom, no doubt. But that kind of behavior puzzled Yutopia. Why would the ghoul toy with an object out of boredom when he had someone sitting next to him to talk to? "How did you hurt your left foot?"
Nodoff suddenly turned his gaze to meet Yutopia's. He hesitated for a bit, his ears slightly lowered. "By being stupid," the ghoul replied with a hint of embarrassment in his tone. "I ... ran down the stairs and fell." As Nodoff described in detail how he had injured himself and how he managed to hide it, Yutopia was shocked at the idea of someone hiding an injury and practically agreed that it was stupid of Nodoff to do such a thing and asked him why he did that. The ghoul felt as if he were put on the spot, unable to answer that question. I should've kept my mouth shut ...
"You know hiding an injury only makes it worse," Yutopia pointed out.
"Hey, I was-" Nodoff's voice trailed off. He meant to say that he was afraid of being punished by Morgana, but he wasn't totally comfortable sharing that information with the female ghoul just yet.
"You were what?" Yutopia urged Nodoff to continue.
Nodoff gulped nervously. He had to think of something fast. "I ... never injured myself before, and I panicked! I was ... embarrassed by it, I ..." The ghoul's face turned red from embarrassment and his ears drooped, "... I wasn't trying to cause any trouble ... I'm ... I'm sorry ..."
Yutopia cocked her head to one side. "Well, I want you to take it easy. You mustn't over-exert yourself."
Nodoff rolled his eyes. "I know, but I'm bored! I've been looking at picture books, reading books, all different kinds of books, and walking around when I can, but it's not enough! I want to do something and walking on these crutches is driving me mad!"
Yutopia blinked in surprise at Nodoff's sudden outburst. Nodoff immediately covered his mouth after realizing that he had been shouting. Nevertheless, Yutopia smiled and patted Nodoff on his right shoulder. "And that's where I come in."
Nodoff eyes nearly popped out at that last remark. What did she mean by that?
"By the way," Yutopia continued, "thanks for the water."
"Oh," Nodoff replied, slightly shrugging his shoulders. "Don't mention it."
Another week had passed since the arrival of Yutopia. Nodoff learned that Yutopia was a dweller of Dream World, much to the ghoul's surprise because he never recalled seeing her before in his life. Unlike Nodoff, who was the monarch of Dream World, Yutopia was considered a low-level ghoul. It surprised Nodoff because he was under the impression by her outfit that she was someone of royalty trying to blend in with the common folk. Her unusual black outfit and jewelry that she wore were not her usual wear. What she normally wore was a medium gray dress and would run bare foot to and fro. The outfit she found at a salvation army in St. Canard, which was in like new condition but was about to be thrown away because surprisingly no one would buy it. Yutopia happened to come by there one day, one of the workers thought she was a costumed kid, thought she would look cute in it, and gave it to her free of charge. As for the jewelry she wore, it was all fake. They were part of a toy accessory kit designed for little girls, but since Yutopia was small enough, it didn't make a difference to her. And that kit came with the black outfit, so it made a perfect disguise to walk the streets of St. Canard.
As to how and why she came here, it was Eek and Squeek who decided to open the door to Dream World when everyone else was asleep. They were surprised to find that Dream World, which was dismal looking at best, turned into a chaotic inferno where many demons were on the loose. With no ruler present to keep things under control, Dream World was a traffic jam of flying demons. Among the crowd, Eek and Squeek had spotted a pink-skinned ghoul dressed in gray in the midst of it all, looking really flustered. She had attempted to use her magic to keep things under control, but since she was only a low-level ghoul, her magic wasn't strong enough. The two bats quickly led her to the door back to the Real World, where she would temporarily be safe for the time being. By the time they had returned, Morgana had woken up in the middle of the night to get a drink of water, when she happened to spot the female ghoul who was barely catching her breath from the whole ordeal. She confided in Morgana that her name was Yutopia and told her what had been happening to Dream World ever since it's ruler had gone missing. Although Morgana had never seen her before, she looked very harmless, and told her that the ruler of Dream World was here at MacCawber Manor. Yutopia wasn't hired as a cleaning lady as she had claimed. It was a ruse arranged by her and Morgana because Yutopia had some old score to settle with Nodoff. She planned to get as much information out of Nodoff as possible in case he were to plot another mischievous event. But Morgana assured Yutopia that chances of Nodoff plotting anything was unlikely since being stuck here in St. Canard was punishment enough and insisted that Yutopia should treat him gently. But Yutopia had no intention of hurting him. Her idea was to feign ignorance by striking idle chat to get the ghoul to open up ... until it was time to make her move.
"Don't worry, Morgana," Yutopia confided. "It's not that kind of a score. I'm very sure that Nodoff will eventually warm up to me."