Jaune and Courage the Cowardly Dog
Chap 56: Courage meets the Mummy
"Careful Ruby." I said as we walked towards the staircase carrying a basket full of freshly washed clothes.
"Don't worry Jaune." Ruby said as she easily held the basket. "I got it."
"I meant that you holding the basket that holds Eustace's favorite blankets." I explained.
"Then shouldn't he be doing this?" She asked. But a simple look made her realize what she said.
'The day Eustace does his laundry is the day Muriel stops putting vinegar in everything.' Courage said smiling.
"True. Speaking of which, she should be done with the cookies." I said remembering that Muriel was baking some cookies for all of us to enjoy.
"THAT'S RIGHT. COME ON!" Ruby shouted before zooming up the steps.
'Wonder is there any cookies she doesn't like?'Courage said as he caught the laundry basket that Ruby left behind in her excitement for cookies.
"Maybe broccoli and/or spinach cookies." I answered as we made our way up the steps and out of the basement before heading into the living room.
'Religious ceremonies were held in great temples like this one.' We heard the archeologist on the television say. 'A huge and beautiful structure.'
'Wonder where he is this time?' I wondered. But my thoughts were cut off when Eustace spoke up bitterly as usual.
"Stupid house." He complained.
'Bet you he would still complin even if he owned the best house ever built.' Courage said annoyed as we walked past him. Unfortunately, he heard us.
"Did you fold my sheet nice? I love my sheet." He demanded more than asked.
"Yes, we did." I answered annoyed.
"Fold it like a flag." He demanded.
"Fine." I said through gritted teeth. Taking the flag from the basket, I began to fold it into a flag.
'Why is he so obsessed with this thing?' Courage asked as I was halfway through folding the blanket. But before I could answer, there was a knock on the door.
"Get the door you two." Eustace demanded.
"Alright." I said as we tossed the blanket on top of the basket to answer the door. But somehow, Eustace knew this.
"And keep folding that sheet right!" He demanded.
'Keep talking like that and I burn this hideous thing.' I thought bitterly as I picked up the sheet again.
'I got the door.' Courage said as reached the door.
"Thanks." I said as I finished folding the flag. Courage opened the door and to our surprise, it was the archeologist that we were just listening to on the television.
"OOHHH!" He moaned in pain as he slowly and painfully dragged himself inside.
'AAAHHHHH!' Courage screamed in terror.
"Are you alright?" I asked as I helped him up. Throwing to the side the blanket. All the while wondering how did he get hurt this badly as his clothes were ripped and was bleeding in various spots. And his skin was an unnatural color. 'What happened to him?'
"Stupid kid. You threw my sheet to the floor." Eustace whined.
Ten Minutes Later
This should make you feel better Mr. Fith. Now tell us what happened to you, you poor man." Muriel said as she handed the archeologist some tea.
We were in the dining room. A few moments after we found Mr. Fith, Muriel came into the living room and became immediately worried. She helped me with carrying Mr. Fith over to the dining room and served him some tea. All the while Eustace merely grumbled about his sheet.
"Yeah. What happened? Did you get into a fight?" Ruby asked while nibbling on a cookie.
"What's happened to me isn't important. What's important is what might happen to all of you. And what happened thousands of years ago." He told us.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"The clothing in this sack tells the story." He answered as he began to dig around the bag, he had with him. He then pulled out a very beautiful dress.
'Wow.' I thought amazed at the dress before blushing a bit. 'Wonder how Iris would look like in that dress? Most likely amazing.'
"How so?" Ruby asked confused.
"This dress belonged to an ancient Mayan princess a long time ago. The princess loved cookies. Each day, the royal baker would whip a jar full of cookies for the princess. The cookie jar was brought to the princess by her most trusted royal pooh-bah." Dr. Fith began telling the story.
"Pooh-Bah? What does that mean?" She asked confused as she finished her cookie.
"Pooh-Bah basically means somebody having much influence or holding many offices at the exact same time. Especially one perceived as pompously self-important. Though, in this case it could mean someone that's more than just a servant and trusted person." I answered.
"Oh. Makes... sense." Ruby said still sort of confused.
"Exactly. But before he would give the cookies, the greedy Pooh-Bah would steal cookies from the jar and sell them for his own profit." Mr. Fith continued the story.
'Sounds like Eustace past self.' Courage whispered to me.
"Wouldn't be surprised if it was." I whispered back.
"One day, the baker caught the Pooh-Bah and went to tell the princess. But the Pooh-Bah got to her first. The Pooh-Bah presented the princess with cookie jars that were only half full. And said the baker was the one stealing the missing cookies. The princess was outraged." Mr. Fith continued.
"I would be too if anyone stole my cookies." Ruby pouted.
"She ordered the baker to have his mouth sewn shut. His eye brows plucked and his body mummified. Most unpleasant." Fith told us of the punishment the princess forced onto the baker.
"AAHHH!" We all gasped in terror and shock.
"Okay. Maybe not that far I would go if someone stole my cookies." Ruby said looking between the cookie and the dress.
"And the bake is now a centuries old mummy. And he's risen and he's seeking revenge. And he's on his way to this very spot. At this very moment." Fith warned.
'EEEEE!' Courage screamed in terror.
"Why here? Why us?" Muriel asked.
"This is an ancient drawing of the princess and the Pooh-Bah." Fith said as he took out a scroll that show what the princess and Pooh-Bah looked like.
"They look just like we do." Muriel said shocked.
"Kinda creepy the resemblance." I said amazed as even though it was just a drawing, it was almost like looking at a drawing done today.
"I think I'll take a nap now." Fith said before fainting and falling to the ground as a result. We all looked over the table at him in worry.
"Ah. Hogwash. Ain't no such thing as risen bakers. I'm going to take care of my sheet." Eustace said as he got up and exited the dining room.
"And I'll clean up the place and prepare some snacks since we are expecting company." Muriel said as she got up and went to the kitchen.
"What should we do now?" Ruby asked.
"We need more information on this story. And ways to stop the mummy when he arrives." I answered.
"And how do we do that?" Ruby asked curiously.
'The computer should know.' Courage answered which I translated to Ruby.
"How does the Compter know this if it Fith just discovered it?" She asked. We just shrugged as we had no clue how it knew. It just did. Getting up from our seats, we headed up to my room. Getting there, we turned on the computer which greeted us with its usual insult.
'You all again. Make it quick.' It complained. We typed in our question which it quickly answered.
'If your mom is coming and she's mad at you. Give her some flowers... you twits.' It answered.
"No. Not that kind of mummy. The undead type." I corrected while Courage typed it in.
'Ah, a mummy. That's much worse.' The computer said realizing what we meant.
"Yes, it is. How do we stop it?" Ruby asked.
'Maybe Muriel and the farmer were the Mayan Princess and Royal Pooh-Bah in past lives.' The computer said while showing us pictures of the Princess and Pooh-Bah with equal signs next to Eustace and Muriel.
"Okay. How does that help us?" I asked annoyed.
'If that's so. Then the solution to your angry to your angry mummy problem might be found in past life regression hypnosis.' The computer answered which caused Courage to howl in dismay.
"Um, do you know how to do that Jaune?" Ruby asked.
"No." I answered before pointing to Courage. "But Courage does."
'Get Muriel and Eustace dressed up and in the living room. Just need to find my yoyo.' He answered sighing. Nodding, we went downstairs and did so.
Ten Minutes Later
"Stupid dog and kids. Dressing us up as stupid Pooh-Bahs." Eustace complained. "Anyway, there's no such thing as past lives."
We were in the living room trying to get things going. Muriel and Eustace were sitting on the couch dressed up as their past lives. Muriel willing did so but Eustace took a bit of persuading. Courage, Ruby and I were standing in front of them. Courage was slowing swinging his yoyo back and forth in an attempt to hypnotize them and have them be back in their past lives. And while Muriel seemed to quickly fall into the trance, Eustace still wide awake. And complaining.
"Just shut up and watch the yoyo." I told him.
"Anyways, I can't be hypnotized. Uh-uh. Can't be hypnotized." He said defiantly while crossing his arms. We just ignored him and kept up with it.
"I don't think this is working." Ruby said as a few minutes past. But before we could say anything, Eustace spoke up.
"HUH?" He gasped almost as if in shock. He then began going around the living room like a monkey. Even making the sounds of a monkey. HE even began to scratch his armpit like one.
'Huh?' Courage asked confused while looking at his yoyo. He then snapped his fingers twice which snapped Eustace out of the trance. And since he was already moving about, it caused him to fall down to the floor.
"Told you! Can't be hypnotized." He said despite being on the floor.
"Okay, so he can be hypnotized. Now we just need to make sure that he is the Royal Pooh-Bah before the mummy gets here." I said as Eustace walked back to the couch.
"OOH! CAN YOU TEACH ME COURAGE?" Ruby asked excitedly. We turned to look at each other before shaking our heads which caused Ruby to pout. But that was because we don't exactly know how he did. Either way, we went over to and tried to whole thing again.
Half an Hour Later
"Here, my princess is your daily supply of royal cookies." Eustace, who now thinks he is the Royal Pooh-Bah, said as he gave Muriel, who is now the princess, the jar full of cookies,
"Thank you, most trusted Royal Pooh-Bah." She said as she removed the lid and took a whiff of the cookies. "Oh, they smell heavenly. My compliments to the royal baker."
"I am not sure how I feel about this." Ruby said creeped out at how uncanny Muriel and Eustace were acting like their past lives.
"I'm not sure how I feel about this suit." I complained. To make it seem more real and to help with the hypnotism, we dressed up as if we were in the past. But the suits were not the best or comfortable.
'Me neither.' Courage agreed as he fixed his suit and hat.
"I kind of like it." Ruby said admiring her suit.
"Yeah. Yeah. Compliments. Sure." Eustace quickly said as if he was hiding something which we knew was the cookies. Just need for the right moment to expose himself.
"Hmm." Muriel said looking into the jar.
"Something wrong your princessness?" Eustace asked.
"There seems to be some cookies missing from the royal cookie jar." She answered before becoming angry. "Royal Poo-Bah. Do you know who could be responsible for such a terrible crime?"
"Ain't me. Got any sugar cane?" He asked.
"Royal servants. Fetch him some sugar cane." Muriel asked turning to us.
"Right away Royal princess." I said as we quickly went into the kitchen and came back with an extremely long piece of sugar cane. Which Eustace quickly took and started to eat raw.
"You believe that it wasn't me?" Eustace asked as he basically devoured the sugar cane.
"Of, course I believe you trusted Pooh-Bah. But then who is stealing my cookies?" Muriel answered before asking.
"I'm working on it." He answered as he finished the last of the sugar can in one bite. "Got more sugar cane?"
"Royal servants, fetch my most trusted Pooh-Bah more sugar cane." Muriel ordered us.
'Huh?' Courage asked confused at how Eustace is loving the sugar cane when he hates anything that is even remotely healthy. Either way, we went into the kitchen and manage to find some more. Returning, we gave to Eustace but then were immediately given a few fans.
"Fan us royal servants." Muriel ordered us. We nodded and began to fan them lightly. But it wasn't enough. "Fan harder. Royal servants."
"Fan harder! Royal Servants." Eustace repeated in a mocking tone.
"We're trying." Ruby complained along with Courage as we began to fan harder.
'I wonder when the mummy will arrive?' I wondered as we continued to fan Muriel and Eustace. But as soon as I thought that, we heard crashing against the front door.
"What was that?" Ruby asked turning to face the door.
'AAAHHHHH!' Courage screamed when the mummy broke through the door.
"It's the royal baker. How goes the royal baking, baker?" Muriel asked unaware of the danger she was in.
"Okay. We have Muriel and Eustace thinking they are their past selves and the Mummy just arrived. Now what?" Ruby asked.
"We have to convince Muriel that the baker is innocent and that the Pooh-Bah is the guilty one." I answered as Courage went up to the Mummy and tried to convince him to spare Muriel. Only to get sent flying when the mummy slapped him away.
'AAHHH!' Courage screamed when he hit the wall.
"He did it. The baker stole the royal cookies." Eustace suddenly exclaimed.
"The baker? What proof do you have?" Muriel asked him.
"How can we convince her since she trusts Eustace more?" Ruby asked.
"First, we have to stall the mummy." I answered as I moved and tackled the mummy to the floor and slow him down. Unfortunately, this gave Eustace an opportunity to place a sign on the back of the mummy.
"Really?" Ruby asked when she saw that it was an 'I did it' sign.
"Told you I was working on it," Eustace told Muriel.
"Oh, my. Then we have to mummify the Royal Baker." Muriel declared while shaking her fist in anger.
"A little help?" I asked as the mummy kept dragging himself along the floor to get to Muriel.
"I got it." Ruby said as she zoomed over and took two pieces of the cloth that covered the mummy and tied it to the railing. Courage also came over and took the paper Eustace placed on the mummy back. He then put it on Eustace's back before changing it to say that Eustace really did it.
'Look. Look. Look.' Courage told Muriel while pointing to the back of Eustace.
"Huh?" Eustace asked trying to look over his shoulder at what Courage placed there.
"Oh, my. Then we have to mummify the Pooh-Bah." Muriel said unsure of what she is witnessing.
"The baker is trying to confuse you. And the royal servants must be in cahoots with him." Eustace said as he grabbed the paper and pointed an accusatory finger at us.
"AAHHH!" The mummy groaned as he tried to free himself.
"Wait a minute. I have an idea." I said getting off the mummy and whispering it to Courage and Ruby,
"Okay Jaune." Ruby said with Courage nodding. They turned and walked up to Eustace with Courage taking out a giant bag filled with money.
"Huh?" Eustace asked spotting the money instantly.
"Please sir. Do you have any food? We are hungry." Ruby asked while Courage rubbed his stomach as to show that he was also starving,
"Yeah. I got what you're looking for. I got it right here." Eustace said as he took the money. He then turned around and started fiddling with something.
"NOW!" I shouted to them as I tried to keep the mummy from freeing himself.
"Right." Ruby said as she and Courage grabbed Eustace and turned him around. Showing everyone that he had the missing cookies.
"YES!" Courage, Ruby and I cheered in joy.
"It was you all along. No longer trusted Pooh-Bah. I order your eyebrows plucked, your lips sewn shut and the rest of you mummified." Muriel ordered. And just in time as the mummy finally freed himself.
"AAAHHHH!" Eustace screamed in terror at being caught.
"PRINCESS! WATCH OUT!" I shouted at Muriel as the mummy finally reached her. He then picked her up. And started to get ready to exact his revenge.
"Sorry royal baker. I goofed. Your exonerated of the crimes of which you are accused." Muriel told the mummy. It, what we can guess, began to laugh victoriously before dropping Muriel.
'Whew.' Courage said while wiping off some sweat.
"That was close." Ruby said.
"Too close." I agreed.
"How can I ever make it up to you?" Muriel asked.
"Hmm." The mummy moaned as he raised his hand to his face in thought.
Two Hours Later
"I'm telling all of you. I just can't be hypnotized!" Eustace declared.
"We heard you the first time." Ruby said annoyed.
We were in the dining room sitting at the table, The mummy is long gone and the house was put back in order. Muriel and Eustace were brought out of their hypnotized state. Ruby, Courage and I were out of those servant clothes and back into our regular clothes.
'I got the whole thing on video.' Courage whispered to me while showing a recording to us.
"Nice." Ruby said giggling as we saw Eustace act like a monkey again.
"These are from an old Mayan recipe I never knew I knew." Muriel said as she placed a plate full of cookies on the table.
"These are delicious." Ruby said as she ate a cookie before shoving three more into her face.
"Slow down dearie. I have another batch in the oven." Muriel told her smiling.
'Good luck in trying to get her to slow down.' I thought smiling as Ruby continued to stuff her face full of cookies.
"Ha, ha, ha." Eustace laughed as he took a bite out of his cookies.
'They sure are delicious.' Courage said as he ate some as well. But after a moment, we heard some groaning coming from nearby.
"Well, if you don't like them, you don't have to eat them." Muriel said mistaking the moaning for us not liking the cookies.
"Wasn't me." Eustace said shaking his head.
'Not me.' Courage said as well.
"Then who-" I wondered but was cut off when another voice spoke up.
"MM-MMM. I knew I smelled cookies." The voice said.
"Mr. Fith. Are you okay?" I asked feeling bad that we forgot all about him somehow.
"I'm fine. I just really needed that nap." He answered before grabbing and eating a cookie. "Did I miss anything?"
"Oh, no. Not really. The mummy been and gone. Gone to a peaceful, eternal rest." Muriel answered.
"Um." Ruby began but stopped when she saw Courage and I shook our heads.
"He's not really a bad fellow. A little musty perhaps." Muriel continued.
"He stank. Give me more cookies." Eustace demanded. Muriel then picked up the plate and passed it to him.
"He was looking a mite chilly in those old rags though. So, I gave him a nice clean sheet to wrap himself in." Muriel said which caught Eustace's attention.
"Sheet? Which sheet?" He asked.
"The polka-dotted one." Muriel answered but then became surprised when Eustace started to cry a bit.
"That's my favorite sheet! No way that mummy's going to get it." Eustace declared before getting up and running off after the mummy.
"Should we go and help?" Ruby asked. We all looked at each other for a moment before grabbing some more cookies and eating them. As we all knew that Eustace will fail yet somehow come back unharmed a few days later.
Note:
(1) The Transplant with Terra, Saphron and Adrian. (2) McPhearsome Phantom with Blake, Kali and Ghira. (3) Aqua Farmer with Blake, Kali and Ghira. (4) Food of the dragon with Blake, Kali and Ghira (5) Journey to the center of Nowhere with Peach (6) Heads of Beef with Sun and Neptune.
Courage will be a kangaroo monster in the next chapter. But how about the others? Should either Terra, Saphron or Jaune be Kangaroo monster as well?