The Doll

Chapter 5: The Dinner

"Guys, meet Quackerjack. Quackerjack, the guys." Lord Negaduck gestured around the dining table, to the same group Quackerjack had seen earlier.

"Nice to meetcha." The rat stuck out his hand, a friendly grin on his face. He wore bright yellow and blue, of a material Quackerjack had never seen before. "I'm El- Megavolt."

With a glance at his Master, Quackerjack shook the other's hand. Energy flowed out of the rat and into the duck, tickling across his feathers. He burst out laughing, clamping his hands over his beak in a futile attempt to stop the escaping giggles. But it was useless, once he started laughing it always took a while to stop.

Great, now they'd all know that he was 'different'. What use was a mad slave?

"No-one's ever reacted like that to one of my shocks before." Megavolt blinked, giving a sheepish smile. "Um, sorry about that, by the way. My powers aren't easy to control."

"I-" Quackerjack had to wait out a few more wheezing chuckles before he could speak. He hurried to assure the rat that he had not damaged the Lord's property. "It didn't hurt, Sir, merely tickled."

"Oh, for-" Lord Negaduck cursed, causing Quackerjack to jump and nearly drop to his knees in fright. "If he introduces himself as Megavolt, you call him Megavolt, not Sir. Got it?"

"Y-yes Milord." Quackerjack nodded quickly, though this new rule confused him. He turned back to the perplexed rat. "My apologies, Megavolt."

"No problem, pal." Megavolt waved it off, thankfully not angered over the apparent faux paus. His whiskers sparked, and he scratched his head. "Er, what were we just talking about?"

"Confused? Forgetful? Suffering from an overly energetic brain?" A garbled voice rang out, water rising to form a liquid dog. He gestured to Megavolt. "Then you might be the one and only Megadolt!"

"Lay off, Dripbrain." Megavolt scowled, coming nearly nose-to-nose with the canine. His eyes bugged out and he scrambled backwards over the table. "And keep that water away from me! You're going to short me out."

"Like I haven't already learned that lesson." The dog grumbled. He turned his non-eyes on Quackerjack, a (fake) grin spreading across his face. "Hello, potential consumer! The Liquidator is pleased to make your acquaintance. With Liquidator Brand Water, the only way to go is up, up, up! Operators are standing by for acceptance of this limited-time offer!"

"...what?" Quackerjack honestly didn't know what he was required to say. Was that even the right language?

"He's Liquidator, and he hopes you can get along." The duck-plant-thing-guy pushed the dog away, muttering something that sounded like 'Give him space, Bud', but that couldn't be right. He held out a hand - leaf? - and gave a small, oddly comforting (real) smile. "I'm Scholar Reginald Bushroot. I prefer Bushroot, but you can call me Scholar if you're more comfortable with titles. In fact, you can call me whatever you want, except 'Reggie The Veggie'."

Quackerjack shook Scholar Bushroot's hand, feeling nervous now that introductions were over. Would he face his punishment now? He hoped Lord Negaduck would just do it in private, not wanting these strangely nice people to know that he'd already messed up. But, as always, it wouldn't be up to him.

"Who's that?" Megavolt pointed to Quackerjack's left hand, where he was clutching- oh no.

Please don't... Quackerjack mentally pleaded. But, as always, he was ignored.

I'm Sir Banana Brain, Dwayne! The banana shot upwards, still in Quackerjack's grasp. Speaking of brains, yours seem like scramble, Bramble.

Quackerjack gasped. "I- I'm so sorry! He's not good around people, please forgive him."

"Hey, it's alright." Megavolt soothed, and it was then that Quackerjack noticed he'd started hyperventilating. This was just too much, he wasn't acting at all as a slave should, why wasn't he being punished?! "It's nice to meet you, Banana Brain, even if you are a little rude. You're Quacky's pal, huh?"

I'm his bestest pal, Sal. I've been gone a while, but now I'm back! And we can play!

"No, we cannot play!" Quackerjack hissed, ignoring the old whisper of desire within himself. How many times had he spoken out of turn now? And had he just raised his voice? Lord Negaduck's fury would be terrible, he might even return him to the True Master.

And, oh, the punishment he'd get then...

"Enough with the 'hey, how are you?' and 'so nice to meet you'." Lord Negaduck plopped into a seat. "I'm hungry. Quackerjack, sit there."

Quackerjack immediately sat on the chair his Lord had pointed to, shivers running up his spine. When was the last time he'd sat in a chair? Scratch that - when was the last time he sat at all, rather than kneeled? How peculiar his new Master was, though it was scandalous for a slave to think such. He needed to obey without thought, it wasn't his place to worry over punishments or question motives. Less than a day away from the True Master, and he was already slipping.

Scholar Bushroot left the room, coming back carrying four plates of food. To Quackerjack's great surprise, he wasn't the one that ended up lacking a plate.

"The Liquidator requires no nourishment from the lovely Bloom's garden." Liquidator chuckled, seeing his confusion. "I run on alternative resources!"

"He doesn't eat the same way we do." Scholar Bushroot translated absently, shooting Liquidator a glare before sitting down with his plate of... Dirt? "Of course, I don't really eat normally either, but close enough I suppose."

"Likky joins us outta habit, but not always." Megavolt added. He was slumping a little in his chair, looking exhausted. "I eat stuff that normal people do, so you'll see me at mealtimes a lot more often than the others." He yawned. "I've gotta 'eat' this other, special thing, though. And I really think I need some soon, I'm kinda drained..."

Quackerjack quietly sat, listening to Megavolt's strangely pleasant chatter while he watched the others eat. He didn't even think about touching the plate in front of him, assuming it was extra if anyone wanted seconds, until Scholar Bushroot spoke up.

"I can make something else, if you don't like it?" The plant looked upset at the idea. Not angry upset, more sad upset, and wasn't that weird?

"I, what?" Quackerjack looked from the plate, to the other duck, to Lord Negaduck. Surely he wasn't expected to actually eat at the same table as his Master? Did the others not know his status? It would explain why they were so nice, but why would Lord not tell them? Didn't they see him with his leash when he first came in?

"Quackerjack, it's hard enough for me to remember to eat my own food." Lord Negaduck didn't even glance at him. "I'm not ordering you every single time. Don't skip meals, listen to the Weed when he says you need to eat more or less or a certain type of thing, and don't bug me about it unless you have to."

"Yes, Milord." Quackerjack said meekly, hesitantly reaching for a fork before deciding that was improper. He may be sitting in a chair, eating at the same table as Freemen, but that didn't mean he was allowed to use the silverware.

The meal was a type of small pie filled with boiled vegetables, with a side of salad and some sort of dark liquid that smelled like-

"Chocolate." He whispered, almost reverently, hoping no-one heard him. He didn't touch the liquid, as that was drinking instead of eating, and focused on the meal. It was delicious, tastier than anything he'd ever had, and he ate quickly.

He sighed when he was done, feeling better than he had in years. His belly was full, Sir Banana Brain was right next to him, and he wasn't being watched by a being who desired nothing less than his abject misery. He was still fearing the impending punishment, but for now he just savored this bizarre moment of contentment.

"You enjoyed the food, huh?" Scholar Bushroot asked, smirking 

"Y-yes, Scholar, very much so!" Quackerjack agreed enthusiastically, his beak stretched in a wide grin.

His eyes bugged out, but the grin didn't drop right away. Just like with laughing, his body seemed to prefer grinning, and wouldn't let him stop easily once he'd started. It was so much worse this time than it had ever been before, his grin staying firmly in place even as his panic rose, almost certainly because of how long it had been since he'd last smiled.

No-one seemed to notice his distress, but of course they couldn't; he must've looked insanely happy. He grabbed the sides of his hat, pulling hard -- it didn't matter, he'd already broken so many rules, what was one more?

He had to stop smiling! He wasn't allowed- he wasn't allowed to be happy, he certainly wasn't supposed to show it. He wasn't happy, he was miserable, like he was supposed to be.

If only he could stop smiling!

"Quackerjack!" Lord Negaduck yelled, and his head snapped towards the sound of his Master's voice. "What's wrong?"

"I- I can't stop smiling." Quackerjack whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to. It just happened, please-"

He was rambling, he knew it, but he could hardly stop. He thought the others had started talking, but he didn't pay attention. A good slave listened to the words of all Free Ones, not just their Master, but he was hardly a good slave.

He was pulled back to the real world by something familiar; pain. He felt energy flow through his every cell, covering him in burning soot, snapping him out of his panic.

"Megavolt!" Scholar Bushroot yelled, then suddenly the rat was crouching in front of Quackerjack.

"I'm so sorry, I got freaked." Megavolt helped Quackerjack sit up from where he'd fallen (when had he fallen?), checking him for injuries. "Are you alright? I didn't mean to shock you."

"I- I'm-" he couldn't take this anymore. "Why do you care?!"

"Enough of this." Lord Negaduck scowled, and maybe he'd finally punish him. He didn't want to be punished, exactly, he just wanted things to make sense again. "Quackerjack, did Sparky hurt you?"

"Don't call me Sparky!" Megavolt yelled, startling the jester in front of him.

"Megavolt didn't hurt me, Milord." Quackerjack whispered. He didn't have the energy to speak louder right then. "It hurt, but not that bad."

"Qua-" His Lord was interrupted by the plant, who pulled him aside and began to quietly say something to him. Quackerjack couldn't make out the words, and he quite frankly didn't care.