Captain and the Doll

Returning to the familiar Real World, returning to the familiar Lost Homeland, hearing Goat Head's familiar yammering—Duncan felt his heart gradually settle once more, while the exhaustion and tangled thoughts brought on by that "boom" in Subspace also calmed considerably.

He let out a soft breath and walked toward the navigation table. Goat Head seemed not to have noticed the faint weariness on the captain's face—it had clearly spent the past while talking its heart out and was now in high spirits, even bragging to Duncan. "Captain! Your loyal [omitted] has achieved tremendous results. I had a wonderful conversation with this head. We went from the delicacies of the Boundless Sea to poetry and song, and then from poetry and song..."

Duncan lowered his head and glanced at the noisy first mate. "Did it answer you?"

Goat Head froze, suddenly lacking confidence. "Well... not yet..."

But it immediately regained its confidence. "Still, I think I'm almost there. With such heartfelt communication, even a stone would be moved to speak. I think this head will soon be touched by my sincere words. Maybe in a little while, it'll say hello to you—"

"Enough," Duncan finally interrupted Goat Head's yammering helplessly. "This head won't answer you—it spends more than half its time in Subspace."

Goat Head made a crack, like the sound of a string of words abruptly choking in its throat as it slammed on the brakes. It remained blank for two seconds before finally reacting. "You mean Subspace?"

"Didn't you notice?" Duncan raised a hand and pointed at the Captain's Cabin door. "I was resting in the bedroom, yet I came back by opening the door from the Captain's Cabin. While you were having a 'heartfelt conversation' with your other head, I'd already taken a trip through Subspace."

Goat Head's