Jaune and Courage the Cowardly Dog
Chap 10: The Clutching Foot
I was in my bed trying to get some sleep. The past few days I have been restless. Not sure why. Maybe it's because I kept on wondering what could happen next. And what I can do to prepare for them. First there was a shadow that just wanted to be a star. Then there was a queen from a puddle. Next was the chicken from outer space and the duck brothers. There was also the fact that me and Courage met Big Foot and a living Snowman.
'Who knows what could be next?' I wondered. Before coming to live with the Baggs, I would never have imagined I would have faced any of these creatures. But I am here now and while I may not be a huntsman, I will protect Muriel and Courage. Turning to my side, I tried to get to sleep, but I couldn't as my mind was still alert. But eventually, I felt sleep soon come to me. Unfortunately, the sound of Courage hitting the ceiling hard woke me up completely. Concerned, I got out of bed and made my down to the master bedroom.
"Stupid dog. What are you doing itching my foot?" I head Eustace yell at Courage as I neared their room.
"Is everything alright?" I asked as I entered the room.
"My foot! My foot!" He answered as he pointed at his foot.
"What's wrong with your foot?" Muriel asked through a yawn as she woke up from Eustace yelling. Curious, I walked over to him and checked his foot. And to my surprise, I saw that his foot was now a hideous purple and had green spores growing on it.
"Looks like a fungus Eustace. Though, I have never seen this kind before." I answered as I racked my brain and tried to remember if I have seen this type before but came up short.
"Don't worry you two. I know some family remedies." Muriel told us with a smile as she inspected the fungus.
"What kind of remedies Muriel?" I asked concerned as I had a strong feeling that they weren't normal family remedies.
"Nothing to worry about Jaune. There just some remedies my family taught me that could get rid of that nasty fungus." She assured me though I still felt a bit uneasy about it. "But we'll do it in the morning as it's very late. Good night."
"Goon night Muriel. Good night Eustace. Night Courage." I told them.
I was about to exit the room when Courage pulled on my hand. Knowing what he wanted, I picked him up and carried him to my room. Placing the extra pillow on my bed, he dived for it and instantly fell asleep. Smiling, I got into bed as well and tried to fall asleep. Fortunately, it came quick and soon I was asleep. But a feeling in the back of my mind told me to be prepared for tomorrow as it was going to be tough.
8:30 A.M.
The sun shining through the window woke me and Courage up. Doing our normal routine, we got out of bed and stretched a bit. Changing out of my pajamas, I got dressed and we exited my room. Heading downstairs, we headed towards the kitchen to make something to eat but stopped when we saw Eustace sitting in his chair with the foot that has the fungus resting on a footstool. And we were made even more confused when Muriel came over with a cactus.
"Morning Jaune. Courage." She said as she knelt on front of the infected foot.
"Morning Muriel. What's with the cactus?" I asked her.
"Oh, just the family remedy to cure Eustace's nasty fungus." She answered with a smile. Looking down at his foot, we saw that had the fungus had grown bigger.
"AAAAHHHHH!" Eustace scream made us wince and realize exactly what the remedy was. Just rubbing the cactus against his foot. Needless to say, it was ineffective and painful. And after ten minutes of just continuous screaming from Eustace as Muriel rubbed the cactus on his foot, she finally stopped. Looking at his foot, it was covered entirely in spines from the cactus.
"Oh, well. Don't worry. I know another remedy. Follow me to the kitchen and we can get stated." Muriel said as she got up, put away the cactus and headed to the kitchen.
'I'm worried what other remedy Muriel has.' Courage said as we helped Eustace stand up and bring him to the kitchen.
"I'm more worried about the fungus Courage as it does not seem like a normal type of fungus." I told him as we entered the kitchen. He nodded in agreement as he also thought that. Moving over to the table, I pulled chair back and we helped Eustace sit down. Looking around, I saw Muriel come with a bucket filled with snapping lobsters.
'SNAPPING LOBSTERS! HOW IS THAT A FAMILY REMEDY?!' I thought panicked as she placed the bucket in front of Eustace.
"Put your foot into this Eustace." Muriel said with a smile as she stepped back a bit.
Eustace looked unsure but did so anyway. And as expected, as soon as he put his foot into the bucket, the lobsters snapped onto his foot, causing Eustace to scream and began flailing his foot around to try and get his foot out of the bucket and the lobsters that latched onto off as well. Quickly, I moved forward and grabbed the bucket and took it off his foot and put it on the other side of the room. I then grabbed a knife from the cabinet and brought it over to Eustace as there was a single remaining lobster still clinging to his bit toe. After a few tries, I finally managed to pry off the lobster and toss it back into the bucket.
"There is one last remedy I know. Courage, I need your help to make the next remedy. Jaune, be a dear and help Eustace back into the living room and into his chair." Muriel asked before leading Courage to another part of the house.
Nodding, I helped Eustace and moved him back to his chair in the living room. All the while, ignoring him grumble all the way. A few minutes later Muriel came back but without Courage. I was about to ask where he was but before I did, Courage came into the room with a bucket full of some kind of horrendous vile that smelled horrible. I think I even saw an eye, some bones and a wing in it.
'What the hell is that?!' I thought as I covered my nose as the smell started to make me nauseous. Looking towards Eustace, I saw him hesitate for a moment before plunging his foot into the vile. And as soon as he made contact with the vile, the smell of burning flesh assaulted my nose. Eustace quickly removed his foot and we saw that it all red and burnt. I was about to say that the fungus was gone but a second later it reappeared again.
"Oh, dear." Muriel said as she saw Eustace's burnt foot regain the fungus. "Looks like there's just one thing left to do. And that is to take you to the doctor."
"Ain't going to no doctor." Eustace stubbornly replied while crossing his arms. We were in the kitchen again trying to convince Eustace to go to the doctor.
"You really should Eustace." Muriel advised him.
"I ain't going." He said again.
"It's as big as a cow. You have to go." Muriel said as she pointed at the fungus as it indeed gotten a lot bigger.
'It's almost three times the original size.' I mentally agreed as the fungus had gotten bigger with every passing second and now is ginormous.
"Make me." Eustace stubbornly replied as he looked away.
'He's like a giant baby throwing a temper tantrum.' I mentally remarked about him as I watched him continuously refuse to go to the doctor.
"Ah, suit yourself. But I think it's starting to fester." Muriel said finally relenting.
"ALL I NEED IS A NAP!" Eustace shouted as he stomped his foot on the floor. And since the foot he stomped with on the floor was the one with the fungus, it made disgusting squelch sound.
"EW!" 'EW!' Both me and Courage said at the same time. Eustace then got up and exited the kitchen.
"That man is stubborn." Muriel said as she watched Eustace leave the kitchen. "Ah, well. Jaune Courage. Let's have some breakfast."
"Sure. We'll help." I told her with a smile. She smiled at this and we went to work to prepare some breakfast for all of us.
One hour later
Me and Courage had finished eating our breakfast and were now washing the dishes. Muriel was at the table having a cup of tea and reading a magazine. After a few minutes, we finished washing the dishes and moved to the table. Sitting down, we pulled out some cards so me and Courage have a little game before I go out and train a bit. But right as we started, Eustace scream came through.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!" He screamed before it got drowned out by something.
"Eustace?" Muriel asked worried.
'Wait. We'll check it out.' Courage said stopping Muriel from getting up. 'I must be nuts.'
"Don't worry Muriel. We'll check on him." I told her. 'I must be nuts as well.'
"Thanks, you two." She said as she took a sip of her tea and resumed reading her magazine.
Standing up, we exited the kitchen and went to the living room. Wondering what could have caused Eustace to scream in terror. But as soon as we entered the living room, we were given our answer. There was giant purple foot with green spores with faces on each of the toes. And judging by the fact that a couple of teeth shot across the room, I could tell the Courage was both scared and toothless. The moan of pain only confirmed it as well. Looking back at the foot, it took me only a split second to realize that the foot was actually Eustace over taken by the fungus.
'I knew that fungus wasn't normal.' I thought as me and Courage approached the foot to what we could do about it. Only to get shocked as the foot turned and spoke to us.
"I'm the big toe, see? Yeah, see? And what I saw goes, see? Got me?" The big toe said in a weird mafia voice.
"Yeah, got it boss." The three middle toes said in unison.
"See what? See what?" The pinky toe asked confused.
"See this!" The big toe said before smacking the toe next him causing a domino effect which led to the pinky toe getting hit by the other toes.
"OOH! OOH! OW!" The middle toes yelled out in pain.
"OH! AAAAHHHH!" The voice of Muriel screaming behind us startled and scared us a bit.
'Crap. Have to get her out of here.' I thought in panic. I moved to try and get her to go into another room but she already moved to confront the foot before I could do so.
"WHERE'S MY EUSTACE!?" She demanded. What have you done with my Eustace!?"
"Shut up, fat woman. You won't be needing your husband anymore, see? So, listen up." The big toe threatened.
"Yeah, listen up." The middle toes repeated.
"Yeah, listen up." The pinky toe repeated after them
'They remind me of those cartoons that showed the head mafia man and his idiotic goons.' I thought as I say how they all behave quite similar to the ones I saw in shows.
"We're going to pull a heist see. Yeah, see. It's Sunday and the banks are closed. So, we knock over a bank." The big toe announced.
'Oh, no! Gangsters! Muriel, get away!' Courage warned. Unfortunately, Muriel did not hear him and said something she should not have said.
"You can't do that. It's against the law." Muriel told the foot. In response, the foot stood on its toe bone, if it had any, and then jumped on top of Muriel.
"OW!" Muriel yelled out in pain. Seeing this, we immediately rushed to them to try and get the foot of Muriel somehow. But the foot saw us immediately and gave his ultimatum.
"Okay dog and kid. It's like this. You drive us to the bank or the fat lady gets it, see." The toe threatened.
"Yeah, or the fat lady gets it." The middle toes repeated.
"Yeah, the fat lady gets it." The pinky repeated as well.
'I knew I should have learned how to drive a stick.' Courage said in frustration.
"Courage, I'll bring the truck around front. You make sure they don't squeeze Muriel anymore." I told him. He nodded and stayed while I went out and brought the truck to the front. And after a rough ten minutes, the foot somehow managed to get in the back of the truck while never letting go of Muriel.
Twenty minutes later
We were driving down the road to the bank fast. All the while, thinking of how not only to get rid of this foot and bring back Eustace, but to save Muriel. Courage was sitting next to me thinking the same thing. He was barely able to stay calm and not lose it. Soon, the bank of nowhere came into view. A few minutes later and we were in front of the bank. Turning off the truck, the Big Toe, stuck its head through the back window to instruct us.
"Okay, you two. Break into the bank and bring us all the dough, see. Now, see?" He demanded.
"Alright. We're going." I told him as we exited the vehicle.
"Get going, or we'll put the squeeze on the fat lady, see?" He threated before squeezing Muriel a bit.
"AAAHHHH! Oh!' Muriel screamed in pain before letting out a fart and become embarrassed.
"Okay, Courage. Let's get this over with." I told him.
He nodded and then pulled out two black sweaters with beanie hats as well. I immediately knew what he was saying. And even though I felt it was a bit pointless, I put them on anyway. Once done, we walked up the bank. Courage, with a flashlight in hand, tried to force the bank doors opened and bounced off them after a few attempts. Looking around, I tried to find another pathway that could take us inside the bank. Seeing an ATM next to us, I brought it to Courage's attention.
"Courage, think we could use this ATM to get inside?" I asked him.
'Good idea.' He said before pulling out a wallet.
He took a credit card and put it in the atm and took out some cash from the machine. But as soon as the slot underneath opened to give him the money, we quickly entered it before it closed. Luckily that it was big enough for both of us to go through it. As we went through the machine, we eventually exited it and were in the bank. Deciding to go through the air ducts to reach the vault, Courage took the lead with the flashlight turned on in his mouth. As we continued through the air ducts, we made twists and turns until we felt like we had made it to where they keep the vault. Looking to my right, I saw a vent that we could use to exit the airduct. Courage moved to the front of the vent and pulled out a screw driver. He then squeezed his hand and screwdriver through the openings and unscrewed the vent which then fell off. Courage then gave me a rope and toss the other end of it outside the vent. Nodding, I held onto it tightly as he descended down the rope. But as soon as he exited the vent, I heard him scream loudly.
'What's wrong Courage? What do you see?" I asked him.
'The floor is lava. Literally' He answered. Curious, I moved closed and looked down outside the vent and saw that he was correct. The floor was in fact, lava.
"What should we do?" I asked him. As I asked him that, his shoe came off and fell into the lave where it immediately caught on fire.
'Yipe.' Courage exclaimed at that. He then thought for a moment before pulling out a tall glass drink. He drank down the liquid and then turned the glass upside down and have the ice cubes fall into the lava. Only for the ice cubes to jump out of the lava, shout in pain and run away.
"Um, why did you think that would work Courage?" I asked him to get a sense of his thought process on what he just did.
'I have no idea Jaune.' He answered with a sheepish grin.
I chuckled a bit at that as I felt I would have done the same thing. Courage grinned as well before leaning back and forward to make the rope swing. As soon as he felt he had enough momentum, he let go of the rope and managed to land on edge of the floor that was not lava. Taking out a stethoscope, he tried to crack open the vault but gave up as he threw the stethoscope away in frustration. He then took out a crowbar and tried to pry it open but failed. In anger, Courage then pulled out a few sticks of dynamite and lit the fuse. He then motioned for me to lower the rope a bit more. Doing so, I lowered it just enough so he could grab it. He then began to climb up the rope. But as he neared me, the universe decided to be an ass and have the vault door open up by itself.
'Uh-oh.' Courage said in realization. Knowing this was going to hurt and not wanting to Courage to get hurt, I immediately pulled him up and wrapped myself around him. And just in time as the fuse reached the dynamite with the explosion being bigger than expected as the bank exploded completely. The explosion sending us flying into the air and having us land right next to the truck.
"OW!" I groaned in pain. My whole body ached as if I took a ten-round beating from Yang. "You aright Courage?"
'Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for protecting me from the explosion.' He answered with a smile as he helped me into a sitting position.
"No, problem." I said through clenched teeth as I patted him on the head.
"Courage. Jaune. You're alright?" Muriel asked. But before we could answer, the foot spoke up.
"Dumb dog. Dumb kid. You two blew up the money." He said in anger. At that moment, the police sirens were heard heading towards where we are. "Quick, you two. Get us out of here."
We quickly got up and got in the truck. Turning it on, I floored it away from the remains of the bank and from the incoming police. After a few minutes, the toe spoke up again getting out attention but not stopping me from driving the truck away from the bank.
"Ok, I got another plan, see? Yeah, another plan." The big toe told us.
Ten minutes later
'THIS IS CRAZY!' I mentally thought as me and Courage stood on the train tracks. We could even see the train coming our way and that would make us pancakes in a few moments.
'Banana Jaune? Last meal? Courage asked me as he held up a banana to my face.
"Thanks Courage." I told him as I took the banana and started eating it.
"Ok, you both stand still, see. And make sure the train stops." The big toe ordered us.
'Huh?' Courage asked confused.
"Or, the fat lady gets it." The foot threatened.
"Yeah, the fat lady gets it." The middle toes repeated.
"Yeah, the fat lady gets it." The pinky repeated after them.
"AAAHHHH!" Muriel screamed but stopped when she let out another fart. "Ooh!"
Soon the train was seconds away from us. Whatever happens to me did not matter. All that mattered was Muriel and Courage was safe. So, I grabbed Courage and tossed him away from the tracks to safety. But as he flew away, he let go of the banana which fell to the floor close to the tracks. Closing my eyes, I braced myself for my inevitable fate. But it did not come as the train managed to stop just in time. A few more centimeters and I would have died. Hearing a grunt to my side, I opened my eyes and looked to my left and saw the foot attempt to kick the train onto its side. However, the foot landed on the banana peel which caused him to slide on it and kick the train miles away.
"You dumb dog and dumb kid. You both made me kick too hard, see." Th big toe yelled at us.
'I wonder what's his next plan is going to be?' I wondered as Courage whined in fear at what it could be.
8:00 P.M.
We were back in the farmhouse. ME and Courage were hiding on the steps. The foot was in the center of the living room floor with a map in front of him. He was planning his next plan. Muriel, unfortunately, was still trapped underneath him.
"I've been thing too small, see?" The big toe said. Unaware that we were listening in on his plans. "So, now we're going to pull a big job. A real big job. We're going to knock over Florida, see?"
"Yeah, Florida." The middle toes agreed.
"Yeah, Florida." The pinky toe repeated before gaining a confused look on his face. "Where's Florida?"
"But knocking over Florida is against the law, I think?" Muriel told them before questioning if that is an actual law.
Now knowing their plan, I pushed Courage up the stairs to my room. I quietly told him that perhaps we could use the computer to tell us how to defeat the foot. Normally this would be something completely unknown, in about every scientific field. But I have a strong feeling that the computer would easily know what it is. Getting to my room, we closed the door and turned on the computer. Courage sat down in his chair and began typing away.
"A fungus?! Did you two ever think about regular bathing?" The computer sarcastically asked.
'Not us—The farmer! His foot!' Courage quickly typed in. Not having the patience right now for the computer's quips and jokes.
"I'm not surprised. Well, if you both want a cure, I'm going to need a sample." The computer told us.
'Oh.' Courage groaned in annoyance and fear.
Knowing what that meant, I went over to my bed and grab a fishing line I had recently purchased in case I ever go fishing in the nearby lakes and ocean. Motioning to Courage, we went back to the steps quietly. Luckily, the big toe was too preoccupied with his plan to notice us. Lowering the line, we managed to have the hook grab onto a spore and pull it off the foot. The big toe not noticing a thing. Pulling the line back up, we quickly went back to my room. Opening the disk tray, Courage put the spore on it and closed it. The computer than began to analyze it.
"YUCH! PTOOIE!" The computer said before opening the disk tray and launching the spore out of it before closing the tray again. "NASTY! There's only one cure for that."
"Well, what is it?" I asked impatient.
"Dog spit and aura together." The computer answered.
'Oh.' Courage said not at all liking at what he now has to do and the horrible taste that is going to come with it.
"Work up a good drool baby." The computer taunted. Annoyed, I switched him off before he could say anything else.
"Ready Courage?" I asked him
'Ready. But I won't like it.' He answered. Taking a deep breath in, we went back downstairs.
'I just know this is going to leave a bad taste in my mouth.' Courage said as we stood right behind the foot. Seeing that the big toe was still distracted by his plans, we sprang into action. Courage began to lick him all over the place while I pumped as much aura as I can into him.
"YUCK, YUCK, STOP IT STOP IT." The big toe demanded. "Yeah, see? Yeah, see?"
At first, it did not seem like it was working. It seemed more like we were just tickling the guy. As evident by all the toes laughing. But after a moment, the fungus started to recede with Eustace's head being visible again. And a moment later, the fungus was gone and Eustace was back.
"Ah, wool socks." Eustace said disoriented and dazed as he got off of Muriel His foot now returning to normal size.
"OOH!" Muriel exclaimed as she saw me and Courage fall to the floor. Me from exhaustion at having to use that much aura and Courage from the taste and what he just did.
"Oh, thank you Courage and Jaune.: She said as she gave us a kiss on our heads. "I thought I was going to be squished."
'Plack! Ptooie!' Courage said as he tried to get rid of the taste in his mouth.
Ten Minutes later
Courage and I were in the bathroom. I was washing my face and hands thoroughly while he brushed his teeth, used mouth wash and then flossed. But as he finished flossing and I finished washing, we heard the muffled familiar voice of the big toe again. Looking to each other, we got our answer when suddenly Courage's tongue shot out from his mouth.
"Yeah, a big heist, see? Ok, listen up. Here's the plan, see? Okay you two, it's like this. Or the fat lady gets it." The big toe, now on Courage's tongue threatened.
'Great, not again.' I thought annoyed at having to deal with him again. "Come on Courage, let's go the computer and get rid of him."
Note:
Next chapter will be delayed a bit as I want to update another story.
The next two chapters will be Cajun Granny Stew and Courage in the Big Stinkin City
Should other Rwby characters appear in these two upcoming chapters? And if so, who? Nora and Ren are also options as well.
Fun fact: The Clutching Foot title is a reference to the 1934 novel The Clutching Hand.