Jaune and Courage the Cowardly Dog
Chapter 96: Muriel Blows Up
Farmhouse
'AH!' Courage gasped, terrified as a tank appeared on television.
"Why do we have to watch mindless war movies?" Terra asked, bored and annoyed.
"At the very least, couldn't we watch one with a plot?" Saphron asked.
"Blah, blah, blah." Eustace said, smirking as he rolled his newspaper to act as a makeshift megaphone. "BOOM!"
'AAAHHHH!' Courage screamed before bouncing around the room like a pinball and crashing into the window. 'OOOHHH!'
"HA, HA, HA-OW!" Eustace laughed before shouting in pain when Muriel hit him on the head with her rolling pin. "What did I do?"
"That's for almost waking, Adrian." Muriel answered, glaring at him.
"Be glad you didn't; otherwise, you would be in a world of pain." Saphron added.
"Thanks for watching Adrian while we were out, Jaune." Terra said, turning to me.
"No problem." I said before turning to Courage. "Are you okay, Courage?"
'Fine.' He said before moaning in pain. But right after he said that we heard an explosion and felt the ground shake for a few seconds.
"Did anyone else feel or hear that?" Saphron asked, worried.
"Feel or hear what, dearie?" Muriel asked, covering her eyes with a small cloth while Eustace grumbled. But before Saphron or Terra could answer, Courage screaming got our attention.
'WOAH!' He screamed with his fur standing up straight. He then moved to stand in front of the television.'Explosion! Missile! Carrot Pieces! Sinking into the ground.'
"What?" Terra, Saphron, and I asked, confused but worried.
"GET OUT OF THE WAY, DOG! YOU'RE BLOCKING THE BEST BOMBS!" Eustace demanded.
"Come on, Courage, Jaune. Let's go to bed. This movie's doing none of us any good." Muriel said, upset.
"And it's getting late as well." Terra added, checking her scroll and seeing it was nearing eleven p.m.
"Right." I said, letting out a yawn while mentally making a note to check outside to see if I could find any evidence of what caused the noise.
"Do you mind if we stay the night?" Saphron asked.
"Of course. The guest bedroom is always open." Muriel answered before heading for the stairs. "Good night."
"Good night." We said before heading for our rooms while Eustace continued to watch his war movies.
Morning
'Everything seems normal.' Courage said, opening the door and looking outside.
"What exactly did you see?" Saphron asked.
'Something orange flying over the house and exploding. And the pieces fell and sink into the ground.'
"Hopefully, nothing bad will come from it." I said as we exited the house.
"Hopefully." Terra agreed while taking out her scroll. "But either way, I ordered some tests online yesterday night, and they should arrive soon. We can use them to see if the ground is normal or something has changed."
"Oh, today is going to be gorgeous, everyone." Muriel said, taking in a deep breath. "Let's see what's growing in the garden."
"And see if there is anything left from whatever caused the noise last night." I said as we walked toward the garden.
"Oh, my." Muriel gasped once we reached the garden. "MY GARDEN'S FINALLY SPROUTED!"
"Uh, what exactly did you plant, Muriel?" Saphron asked, surprised at the numerous, large, green leaves.
"Corn. Cabbage. Potatoes. And carrots." I answered.
"Let's see what it is." Muriel said as she began removing the leaves. "A carrot."
"A massive carrot." Terra said, surprised at the size of the carrot. Muriel then went over to the carrot and tried to pull it out of the ground but struggled.
"I could use a wee bit more muscle." She said.
"Okay. On three, everyone." I said as we all grabbed the top of the carrot. "One. Two. Three. PULL!"
"WOAH!" We shouted as we flew back after successfully pulling the carrot out of the ground. "Ow."
"It took enough time. But when I grow a carrot, I grow a carrot." Muriel excitedly said as she got up.
"Do you think that whatever exploded yesterday causes this?" Terra asked.
'Probably.' Courage answered with a sigh.
Ten Minutes Later
'I don' trust this carrot.' Courage said as he sniffed the carrot.
"Looks juicy, doesn't it, Courage." Muriel asked, sounding impatient.
"How do you want to cook this carrot, Muriel?" Saphron asked as Terra and I made breakfast for everyone. Initially, we planned on making some kind of dish involving the carrot but decided against it as something told us to leave it alone.
"I was going to make a stew out of it, but I'm tempted to eat it raw." She answered while taking a knife and fork out of the drawer.
'AAAHHHHH!' Courage suddenly gasped.
"What's-Is it me, or did the carrot suddenly get bigger?" I asked, stunned as the carrot appeared to be 1.5 times bigger.
"Your eyes aren't fooling you, little brother. It did get bigger." Saphron said, holding Adrian tighter and stepping away.
"Carrot." Adrian said, reaching out for the carrot as it was one of his favorite foods.
"No, no, Adrian. Let's leave the strange carrot alone. I'll make you some carrot stars later. How does that sound?" Saphron asked, causing Adrian to smile.
"It's even bigger than I remember." Muriel said, walking over to the table.
"Hopefully, that test comes soon." Terra said, worried.
"CARROTS. I HATE CARROTS!" Eustace suddenly said, getting our attention. Turning to him, we noticed him glaring at the carrot with a fierce intensity. He then pulled his hat over his eyes before heading out of the kitchen. "CAN'T EVEN STAND BEING IN THE SAME ROOM AS CARROTS! CALL ME WHEN YOU GOT CHOPPED MEAT!"
"I guess that's why he's so skinny, weak, and pale as a corpse." Terra said, annoyed.
*DING DONG*
"Who could that be?" Muriel asked, curious but impatient as she wanted to start eating the carrot.
"I'll go check who it is." I said, exiting the kitchen, heading to the front door, and opening it. "Yes?"
"Hello, Jaune." Winter said, surprising me as I was not expecting to see her today.
"Hello, Winter." I as I moved to the side to allow her inside before closing the door. "I wasn't expecting to see you today."
"I was actually planning on coming here to Nowhere next week to see a few houses that are for sale while also paying you a quick visit. But a place recently went up for sale that fits all the criteria we are looking for in a vacation home, so I decided to come today." She explained before reaching into a bag she brought with her and pulling out a box that I quickly realized was the test Terra ordered yesterday. "Plus, I have the test your sister-in-law ordered."
"Thanks." I said, taking the test from Winter.
"Though, if you don't mind me asking, why did Terra order a radiation and chemical ground test?"
"Something exploded in the ground yesterday. While we didn't see it, Courage did and said parts of it melted into the ground. So Terra ordered the test so we can test the soil to see if nothing changed or if something happened."
"She made the right move then, ordering the test. Fortunately, the test she selected is one of the best and quickest. But until we get the results, it would be best if we avoid anything that comes from the soil."
"We might have a problem, then." I said, sweat dropping.
"How so?" Winter asked, raising an eyebrow. But before I could answer, Saphron barged into the living.
"Jaune. We have a problem." She said before realizing Winter was here as well. "Oh, hello, Winter."
"Hello, Mrs. Saphron Cotta."
"What happened?" I asked, worried.
"Muriel ate nearly the whole carrot and grew." She answered, causing our eyes to widen in shock.
"Where is she?" Winter asked.
"In the kitchen. Hurry." Not wasting any time, we rushed into the kitchen, where we were shocked to learn that Muriel had indeed eaten nearly the entire carrot and grown in size.
"Muriel. What happened?" I asked.
"Are you feeling alright, Muriel?" Winter asked.
"Oh, hello, Winter." Muriel said, grabbing a teapot from the top shelf of the cabinets. "Yes, I'm fine, Jaune. I was just telling Courage how he should develop a taste for carrots as they are healthy for you. The carrot I ate gave me a good reach as I could not reach the top shelf before."
"Muriel. I do not believe that is a normal carrot, and we should take you to the doctor." Winter said, now extremely worried.
"Nonsense." Muriel said before going over to the counter to make some tea.
'Uh, you all may want to see this report.' Courage said, getting our attention. Nodding, we followed him into the living room, where we saw Eustace watching a special report on the television.
'The experimental missile isn't lost. It's misguided. A misguided missile, as we in the military say.' The general told the reporter.
"In other words, they lost it." Winter commented.
'And if it explodes over your vegetable garden and a huge carrot grows, don't eat it because you'll grow too. To the size of a farmhouse, and then... KABOOM!'
'AARGH!' Courage gasped, possibly imagining Muriel blowing up like a bomb.
"So that was what exploded over the farmhouse last night." Terra said.
"That would explain the massive carrot." Saphron added.
"Carrot." Adrian said, giggling. We would have laughed with him if it had not been for the tense situation.
'Only I can disarm the thing. Plus, there is a ten-million-dollar reward to keep quiet about it, but that's top secret.'
"Not exactly a secret if you talk about it on live television." I said, sweat dropping again.
"Heh heh heh. Ten million bucks." Eustace said, elbowing Courage in the eye.
'NNOOO!' Courage whined.
"Okay, so we know Muriel ate the carrot. We should get her to-." Winter began but stopped when we heard a loud crash nearby. Turning to the source, we realized Muriel had unintentionally destroyed the door frame when she wanted to enter the living room.
"Ow. I don't know my own height." She said, looking at the damage she had done.
'AAAHHHH!' Courage screamed before exploding.
"Oh, no." I said, realizing that Muriel had gotten even taller.
"MURIEL!" Eustace furiously screamed, walking to the door frame. "YOU ATE MY GOLDEN CARROT! GIVE ME BACK MY CARROT!"
'We better check this out.' Courage said, running to pick up Muriel before heading to my room.
"Good idea. Maybe we can disarm it ourselves, whatever it is." I said as we rushed after him.
"COME BACK HERE, YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING DOG AND KIDS!" Eustace shouted as he gave chase. Luckily, the destruction caused by Muriel slowed him down and made it challenging for him to follow.
"OOH! OH MY!" Muriel said as we entered my room by destroying the wall. Courage then set her down against the wall. "All this fuss because I'm a wee bit taller."
"Muriel. You are not a wee bit taller." Saphron told her.
"You are about four feet taller." Terra added.
"What do you plan on doing, Courage?" Winter asked.
'Giving us a better look at what's happening inside Muriel.' He answered, grabbing the computer's webcam, going over to Muriel, and making her swallow it. He then turned on the computer and input the command to show what the webcam was seeing on the screen. And what we saw shocked us.
"GROW! EXPAND! EXPLODE!" A mean-looking carrot wearing a military helmet and pin repeated.
'YEE! YEE!' Courage shirked.
"That's not good." We all said.
"GIVE ME BACK MY CARROT!" Eustace demanded, entering my room while Courage pulled the webcam out of Muriel. But as soon as he did so, Muriel grew even larger.
"Oh, my." She said as we moved out of the way to avoid getting crushed.
"Now, what?" I asked.
"I tell you what." Eustace said, climbing onto Muriel's leg and grabbing Courage by the neck. "DOG! There are ten million bucks inside Muriel, and it's mine. Heh, heh-OW!"
"We should have seen that coming." Winter said, irritated, while Saphron and I lifted Eustace's unconscious and frozen body and placed it in my closest, where I proceeded to lock it.
"But again, what should we do now?" I asked.
"We take it to the general. As much of an idiot as the general is, he is our only shot at saving Muriel. But if we can trick him into giving up how to disarm it, we could do it ourselves." Winter answered.
"How are we going to bring Muriel to him?" Terra asked.
"We can use Eustace's truck to transport Muriel there."
"Alright. But I should stay behind with Adrian in case-." Terra began but stopped when Muriel started to shake a bit, signifying that she was about to have another growth spurt.
"OUT THE HOUSE! NOW!" Winter ordered. Not needing to be told twice, we ran outside the house and managed to get to a safe distance in time before the growth spurt hit Muriel. This time it caused her to grow exponentially larger, resulting in the top part of the farmhouse exploding.
"OW!" Muriel shouted in pain.
"Are you alright, Muriel?" Saphron asked.
"I'm-OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW! OW!" She began before continuously grunting in pain.
"What's happening?" Terra asked.
"I think Courage is trying to get rid of that carrot thing that wants to blow up Muriel." I answered.
"Hopefully, he finds a way to deactivate it safely." Winter added. However, what Muriel said next sent shivers down my spine, and the color drained from my face.
"I have the strangest feeling I'm going to explode any minute." She said with gurgling sounds coming from her stomach.
"And hopefully soon as we're running out of time." Saphron said with wide eyes.
"Okay, Muriel. We have a plan on how to fix everything and make you feel better. All you have to do is follow us." Winter said, trying to assure Muriel that everything would be alright.
"Okay. What-." Muriel began but stopped when the gurgling ceased. "And now I have the strangest feeling I'm not going to explode at all."
"Oh, thank, Oum." We said in relief at seeing Courage save Muriel from the carrot. However, we still need to know if Courage deactivated it safely, but the problem was that he was still inside Muriel. Luckily, Muriel's burping sent him flying outside of her and toward the ground.
"Courage, are you okay?" I asked, worried while holding off the question about why he was round now for later. But before he could answer, a shaking coming from Muriel caught our attention.
"OH, MY!" She said as she shrunk back down to standard size.
"YES!" We all cheered, happy that Muriel was no longer in danger.
"HEY! WHO'S GOT MY CARROT!?" Eustace, somehow free of his icy prison, demanded as he ran to us with Muriel following right behind him.
"I think I know where." I answered, making the connection.
'HA! HA! HA! HA!' Courage laughed after letting out a burb while making a funny face.
"Again." Adrian said, laughing. But as soon as he finished saying this, Courage grew in height by at least ten feet.
'OH, NO!' Courage said, realizing that he was now in danger of exploding.
"YOU DUMB DOG!" Eustace shouted.
"Quick, Courage. There's no time. We have to get to the general." I told him.
'Right. Hang on.' He said, grabbing Winter, Saphron, and me and placing us on his head. He was about to do the same with Terra, but she stopped him.
"I'll stay behind. I want to check and be sure that no other carrots are or will grow around here. And I want to check on Muriel to see if she is okay. Plus, I don't want Adrian near that crazed general." She explained, silently reminding us of how the lieutenant and general maim each other constantly.
"Okay, we'll be back soon." Saphron said.
"Alright. Courage, let's go." I told him.
'Hang on.' He said before running as fast as possible.
"HEY! COME BACK HERE WITH MY CARROT!" Eustace shouted, chasing after us.
'Stubborn ass.'I bitterly thought.
Ten Minutes Later
"There they are." I said, pointing to the lieutenant and general as we rapidly approached their base.
"Uh, what are they doing to the soldier?" Saphron asked, curious as to why they were playing tug of war on a person.
"I have no idea, and quite frankly, I don't want to know." Winter answered as we reached them.
"AAHHH!" The soldier screamed when he spotted us. And once the lieutenant and general dropped him, he made a mad dash back inside the base.
"We need your help." I said as we hopped off Courage.
"Our friend here ate your misguided missile. And we came here for you to disarm it." Winter said, cutting to the chase.
"Well, I'll be plucked and breaded. A dog ate the carrot." The general said, surprised.
"Oh, snap." The lieutenant said, equally shocked.
"Don't explode. That IS AN ORDER, SON!" The general shouted, pointing at Courage.
'HELP! CARROT!' Courage said, worried.
"Can you disarm it?" Winter asked.
"Of course, I can." The general said before taking off his uniform.
"Terra staying behind with Adrian was a smart choice after all." Saphron said as we covered our eyes. Thankfully, the general wasn't getting naked and simply changed into his swimming suit.
"Uh..." The lieutenant said, unsure what to say when the general tossed his uniform at him.
'Hopefully, he showered.' Courage said as he picked up the general and swallowed him.
"And hopefully, he can disarm the carrot bomb in time." I said while mentally praying to Oum.
Inside Courage
"GROW! EXPAND! EXPLODE!" The carrot bomb said, ignoring the general as he hit the floor of Courage's stomach. "GROW! EXPAND! EXPLODE! GROW! EXPAND! EXPLOOOOD!"
"Lousy, volunteer army." The general said, glaring at the carrot.
"GROW! EXPAND! EXPLODE!"
"THAT'S FOR INSUBORDINATION!" The general said, jumping onto the carrot and removing its badge.
"GROW! EXPAND! EXPLODE!" The carrot said, staring at the general in confusion.
"Prepare for carrotectomy!" The general declared, pulling out some scissors.
He then took off the carrot's helmet, revealing a bunch of wires underneath. The general then began cutting the wires that he knew would deactivate the bomb safely. And it appeared to be working as the carrot's speech started to slur.
Outside Courage
'Come on. Come on.' I thought, feeling my anxiety growing with each passing second. Thankfully, after another few seconds of waiting, Courage vomited both the carrot and general, with him returning to his normal height a second later.
"How are you feeling, Courage?" Winter asked.
'Fine.' He answered with me translating.
"That was too close." Saphron said with a sigh of relief.
"Well, lieutenant, it looks like we've done our job here." The general said.
"What are you going to do with the carrot?" Winter asked. But before the general or lieutenant could answer, they stopped when they spotted Eustace running to the carrot and started eating it.
"HEY! THAT CARROT IS MILITARY PROPERTY!" The general shouted.
"You want it. You pay me. Ten million bucks." Eustace said, smirking.
"That man's depravity knows no bounds." Winter said, disgusted.
"The carrot ain't worth a dime. I disarmed it. I cut the green wire." The general said, causing the lieutenant to shudder while slapping his forehead. "The blue wire? Red?"
"Not likely." The lieutenant said.
"Uh-oh." The general said, worried.
"RUN!" Winter shouted at the top of her lungs. Not needing to be told twice, we ran as fast as possible.
"I don't feel so good." We heard Eustace say with his shadow looming over us a second later, indicating that he suddenly grew.
'EEH!' Courage shrieked.
"DON'T STOP!" Saphron shouted as we continued to run.
"UHHH!" Eustace grunted with his stomach gurgling.
"OH, SNAP!" The lieutenant shouted.
'AAAHHHH!' Courage screamed as we continued to put distance between Eustace and us. Unfortunately, while we managed to escape the blast zone, the force behind the explosion sent us flying back to the farmhouse.
"Is everyone okay?" Terra asked as she came rushing out of the house with Adrian.
"We're fine." Saphron answered as Terra helped her up.
"We're fine as well, although a little shaken up." Winter added.
"That's good. But we have another problem on our hands." Terra said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"More carrots grew in the back of the farmhouse."
"Show us." Winter said. Terra nodded and led us to the backyard, where we saw hundreds of explosive carrots growing.
'AAHHH!' Courage gasped.
"This isn't good." Saphron said, helping Terra hold back a curious and giggling Adrian.
"Wait, where's Muriel?" I asked, looking around but not seeing her.
"I made her some magnolia tea which put her to sleep instantly. We can't risk having another repeat."
"That's good. Thanks, Terra." I said, relieved.
"But what are we going to do with all these carrots?" Saphron asked.
"I'll call in a waste removal team, an EOD team, and a toxic waste team to clean up the area and dispose of all the carrots safely." Winter said, already ordering the teams to be sent here on her scroll.
"Thanks, Winter." I said.
"What should we do in the meantime?" Terra asked.
"We can have breakfast at the diner I work at." I suggested, considering none of us had eaten yet. They all looked at each other for a moment before shrugging.
"Sure."
Notes:
Next Chapters: (1) Mother's Day with only Jaune and Muriel. (2) Perfect with Glynda, Winter, Team Jnpr, and Team Rwby. (3) Remembrance of Courage's Past with Team Rwby, Team Jnpr, and Cinder. (4) Wedding Chapter with everyone appearing. And a 'surprise' visit from Ironwoods, Ozpin, and the Arc Family. (5) Epilogue.
BlackRaptor1: Good idea. Salem will make an appearance in Remembrance of Courage's Past but as a seer Grimm. Also, yes, most of Remnant has by now heard of rumors of Nowhere and a person (Jaune) marrying a mysterious maiden (Iris). But most dismiss it as the rumors are too wild to be possible in their eyes. Yet, this is how and why Ozpin, Ironwood, and the Arc Family will appear in the wedding chapter. And about Mercury and Emerald, I'm not sure. I could possibly add them but I'm not sure how I would have them be defeated. Plus, I'm on the fence of them turning to the other side. Or have them still be preoccupied with the dragon Shirley sent after them for stealing some of her wares.
Guest: Yes, I will still be doing the Straight Outta Nowhere Scooby Doo meets Jaune and Courage the Cowardly Dog story after this.
Finally, should Iris appear as well in Remembrance of Courage's Past to help Jaune confront the memories, insecurities, and doubts that he has about himself as a result of his past?