Jaune and Courage the Cowardly Dog
Chap 57: The Transplant
"You once were so pretty and smelled so sweet. And now look at you." Muriel said sadly.
"Sad to see it go away." Saphron said sadly.
We were in the garden area of the farm. Which was just where we would occasionally grow plants either just for the fun of it, to make the house seem more beautiful or just annoy Eustace who still won't admit he can't grow anything. Mainly the last one though. With us was Saphron, Terra and Adrian who was asleep. They came for a visit and to catch up on things. Courage was next to me holding another flower similar to the one we were standing around which died recently.
"I TOOK A BATH LAST TUESDAY!" Eustace shouted from his truck which he was 'fixing.'
"Ew." Both Saphron and Terra said in disgust.
"I wasn't talking to you Eustace." Muriel shouted back.
"Explains why always stinks." I whispered to Courage who nodded agreement.
"Courage. Do your stuff." Muriel told him smiling.
'Yay.' He cheered before putting the flower down.
"Better back up." I told Saphron and Terra.
"Why?" Terra asked confused. But understood why when some dirt hit her in the face.
"That's why." I answered smirking.
"You got a little something on your face honey." Saphron said giggling along with Adrian who just woke up. Only to get some dirt thrown into her face courtesy of Terra.
"So do you." She said smiling. They then both laughed at how ridiculous they looked while Adrian laughed while clapping his hands.
"How lovely." Muriel said smiling at how my sister and her wife are acting with each other. It was a lovely sight. Only slightly ruined when some dirt hit us in the face as well.
'Getting carried away again.' I thought chuckling looking back at Courage who was already digging a hole about ten times bigger than we need.
"Courage. Courage, you can stop now." Muriel told him but it only fell on deaf ears.
"Can he stop Jaune?" Terra asked.
"Nope. Once he starts digging, it's hard to get him to stop." I answered as Courage kept on digging.
"I can tell." Saphron said amazed at the mountains of dirt that was already as tall as us.
'Oh!' We heard Courage say in confusion.
"Did you find something?" Muriel asked.
'This weird bone.' He answered as he pulled a weird looking bone from the ground.
"Where do you suppose that came from?" Muriel asked curious.
"I don't think we want to know what animal that bone belonged to." Terra said with wide eyes.
"Hey guys. Check out that bone." A voice suddenly said.
"Who said that?" I asked confused.
"Um, guys." Saphron said getting our attention.
"Yes?" I asked as we turned to her. She merely pointed around and we saw a full-on excavation going on.
"That was extremely quick." Terra said shocked at how quickly they worked. Turning back to Courage, I saw that hole he dug was now even bigger with three other people digging close by.
'Damn. Talk about fast and efficient.' I thought impressed by how fast they worked.
"GRAND! GRAND1" A new and familiar voice called out next to us.
"My possies." Muriel gasped when she realized her plants were gone and probably destroyed.
"Mr. Fith. What are you doing here?" I asked surprised to see him here again. And in good health as it's only been a week since the mummy incident.
"That's why." He answered pointing to where the others were digging.
"Oh, my." Muriel gasped in shock.
"Um, Jaune. You may want to take a look." Saphron said while turning my head with her hand. And what I say nearly made my faint in shock.
"What is that?" I asked in shock and slight fear. In the pit that the people dug up, was a giant skeleton of what seemed to be a giant kangaroo.
'Let's find out.' Courage said as he pulled himself out of the hole with the bone.
"Wanna come?" I asked Saphron and Terra.
"Sure. I am actually curious as to what that creature is." Saphron answered.
"Scared and nervous I believe is more appropriate. But I still want to find out what it is." Terra said curiously.
"All right then. Let's head to the computer." I said already preparing for the insults the computer will throw at us. Heading inside the house, we went up to my room. Getting there, I placed the bone in the scanner while Courage turned the computer on. He then started typing in the command for it to scan the bone which it did a second later.
"Okay computer. Tell us about it." I told the computer.
'What a hideous sculpture. I detest modern art.' The computer said in a bored tone.
"Just tell us about the bone." I said annoyed.
'All right. Here's what you want to know. It's from a very rare, very extinct, very huge kangaroo monster.' The computer began showing us an image of the same skeleton we saw outside before showing us what it looked like when it was alive.
'AAHHH!'Courage gasped in shock.
"Wow." Terra and Saphron also gasped in shock at how big and terrifying the creature looked.
'A social outgoing creature. That loved to crush anything that moved.' The computer continued while showing a chicken that got stomped on by the kangaroo monster. '...to a pulpy pancake.'
"It's okay Adrian. They won't hurt you." Terra said trying to calm down Adrian who got scared when he saw the kangaroo flatten the chicken.
'But that was then... this is now.' The computer said while showing the kangaroo monster buried in a comically small grave with its legs still sticking out. 'They are all extinct.'
'Whew.' Courage sighed in relief.
"That's a relief." Saphron said in relief.
"Can you imagine if those creatures were still alive?" Terra said slightly scared.
"I wonder what the bones could go for?" I asked curious while looking at the bone still in the scanner.
'And the bones are very, very valuable.' The computer answered.
'Hmm.' Courage said interested while the sound of a cash registered sounded around him.
"Let's go tell Muriel about this." I said as I took the bone from the scanner.
'Before Eustace starts selling them.' Courage agreed smiling.
"Too late for that." Terra interjected.
"What do you mean?" I asked as we headed to the door.
"I heard him already bidding the bones away to the archeologists." She explained.
"Never misses a chance to earn some money." Saphron seethed. Sighing, we went back down and exited the house and saw Mr. Fith whispering something to Muriel.
"Oh, you are cheeky." Muriel said annoyed as she slapped him silly.
"OOOH!" Fith moaned as his eyes rolled in his head.
"Oh, there you all are. What did you find?" Muriel asked when she saw us coming towards her.
"Something very interesting." Terra answered while Courage started hopping up and down excitedly. But before we could continue, Eustace shouted angrily getting our attention.
"STUPID BONE STEALING DOG! GIVE THAT BACK!" He demanded. Turning towards him, we saw him on the roof with a podium next to him. He hit the podium with his fist which caused it to fall of the roof. Which also somehow caused him to lose his balance and fall down the roof. With the bones that were also on the roof sliding down and falling on him. "OW!"
"Talk about well-deserved Karma." Terra said trying to hide her smile.
"Wonder if he can get up?" I asked. But got my answer when the archeologists took away all the bones and left behind Eustace with his limbs and spine twisted in ways that should not be possible. Humanly or not.
"Oh, my. We best take Eustace to the hospital." Muriel said worried as she rushed into the house.
Half an Hour Later
"Tsk, Tsk, tsk. Oh, no. This is not good." Dr. Vindaloo said as he looked over the x-ray, he took of Eustace's spine which looked like an infinite symbol. "You need a disk transplant. Yes, a disk transplant."
"Oh, my. That sounds serious." Muriel said worried.
"Sounds expensive." Eustace complained.
"Even for his own health, he is still cheap." Saphron whispered to us annoyed.
"Very serious." Dr. Vindaloo said confirming what Muriel said.
"What should we do?" Terra asked.
"You need to find a replacement bone. Though, it's hard to find a bone that's just the right size and shape." Dr. Vindaloo answered. "But you have to. Otherwise, there will be terrible complications. Complications."
"Where can we even find a bone like that? It's not like they sell them in stores." I asked only slightly concerned.
'Wait. I have an idea. Will this do?' Courage asked while pulling out the bone he dug up from earlier.
"That'll do." Dr. Vindaloo answered as he took the bone. "Now. Farmer will follow me to the operating room. The rest of you will go to the observation room."
"And where is that?" Muriel asked.
"Over there." He answered pointing to the side of the room to a door we never saw before.
"Was that always there?" I asked surprised that we never saw that door before.
"Let's get this over with." Eustace said angry that he is spending money.
Ten Minutes Later
"This is a very delicate procedure. Very delicate. Only the most advanced methods can be employed." Dr. Vindaloo explained to us as he stood next to Eustace who was lying down on the operating table. "It requires great care, keen awareness and a practiced steady hand.
"Do you think he is able to do this Jaune?" Saphron asked slightly worried as I did tell her and Terra the stories involving Dr. Vindaloo.
"Doubt it as that description does not fit him at all." I answered as Dr. Vindaloo took out a giant mallet. "Speaking of which, we may want to cover Adrian's ears."
"Why?" Terra asked. I merely pointed at Dr. Vindaloo who turned around and placed the bone on Eustace's back. Her eyes widened as she and Saphron quickly covered Adrian's ears.
"AAHHH!" Eustace gasped when he saw what Dr. Vindaloo was about to do.
'This is going to leave a mark.' Courage said slightly nervous. And we couldn't help but agree.
"AAAHHHH!" Eustace screamed when Dr. Vindaloo started pounding the bone into his back. With other bones in his body breaking from the hits.
"I almost feel sorry for him." Saphron said when the sounds of bones breaking stopped for a moment. But then began again with her adding. "No, I don't."
"At least it's over now." I said when Dr. Vindaloo threw away the hammer and placed some duct tape in Eustace's back. He then waved to us to so that we know that the procedure was completed and a success.
'That was painful to watch.' Courage said as we he and Muriel clapped for some reason.
"It was. Anyway, lets head back to the other room. Grab Eustace and head back home." I said as we took off the masks we were wearing and headed back into the other room where Dr. Vindaloo and an unconscious Eustace were waiting for us,
"Good. Good. Everything went well." Dr. Vindaloo told us.
"Is he going to be all right?" Muriel asked.
"He will be all right. There should be no complications or side effects." He answered.
"That's good. Now, let's get him home." I said as Courage unlocked the wheels of the bed Eustace was on and started to push him towards the truck.
Farmhouse Ten P.M.
"So, when we will the wedding be little bro?" Saphron asked as she rocked the sleepy Adrian back and forth until he fell asleep. We were in my room discussing a few things and catching up.
"As soon as Iris can get a break from work and can get a vacation long enough." I answered before adding. "We still have to go over a few things as well."
"And we will be there to tease you." Terra added with a smirk.
"You know Jaune. You faced off against many different people and creatures since being adopted by this family. Don't you ever worry that they might one day team up against you?" Saphron asked worried.
"I never thought about that before. But I guess it's a strong possibility that could happen. Going to need to discuss this with Courage tomorrow. See if we can come up with a plan." I answered. But before either of them could say anything, we heard a loud crash.
*BAM*
"What was that?" Terra asked worried at the sudden noise. But her attention was drawn to Adrian who woke up with a fright at the sudden loud noise.
"It's all right baby." Saphron said trying to calm him down.
"I better check it out." I answered as I got up from my bed and grabbed my sword and shield.
"Be careful Jaune." Terra told me. I nodded before exiting my room and heading to Muriel's room.
"Is everything okay?" I asked stepping in the room.
"Everything is fine Jaune. But can you and Courage check on Eustace. He went to the bathroom a bit ago and I'm getting worried for him." She answered.
"All right. Come on Courage." I said while holding the door open for Courage who looked like he was about to collapse any moment from lack of sleep.
'Thanks.' He said fighting through a yawn.
"So, what do you think was that loud sound?" I asked him.
'Probably have something to do with Eustace.' He answered as we made our way to the bathroom. Soon, we got there.
"Eustace, are you-" I began as I opened the door. Only to go silent when I full opened and we came face to face with the giant glasses of Eustace. I just slowly closed the door without either of us saying anything. We then made our way back to Muriel who was sitting up on bed and putting on her boots.
"Is everything ok?" She asked. We just looked back out the hall for a moment before giving an answer.
'AAAHHHHHH!' Courage screamed in terror.
"Um, that is the best answer we could give as I don't know what we saw." I answered confused and scared. We then heard what sound like a crash come from upstairs.
"The others." I said worried for Saphron, Terra and Adrian. Especially when I heard them scream and Adrian cry. I was about to run to them when we felt the ground slightly shake. And it sounded like it was coming right outside the window. Turning to it, we saw the same giant form of Eustace appeared. He then reached inside the room and grabbed Muriel.
"AAHHH! HELP!" She screamed as she was pulled out of the room.
"HANG ON!" We yelled as we rushed over to her and grabbed her foot. We tried to pull her back inside but failed when her boot slipped of causing us to land on our backs.
'Damn it.' I thought as we quickly got back up and looked outside.
"HA, HA, HA." Eustace laughed as he held Muriel in his hand. He then put her in his pouch which also held Terra and Adrian.
"JAUNE!" We heard Saphron call out. Turning around, we saw her race into the room.
"Are you okay" I asked rushing over to her.
"I'm fine. But a GIANT EUSTACE CREATURE TOOK MY WIFE AND SON!" She answered shouting at the end.
"We just saw them. He has them in his pouch." I answered.
"What do we do?" She asked frantically.
'Check the news to see where they could be going.' Courage answered before racing out of the room with Muriel's boot. We looked at each other and followed him down to the living room. We flipped the television on and turned to the news we knew that would be reporting it.
'Well, that's one skyscraper that won't be scraping no skies.' The reporter announced as he showed the skyscraper that Eustace just destroyed.
'HELP!' We heard Muriel and Terra screamed as they rode in the pouch.
"When I get my hands on that guy, I'm going to wring his neck for taking my wife and son." Saphron seethed.
'And if you want help...try new dilly drops.' The commercial began but I stopped it when I turned off the television.
'What do we do? What do we do?' Courage asked panicking.
"Let's ask the computer. Perhaps it has an idea." I answered. They nodded and we raced up to my room where thankfully the computer was still working and had power. Flipping it on, we began to type in our question.
'The kangaroo monster is nearly impossible to defeat.' It told. Annoyed, Courage began to type again. 'Hey, not so hard. I didn't dig up the bones.'
"Then tell us to how to beat it." I demanded.
'The only thing that can defeat a kangaroo monster... is another kangaroo monster.' It answered.
'EEHHH!' Courage said in terror not liking what the computer told us.
"And where are we supposed to get another kangaroo monster bone?" Saphron asked annoyed. But instead of answering, the computer said something he really shouldn't have.
'Please deposit twenty-five cents for the next five minutes, or your call will be interrupted.' The computer mocked.
"He should not have said that." I whisper to Courage who nodded as we looked at Saphron who growled and cracked her knuckles. She then with ease and an anger I have not seen before, grabbed the computer and tossed it out the window.
'Some people-' The computer began but was cut off when Saphron threw a chair at it easily.
"Truly an ass." She growled out while wiping her hands off.
"Well, I can't deny that the computer deserved that. But either way, let's head over to Dr. Vindaloo. He might be able to help us." I told her after a moment to let her calm down.
"Right." She said before walking out of the room. We looked at each other for a moment before following her,
Half an Hour Later
"Well, three pieces of the bone did chip off during the very careful procedure on the farmer. I was using them as jewelry item." Dr. Vindaloo told us as he showed us the pieces of bones which he transformed two into earrings and one as a necklace.
"Can you, do it?" Saphron asked impatient.
"I could insert it into your backs. And while you two ate quite simple to do so, I have never done a procedure on a dog before. There is not telling what could happen. No telling at all." He answered.
'Alright. Let's get this over with.' Courage said gulping. And who could blame him honestly when Dr. Vindaloo is at the helm.
"Then let's go to the next room." He said before taking us to the operating room. He told us to lay down while he got ready. He soon came back with the bones and mallet along with some duct tape.
Fifteen Minutes Later
"Good. Good recoveries." Dr. Vindaloo said as he helped us to the previous room.
"If you say so." Saphron said wincing in pain that she felt in her back.
"Still breathing. Good sign." Dr. Vindaloo aid as he wrote it down on the clipboard he had in his hands.
'AAHHHH!' Courage gasped. Looking towards him, we saw that his feet grew to an extremely large size with nails nearly as long as his arms currently are.
"Oh, no." Saphron said as she started to feel weird.
"Here it comes." I said as my arms started to gain fur and grow to a long size. Needless to say, the rest of the transformation was incredibly weird and painful. Thankfully, it lasted only a few moments.
"Wow." I said amazed at the fact that we were all kangaroo monsters. The fur on me being yellow while Saphron was a gold color. I then looked over to Saphron and Courage. "Are you guys, okay?"
"I'm fine. Just weirded out." Saphron answered as she looked herself over.
'Same.' Courage answered as he strangely had the body of the kangaroo monster yet his head stayed the same and only increased in size.
"Now What? We still need to find Eustace." Saphron asked.
"I checked on my scroll and it said that they were in Paris." I answered.
"Paris?" Saphron asked confused.
"A beautiful place a bit far away. Just follow us as we know the path." I answered. She nodded as began to make our way to Paris to save Muriel, Terra and Adrian.
Three Hours Later
"There they are." I said as we arrived in Paris and saw Eustace destroying the place.
"Let's get back our loved ones." Saphron glaring at Eustace. We all nodded and closed in on Eusatce who was about to leave the area.
'PUT THEM DONW!' Courage shouted getting Eustace's attention.
"MAKE ME!" He challenged turning to us. He then turned and ripped from the ground a massive triumphal arch which I remember it being called the Arc de Triomphe and threw it at us.
"DUCK!" I said quickly. We all did so just in time as the arch came and missed us. Going over our heads and then acting like a boomerang and went straight back at Eustace. Hitting him on the head and shattering completely.
"OW!" Eustace shouted while holding his head in pain. Which made me realize that his hat somehow also grew in size.
"My turn." Saphron said as she grabbed a small glass building and tore it form the ground and threw it at Eustace. It somehow landing in his mouth and crumbling when he closed his mouth after a moment of struggle. He then retaliated by throwing a few gargoyle statues at us. All of which missed. We then retaliated with our own barrage at him. But with ours hitting him. This continued back and forth for a few minutes till we ran out of things to throw.
"How about a contest?" Eustace asked smugly as he took out a canvas and canvas stand from somewhere.
'You're on.' Courage said as he took out a few for us as well. This caused Eustace to growl before he started to paint.
"He, he, he." Eustace laughed as he painted. After a moment, he showed us what he painted which was a red stick figure drawing of a person.
"Not bad. Check ours though." I said as we reveled our paintings. Mine was that of me, Muriel and Courage together in the living room.
'MM-HMM.' Courage hummed as he showed us a picture of the Mona Lisa. Which, now that I remember, Saphron just destroyed when she threw the building at Eustace.
"Better luck next time." Saphron mocked as she showed her paining of herself and Terra on their wedding day.
"OH! Stupid dog and kids." Eustace growled out before hopping away. Towards a tower that I remember being called the Eifel Tower.
"Hang on. We're coming for you all." I shouted as we gave chase after Eustace who started to climb up the tower.
"GRRRR!" Eustace growled when he realized we cornered him. But as we began to reach and try and grab our loved ones back, the sound of a siren caught our attention.
'Huh?' Courage asked confused. Looking back down, we saw what looked like a policeman trying to get our attention.
"This landmark is not zoned for the occupancy of four Kangaroo monsters. Only one allowed." He warned us.
"Oh, come on." Saphron yelled out while Courage whined as we slowly climbed down the tower.
"Ha, ha, ha." Eustace mocked as he got into a more comfortable sitting position on the tower.
"Now what?" Saphron asked as we moved a few hops away from the tower.
'I have an idea.' Courage answered. He then took out a sling shot from his pouch along with a croissant.
"And what are you going to do with that?" I asked confused. He smiled before loading it and firing it at Eustace. Only for it to land in his mouth with him eating it a second later.
"Yummy." He said smugly.
'Oh, no.' Courage said worried. He then reached in his pouch and gave us each some slingshots and croissants. We started firing at Eustace as fast as we could. Yet he managed to eat each and every single croissant we fired at him. But at the same time, we noticed that he was getting substantially bigger and heavier with each one he ate.
"Keep feeding him. We almost got him." I said noticing that the tower was slowly bending over and getting closer to the river next to it due to Eustace's increasing weight.
"AAHHH!" He screamed when the tower finally gave way and he fell into the river.
"AAAHHHH!" Terra and Muriel screamed as they were released from Eustace pouch but now were riding a giant wave down the river,
"We got you." Saphron said as she caught Terra and Adrian while Courage got Muriel.
"Oh, so good to see you all." Muriel said happily as Courage put her in his pouch.
"Is everyone all right?" I asked.
"I'm fine Jaune." Muriel answered.
"How about you Terra. And how's Adrian?" Saphron asked.
"Fine. Just want to go home and rest. Adrian fell asleep a bit ago from the night sky and ride." Terra answered.
"That's good." Saphron said relieved that they were both okay. We then started to make our way back home. But first, a slight detour to the doctor.
Three Hours Later
"The removal of the kangaroo monster bones was a success." Dr. Vindaloo stated as he heled the bones that he put in our backs.
"And side effects Dr. Vindaloo?" Terra asked as she sat next to Saphron while both smiled down at Adrian.
"You might feel a little sore, but there should be no side effects. No side effects at all." He answered.
"That's good." I said in relief.
'Yay!' Courage cheered in joy as well.
"A-OOGA!" Dr. Vindaloo said as he put the bones back on as jewelry.
"Come on. Let's head home." I said as we got off the table and started to head to the door. All the while Courage started to hop up and down with incredible height.
'Yeah, no side effects at all.' I thought as we chuckled at Courage's expression as he jumped up and down. But what Saphron asked earlier came to mind about our enemies teaming up.
'Hopefully that won't happen. At least I would have Courage by my side. And hopefully others by my side as well.' I thought worried.
Note:
(1) McPhearsome Phantom with Blake, Kali and Ghira. (2) Aqua Farmer with Blake, Kali and Ghira. (3) Food of the dragon with Blake, Kali and Ghira (4) Journey to the center of Nowhere with Peach (5) Heads of Beef with Sun and Neptune. (6) Forbidden Hat of Gold with Oobleck and Port.