Spells and Louds
Chapter 278: A Courageous Stroll.
(April 18. Spellman Estate.)
Just a normal day as the sun arises over the home of the Spellman home, but one little dog house in the backyard in the shape of a farm house is where our little pink beagle is staying. His name is Courage, once Courage Bagge and now Courage A. Spellman.
The little dog opens his eyes and comes out of his little dog house, he then yawns and stretches and he looks up to the sky and smiles to see a flock of Butterfree. 'Happy birthday to me, this day should be interesting, and I hope it won't be scary.'
Courage opens the doggy door and he sees that breakfast has already been setup, and the one who made it was none other than the Spellman father himself. "Morning Courage, and a happy birthday Courage." Neil hands him a plate of four waffles in the shape of a heart with syrup and cherries.
Courage hugs Neil. "You're welcome boy." Then they hear some more footsteps coming, it was the rest of the family.
Each of them either gave Courage a hug or a pat on the head, each one saying happy birthday. Courage was happy that they all knew his birthday, he was also surprised that they all knew.
Then he gets picked up by the one girl he calls his owner and friend. Linka A. Spellman. "Good morning Courage and a happy birthday!" She then places a few kisses to his face, making him chuckle.
She then places him on the chair at the dining room and they all eat their breakfast.
"So, you ready for your day out with Linka little doggy dude?" asked Luna.
Courage didn't know what she was talking about, but it seems like Linka has some plans for the both of them.
"We were planning on setting up a party for you, you are turning ten this year. But then we overheard what Hollow translated when you were talking to Washington and Victoria" said Lincoln.
Courage was surprised, he does recall talking to Washington and Victoria about what he wants.
(Flashback, yesterday.)
While Lincoln, Linka and Luna are at Great Lake City, Courage is helping train the kittens and kits of Washington and Victoria, they need to learn more on surviving around the house as they grow up.
"So, your big day is coming tomorrow, you think the Spellman's are gonna give you a party?" asked Washington.
"It does seem like the one thing they tend to do when someone in their family is growing a year older" replied Victoria.
Courage chuckles. "Well, I do appreciate what they do and how they want to make someone's birthday special, but I don't want them to strain themselves just setting up a birthday for a dog like me."
Washington and Victoria were surprised. "Wait a minute! You don't want a surprise party?" asked Victoria.
"Don't get me wrong, it's nice that they might do such a thing. But the one thing I only want, is a nice stroll … in the world where I came from, it may not be much but I do love bringing back some good old memories" replied Courage.
Washington and Victoria smile, they both understood how much he misses his old home, friends and family.
But what they all don't know is that Hollow came to visit the Spellman house, he overheard what the pets were talking about. 'Linka and the others will love this.' Then he hears a fight coming from outside.
"Snorlax is awake! Snorlax is awake!" yelled Leon.
"Run for it!" yelled Neil.
Hollow looks outside and sees Neil and Leon being chased by Snorlax and Garchomp is trying to fight it off. "Well, time to save their sorry asses."
(End Flashback.)
Courage smiles, he can see all them were happy that he now knows. "So, how about it Courage? One day with Linka at your old home?" asked Lincoln.
Courage understands that they let Linka go because they are both the closest with their small owner and pet bond, but she sees him as family. Courage nods.
Linka hugs Courage and Arcanine licks him.
"Alright then, you two can get yourselves prepared for your big dimensional visit later" said Gwen.
They all then sang Happy Birthday to Courage, with Lincoln and Luna using their acoustic guitars.
Courage was happy that this was happening, a family that understood him just as Muriel did, sorta. Only without the vinegar.
(Skip, later in the day.)
Linka comes out of her room, dressed in an orange sleeveless shirt, long sleeve orange hoodie, blue skirt, black leggings, white socks and blue shoes.
With her is Growlie (Arcanine.) and her calibrate Sniper Rifle of course.
She heads down the stairs and sees Courage having some small talk to Washington and Victoria.
"You be safe out there Courage" said Washington.
"Don't let all of those memories come at you all at once" said Victoria.
Courage chuckles. "I will, and I doubt many of my memories will make me break down." He then looks to the little ones and gives them all a hug, they all return his hug with a few licks and nuzzles.
Courage then places them all down back onto the soft mat and turns around to see Linka and Arcanine, smiling at this sweet moment. "You ready boy?"
Courage stands up and nods, he heads outside with Linka she holds his hand along the way. 'Reminds me of Muriel sometimes.'
The three of them head outside and they see the rest of the family waiting, including Leon, Sergei, Loona and their pups.
It made him smile to see them all here, for his birthday. "Well, the great gate is ready for you, back to the town of Nowhere" replied Sergei.
"If you two wanna come back home, then Linka will use her watch to trigger a portal" said Leon.
"And someone else wants to say happy birthday as well" Neil shows the tablet and the person on, it was Hollow.
"Hey, I don't really seem much like family, but I was the one who translated everything you went through. So, happy birthday, you stupid dog" said Hollow.
They all gasped.
"What the heck man?!" said Sunset.
"Not cool dude" said Luna.
"You got a lot of nerves to say that you psycho!" said Lincoln.
But Courage started babbling, saying it was okay. He then looks back to Hollow. "It's the best I could offer you as a reminder of the people you called your family, let it be good or bad."
Courage smiled and nodded. They were all surprised by this, but they understood that those were the mean words of the mean farmer he lived with.
"But I also brought something else for you, look up" said Hollow.
They all see a drone come down and deliver a small package. Courage picks up the box and smells something, something familiar.
"I suggest you open it once you get to that world" said Hollow, he then turns off his screen.
Courage felt as if the box had something very familiar, the others smelled something odd about the box.
The Spellman kids all gather to hug Courage, and he returns they hugs.
"Stay safe out there little pink dude" said Luna.
"We hope you'll enjoy this day" said Timmy.
"Don't get hurt out there" said Sunset.
"Try not to get into any danger, even if you two are pretty good at watching each other's backs" said Lincoln.
Leni then hugs Linka and Courage. "Come back home safely you two" Linka and Courage return the hug.
They then look to the Great Gate. Linka looks to Courage. "You ready for this?"
Courage nods, she takes the pink dog's hand and they go through, with Growlie following behind.
(Nowhere, Kansas, or what's left of the Town of Nowhere.)
Linka, Courage and Growlie pass through the portal and they see that the town was still the same, all ruin.
It almost felt like he never left at all. Linka was more surprised that the government in that world never bothered to come and clean this up.
"Okay then, let's get going Courage" said Linka. Courage nods and they all stroll through the town.
Courage looks around, and almost everything around them is bringing back lots and lots of memories.
The supermarket where the Flan conflict started and almost went into chaos.
The mayor's hall where this weird anger field was forged and made everyone into Eustace angered citizens.
The many places where he and Muriel would go to find some ingredients for her food, mostly the vinegar store. He really questions Muriel's taste in vinegar related meals, but she is born of Scottish descent. So, maybe it came from that.
He then sees the many restaurants he would go to with Muriel and Eustace.
And then he sees it, the graves of his friends. The ones who fought to keep him safe.
Bunny, Kitty, Charlie the mouse, the three-headed space chicken, Robot Randy, The duck brothers: Donnie, Clyde and Paine, The twin raccoons, the Hunchback of Nowhere and the Storm Goddess and her dog Duncan.
And there were lot of graves for the brave Eggplant people.
And then there was the grave of the Chihuahua who was there on many of his odd adventures, Shirley the Gypsy Chihuahua. Amongst all of his friends, she was the one he was closest to calling family, sort of. She does help with their crazy paranormal conflicts.
He approaches they're graves and sits in front of them. "Well, I guess I should say, hello everyone. It sure is nice to see all of you again, even though you're all no longer here."
Courage starts to shed some tears. "Guys, thanks for being there, for whenever trouble arrives or when I needed help the most, you all sacrificed your meaningful lives just for me, and I am truly greatful for that."
He pulls out some trinkets from a bag he brought with him. This confused Linka and Growlie. "I didn't see him bring that here, and how does he have pockets for that?"
He places some plant foods for each eggplant grave, a cheese wheel for Charlie the mouse, a picture of the bright lights of New York City to Kitty and Bunny, a wooden carved statue of Randy the Robot for Randy the Robot, a three console player PlayStation for the duck brothers, a new camera to the three-headed space chicken, a bowl of cheese flavored popcorn for the raccoon brothers, a book on the real hunchback of Notre Dame for the hunch back of Nowhere and the beautiful image of a light storm for the Storm Goddess, and of course a bag of doggy biscuits for Duncan.
Courage was happy to bring these small offerings to his friends, but he saved the best for last for Shirley.
A book on new incantations and spells, he also buries a wad of cash for her (Approximately 10, 500 dollars.)
"I hope you guys love this, and I know you're all in a better place. So long guys" Courage walks back to Linka and Growlie, ready to continue they're stroll through Nowhere.
On their stroll the pass by some gas stations, a few homes and a burger restaurant where Courage thought the pig and his wife were cannibals. He was glad he found out they weren't and still feels bad for not staying longer so they could make a burger in his image.
And then they see it, the farm house. The Bagge Farm house. Courage's home. Or what's left of it.
Linka could see it was still in shambles since the villains came and attacked.
Linka, Courage and Growlie go around the place, they could see what was left of the living room and kitchen.
Courage touches the remains of the rocking chair Muriel would sit on and she would allow Courage to sit on her lap and scratch his back. Those were good times.
Courage recalls all the times Eustace would scare him with the large and scary mask, Courage then sees the mask underneath the chair Eustace always sat on.
He picks it up and puts it on, when he looks into the mirror he screams in fear and hides behind Linka.
Linka picks up the mask and sees how disturbing it looked, and she was confused why Courage even put it on.
They soon head to the kitchen, Courage recalls all the times he helped Muriel with the cooking, even though some of it tasted odd, most of the food she makes is quite delicious.
He then heads upstairs with Linka and Growlie, they then entered the remains of the bedroom, where Eustace and Muriel would sleep. And of course Courage would sleep at the foot of the bed.
Linka was surprised by one thing. 'How come they didn't have a kid?'
Then Courage recalls something else, he looks under the bed and sees a metal box. "Eustace's reserve stash." Courage then keeps it safe in the bag and they head to the last room that put lots of meaning to Courage.
The room …. Okay so the room where the computer is gone, there's just a big hole that leads all the way down to the living room.
Growlie jumps back down through the hole with Linka and Courage, he could see some parts of the computer were scattered, including the monitor all shattered.
He recalls all the memories he had with the computer, then he recalls just how mean the computer can be to him, but he meant well even when he had a virus within.
Courage touches the screen of the shambled computer. "Even though you were pretty snarky with every word you said to me, you meant well and I found you to be family as well."
Linka then sees something outside, something familiar. "Courage, I think it's time to say hello to some special people."
Courage nods, he knows it was time.
They all head out of the wrecked farm house, Courage then goes to the two grave stones of the people he called family.
The graves of Eustace and Muriel Bagge.
Courage sits in front of the tombstones and cries.
Linka sits next to him and rubs his back.
Courage looks to the two gravestones and wipes away his tears. "Muriel, Eustace. I miss you both, it feels like yesterday that we last saw each other, and I know you two miss me as well. All the good and bad times we had, the crazy adventures and best moments in our lives. But if there's one memory that makes me happy, was the day Muriel found me, thank you Muriel for saving me from the alley way where I hid, thank you for making me a part of your family and giving me a new hope in life. And now, I'm happy to be part of a new family, and I will continue living on to keep the memories of those who lived in this deserted state. So that the memories will never be forgotten, for all of you, my friends, family and loved ones."
He then pulls out the box which had the reserve stash of Eustace and he buries it in front of the farmer man's grave. "You were never alone Eustace, even if you were mean, you always had a family within those who knew and loved you."
Courage then looks to Muriel's grave, he didn't have anything for her. But then he recalls the box Hollow gave him.
Courage opens it and sees they were cookie, but not just ordinary cookies. These cookie were just as Muriel would make them, he knew Hollow would figure out how Muriel cooked. And he knows Hollow didn't like making these.
Linka sees the box and grabs a cookie, but Courage stops her from eating it. He was trying to tell her that she won't like it.
Linka smells the cookie. "Umm, why is it made with lots of vinegar?" Even Growlie's sensitive Pokemon nose didn't like the scent.
Courage then takes a bite of one of the cookies. Linka could see tears in his eyes.
Yeah, these are not tears of sadness or joy, they're tears from the bad taste of these vinegar cookies. Yup, just as Muriel makes em. She would make great dog food with the vinegar though.
Courage then buries the rest of the box of cookies in front of Muriel's grave. "It may not be as good as how you made em, but I know you'd like these. I miss you so much Muriel, you were a mother to me, a mother I had to protect and a mother who would show true kindness to me. I love you Muriel."
Courage then gets up and he sees the small tree growing from the stump of the dead wishing tree. This made him smile. "Looks like I still have one more family member left here, but it will take some time for him to grow. I'll be patient and I will come here on my birthday to see you again, and perhaps we can be family, once again."
Linka also gets up and sees this little tree. "Looks like life is growing." They both also see some moss and other small plants growing, Courage could imagine the wasteland of Nowhere with lots of plants and trees. Perhaps this place will be a forest or something better.
Courage sits next to the stump of the wishing tree, Linka and Growlie also sit next to him.
Courage leans his head onto Linka's shoulder and smiles. "Good boy Courage, and a happy birthday" said Linka as she kisses his forehead.
Courage smiles and closes his eyes, and dreams. He dreams of a birthday party, with all of his friends and the two people he calls family. They came to visit him, all of them came to say "Happy Birthday Courage."
He was ten years old now, and he was looking forward for more birthdays to come, and along the ride will the family he forged a bond with.
To be continued …..
A/N: Happy Birthday Courage, and I would like to once again thank Red16Dragon for helping me figure out the age of Courage the Cowardly Dog, this was the best cartoon I have ever watched. A shame it had to end, and I do miss it. Leave a review and tell me what you all think.
Date made: 4/4/20.