Aces with love - Episode 1 [1/2]

Another entry of the story, written by the excellent M.R. Thanks to those who interested on this so far!

Previous entry [Prologue] 

***

 “So, tell me, what is this de Ascanio fella like? Or well, what was he like?” Sid asked, if he had the ability to smoke a nice fat cigar right now with a bottle of whiskey for the bitter taste combination, he would. Alas, he was pretty sure such an attempt would end up with him being turned rather crispy as well. Dummies were probably more flammable than even he realized.

Layers of expensive cotton-fake clothing, the fact the body was made of wood and well, these things were covered in a few oils - practically soaked in them. All things to preserve the furnishings and the shape, to prevent expansion and deflation, to ward off the sort of insects that like to carve into wood.

“Feels like a room for a’ surgery here, for a guy like me…” Sid glanced over what was a restoration room in the back of the museum. Amongst his graveyard of forgotten artifacts were a few more ‘haunted dolls’, that were simply just old more than anything else. “This guy really just bought whateva’ creepster he could find? From all around the world, eh?” The man obviously lacked some class.

But hey, he found Sid - the real deal. So de Ascanio couldn’t have been all hot air and talk, Sid concluded.

“De Ascanio was a very peculiar… man, teacher, saint to some…” Mati explained, having led Sid here - it was appropriate that they fixed him up a bit. To avoid any accusations of theft or the like, Mati had cleaned up the glass from Sid’s own escape just moments prior and left a small paper note on what remained of the display, denoting that there was an immediate need for renovation and repair, after a ‘cleaning’ incident.

The fib was surely going to work well in her favour, not many people came to the Occult Museum in the first place. But Sid was the primary attraction, when any of the students did come by to wander and indulge in some obscene curiosities. Although, Mati remembered most of the girls that she knew personally from class, would only come around to mock her and make fun of Sid to his supposedly inanimate face.

“De Ascanio called this his ‘Spiritual Wardrobe’. One of his major hobbies was restorations of certain things, since the state of which he bought them… well - they were often terrible.” The ever honest Mati explained, while Sid managed to climb up onto a chair that was left pushed out, probably from De Ascanio himself. From there, his little hands rather effortlessly grabbed a working desk by the corners and hoisted his body up onto it.

Not noticing how much progress was made already, when Mati turned back toward Sid, she let out a soft ‘Eep!’ of surprise. “Are you sure you should be climbing around like that? I mean… if you fall, does it hurt?”

“Hard to tell, it seems that my soul has been stayin’ rent free in this body a little too long…” Cockily, Sid tramped all over de Ascanio’s old desk like he owned it. Kicking some useless papers aside and examining some of his latest work. Hardly anything the deceased de Ascanio would be known for. “What a cuckoo. He worked on a lot of clocks - betya he neva’ knew the time he actually spent in this place…”

Indeed, there was a row of dismantled clocks, often of wooden framing and Germanic decoration, lining one side of the desk - passing onto a long table full of tools and other half-hearted projects. “This guy couldn’t fly straight to save his life, ya know? Look at all these projects, just abandoned…” Sid looked at himself, self consciously for only a moment. “I ain’t too rubbished up, am I? Sheesh, if you took me here, I must be lookin’ as rough as a Dutch road.”

“Oh no, no…” Mati blushed lightly, waving her hands. “It is not that you look bad or anything-”

“Complimenting me now? Already? And we just met-” Teased Sid, which only made Mati blush slightly harder. Before she could assert herself, Sid already came in with another low blow of a comment. “Not much for the tall guys, are ya? Ya like bossin’ around the short ones, wrappin’ them around ya finger like a curl of hair?”

At the very least, she was able to break her own awkward spell with a harsh smile before returning to a reserved expression. Almost stoic. “I’m not popular with boys. Or anyone, for that matter.” She turned away, happy to not be facing this topic for any longer than she had to, seemingly. “We can leave it at that…”

Teasing her any further about it would be cruel, Sid thought. Giving her some encouragement, however - that was the right thing to do and he was well on his way to just speak his mind anyways. “Not yet at least - don’t worry too much at this age, take it from me…” Yes, take it from the speaking dummy. Clearly, a spirit inhabiting a doll is the best beacon of good worldly advice possible. “When ya young, you make nothin’ but mistakes. But even an egg, with another pressure, becomes a bit hard boiled. So its fine if you are a bit soft and runny now…”

“I don’t like runny eggs…” Mati replied, fingering through some boxes and small crates that littered one of the corners of de Ascanio’s workshop. This man had some truly antique repair kits laying around. Some of them were erroneously placed here - instead of being prepared for the museum showcase itself. “Wow, he even has an antique Vampire slaying kit…!”

Having opened it, she examined a set of crosses, some practically mummified garlic, vials of holy water and also several stakes - some of them seemingly stained in what could only be called ancient blood. “Doesn’t look like one of those cheap reproductions or movie props this time, either…”

“What are you looking for, exactly, hon?” Sid leaned against a lamp, kicking the on switch with his foot. He was surprised that he could feel some of the heat from it. This continued symbiosis with his wooden body wasn’t too bad, but he’d need to get out of it sometime in the future. Who knows what would happen if he continued on like this…

“Just a repair kit. To remove the… shards of glass sticking out of you.” Clearly, she did not want to tell Sid straight up just how badly ‘injured’ he was. The possessed puppet pawed at his head, before he felt several shards jaggedly protruding from the wooden scalp. “The glass was reinforced, I am surprised you managed to get through it…”

“When you are in a bunch of big spaces as a small guy, you gotta improvise. But ay, I’m still togged to the bricks at least…” Sid was glad to see that his clothes, remarkably, did not get torn up much at all besides one little tear that was mostly unnoticeable. This meant that he simply went head first through the display. “No one else is lookin’ out for me, so I have to take the lead, like a doctah.”

“Like a doctor…?”

“Yeah, like a doctah.” Sid replied with a chuckle. “What? Doctors aren’t too prestigious anymore or somethin’? Don’t tell me they got those boys working brain-cubicles for middle class pay…”

“I guess there are worse professions out there, but no - doctors are pretty well off. Mr. de Asciano came from a family of magicians and doctors.” Now it was just straight suspicious how much this dollface Matilde knew about this guy. “They funded some of his early projects, thinking that he was trying to invest in some form of tangible, functional medicine that wasn’t necessarily alternative…”

“Alternative medicine, we just call that ‘fancy occult stuff’ from when I was around.” Shaking his head, Sid was busy toying with what de Ascanio had left behind in the mortal realm. It was not like he had to pull open any drawers, his vices were pretty clearly everywhere on the table still. An ashtray for cigars, but the guy smoked the cheapest rolls possible. No flavour, quick burn - he must have done it just for the looks and nothing else.

An empty bottle of American bourbon was leaning against a full bottle of the stuff. It also looked cheap, but considering it was an import, he probably paid too much for even that. This guy was running draw on gogo juice, no motivation, no energy. “And you said this guy was a wannabe necromancer?” Sid interrogated, finding some irony in the fact that the guy took the practice of restoration so far. To the point he even tried to fix up the dead. “No offense, but he’s an average joe tryin’ to play a character or somethin’.”

“De Ascanio was just trying to be himself…” Of course a sweet nerd like her would have sympathy for the nerd that made it big. Even if he didn’t have anything to show for it too much, de Ascanio obviously enjoyed the privileges of cheap drinks and expensive heirlooms to litter the rooms of his establishments. “Restoration was his biggest goal, for all things…” And that was why Mati found this kit-box. A fancy wooden, lightweight chest that looked like it was better suited for containing a chessboard and pieces inside of it.

The wondrous chestnut surfacing slid open and once the top was removed, a sensible storage of ventriloquist dummy-repair items looked back at the two of them. Scooting it further onto de Ascanio’s work desk, Mati sat down and Sid was too busy looking worried, as he loomed over the supplies.

“I see why they knock ya out before surgery and don’t let ya see the sterilized tools now…” Sid made a good point, it was just a bit mortifying. Perhaps Mati should have considered this presentation a bit more. But, Sid was able to notice how she almost shivered in embarrassment over this. “Let’s get this ova’ with. We got some things to figu’a out.”

“W-what kind of things?” Mati asked, almost forgetting the ramifications of something like this event would no doubt be rather considerable. “I mean, you want me to help you with things? I can do that…”

“Well, we need to get me out of this body, to be frank.” Sitting down, Sid lowered his head toward her with a huff. “Get the tweezas and get to the juicy bit. I doubt I’ll be screamin’ on account of being as numb as a politician.”

With a soft smile, Mati grabbed a pair of tweezers that was usually used for pulling out chips of wood from dummies during minimal damage or just wear and tear from continual use. Carefully, she maneuvered the nose of the pinchers through the hair and grasped at the first bit of glass. Truthfully, she could have done this by hand, but she did not want to risk damaging Sid or even cutting herself in the process.

A single tug and the shard came out, carefully it was then placed in a small tin within the box. It had some old, dried splinters from past repairs years ago. “De Ascanio actually refurbished you quite a bit… You were one of the first projects he finished in a while.”

“I’m flattered, he probably saw how much of a butter and egg man I was. But he seemed to be the type to hit the giggle juice fairly often - dunno if I wanna take ‘is word for any’tin’.” Referring to the empty bottles, Sid knew a guy with a problem developing or someone slowly falling off the wagon again would be drinking alone during working hours. “He musta had a lot on his mind.”

“They are closing the Occult Museum and I believe he… had a terminal illness.” Explained Mati, as she continued to pull the glass from his head. Surprised that his hair was so human-like - it practically was real. “So, he did his best to … try and transfer his soul to another plane of existence.”

“Not a bad idea, but it would have been smarter to transfer his soul into somethin’ else for the time bein’. Ain’t no body is too fond of the othaside, honestly… not at all what it is cracked up to be.” Doing his best to not shake his head, Sid remained frozen as she proceeded to pull out the final shard from the display case. “I ain’t sayin’ he had to put himself in a dummy though... maybe he tried with me and found out it wasn’t so vacant in ‘ere. That would explain why he gave me the extra attention ‘n all.”

“Are you sure you aren’t de Ascanio in there? Pulling a fast one on me?” The slight accusatory and playful tone from her was a bit hot, he’d have to admit. But Mati was serious, she wasn’t entirely convinced who or what exactly was in this puppet. “Who are you, Sid? Really?”

“A demon hunter, of sorts. Somethin’ like that. Think of it as… a detective of the otherworldly sort.” Sid scoffed at the title in a humble way. Although, he did notice Mati’s eyes had grown somewhat. But it wasn’t over his casual and cool attitude. She was examining the last shard very closely and with a determined, analytical studying at that. “What ya seein’ there toots? Bit too small for a propa reflection. Ya don’t got a mirror?”

“There’s blood… on this shard…” Mati confirmed, presenting it toward Sid - whose comically agape mouth was then quickly shut. His small fingers traced his scalp. “Are you sure you don’t feel anything…? I mean, this has to be your’s, right?”

“I felt a bit of a knick, but I thought it was nothin’... like a literal phantom pain ya know?” Disturbed, Sid dabbed the place where the shard had been with his finger. Returning the appendage to the position between them, they both saw a dab of red. It was real. No joke about it. “It ain’t some of those preservation juices in me either to keep the wood from rotting…”

A realization struck them both, but Mati answered first before Sid could. Or rather, Sid let her take this victory lap of an assessment. “De Ascanio… something he did, restored you. Or is, restoring you to a human form… He’s a necromancer, wannabe or not, whatever he did - it might be working!”

Excited, for reasons she could not describe, Sid wasn’t so enthusiastic about the full extent of the answer. “You’re right, but if that means I am going to be a literal living doll instead of a proppa’ mensch… I think I'd rather have the curtains on me.” Sid stood up on the table, before moving over to the lamp and trying to judge his own height next to it. “I ain’t done what I did, survived what I have, just to live the rest of my life as a munchkin or a midget… I wanna get outta of this body…”

“Well…” Mati began, which caught Sid’s attention. Was it a possibility after all? “De Ascanio… was looking into something rather eccentric. I am unsure if it was even possible, but it was a plan that did not work… from what I could tell.”

This poor girl, she had a lot of bright ideas and good inputs, but none of the confidence. Sid decided to fluff her up a bit. Be a good man, give her some tips. “Ya know, even with ya body lookin’ a bit pudgy from too much study-pudding, you can become a real babe if ya want to…”

“W-what is this about? What does this have to do with your situation?” She was quick to reflect and deflect the attention from herself any chance she got. It was something she was used to doing. A defense mechanism. “We… we might have a way to give you a proper body or at least, a better replacement…”

“I’m all for it, ya know…” Interchanged Sid, but he didn’t want to get off this topic just yet. Now, maybe it was just some semblance of humanity returning to him, he was thinking about another body entirely. “I’m just sayin’, ya could be a hot mama without having a hard-body. You know what would look good on you?”

Mati was completely speechless. “...” But she was also in no position to object to some potential good input. “Okay, fine… what would look good on me?”

“Somethin’ that screams ‘I’m a tough dame and a hard babe’. A leather jacket, bit long to go past the hips and somethin’ slimming like a leopard print dress or shirt. Show some of them legs of your’s off.” Sid was… blatantly projecting another woman onto Mati, which just made her frown. “I mean, oof. We need more women with boots. Leather boots, nice and clad along the calf. Blonde hair tied back to uhh… tie it all together…” Was it possible for a dummy to salivate? Because it was coming close to that.

“Oh, please, I’d never be able to pull a look like that off anytime ever…” With an adjudgement to her brille-style glasses, she cocked her head at the dummy and was wondering what had just gotten over him. “Sid. Let’s… not talk about my body, let’s think about your’s-”

“Fine, fine…” Waving it away at her, Sid seemed to cave in. Only come back at her with something sharp. “I don’t want to poke at any insecurities…”

“I-I don’t have insecurities!” Her legs pushed together and her hands rested on her knees, she was adamant about not being pushed around like this. “I just… keep it simple!”

“Why?” Sid appeared surprisingly expressive. Sometimes, Mati forgot she was talking to a doll in the mere guise of a human that disguised a lost soul underneath. In the end, she was as green around the ears as money - he had to remember that. “You just gotta express more of yourself without fearin’ much else ya know. Or is it all just a dress code sorta thing?”

“Well, it is both.” Flustered visibly more and more, she knew Sid was going to keep poking at this subject unless she gave in. “I’m not too happy with my body, okay…?”

It was sad to hear anyone say that. While the face was not entirely able to frown, Sid’s eyes did lower and look a bit sour toward the whole world. “Ay, listen, you got the hips and all that matters.”

Matilde raised her eyebrows in a little astonishment. It was one of the first genuine compliments she had ever received. “I guess you’re right…” She didn’t want to negate it, for that would be like suddenly turning back a gift. Regardless, they needed to get back on track. “Anyways, Sid…”

This was enough for the possessed dummy, for now. He extended his arm with the torn sleeve, as Mati was already grabbing for a needle and was comparing spools of thread with the texture of Sid’s suit. “I don’t want it to stand out too much, but I think a navy blue string will look good… this shade here is like a midnight sky. It is a bit better than black even. Your clothes are a little faded, not as black as they used to be - so this will be perfect.” The intuitive approach was something any detective would appreciate.

“Keen eyes there missey. You work with cloth and needles often?” Judging by how clumsy the first attempts to pierce the fabric of the suit were, it was clear this was not the case. “Careful now! I’m a dummy, not a voodoo doll!’

“Sorry, I don’t remember how to do this as well as I used to…” But Mati did a fine job in the end, making Sid look almost worthy of presentation again in a display case. Not like he would ever fall into that sort of gig again. “De Ascanio… was always fond of wooden works. He believed they were conduits for spirits.”  

To be continued.